The translation assault rifle gradually became the common term for similar firearms sharing the same technical definition as the StG 44. In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:

It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
It must be capable of selective fire;
It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable box magazine.
Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite frequently being considered as such. For example, semi-automatic-only rifles that share designs with assault rifles such as the AR-15 (which the M-16 rifle is based on) are not assault rifles, as they are not capable of switching to automatic fire and thus not selective fire. Belt-fed weapons (such as the M249 SAW) or rifles with fixed magazines are likewise not assault rifles because they do not have detachable box magazines.

The term “assault rifle” is often more loosely used for commercial or political reasons to include other types of arms, particularly arms that fall under a strict definition of the battle rifle, or semi-automatic variant of military rifles such as AR-15s

The US Army defines assault rifles as “short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachinegun and rifle cartridges.”

Also as anyone who has done any research into the automatic weapons laws should know it has been illegal for citizens to own since the Supreme Court ruling in Miller vs. the United States (1939) and to modify a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon is a federal crime.

I doubt you can make a comparision of a us legal ak-cosmetic looka alike and the akm variants found all over iraq. an ak without a fully automatic feature is NOT the same by any measure..the ak family is a machine gun first then a rifle. it is not accurate to less than 4-6 moa usually.

the ar-15 was actually in existence BEFORE the m-16 version; as a CIVILIAN varminter. the m-16 came along after and the full auto feature was added(no it is not easy to convert it requires a class 3 sear fitting) it was adopted by the kenedy /mcnamara admin during vietnam with not so great results. the ar-15 is a rifle first. it is fairly accurate and can be improved…it actually could be used as a hunting rifle usually on groundhogs/prarie dogs…varmints. The .223/5.56 round it fires is not adequate or in some case not legal for deer sized game. so your high power claim is also dispelled.

mis information must be discredited and put aside otherwise the freedoms enjoyed by generations of AMERICANS will be slowly eroded by a divide and conquer approach. dependency is the goal; they seek to make you LESS self reliant and therby sheep like..well be a SHEEPDOG not a SHEEPLE Mike.

Oops…I guess someone needs to send a news crew to my house. I just exercised my constitutional right to free speech. Video at 6 and 10.

Sheesh!