12-10-2011, 07:12 AM
stanc Wrote:Was Stoner really a genius? Maxim, certainly. Maxim started at "ground zero" in the field of repeating weapons, and he alone developed most of the principles of design and operation which are still used today.
But, what Stoner did was to copy features of several previous weapons and incorporate them into the AR design. I give Stoner credit for first-class engineering ability, but to my mind a "genius" comes up with something original, he doesn't just rearrange what's already been done by others.
When you assemble an AR15, you will see how genius Stoner really was. Every design is inspired by others, except for most of Nikola Tesla's 900 electrical patents. The AK still uses Browning's safety lever from the Remington Model 8, among other things. The Stoner system introduced many engineering elements from aircraft manufacturing, and the most efficient method for attaching the barrel to the receiver with the lowest weight materials used. Stoner really was more involved with the AR10, while John Sullivan and others scaled it down and worked out the unique issues for the AR15.
The original AR10 is one of the handiest, lightest, low-recoiling rifles I've ever had the opportunity to shoot and run around with, and is a testament to Stoner's clean slate approach in many regards. That it out-performed against the FAL and T44 after being criminally sabotaged by Army Ordnance Corps just seals the deal even further as to its superior design.