Colt AR-15 Sporter (SP1)

About the Colt AR-15 Sporter (SP1)

The Colt AR-15 Sporter, model SP1, was the first AR-15 sold commercially to the American civilian market, released in 1964 and produced through the late 1980s. A semi-automatic-only rifle chambered in .223 Remington, it featured a 20-inch pencil barrel, the early A1-style fixed carry-handle upper, distinctive triangular handguards, and an A1-length stock. As an early-pattern rifle it lacked the forward assist and brass deflector later fitted to military models, and its 1:12 twist barrel was optimized for 55-grain bullets.

The SP1's aircraft-grade aluminum receiver and all-plastic furniture were so alien to 1960s sporting-goods buyers raised on walnut-and-steel rifles that Colt's early ads had to reassure customers the 'space-age' materials were as durable as traditional ones.

Colt AR-15 Sporter (SP1) specifications

Sold under Colt model number 6000 (later R6000). Shipped with five-round magazines. Often confused with the military M16; the SP1 is semi-automatic only and is the genesis of every civilian AR-15 that followed. By 1969 roughly 15,000 had been built.