“There’s no such thing as an assault rifle!”

Well, for instance, there’s the:
SCAR
Special operations forces
Capable
Assault
Rifle

Though FN screwed that up when they continued calling it SCAR after chambering it in 7,62x51 NATO.

https://fnherstal.com/en/product/fn-scar-l

And calling an assault rifle a “carbine” is redundant as assault rifles are defined as “short and compact” while “carbine” is a short rifle. Short, much like “intermediate cartridge”, is relative though.

It’s more than just the SCAR though, look around the world. The Swiss, the Austrians, and others preface their rifle’s models with StG, SG, and STG.

Speaking of assault rifles used by other countries, the Finns have their version, known in the US as a Valmet M62S. In Finnish it’s a Rynnakkokivaari which translates to Assault Rifle.

The M76S is far more common in the US but that too is relative as very few Valmet were imported. For quite awhile it was the only “AK” available in the US.

https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/valmet-rifles/valmet-m62-s-7-62x39mm-rifle.cfm?gun_id=100522682

The French Bugle, the FAMAS,
The Fusil d’Assaut de la Manufacture d’Armes de Saint-Etienne.
That’s
Assault Rifle Manufactured by Saint-Etienne Armory

https://www.guns.com/news/2014/03/26/famas-bullpup-assault-rifles-le-bugle-video

Of course “assault rifle” is a retronym dating to the Nazi StG-44. Prior to that rifles were rifles much like prior to the automatic transmission all transmissions were manual and prior to digital watches all watches were analog.

Speaking of the StG (Sturm Gewehr) it quite literally means “assault rifle” much like “have fun storming the castle” doesn’t imply inclement weather. The Nazis had a host of Sturm weapons, including the Sturmpanzer and Sturmtiger and the most famous being the SturmTruppen of WW1.

From:
Military Small Arms of the 20th Century
Ian Hogg
1973

One of the penultimate primers on the subject.
Advertisement from the February 1968 American Rifleman

The NAZI “Brownshirts”, the SturmAbteilung (SA), with many WW1 veterans in its ranks, continued this Sturm tradition as the “Assault Section” of the Nazi party, fittingly led by everyone’s favorite gay Nazi, Ernst Rohm, who didn’t survive the mainstreaming of Nazism post 1934.

So here’s the manual for the US Army’s Special Forces Weapon Sergeants skill.

If you were in the Army and “never heard that term” then you were out prior to 1943 or not in a job position that routinely worked with weapons, despite your job title.

Or, you could listen to ARPA, the guys who are nearly completely responsible for the adoption of the AR-15.

A report from Springfield Armory NOV64
SA was part of the US Arsenal system until it was closed in 1968 with the expectation that civilian manufacturers could do it better, it is not associated with SA Inc.

https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=86B997F9-155D-451F-675C87EBB6C66D6B

Springfield Armory, Inc began in 1974 when Elmer Balance of Texas needed a name to sell his M1A (semiauto M14) under. SAI then moved to Geneseo, IL. The name was chosen to confuse low information gun buyers, and it worked. http://www.m1arifles.com/m1a-rifles/history-of-the-springfield-m1a-rifle/

“Assault Rifle isn’t in the DOD manual!”
You know what also isn’t in the DOD Terms manual?
Grenade, Machine Gun, and Rifle. Using that logic those things don’t exist either. Funny how they “RTFM!” then don’t themselves.

https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/dictionary.pdf

“criteria used for inclusion in the Dictionary:”
a. The term in a standard, commonly accepted dictionary is inadequate.
b. The term is not a standard dictionary definition with non-definitional text added.
c. The term is not self-defining. Example: bomber aircraft.

It would seem that in addition to the trolls, the argumentative, the uneducated, the uninformed, and those general wastes of carbon that comprise most “pro gun” commenters there seems to be confusion over the definition of assault.

This passage is from the DOD Dictionary that so many use as a bludgeon but universally fail to read. So, much like the assault gun and assault vehicle, the assault rifle has a very specific use. Not surprising as the AR-15 was never intended for service wide issue.

Assault rifle is a compound noun. So, if there is no assault rifle then there is no attack helicopter or race car. As a military term the military definition of assault is the one that is used. The legal definition is the one everyone else wants to argue

“There’s no such thing as an assault gun!”
Wrong. One of the most famous being the Soviet ISU/SU series. Another of the German Sturm weapons, the StuG, or Sturmgeschutz, series, is also an “assault gun.”

…http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/SU-122-russian-soviet-self-propelled-artillery-howitzer-assault-gun.html

Here’s why “assault weapon” is a meaningless term. A weapon is defined as “a thing designed, or used, to inflict damage.” By definition an assault is a violent attack, a noun despite the illiterati prating “assault is a verb!” every time the subject arises.

“assault weapon was invented by the libtards!”
That term was in use by the gun press years prior to Josh Sugarmann of the Violence Policy Center promoting its use to confuse the gun illiterate Use was limited up until then. Doesn’t matter who invented it, the gun press spread it.

I know that fear of antigunners is what drives some of the “No such thing as” arguments. Gun owners think that by ceding control of the technical language they will protect their precious safe queens from fedgov. It won’t. Quit being a coward.

“If I use a car to run people over then IT’S AN ASSAULT WEAPON.”

No, it was a car then it became a weapon when you ran over people.

That’s opposed to a true Assault Vehicle.

“OMG why should I listen to you Mr. Young?”
I have been using, building, troubleshooting, manufacturing, studying, training, and instructing on the AR/M series since 1983. The first research paper I wrote in 7th Grade was on the M203/M16 “dual purpose weapon.” A small part:

I also collect, read, and catalog anything related to the AR-15. I also cover gunsmithing, sniping, General firearms, and training. I have been collecting gun books since 1980 and I’m in the process of scanning in pre-1970 magazine articles related to the AR-15. Some bookshelves:

Anyone interested in digital content related to the AR/M series is invited to delve into my Google Drive. There are deep resources from DTIC and material collected from the Internet and created by me when I was more active in gun fora.
https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B9ocub3kwTH8Mjk1Njc5ZjgtMGI1Ny00YjQwLWIwYzEtNWM1Yjg2ZjNhMWVj

This is the picture that inspired the explanation of Springfield Armory’s importance in the story because I once had a “gun expert” denounce this picture as “civilian!” instead of accepted proof of military, although incorrect, use of the contentious term.

Here is a scan of the first known, published use of the term “assault weapon”. From the New York Times 17DEC80 edition. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qtOfz7DOhU7bz-khPgPDTFHQq66aQPQ8/

For the “Army don’t use that word” crowd.
From FM 7-8 “Infantry Platoon & Squad DEC80