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Weight 8.27 lb (3.75 kg) (20" barrel, without magazine) Length 38.25 in (97.2 cm) (20" barrel) Barrel length | ||
The Bushmaster XM-15 series (formerly styled as XM15) is a line of AR-15-pattern semi-automatic rifles, carbines, and pistols manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International. Variants include the Bushmaster M4-type Carbine, Patrolman series, QRC series, Bushmaster XM15-E2S and the Carbon 15 line.
Contents
The standard XM-15 has a forged 7075T6 aircraft-grade aluminum upper and lower receiver. Barrels of XM-15 firearms have a heavy profile and are hard chrome-lined 4150 alloy steel or 416 stainless steel. In Bushmaster's 2016 sales brochure, all new-production XM-15s are stated to be supplied with a 4150 steel barrel. The standard barrel has rifling of 1 turn in 9".
E2S Series
The basic E2S is fitted with a 16-inch carbine-style barrel.
E2S Target - 20" heavy-barrel target rifle with A2-style stock and carry handle upper, also available with 24" and 26" barrels.
E2S V-Match - Target variant with an anodized aluminum handguard, flat-top receiver and 20, 24 or 26-inch barrel.
E2S V-Match Carbine - As above, but with a 16-inch carbine barrel.
E2S Shorty - 16-inch version with a "shorty" handguard.
E2S Shorty AK - Shorty variant with 14.5-inch carbine SBR barrel with an AK-74-style muzzle brake permanently welded to the end to increase the overall length to 16 inches.
E2S Dissipator - Variant with a Bushmaster-designed 16-inch "Dissipator" barrel. This mounts a false gas block with a front sight at the 20" position with the real gas block in the carbine position and concealed under a rifle-length 12" handguard.
QRC Series
Formerly known as ORC ("optics ready carbine") but now styled as QRC ("quick response carbine"), these are flat-top rifles without iron sights, provided with a simple 1x20 red-dot optic.
Patrolman Series
Patrolman's Pistol - 7" or 10.5" barrel "pistol" version with a free-float handguard and no stock. Also available as a military or LE select-fire version.
Notoriety
The Bushmaster XM-15 E2s "M4 type" carbine gained notoriety for its use in the October 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, according to Colt Defense. It is infamous for being designed to avoid the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
Sandy Hook and aftermath
A Bushmaster XM15-E2S was used during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Nine families(plaintiffs) of the 26 victims of the shooting filed a class action lawsuit in Connecticut against Bushmaster, Remington Arms and others(defendants) seeking "unspecified" damages, claiming an exemption in the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act which would normally disallow such a suit. The plaintiffs allege that the XM15-E2S is only suitable for military and policing applications, and Bushmaster inappropriately marketed the firearm to civilians. On April 14, 2016 a Connecticut court denied the defendants a motion to summarily dismiss the case, with lawyers for the defense filing a second motion for dismissal a month later. On October 14, 2016, the defendants' motion to strike(dismiss) the complaint(lawsuit) was granted. The judge ruled the complaint was not valid per Federal and Connecticut laws. The plaintiffs indicated they would appeal the ruling.
Legality
As a result of the Sandy Hook school shooting: