LR-300

The Z-M Weapons LR-300 was an American AR-15/M16-derived rifle concept designed by Allan Zitta. Its distinguishing feature was a modified operating and recoil arrangement that removed the normal buffer tube dependency, allowing a true folding stock while retaining many familiar AR-pattern controls and ergonomics.

The design targeted users who wanted 5.56 mm performance and AR-style handling in a package that could be folded for transport or confined spaces. That made the LR-300 notable among late-20th-century AR variants, even though it required proprietary components and never became a standard service rifle.

The LR-300's importance is mostly technical and historical: it anticipated later interest in bufferless or folding-stock AR-family weapons, but remained a limited-production rifle. Its production history through Z-M Weapons and later Para-Ordnance kept it visible to collectors and media users more than military procurement offices.