The AR15 isn't practical

[Pete F]

Just to be clear, I am not generalizing all of the non AR 15 owners. I don't care what a gun owner prefers and would never badmouth those that prefer a particular gun or caliber, and would be happy to shoot with any and all.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

depends on its intended use. now days, ARs can be made into a lot of calibers. id say the 6.5 grendel, 300blk, 6.8spc are more practical of a deer and pig hunting round than 5.56.

just an example of my opinion. many people say 5.56 is impractical for 2 legged critters... i tend to agree to an extent.


5.56 is more practical on my wallet than those mentioned above.

its all subjective

 

[Diamondback]

Just to be clear, I am not generalizing all of the non AR 15 owners. I don't care what a gun owner prefers and would never badmouth those that prefer a particular gun or caliber, and would be happy to shoot with any and all.

Just wish THEY would extend US the same courtesy... but some people just have to Virtue Signal, when in fact all they're doing is illustrating the dictum about "better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

Please tell your friend that the AR IS practical, for a good many reasons.

First and foremost, it's biggest strength in my opinion is its versatility. Long barrel, short barrel, small caliber, large caliber, iron sights or optics of any flavor, and they are often just two pushpins, a thumbscrew, or a QD lever away.

Next, I would cite the lack of recoil and that it's adjustable for size. There is no rifle out there better suited for people of all shapes and sizes, including women and children. Whether you have short arms or gorilla arms, an adjustable stock works wonders. For weight, there are ultra lightweight and pencil barrels available. Recoil? Almost non-existent by design! For example, my youngest son was shooting my AR at age 6.

How about ease of use? Rapid, aimed fire is possible thanks to the reduced recoil. Rapid reloads are also possible thanks to the detachable box magazine, and spare magazines are readily available. There was a video comparing a shotgun, often suggested for home defense, to an AR for speed, accuracy, and ease of use with a woman shooter. Firing 3 rapid shots, the AR was faster, easier, and more accurate for the shooter. Also compare the time to reload a shotgun compared to an AR.

Last of all, accuracy. ARs continue to improve by leaps and bounds, with quite a few barrel manufacturers offering a 1 MOA guarantee, and some of the higher end barrels easily capable of half that. For long range shooting, 600-800 yards is easily doable with the right ammunition, and with certain calibers that can be stretched to 1,000 yards plus. Combine this with low recoil so you can see the impact, and fast follow-up shots if needed, it's hard for people to say they're not practical.

Please tell your friend that the AR is considered a Modern Sporting Rifle for good reason; in the right configuration it can do almost anything, and do it well.

 

[ConcernedCitizen]

When I said that for bear hunting a AR15 isn't practical ...
I meant the AR15 in 5.56 caliber...not any other caliber option.

While the AR15 can come in many other calibers or even be easily converted to other calibers...
I'd be willing to bet that most AR15 rifles are in 5.56....so no I am not wrong , in the context of what I was saying....
Andy

But that is considering the practicality of the cartridge, not the rifle.

 

[Stomper]

Just to be clear, I am not generalizing all of the non AR 15 owners. I don't care what a gun owner prefers and would never badmouth those that prefer a particular gun or caliber, and would be happy to shoot with any and all.

It's not that we're generalizing, it just that we're generalizing.

 

[Boboclown]

An AR can do everything but be an AK, FAL, a G3, list goes on.

Meh, I have one AR for .300 BLK. All I can say is I still prefer the FAL... But then again that's still a semiauto so not like it matters to the conversation I guess.

 

[CountryGent]

Oh dear ... I just don't get these kinds of threads.

To claim the AR platform isn't practical circa 2019 is most assuredly born of stunning ignorance. Said can be had in configurations from .17 to .50 caliber and all points in between, in any form factor one wishes, for any purpose of which a long arm is required (e.g., hunting, law enforcement, dispatching varmints, home defense, et al.). With a NFA tax stamp, the options are pretty much limitless, sans a happy-switch. The individual who made the aforementioned statement is simply and grossly misinformed.

And I say this as someone who is not really an AR aficionado. We have one that was SBRed and suppressed and is now my "primary" for a preparedness carbine. Not knocking them for a nanosecond, and really like the one we have, though main interests lay elsewhere.

Finally, the notion that the government should ban the mere possession of an inanimate object is, frankly, even more asinine than the statement by the individual recorded in the original post.

 

[Caveman Jim]

An AR-15 isn't practical for keeping an Alaskan brownie from eating you. It also isn't practical for shooting snakes or hunting ducks or geese. It depends on the application. I think it's excellent for self defense and keeping Tyrants from step on snek.

It's all about the application.

That's exactly why tyrants want the AR banned. They think they will all go away so they won't have to fear them being used against them. They are dead wrong.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

But that is considering the practicality of the cartridge, not the rifle.

Again I was referring to the rifle as a whole , 5.56 cartridge and all , which is more than than likely , the most common configuration it is seen in...SIGH

Since I am not making myself clear enough here for many...enjoy the thread...and count this as my last word here.
Edit to add :
Please note that no where here in this thread or any for that matter , have I said that AR15 rifles have no place...
But I have said that "practical " means many things to many different people.
Andy

 

[Pete F]

Again I was referring to the rifle as a whole , 5.56 cartridge and all...SIGH

Since I am not making myself clear enough here for many...enjoy the thread...and count this as my last word here.
Andy

I get you @AndyinEverson, but everyone has different definitions and arguments for it. As a .223 caliber, it is only useful for small amount of uses.

 

[Diamondback]

To be clear, I'm not even an AR guy myself--if Trump initiated a "one gun of their choice to EVERY taxpayer, no restrictions" mine would be a 1928AC Thompson, the reason I build AR's is a grudging appreciation of their utility and my belief that the citizen's first duty is to know how to operate his country's basic service rifle in case of being called to do so in defense of the homeland, hometown or homestead.

 

[CountryGent]

I get you @AndyinEverson

Ditto.

 

[Member 5605]

Yes, I know that's a click-bait title, but that 's what I was told last weekend.

I did some shooting with friends. There was an AR pistol present and I mentioned to one friend that I thought that particular gun wasn't very practical, more of a "range toy". He replied with a very sincere question, asking what the practical value of any AR was.

Before you call him a Fudd, realize that he's about as country, redneck, hardcore 2A, hunting fool as they come. He wasn't implying that he supported any form of ban in any way, just that from his perspective as a hunter he didn't see any value in them at all. He kind of shrugged off the home defense and "armed citizen" arguments. He doesn't even care much for recreational shooting, so if it's not a levergun or scoped bolt action, he's not much interested.

I thought this might be an interesting topic, because there are millions like him out there; family, friends, neighbors. They're on our side to one degree or another in principle, but not really into it because it doesn't really affect them, and they don't really understand it. I think "gun people" often make the mistake that because someone else is a gun owner that they'll understand the fight and be on our side.

I'd we excuse every application that is NOT practical for the 5.56 caliber, we are left with some reasonable training tools, hunting rifles that have the ability to be used by the younger crowd.

I'll lump the AR-15 and -10 into the same discussion.

I see with the -10 platform somebody being able to hunt more ethically and with the weapons familiarity of the -15 or even -22LR variant the ability to train without spending a bunch of dough on ammo.

For what it's worth, I have taken blacktail with 22 caliber ammunition, so I don't excuse that round from western Oregon deer hunting.

I don't see the practical application in my life of needing a rifle in the AR platform but I own one or more due to their interchangeability and similarity. They would/are one of the most prevalent rifle variants out there along with a 10/22 and just like those took should know how to operate.

I may be rambling but what one finds practical, another may not. That's me and classic lever rifles or wildcat cartridges, I don't find the use.

 

[Member 5605]

The angst against a certain rifle is like a Prius driver telling truck drivers their vehicles have no point or purpose until they need one.

Actually, it's the black soot diesel drivers that piss is off.

And we don't need a truck.



I kid... that's why I borrow Pop's dodge diesel if I really need to haul something.

 

[cigars]

It's the Bill of Rights, not the bill of anal retentive practicality.

 

[Ura-Ki]

For my self, i grew up hunting, so hunting rifles were "My Thing" baby, and all the black guns didnt have any meaning for me what what so ever! Things changed for me in a number of steps, combined with some jard life experiences, my opinion changed. It was Slow at first, but as i grew up and experienced more of the real world and the realities of my safety and mortality, i found that while my hunting rifles are quite good at putting meat in the ice box, they are not very good at defensive use, especially in close quarters! My life experiences have shown me that the world isnt a very nice place and that there are evil people out there bent on undoing our freedoms and disarming us, and controlling us, and to do so, they would kill us to do these things with out a second thought.
I realised that I, Ura-Ki was the only one responsable for my own safety and security, that i could not count on any one else to protect me from any harm, and that I had to be ever vigilant for my own self and those around me! I decided i would need something besides my hunting rifles, that i would need to carry a pistol with me all the time! Times have changed a lot since then, and the threats we face are very real and very close to us, more then at any time in recent history!

To quote from SHANE, a gun is just a tool, no better or worse then the man that uses it!

The AR is a tool, nothing more, nothing less, and while its not my choice for a hunting rifle, it isnt even my first choice for a fighting rifle, but it sure does a good job at making sure that those who would disarm me will be met with a fury not often found in this modern world, and thus, a very useful tool!

 

[nammac]

To the OP, I understand where your friend is coming from, at the beginning of and during the Clinton AWB, I had no issues with restrictions on AR style rifles, they were of no interest to me, being a pistol and shotgun shooter.

But in the intervening years, I have learned that it's not about the particular medium it's about the freedom of the Second Amendment to all citizens. It's not about AR's, pistols, revolvers, rifles, lever actions, pump shotguns, semiautomatic shotguns, blah, blah, blah... it's about gun ownership, period. Regardless of your chosen style.

My interest in AR's became serious just this decade, and really within the last 5 or 6 years, with the renewed call to ban them. If the government doesn't want me to have it then I surely need more than one and in more than one caliber... So, I'm a convert. I now know the joys of the AR platform!

Take said friend out shooting that AR of yours, maybe invite him to practice some 3 gun. I find those who have no real opinion have never handled one. Just my 0.02 and worth every penny paid

 

[CLT65]

I think the reaction is probably born out of the frustration many of us feel about a certain type of gun owner. We would fight tooth and nail for them to retain the right to get out once a year and hunt upland birds or duck, but they wouldn't afford us the same loyalty. Their reaction to banning AR's or pistols/concealed carry would be: "well, nobody needs those things anyway." They never seem to realize it's all the same fight and nobody will be left to help them when, after all non-hunting firearms are banned the anti gun set decides "nobody needs to hunt either because, after all, you can buy everything you need at the store."

Definitely not saying your friend is like this, just my thoughts on the reactions.

I understand. I think it's real easy to jump to conclusions whenever a die-hard hunter says anything along the lines of "What good are they?" My initial reaction was surprise that he was so clueless, but like I said, these guys are all staunch 2A supporters. I think they fully understand that it's about inalienable rights and not hunting, and the slippery slope of restrictions will most definitely eventually affect their cherished deer rifles and duck guns.

I'm not really an AR guy myself. I have a couple of them and enjoy shooting them, but what I really like are older guns, including a flintlock that I shoot on rare occasion. I tried to explain to him that ARs are really just a gun. I told him to ignore the hoopla that the AR is some kind of magic death-ray, and look at it as just a modernized evolution of the rifles he already owns, that he should get one in a caliber that is useful for his particular interests and see how it does.

Politicians and the media have been very successful in spreading this idea that ARs are in a class of their own. In reality they are not. They are a very a successful platform due to their simplicity, modularity, and inherent accuracy, but there's nothing about them that sets them apart as truly unique and deadly. I think my whole point of this thread is just that there are lots of folks like this out there that, while ignorant of things we all take for granted, are still on our side and can be woken up with a little bit of reasonable education.

The biggest worry about folks like him though, is that if left without an explanation, they're susceptible to emotional pleas for "reasonable" gun control after a devastating shooting.

 

[Heywood]

I don't find most hunting rifles very practical. I bow hunt.
When I shoot long range it is either with a dedicated rifle made for such or an ar pattern rifle.
There is nothing wrong with not seeing the practicality of anything.
If I lived in a large city I probably wouldn't see any practicality in a lifted crew cab and if I lived in the mountains I wouldn't see any practicality in a smart car.
It's like trying to convince a motorcycle touring/expedition enthusiast of the merits of a crotch rocket.
Edit to add.
My grandfather was not to keen on my first ar15. He called it a toy and was old school big bores are better kind of guy.
One day I showed him a cell phone video of my son 15years old at the time shooting my home built 6.5 Grendel at 1000yds and making consistent hits on a 11x14 steel plate prone on a bipod.
Though I never got him to shoot one he wouldn't stop talking about how proud he was of his great grandson making hits that far with a Tupperware rifle. He came from a time that it was very hard for a person to even get the opportunity to try, let alone get enough practice to be proficient. If it wasn't for an AR15 that I could build myself, little by little as the funds became available it wouldn't have been possible for my sone either. Now I can shell out some money to buy the latest and greatest, but back then? No way.