What’s the appeal of AR rifles?

[Bencisn]

Imagine a car that within a few minutes you could configure it to race on a track and ten minutes later have it racing the Baja and 10 minutes later have it doing rock jumping. Then it could also be configured into a boat or a space shuttle. You could take off 2 wheels and make it a bicycle or make it a motorcycle drag racer.

It is the most configurable rifle in all of history. If you added up all the configurations possible with all the possible accessories you would have a number larger than the total number of atoms in the universe (really).

I stole this from wikipedia but these are just some calibers that can run in the Ar15:

Rimfire calibers
.17 Mach 2
.17 HMR[1]
.17 Winchester Super Magnum[1]
.22 Long Rifle[2]
.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire[1]

Centerfire calibers imperial measurement
.17 Mach IV
.17 Remington Fireball
.17 Remington[1]
.17-223[3]
.20 Practical[4]
.204 Ruger[1]
.222 Remington
.223 Remington - Original AR-15 caliber: .223 cartridges may function in a 5.56×45mm rifle, however 5.56×45mm cartridges can produce excessive pressure in a .223 rifle. On the other hand, a .223 Wylde chamber is used on .223 caliber rifle barrels to allow them to safely fire either .223 Remington or 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition.[5]
.22 PPC
.22 Nosler
.224 Valkyrie
.224 Kritzeck (Shortened .223 remington neck)[6]
.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum[5]
.243 LBC[3]
.243 Winchester Super Short Magnum[5]
.25 Winchester Super Short Magnum[5]
.25-45 Sharps
.277 Wolverine (6.8×39mm)
.30 Carbine[1]
.30 Remington AR[7]
30 American[8]
300 OSSM[5]
300 AAC Blackout (7.62×35mm)[7]
.300 Whisper[7]
.350 Legend[9]
300 HAM'R - Wilson Combat[10]
358 Yeti - Wildcat[11]
375 SOCOM
.40 S&W[12]
.45 ACP[13]
.450 Bushmaster[1]
.458 SOCOM[14]
.499 LWRC
.50 Action Express
.50 Beowulf[15]

Centerfire calibers metric measurement
5.45×39mm[1]
5.56×45mm NATO - Original AR-15A2 caliber: can also safely fire .223 Remington[1]
FN 5.7×28mm
6mm ARC
6mm AR
6×45mm
6.5mm Grendel[1]
6.8×39mm (.277 Wolverine)[16][17]
6.8mm Remington SPC[7]
7.62×37mm Musang
7.62×39mm[7]
7.62×40mm Wilson Tactical[7]
7.92x33mm Kurz
9×19mm Parabellum[2]
10mm Auto[13]
9×39mm[18]

Calibers which will not feed but which are used in rifles where the receiver functions only as a trigger group
.338 Lapua Magnum
.408 CheyTac
.50 BMG
AR-10 calibers
.220 Swift
.22-250 Remington
6mm-250
.243 Winchester - same bolt as 7.62×51 (worn-down barrels can be re-bored to take 6.5 Creedmoor or 7.62×51)[5]
6mm Remington
6mm Creedmoor
.257 Roberts
6.5×47mm Lapua
6.5mm Creedmoor - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
6.5 WSM
.260 Remington - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.270 Winchester Short Magnum
7mm-08 Remington - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
7.62×51mm NATO - Original AR-10 caliber
7mm Winchester Short Magnum
7mm Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum
.308 Winchester - considered interchangeable with 7.62×51mm NATO according to SAAMI.
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
.300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum[19]
.325 Winchester Short Magnum
.338 Federal - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.338 Winchester Short Magnum
.358 Winchester - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.358 Winchester Short Magnum
.375 Raptor - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.375 Winchester Short Magnum
.416 Winchester Short Magnum
.450 Marlin
.45 Raptor
45-70 Auto
.458 Winchester Short Magnum
475 Bishop Short Magnum
.500 Auto Max
.50 Krater
.50 BMG
.510 Winchester Short Magnum


You know what else? You can use the AR15 as a crossbow. It can launch soda cans. It can be made into a shotgun, grappling hook launcher, a pump action rifle, a bolt action rifle. You can bolt a chainsaw to it. obscene anatomy parts are accessories. You want to make a pink one that has an anatomically correct nut-sack grip? Sure! God Bless America!

It can be every color of the visible spectrum. There are probably a 1000 different variants of just one grip to put on it.

I could go on but it is literally the do-everything rifle plus more

Awesome response. Appreciate it.

 

[ron]

I took a friend's Daughter to the range. Never shot before. Did some basic 22 and 9 mm pistols. She
did great. Put an AR 223 carbine in her hands and off the bench at 100 yards she did amazing. First five shots 3-Xs
and 2-10s. Never shot a center fire rifle before. Point is the AR-223 is an accurate easy to shoot rifle for
beginners. It also is a lot of fun to shoot being low recoil, powerful and accurate.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

For me, other than almost having a SBR without the tax stamp, I don't quite understand the appeal for the AR Pistol. I'm not bashing them at all, I just don't get it. If I want a handgun, I'll get a handgun, if I want a rifle I'll get a rifle.
Now, I would like to have a 9mm AR rifle (carbine) because of the cost to shoot it is less than most rifle rounds. I haven't built one yet because I am having a tough time justifying the cost to build a 9mm AR, it feels like it is going to cost a lot more to build a 9mm AR than it did with my 5.56 or 7.62x39 ARs.

I hear you about AR pistol being less effective than AR rifle. I think it fits the bill though when you want "almost AR rifle"-like performance in a tiny package. Especially if u get a bufferless version with folding or telescopic brace. I have a chart I made somewhere that shows % loss of energy as you go down to pistol sizes. 12.5" still retains a ton of energy but as you get down to really short the amount of energy decreases dramatically. So for me it's a balance of how much energy loss can you live with for the benefit of small size.
Re pistol caliber carbines, they r an absolute blast to shoot imo and as you said cheaper to shoot and more friendly to shooting steel (especially up close). I went with a Stribog instead of AR 9 due to size, recoil, and $650 price. Evo, mp5 variants, sig mpx, etc are also great but more expensive options that also have small size due to no buffer tube needed. If in doubt get both!

 

[Utzpotatochips]

I hear you about AR pistol being less effective than AR rifle. I think it fits the bill though when you want "almost AR rifle"-like performance in a tiny package. Especially if u get a bufferless version with folding or telescopic brace. I have a chart I made somewhere that shows % loss of energy as you go down to pistol sizes. 12.5" still retains a ton of energy but as you get down to really short the amount of energy decreases dramatically. So for me it's a balance of how much energy loss can you live with for the benefit of small size.View attachment 726106
Re pistol caliber carbines, they r an absolute blast to shoot imo and as you said cheaper to shoot and more friendly to shooting steel (especially up close). I went with a Stribog instead of AR 9 due to size, cost, recoil and $650 price. Evo, mp5 variants, etc are also great but more expensive options that also have small size due to no buffer tube needed. If in doubt get both!

Stribog is amazing for the price!!

 

[DB is Here]

1) Easy manual of arms
2) Ease of access to parts and ammo
3) It doesn't make your butt look big

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Stribog is amazing for the price!!

I sure enjoy it. It was made as a full auto weapon first and it really shows. Accuracy (which for me means easy to shoot accurately when shooting fast at multiple targets) is amazing with that thing. Very reliable gun. Not taking anything away from evo, banshee, sig, mp5 variants which are also great.

 

[American123]

$2000 for the first AR is a ridiculous budget. IMO you're better off getting a budget/value AR that is to your liking and then shooting / competing with it to determine what specific accessories you're interested in for what your intended uses are rather than what seemed "cool" at first, but with more experience realize is "tactical crap." For example in the past two years, (outside of panic prices) A PSA complete lower with magpul STR goodness and a 'cool' upper with free floated rail and a 16-18" barrel could have been had for $200 after tax and transfer for the lower and $300 for a complete upper for a total complete rifle of about $500. Because in a lot of cases, the gun is the cheap part of the equation when you start adding in optics, ammo, and other accessories. A good red dot will go anywhere from $100 - $400 depending on brand and functionality, a good rifle scope would cost similarly, or easily more depending on brand and magnification range. Then you factor in ammo, magazines, sling, light, and before you know it you have easily spent twice the cost of the rifle on accessories and ammo for the rifle.

This is why I recommend what I do, because with experience comes a different level of thinking and from the time you buy your first AR, with experience, you'll inevitably think differently about it and prioritize different things than you originally would have. Why spend a lot of money on something until you have the experience to know what you really want?

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Found that energy loss chart. I was comparing energy loss of 556 to 300 blackout. Data is only from 2 sources so take with a grain of salt. First chart Y axis is % energy loss relative to a 18" barrel, and x axis is barrel length. Blue line is 300 blackout while other two lines are 223 from 2 different sources.
So what happens to all that excess energy? Check out this video of the BRN-180S with aftermarket muzzle compensator. Flippin' hilarious fireballs! Who needs fireworks, just get one of those compensators (and good hearing protection)! Compare to the suppressed shooting.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

$2000 for the first AR is a ridiculous budget. IMO you're better off getting a budget/value AR that is to your liking and then shooting / competing with it to determine what specific accessories you're interested in for what your intended uses are rather than what seemed "cool" at first, but with more experience realize is "tactical crap." For example in the past two years, (outside of panic prices) A PSA complete lower with magpul STR goodness and a 'cool' upper with free floated rail and a 16-18" barrel could have been had for $200 after tax and transfer for the lower and $300 for a complete upper for a total complete rifle of about $500. Because in a lot of cases, the gun is the cheap part of the equation when you start adding in optics, ammo, and other accessories. A good red dot will go anywhere from $100 - $400 depending on brand and functionality, a good rifle scope would cost similarly, or easily more depending on brand and magnification range. Then you factor in ammo, magazines, sling, light, and before you know it you have easily spent twice the cost of the rifle on accessories and ammo for the rifle.

This is why I recommend what I do, because with experience comes a different level of thinking and from the time you buy your first AR, with experience, you'll inevitably think differently about it and prioritize different things than you originally would have. Why spend a lot of money on something until you have the experience to know what you really want?

Agree. Or if you don't want to mess with "building" (ie putting parts together, you aren't "building" anything) one, there are low cost but good quality complete AR's out there also. Ruger and S&W sport come to mind as examples, among others.

 

[trevi]

Imagine a car that within a few minutes you could configure it to race on a track and ten minutes later have it racing the Baja and 10 minutes later have it doing rock jumping. Then it could also be configured into a boat or a space shuttle. You could take off 2 wheels and make it a bicycle or make it a motorcycle drag racer.

It is the most configurable rifle in all of history. If you added up all the configurations possible with all the possible accessories you would have a number larger than the total number of atoms in the universe (really).

I stole this from wikipedia but these are just some calibers that can run in the Ar15:

Rimfire calibers
.17 Mach 2
.17 HMR[1]
.17 Winchester Super Magnum[1]
.22 Long Rifle[2]
.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire[1]

Centerfire calibers imperial measurement
.17 Mach IV
.17 Remington Fireball
.17 Remington[1]
.17-223[3]
.20 Practical[4]
.204 Ruger[1]
.222 Remington
.223 Remington - Original AR-15 caliber: .223 cartridges may function in a 5.56×45mm rifle, however 5.56×45mm cartridges can produce excessive pressure in a .223 rifle. On the other hand, a .223 Wylde chamber is used on .223 caliber rifle barrels to allow them to safely fire either .223 Remington or 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition.[5]
.22 PPC
.22 Nosler
.224 Valkyrie
.224 Kritzeck (Shortened .223 remington neck)[6]
.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum[5]
.243 LBC[3]
.243 Winchester Super Short Magnum[5]
.25 Winchester Super Short Magnum[5]
.25-45 Sharps
.277 Wolverine (6.8×39mm)
.30 Carbine[1]
.30 Remington AR[7]
30 American[8]
300 OSSM[5]
300 AAC Blackout (7.62×35mm)[7]
.300 Whisper[7]
.350 Legend[9]
300 HAM'R - Wilson Combat[10]
358 Yeti - Wildcat[11]
375 SOCOM
.40 S&W[12]
.45 ACP[13]
.450 Bushmaster[1]
.458 SOCOM[14]
.499 LWRC
.50 Action Express
.50 Beowulf[15]

Centerfire calibers metric measurement
5.45×39mm[1]
5.56×45mm NATO - Original AR-15A2 caliber: can also safely fire .223 Remington[1]
FN 5.7×28mm
6mm ARC
6mm AR
6×45mm
6.5mm Grendel[1]
6.8×39mm (.277 Wolverine)[16][17]
6.8mm Remington SPC[7]
7.62×37mm Musang
7.62×39mm[7]
7.62×40mm Wilson Tactical[7]
7.92x33mm Kurz
9×19mm Parabellum[2]
10mm Auto[13]
9×39mm[18]

Calibers which will not feed but which are used in rifles where the receiver functions only as a trigger group
.338 Lapua Magnum
.408 CheyTac
.50 BMG
AR-10 calibers
.220 Swift
.22-250 Remington
6mm-250
.243 Winchester - same bolt as 7.62×51 (worn-down barrels can be re-bored to take 6.5 Creedmoor or 7.62×51)[5]
6mm Remington
6mm Creedmoor
.257 Roberts
6.5×47mm Lapua
6.5mm Creedmoor - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
6.5 WSM
.260 Remington - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.270 Winchester Short Magnum
7mm-08 Remington - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
7.62×51mm NATO - Original AR-10 caliber
7mm Winchester Short Magnum
7mm Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum
.308 Winchester - considered interchangeable with 7.62×51mm NATO according to SAAMI.
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
.300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum[19]
.325 Winchester Short Magnum
.338 Federal - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.338 Winchester Short Magnum
.358 Winchester - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.358 Winchester Short Magnum
.375 Raptor - same bolt as 7.62×51, and can be formed from 7.62×51 brass
.375 Winchester Short Magnum
.416 Winchester Short Magnum
.450 Marlin
.45 Raptor
45-70 Auto
.458 Winchester Short Magnum
475 Bishop Short Magnum
.500 Auto Max
.50 Krater
.50 BMG
.510 Winchester Short Magnum


You know what else? You can use the AR15 as a crossbow. It can launch soda cans. It can be made into a shotgun, grappling hook launcher, a pump action rifle, a bolt action rifle. You can bolt a chainsaw to it. obscene anatomy parts are accessories. You want to make a pink one that has an anatomically correct nut-sack grip? Sure! God Bless America!

It can be every color of the visible spectrum. There are probably a 1000 different variants of just one grip to put on it.

I could go on but it is literally the do-everything rifle plus more

Sounds like the Batmobile!

 

[Certaindeaf]

I'm a rifle newbie. I purchased my first pistol last year for home defense and have since really started to enjoy target shooting, etc. I just purchased a CMMG Banshee 10mm that's classified as a pistol but it certainly resembles an AR.

Trying to understand the appeal of 5.56 / AR rifles and why there's such demand for them over pistol-caliber AR style pistols.

Stupid question, but look forward to the insight.

You ever try to shoot a squirrel in the eye at 300 yards with a 9mm?

 

[cookie]

We be tacticool. When my kids were little and all their friends would burn the barrels out of the dads ARs. The AR and ,the Kalashnikov are the best of the class.

 

[UnionMillsNW]

The ballistics of AR pistols don't measure up to rifles. Unless you're clearing rooms or getting in and out of vehicles a pistol isn't a necessity (but they are fun). A longer barrel generally means better velocity and stability.

Why the AR? Versatility. The platform is like a lego set, endlessly customizable. Also at 6' tall I can comfortably shoot my rifle and, with a half second to adjust the stock, hand it off to my 5' 2" girlfriend to shoot just as comfortably.

My favorite rifle to shoot is a Garand, but it's too heavy for the girlfriend and not great for home defense.

So is the AR the best thing since sliced bread? No, but it does a fine job and fits a variety of roles where other platforms fall short.

 

[cookie]

You ever try to shoot a squirrel in the eye at 300 yards with a 9mm?

Left eye or right eye ?

 

[Joe13]

First time my wife shot my AR the RSO walks over and tells me, "She can shoot... you better not piss her off".

It is still to this day her favorite rifle to shoot.

 

[Joe13]

I want an AR pistol cuz with all the BS going on a Glock 17 just doesn't seem like enough sometimes and with my CCL I can keep it up front in the rig with me vs the trunk unloaded.

 

[fxdc]

Like Barbie, they are sexy!

(the Barbie gun for men)

And ya can play Dress Up with them!!

 

[westcoastal]

fun factor

 

[Wombat of Doom]

The ballistics of AR pistols don't measure up to rifles. Unless you're clearing rooms or getting in and out of vehicles a pistol isn't a necessity (but they are fun). A longer barrel generally means better velocity and stability.

Why the AR? Versatility. The platform is like a lego set, endlessly customizable. Also at 6' tall I can comfortably shoot my rifle and, with a half second to adjust the stock, hand it off to my 5' 2" girlfriend to shoot just as comfortably.

My favorite rifle to shoot is a Garand, but it's too heavy for the girlfriend and not great for home defense.

So is the AR the best thing since sliced bread? No, but it does a fine job and fits a variety of roles where other platforms fall short.

I really don't like AR pistols in .223 Too frickin loud. Which is part of why I suppress anything short out of an AR

 

[albin25]

C'mon, Apples and potatoes have "a peel".....
..... but let's face it, AR's have a purpose, many actually.