I never felt the need to own one until a few years ago. It seemed the writing was on the wall and it might be now or never. I purchased an entry level carbine and with the exception of adding an optic, have modified absolutely nothing.
I find it quite fun to play with at the range where I generally use the 10 round magazine. I don't own any "tactical" or even camo clothing so I just have to dress nornal:tooth:. It is accurate to a level I would not feel at all handicapped if I chose to hunt with it. But mostly I think I added it to the safe simply because if it all goes south, it will be the easiest to feed.
Thanks. Too bad others around here attempt to make something over nothing!
Much ado about nothing - Shakeyspear
However it HAS been a big deal judging by the buying public and it's increasing presence on ranges. More companies are offering them, more people are buying them......general consensus is......"if it's good enough for military service, it's good enough for me and my family". We live in a SWAT/Urban culture mentality now. We want what the "cool guys" have. Me, I trust the one I've been sleeping with for the past 20 yrs.....
God show's mercy on drunks and dumb animals.........two outa three ain't a bad score!
Your post makes it sound like anyone that brings an AR to the range is an idiot wanna be that just wants to look cool. That is why you are receiving so many hostile comment toward you, but maybe that's what you are really looking for. You really work at a shooting range and don't understand the popularity of the AR platform?:troll: If you don't "get it" you probably don't need to be working at a gun range.
No, I absolutely don't understand. I grew up in an era where target shooting at a range was TARGET SHOOTING. Not blasting away, no sight picture in mind, and wasting ammunition.
Most of our shooters come up from near Atlanta. We had 15,000 sign in last year. I have the opportunity to observe so many people accidentally pointing firearms at each other, ad infinitum, that it makes me sick. Other than that you see so many so-called shooters out on the range trying to teach their wife, girlfriend, or grandma how to shoot a pistol. They should do this with a unloaded gun long before they reach a public shooting range. This is no place for practicing with a firearm.
where we see real hunting rifles,the AR's seem to predominate.
My ARs are Real Hunting Rifles for both deer an coyote...good ergonomics, light, easy to tote around, sub-MOA accuracy... kinda the things I look for in a hunting rifle.
AND - just because I can "fire off 30 rounds in as many seconds" doesn't mean I do...as a matter of fact I've been working on the same 20 round magazine for a couple of years now in the coyote rifle and I think I might ought to top off the 10 rounder in my deer rifle...as it's down by 5 over the last three years.
You are spouting the same tired "Why an AR" crap we've been hearing for years and you have been on this board long enough to know the answers to all your questions...Whether you like the platform is neither here nor there the AR has proved it's worth and value many times over on the range and in the field.
Sharps Model 1874 - "The rifle that made the west safe for Winchester"
And just because the folks you deal with do that, you think we ALL do? :roll2:
I rebarrelled my RRA upper 2/4/13,
Since then, it has had EXACTLY 120 rounds put through it.
2 the day I installed it to test fire
27 on 2/6/13
40 on 2/14/13
21 on 2/27/13
and 30 7/2/13
Most of those were done during load development and testing and the least amount of time (excluding the first 2 fired off my back deck) I spent at the range firing them was 1.5 hours.
Try one load, (3-5 rounds, depending) shoot something else while the barrel cooled, and repeat
I know many shooters who fire an AR with a lengthy pause between shots. They are looking for ACCURACY. That type of shooter I appreciate.
However, the bang-bangers who come up from the Atlanta area, while I have to sit there and listen to their crap is a little much to deal with sometimes.
To sit at a range table and fire off 30 rounds in as many seconds, to me, doesn't make any sense! All I see is money flying out the ejection port! This is not target shooting. It's just pulling the trigger to make the thing go BANG! Fine with me, but some of these shooters have been playing too many video games, watched too much TV, or spend way too much money at the movies, in my opinion.
I wanted to respond to this one since it was brought up in another reply.....yes there are those that like "twerking" the trigger.......so what, if they're safe, it's their money down the drain. Then there are those to were this practice of rapid fire was crucial training that ended up in engagements...or something we learned from those engagements. We were taught rapid semi-auto fire in the Army of the 90s......aim fire, aim fire, aim fire......full or burst auto was for CQB, can't do that with an AR.....so back to aim fire aim fire.
God show's mercy on drunks and dumb animals.........two outa three ain't a bad score!
However, the bang-bangers who come up from the Atlanta area, while I have to sit there and listen to their crap is a little much to deal with sometimes.
Well, so what? If everything was finite life would be very boring!
You work at a gun range for crying out loud! You could always make a list of "approved" firearms that can be shot there and the rate at which they can be shot. That might suit your fancy tastes a bit better.
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Hmmmmm........."real" hunting rifle.......seems to me the AR-15 was designed for the ultimate game in hunting......a man. Doesn't take much to bring it down, but he can be a Wile E Coyote sometimes........
God show's mercy on drunks and dumb animals.........two outa three ain't a bad score!
Oh, I have eleven firearms of the AR persuasion. I like them for their adaptability, accuracy, compatibility, adjustability, rate of fire, modular components, low cost to build, easy of building, lightweight, heavy weight, barrel options, interchangeable parts, chambering options, and because they piss off douche bags who don't like them.
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
I know many shooters who fire an AR with a lengthy pause between shots. They are looking for ACCURACY. That type of shooter I appreciate.
However, the bang-bangers who come up from the Atlanta area, while I have to sit there and listen to their crap is a little much to deal with sometimes.
I love to empty my Thompson 1927A1 as fast as I can, sheer enjoyment. Does this make me a lowly bang banger?
Just look at the flowers Lizzie, just look at the flowers.
Just with the 3 different calibers I have, there aren't any animals I can think of in North America I can't hunt (within 150 yards for the big stuff, 4-500 yards for deer & Antelope and 500+ for vermin)
So what's not to like?
Maybe I should ask you, "What's you major malfunction with not liking the AR?"
He said "honest" so maybe we are not so honest ?
I mean its not like the AR is so much more modern than an M-1 Garrand, right ?
But really now Paul, don't you think you are going a bit overboard calling the AR platform versatile ?
I mean, why do we need so many calibers ? it is just throwing money away.....
Dripping with sarcasm humor......sans emoticon
"There is some evil in all of us, Doctor, even you, the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say, you do not improve with age. Founding member of the G&A forum since 1996
Young men are indoctrinated into their social norms because of military regulations and equipment issued to them when they are impressionable at 18 - 22 years old.
Why do we shave? Military dress codes
Why do we wear wrist watches? Military standards
Why do we shoot the 1911? Greatest G-D handgun ever issued to the military
Why do we shoot the AR-15? Since the '60's we have been shooting the M-16 from rice paddies to Afghanistan caves and mountains and everywhere in between.
D
"A patriot is mocked, scorned and hated; yet when his cause succeeds, all men will join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
We used to ride in covered wagons, so if that worked why do we all ride in motorized cars now?
We used to hunt with guns that were loaded from the muzzle, so why do we use "Real hunting guns"?
I started hunting with a Real Deer Rifle (Marlin 30-30), but I also hunt deer with a Marlin 444 Lever, Remington 700 30-06, Remington 700 22-250, But I have killed a Deer with my Rock River .223 AR.
I hunt Coyotes year round with a AR 95% of the time. I like the "Feel" of an AR rifle, the pistol grip makes it nice to get a nice solid hold on the gun, the fricken thing is very accurate. Yes I have "Dumped" a couple 30 round mags full of ammo, but it is my choice and money so who are you to judge me.
Everyone has 2 things in life, a belly button and an opionion I wish people would realize that we each use what we like, and I don't care if you use a slingshot for hunting or shooting, if that is what you
like than who am I to judge you.
BTW, I too am a range officer, and I am just glad that people come out to shoot and enjoy there guns. As long as they do this safely, than I could care less what they are shooting, a slingshot or AR
Good Shooting Everyone, and Shoot Safe.----Riflemann
. Except for September & October (deer season) where we see real hunting rifles,the AR's seem to predominate.
Damnit... I guess this was not real hunting
Why do you care? There are more shooters out there, and more Pro-2A voters.
Stop being a stick in the mud and accept the new shooters. Maybe in a few years, one will come up to you and want to know about blue steel and walnut... and start to learn more than tactical shooting and SD work. If you have been a grumpy old range fart up to that point, IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
To make something simple is a thousand times more difficult than to make something complex.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Its the modern incarnation of a SD weapon. Its what we used in the military,
and we are among the few people in the world allowed to have one.O, did I mention
it pis$es of the Left.
I've had an AR for ever period of my life, except the last couple of years.
I'm totally surprised at the hostility of several of the replies here. It was an honest, if not particularly bright question. And once which was answered in various ways. No one can ever answer a question if the answer is met with a total lack of understanding, or acceptance even if you don't agree with the answer.
I don't like to spray and pray, do not like full auto, but for those who do, God bless. I don't like shooting a lot of rounds but my shooting bud does. I've never considered asking him WHY, I just accept his choice. It's his money. I don't question a person's insistence that a hunting rifle shoot less than a MOA. It's a choice and if someone wants to pursue that goal and is willing to spend the time and money, why not? No harm in an accurate rifle.
Luckily, we're surrounded by choices which we do not need to justify. Or even explain. Say, someone likes the color green. His shirts are green, his walls are green, his car is green, and so forth. It may be a taste without a particular purpose. If this person becomes obsessed with the color green, while it's mildly interesting it's not something one should condemn or even attempt to understand, unless he insists that YOU like the color green with his ardor. Accept it without requiring a long and complex and flawed explanation. It's there, it hurts no one, and there are many other philosophical questions worth studying.
No one will try to convert you to being an AR lover or being a color green fancier. If they do, you have a right to complain.
Concealed carry is for protection, open carry is for attention.
Will anyone be completely honest and tell me why the AR-15 rifle is so popular?
I have worked at an outdoor shooting range for over six years as a range officer. From my observations I would say that about 25% of the firearms brought to our range are mostly AR-15's and a few AR-10's. Except for September & October (deer season) where we see real hunting rifles,the AR's seem to predominate.
I have watched several TV shows whereas you have some gal saying the AR is fun to shoot, yakity yak! Sure they are, but what is the REAL ATTRACTION?
To sit at a range table and fire off 30 rounds in as many seconds, to me, doesn't make any sense! All I see is money flying out the ejection port! This is not target shooting. It's just pulling the trigger to make the thing go BANG! Fine with me, but some of these shooters have been playing too many video games, watched too much TV, or spend way too much money at the movies, in my opinion.
Why I've seen on a regular basis shooters arrive at the range completely dressed-out in paramilitary gear. What is with this?
Other than being fun to shoot (?) why so many AR's in the U.S.?
Thanks. Remarks like "Because I can," is old hat. Skip it.:blah:
To me, one properly set up is the most accurate Semi Auto Rifle ever made, especially being mass produced. You can hunt about anything with one. Even shooting the minute .223 Rem.-5.56 Nato round if what you shoot doesn't fall immediately, so what? Just hit it again. The AR is fast shooting. And it's handy. It handles like a dream. It's not as light as it looks but it handles wonderfully due to its design. It's a hell of a rifle for being a Mil Surp design.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Replies
I find it quite fun to play with at the range where I generally use the 10 round magazine. I don't own any "tactical" or even camo clothing so I just have to dress nornal:tooth:. It is accurate to a level I would not feel at all handicapped if I chose to hunt with it. But mostly I think I added it to the safe simply because if it all goes south, it will be the easiest to feed.
Sako
Much ado about nothing - Shakeyspear
However it HAS been a big deal judging by the buying public and it's increasing presence on ranges. More companies are offering them, more people are buying them......general consensus is......"if it's good enough for military service, it's good enough for me and my family". We live in a SWAT/Urban culture mentality now. We want what the "cool guys" have. Me, I trust the one I've been sleeping with for the past 20 yrs.....
No, I absolutely don't understand. I grew up in an era where target shooting at a range was TARGET SHOOTING. Not blasting away, no sight picture in mind, and wasting ammunition.
Most of our shooters come up from near Atlanta. We had 15,000 sign in last year. I have the opportunity to observe so many people accidentally pointing firearms at each other, ad infinitum, that it makes me sick. Other than that you see so many so-called shooters out on the range trying to teach their wife, girlfriend, or grandma how to shoot a pistol. They should do this with a unloaded gun long before they reach a public shooting range. This is no place for practicing with a firearm.
My ARs are Real Hunting Rifles for both deer an coyote...good ergonomics, light, easy to tote around, sub-MOA accuracy... kinda the things I look for in a hunting rifle.
AND - just because I can "fire off 30 rounds in as many seconds" doesn't mean I do...as a matter of fact I've been working on the same 20 round magazine for a couple of years now in the coyote rifle and I think I might ought to top off the 10 rounder in my deer rifle...as it's down by 5 over the last three years.
You are spouting the same tired "Why an AR" crap we've been hearing for years and you have been on this board long enough to know the answers to all your questions...Whether you like the platform is neither here nor there the AR has proved it's worth and value many times over on the range and in the field.
I like Tabasco peppers!:topic:
http://forums.gunsandammo.com/showthread.php?3930-So-Why-Don-t-More-Shooter-Types-Join-The-Military
Well, so what? If everything was finite life would be very boring!
However, the bang-bangers who come up from the Atlanta area, while I have to sit there and listen to their crap is a little much to deal with sometimes.
I wanted to respond to this one since it was brought up in another reply.....yes there are those that like "twerking" the trigger.......so what, if they're safe, it's their money down the drain. Then there are those to were this practice of rapid fire was crucial training that ended up in engagements...or something we learned from those engagements. We were taught rapid semi-auto fire in the Army of the 90s......aim fire, aim fire, aim fire......full or burst auto was for CQB, can't do that with an AR.....so back to aim fire aim fire.
BTW I don't own an AR, but have been known to see how fast I can empty a 30 rounder out of my Mini 14 a time or two. It is a fun way to waste $$
-96 lbs
You could always get a different job.
You work at a gun range for crying out loud! You could always make a list of "approved" firearms that can be shot there and the rate at which they can be shot. That might suit your fancy tastes a bit better.
It's in your delivery. You speak in disdain regarding the subjects of your original post. People take a distaste to being spoken to in that regard.
If you piss on someone, don't be surprised when they kick you in the nuts for it.
I love to empty my Thompson 1927A1 as fast as I can, sheer enjoyment. Does this make me a lowly bang banger?
He said "honest" so maybe we are not so honest ?
I mean its not like the AR is so much more modern than an M-1 Garrand, right ?
But really now Paul, don't you think you are going a bit overboard calling the AR platform versatile ?
I mean, why do we need so many calibers ? it is just throwing money away.....
Dripping with sarcasm humor......sans emoticon
Young men are indoctrinated into their social norms because of military regulations and equipment issued to them when they are impressionable at 18 - 22 years old.
Why do we shave? Military dress codes
Why do we wear wrist watches? Military standards
Why do we shoot the 1911? Greatest G-D handgun ever issued to the military
Why do we shoot the AR-15? Since the '60's we have been shooting the M-16 from rice paddies to Afghanistan caves and mountains and everywhere in between.
D
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.... now who's bringing the hot wings? :jester:
We used to ride in covered wagons, so if that worked why do we all ride in motorized cars now?
We used to hunt with guns that were loaded from the muzzle, so why do we use "Real hunting guns"?
I started hunting with a Real Deer Rifle (Marlin 30-30), but I also hunt deer with a Marlin 444 Lever, Remington 700 30-06, Remington 700 22-250, But I have killed a Deer with my Rock River .223 AR.
I hunt Coyotes year round with a AR 95% of the time. I like the "Feel" of an AR rifle, the pistol grip makes it nice to get a nice solid hold on the gun, the fricken thing is very accurate. Yes I have "Dumped" a couple 30 round mags full of ammo, but it is my choice and money so who are you to judge me.
Everyone has 2 things in life, a belly button and an opionion I wish people would realize that we each use what we like, and I don't care if you use a slingshot for hunting or shooting, if that is what you
like than who am I to judge you.
BTW, I too am a range officer, and I am just glad that people come out to shoot and enjoy there guns. As long as they do this safely, than I could care less what they are shooting, a slingshot or AR
Good Shooting Everyone, and Shoot Safe.----Riflemann
-96 lbs
Exactly!!! No "range officers" at my cub club. This is a good thing.
John Vernon in "The Outlaw Josie Wales".....ooops wrong thread!
because for one it is at the top of what they don't want you or I to have list
Damnit... I guess this was not real hunting
Why do you care? There are more shooters out there, and more Pro-2A voters.
Stop being a stick in the mud and accept the new shooters. Maybe in a few years, one will come up to you and want to know about blue steel and walnut... and start to learn more than tactical shooting and SD work. If you have been a grumpy old range fart up to that point, IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
and we are among the few people in the world allowed to have one.O, did I mention
it pis$es of the Left.
I'm totally surprised at the hostility of several of the replies here. It was an honest, if not particularly bright question. And once which was answered in various ways. No one can ever answer a question if the answer is met with a total lack of understanding, or acceptance even if you don't agree with the answer.
I don't like to spray and pray, do not like full auto, but for those who do, God bless. I don't like shooting a lot of rounds but my shooting bud does. I've never considered asking him WHY, I just accept his choice. It's his money. I don't question a person's insistence that a hunting rifle shoot less than a MOA. It's a choice and if someone wants to pursue that goal and is willing to spend the time and money, why not? No harm in an accurate rifle.
Luckily, we're surrounded by choices which we do not need to justify. Or even explain. Say, someone likes the color green. His shirts are green, his walls are green, his car is green, and so forth. It may be a taste without a particular purpose. If this person becomes obsessed with the color green, while it's mildly interesting it's not something one should condemn or even attempt to understand, unless he insists that YOU like the color green with his ardor. Accept it without requiring a long and complex and flawed explanation. It's there, it hurts no one, and there are many other philosophical questions worth studying.
No one will try to convert you to being an AR lover or being a color green fancier. If they do, you have a right to complain.
To me, one properly set up is the most accurate Semi Auto Rifle ever made, especially being mass produced. You can hunt about anything with one. Even shooting the minute .223 Rem.-5.56 Nato round if what you shoot doesn't fall immediately, so what? Just hit it again. The AR is fast shooting. And it's handy. It handles like a dream. It's not as light as it looks but it handles wonderfully due to its design. It's a hell of a rifle for being a Mil Surp design.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.