I've avoided the AR thing until just recently, preferring the look of my Mini-14.
My ladyfriend bought one last year, and we've shot it quite a bit. I can certainly see the draw to them. They're easy to shoot well.
I recently picked one up, mostly because the deals are to good to pass on.
Jeff Cooper always proclaimed that, regardless of your feelings for it, all shooters should be familiar with the country's current service weapon.

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Because of the metric system?