My son says I need an AR. My question...why?

[walkinghorse]

Mulepacker, guess you need one to be cool?
Imagine how much cool it will be loading down the mules with an AR, 30 round magazine sticking out, and how cool it will be asking some leather craftsman to make you a scabbard that fits slim and trim to the mule while winding down the trail through some overhanging branches. Silently slipping that AR out of that scabbard while sliding your leg over the haunches, and then ripping off 20-30 rounds to emulate a firefight against some ????????.
I thought mules were pretty smart and hope they don't giggle too much!

 

[beardeddog]

They are priced near rock bottom right now. Black Friday - Christmas was rock bottom.

And you can be tacticool...whatever that means.

 

[model70hunter]

I once used a M-16 on loan. Hated cleaning it.

In the 80's I had a Colt HBAR it was unreal accurate. Son shot up several thousand rounds of my stash. Sold the gun and tried 3 Mini 14's. They were maybe if you held your tongue right minute of coyote guns at 100 plus yards.

I have read but do not know Ruger has improved the bbl on a mini.

Several years ago I bought another Colt HBAR Match Target. Nice but not as good as the old one.

My son used the M-4 US Marine Colts in the sand box. Said he did not want any more of them. Liked his bolt action 270.

He got the hots for a 6.8 and built it on the AR platform. He got pretty excited, buying all the pieces and putting it together.

We got to talking and decided to build a 6.5 Grendel for each of us. They are freaking, can you say freaking here?, awesome. Unreal accuracy.

So now he built a M-4 type for him, his wife and 18 year old son. They are having a blast, so to speak, shooting them. U don't think his wife had ever shot a rifle before.

If you get an M-4 type with a 16" bbl with the light bbl it is a good light truck gun. If you want to plink get one with a heavier bbl.

So I now have 2 and am putting stash money aside to build an upper M-4 type with a light 16" bbl for a truck, take to the farm, visiting son etc gun.

Ammo is cheap enough. I latch on to a few magazines every now and then. 10, 20, 30 and a couple of 40's for something not yet defined.

My Dad did not like the AR's either, until he shot my 1st HBAR. He ended up buying a Ruger Mini 14 but was never happy with the accuracy. He compared it to the 30 Cal carbine of WW II, it is only good close to closer and then any thing in '06 or Thompson was better. I once asked him if he could have any gun for a plinker what would it be, he did not hesitate, he said Thompson. He did quite a bit of close up work with it in the war. Told me a few stories.

Get one, right now they are very reasonably priced. They are truly lots of fun.

And I have lived most of my life believing in Walnut and blue steel. This is like owning an auto and a revolver handgun. Both have their place.

 

[GypsmJim]

I always thought the Garand was the ONLY rifle anybody ever needed. I never wanted an AR. Then, in 1994 Bill Clinton convinced me that I not only wanted one, but I NEEDED one.

Never got a round tuit. Now, here in NY they are illegal.

Don't wait like I did.

 

[M1A]

I prefer the M1A.

 

[steelslaver]

I haven't got an AR and have no plans to get one. Had several of that platform in the USMC. I do have a Mini 14. It will work fine for anything that requires a high capacity semi auto. Is it as accurate as most ARs NO. Are most ARs as accurate as my bull barreled bolt actions NO. Why do I need a highly accurate semi auto? Everything I shoot at with my bolt guns dies. Why don't snipers run semi autos?

Like the man said if I ever really need an AR there will be plenty around. Our government has made sure the world has a great supply of them.

 

[Kinman]

I don't care for the AR platform, it does work and will accomplish all of the tasks anyone wants it to. I just never cared for it and had a hard time qualifying with the M16 while shooting three points off the base record with the M14.
The AR is in many ways the modern day equivalent of the muzzle loading flintlock musket our forebears carried in the late 1700's. It is what is commonly available, is relatively easy to operate and is what the military and police forces use to defend the country and participate in events abroad.

 

[vonn]

They are just plain old fun to blast away with!

 

[Chako]

If I lived in the States, yes, I would have one. Up here in Canada, they usually range in the 1000+ dollars to buy one. That and we are restricted to only 5 cartridges. I just hate owning a rifle that has a 30 or 20 magazine pined to only 5. It just seems such a waste. I did however want something that shot the .223 Remington, and found the ideal solution in a NEF Survivor single shot. No magazines pinned, and I get a nice shooter that uses cheap ammunition.

 

[Muss Muggins]

If I lived in the States, yes, I would have one. Up here in Canada, they usually range in the 1000+ dollars to buy one. That and we are restricted to only 5 cartridges. I just hate owning a rifle that has a 30 or 20 magazine pined to only 5. It just seems such a waste. I did however want something that shot the .223 Remington, and found the ideal solution in a NEF Survivor single shot. No magazines pinned, and I get a nice shooter that uses cheap ammunition.

That NEF is an awesome rifle. They're always on my radar, but just haven't found the right purchase.

 

[Doubless]

A few years ago I wasn't a fan either. A buddy got me a Stag 6HL for a really good price. I took it to the range, and everything you feed it shoots into 1/2" at 100. Well...

Since then I have gotten into building them myself. I now have six uppers and five full rifles with only one duplicate (I have a 5.56 carbine in addition to the 24" Stag match.) A couple are wildcats (actually three...) and if you handload, they are a hoot. I have one that is a necked up 6.5 Grendel (to 35 caliber), and I have it shooting cast bullets into one hole at 100 yards. Sort of a 35 Remington on the AR platform. Another is the 6 X 45, the 5.56 necked up to 6MM. I shot four hogs at one sitting with that rifle two springs ago; just being able to pull the trigger and watch them fall was a hoot: no bolt work, just get on target and turn their lights out.

Yeah, you need one. Or two, or three, or whatever you want. Lots of wildcats out there on the AR if you handload...

 

[JJEH]

Okay...I'm ready. Educate me. Thanks.

There's nothing wrong with having one. Doesn't mean that you give up on your other stuff...

 

[old tanker]

Having some liberal dumbocrat wet himself 'cause you have one of them e-vile black rifles with the shoulder thingy that goes up and heat seeking bullets is reason enough!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rGpykAX1fo[/ame]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRQqieimwLQ[/ame]

 

[Goldstar225]

Mule Packer, I completely understand where you're coming from. I carried an M-16 for 20 years on an almost daily basis. Competed with it as a member of the base rifle/pistol team and was the first officer on my department back in the 90's to be authorized to carry an AR-15 on duty. You know what? I like to handle and shoot my mini-14, Remington 700, and '94 Winchester a lot more. The AR is like my issued Glock, durable and reliable but it gives me no pleasure. With that being said I have a Colt 6920 simply because I'm contrary enough to have it because some others think that I and my fellow citizens shouldn't own one.

 

[Jhamblen86]

Guns are meant to be made of iron and wood. Plastic rifles just ain't for me. Stick with your lever gun and revolver. They've gotten the job done since before the center fire cartridge.

 

[Donn]

Don't want an AR? Don't get one. Most of what you've read here, pro & con, you probably already knew. If your own flesh & blood can't convince you, why ask a bunch of strangers?

 

[TX-Dennis]

I bought mine because my kid wanted it. He's not old enough to buy his own yet, so I picked one up cheap. I am surprised by how much I enjoy shooting it with him. Low recoil + hi cap magazine + relatively inexpensive (for a rifle) ammo = big fun. Steel case ammo is only a couple cents a round more than 9mm. I'm not ignorant enough to think we could fight off an army with it like some folks seem to think, but it's big fun.

I recently picked up a Hi-Point 9mm carbine because it was VERY cheap (under $250). That is a hoot to shoot, too. It has a bit more felt recoil than the AR, but it's a LOT quieter.

 

[LVSteve]

I'm not big on the AR design, but I own one because of availability of parts and accessories. That is their strength, so just ignore the looks.

I also own other guns that would cause some here to recoil in horror. My French rifles cause all kinds of funny faces and unwarranted jokes, but they work and it should be remembered that MANY of the important innovations in firearms design came out of France.

 

[S&W SS Revolvers]

Ughhh, for the revolution! Duhhh!!!

Agreed. There may be a need...

 

[retiredbadge8091]

In 1980, I purchased a stainless Mini 14. They had just been introduced and were readily available and fairly affordable. I usually shot it while out rabbit hunting and was also able to perforate old t bar posts at about 25 yards in the desert where I shot it with little trouble. The rifle satisfied my desire to have a semi auto rifle for recreation, as well as home defense.

I then bought a Colt Sporter later on when the Hollywood bank robbery and shoot out showed the agency I worked for that 9mm's and riotguns weren't going to cut it any more. We were allowed to purchase our own service rifles and I've owned the Colt ever since. The AR is at the front of the gun cabinet whereas the Mini 14 is two or three rows back.

My grandpa purchased a M1 carbine through the NRA back in the day and kept it in his gun cabinet, "just because." I feel I'm carrying on a tradition that began back in Lexington and Concord and feel no need to justify it or apologize for it.