Sign Of The Times

[fishinwrench]

The AR excels in an environment where it is dirty/dusty/wet. Tolerances and design are such that they can function dependably in harsh conditions, and be field stripped and repaired easily in your lap with a minimum of tools.

That is where the AR platform shines.

[Justin Spencer]

Sarcasm folks. Illustrating the ridiculousness of assault weapons for sportsman purposes.

forgiven then! wouldn't put it past a lot of people around here

[joeD]

As I said- A sign of the times. Most of you missed the point and went completely in a direction that had nothing to do with my original post.

Now you know why people hate each other.

[fishinwrench]

Direction vs. Perception, once again.

[Bird Watcher]

As I said- A sign of the times. Most of you missed the point and went completely in a direction that had nothing to do with my original post.

Now you know why people hate each other.

Well, get it back on track. What times are we living in, Joe? Hate is a strong word. I dislike many people and I like many people, but off the top of my head I can't think of one person I hate. I think most of the hateful people I know truly hate themselves more than they hate others, it just comes across as outward hate when really it's inward.

De-railed? What were you saying about guns and Cabelas?

[jdmidwest]

Jd, I don't profess to be all that knowledgeable about the AR, but let me ask you this...Is there any hunting, or even home defense, scenario where the AR platform would be the BEST choice? What I'm getting at is, yes, I know it can be customized a lot of different ways to accomplish a lot of different purposes, but if I was shopping for a rifle for any given hunting situation, would I seriously consider the AR or would I be better off buying a rifle that is made for that purpose? As for home defense, I know danged well that I personally would never choose any kind of rifle for home defense due to the penetration problem. I'm firmly convinced that a shotgun is by far the best home defense weapon, with a handgun a distant second.

I know that any semi-auto "assault rifle" is no more likely to be more efficient at killing people than a given semi-auto hunting rifle of similar caliber, except if it has a larger magazine capacity. But I'm afraid that a whole lot of people are buying them for reasons that have little to do with how useful a tool they are for the usual purposes that civilians buy guns, and far more either because they "look mean" or to thumb their nose at the anti-gun people.

As far as economics, the 223 round is available almost anywhere in multiple loads in bulk because it is a current military round made in mass quantities. It has good ballistics and shoots pretty flat from 25 to 200 yard range. The 308 offerings follow the same reasoning. This drives popular firearm sales.

The AR platform has an adjustable stock that adapts to various size shooters. The pistol grip allows a positive grip and consistant mounting each time you shoulder the rifle. The one I built in the picture has a free floated bull barrel for accuracy much like higher performance bolt action rifles. They have an extremely durable finish and design that is easily maintained with a minimum amout of tools and experience needed, unlike many other semi auto rifles.

The main draw to the popularity of the design is based on history, its the current military rifle design for the last 40 years. Soldiers have proven its design and function. Hawkin rifles proved themselves in the Indian wars. The Mausers and Springfield bolt actions were proven in WW1 and became popular in that generation. In WW2, it was the M1 Garand that led to the popularity of the Remington 740 series semi auto rifles. Who knows, maybe 30 years from now we will be hunting with an electronic pulse weapon or laser. Times change and so do firearms.

The great thing is they are modular. You can literally pull 2 pins and change out the upper part into different calibers from pistol to rifle. You can go from rimfire to hi power hunting rifle by switching the upper. It is the Thompson Center Contender on steriods. The lower reciever is the only Federal registered component on the rifle that has to be papered with the ATF. You could have a whole drawer of uppers for different purposes and only have the one registered lower. This has allowed you to only go to a gun shop once to fill out the papers for the lower reciever and then go shopping for the rest anywhere else in the US and have it shipped to you. They are usually fitted with rails that allow you to mount various sights to them from scopes to open sights.

As far as self defense, it would be in third place most of the time. The handgun will be first, shotgun second because it scatters, and the rifle third. But the rifle is the choice for the military to kill the bad guy dead the most, so I could really see why it is first in many situations. But like you, I consider over penetration in home defense because of family. If I lived alone, it would be an AR loaded with a 30 round mag of TAP defense ammo. I choose a handgun first for multiple rounds and close encounters for pinpoint accuracy at close range.

As far as hunting goes, I use 5 or 10 round mags that are flush fitting and don't interfere with resting the rifle on anything. The 223 round is great for coyotes, crows, groundhogs, and other varmits. It will work for deer and is good for a younger person because of its low recoil and ease of shooting. Other larger calibers work great for bigger game.

[jdmidwest]

As I said- A sign of the times. Most of you missed the point and went completely in a direction that had nothing to do with my original post.

Now you know why people hate each other.

I quess I lost your point of the original post. Or did you make a point?

Was it a sign of the times that AR prices were dropping back to pre Sandy Hook days?

Was it just a good sale bill?

[ColdWaterFshr]

I confess. I got the goods hidden all around the house, and in different assortments, for different applications as they may arise . . . full penetration, unsolicited denigrations, involuntary relocations, alcoholary and miscellaneous spousalry altercations . . . any number of things can go down. Best to be prepared. Drawers full of uppers, lowers. The squirrels want to invade via the attic, I'm ready. Zombies through the walk-out in basement? liberals through the crawl space? wife says NO to fishin? well, they are gonna wisht they hadnt. RUE THE DAY.

Good on Cabelas. Keep the sales circulars a-comin! We got a ree-cession on, and a nee-gro muslin in the WHITE house.

[ness]

LOL. I ain't saying about what, just LOL.

[fishinwrench]

I think this is why Phil doesn't tell us he's going to Alaska until he gets settled there.