Add Spike's Tactical to the list!

[GreyGeek]

I couldn't see the allure of an AR.  It just looks ugly, and isn't the best defensive rifle one could use if the need arose.  Forget getting into close combat.   Distance is your friend.  Using any good rife, similar to a 30-06 or a  .308 Win at 750 yrds, with a good scope, a person  using anything  else,  including an  AR-15, is toast.

[gsd]

For me, it wasn't an allure standpoint. The M16/AR-15 platform was one that I utilized with great effectiveness in the military, and the level of familiarity that comes from basically having lived with a rifle, even for the short amount of time that i did, meant that it was a primary and instinctive choice in a semi-automatic capacity.

Sure, DM's could enjoy the simplicity of a bolt gun, but even as I was leaving the military, they were being introduced to the AR-10 platform in .308, allowing for such an ease of transition that it was becoming a rare event to see a bolt gun in the hands of an operator, let alone a standard service member.

One more thing, in today's modern battlefields, an AR is the most appropriate tool a soldier can have. small, compact, lightweight and maneuverable, with a range of options and configurations, plus acceptance among the 5 branches of our Armed Forces, means that any AD personnel can put hands on a weapon and understand how to use it. We are not on the battlefields of 50 years ago.


(not trying to start anything, just offering a counterpoint to the above statement)

[GreyGeek]

 Like you and the AR-15, I grew up with and got accustomed to the traditional rifle form represented by my two customized M1's.  I prefer a semi-auto over a bolt action, but I like the look and feel  of a traditional semi-auto rifle, even with a thumb hole, and always with a scope over a set of back iron sights.  A 30--06 delivers twice the  energy at 500 yrds that a .223 does, and a .308 delivers significantly more than  both.

 A .223 shell is smaller than a 30-06 or a .308, so one can carry more of them, but one needs fewer of the bigger,  harder hitting ammo, to do the same job. From the time I was a teenager I acquired the  ability of one-shot kills,  and often went hunting with only 3 rounds  because I knew that all three would hit their target.    But, getting into  a shooting match with a rifle is something I will never participate in because I haven't owned a rifle in decades, since my step brother sold my M1s,  and don't plan on buying another rifle.  In fact, prior to the email from the board of pardons telling me about a commutation hearing for a psychotic murderer I helped convict I had no plans to buy another weapon  or get a CHP.   The last two months  since Dec 5th,  when I got that email, has been a real eye-opener about the  lack of respect for the  Constitution and  the  Bill of Rights.

[SS_N_NE]

Like any other tool, you pick the one best suited to the job. Doesn't mean you can't hammer something with a screwdriver...doesn't work as well, maybe, but can get the job done when needed.  You don't always get to pick your distance to a threat. In close quarters, it is hard to pass up on an AR.

Another aspect of the AR platform is how easy it is to interchange a large variety of parts or mount a large variety of parts. Something most conventional rifles can not do.

Compare a television of 1950 (black/white) to a current large screen thin, light LED television (which runs RAM chips, internet access, network capable/computer ready, etc.). The AR-15 is just progression of a rifle. Maybe not the best of everything but different. In most cases, OK for what it needs to do.

[A-FIXER]

I agree on having many of the bolt and AR type firearms as you not know where you be when you need to use them in a defensive way, I guess if you lived on a farm and had acres of land from the road via a apt complex each will serve specific uses.