Should I buy an AR-15?

Should I buy an AR-15? Yes.  Next question?

But why? There are many good reasons, including the Mummified Meat Puppet Administration doesn’t want you to have one and they’re willing to lie about it and threaten to bomb, even nuke, you to get them. Also, it has been scientifically proved there is no such thing as too many guns or too much ammunition. Trust the science. President Biden doesn’t:

Graphic: X Screenshot

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX, D) doesn’t either. She claims to have handled an AR:

“I’ve held an AR-15 in my hand,” she said. “I wish I hadn’t. It is as heavy as 10 boxes that you might be moving. And the bullet that is utilized, a .50 caliber, these kinds of bullets need to be licensed and do not need to be on the streets.”

Recently, Senator John Kennedy (LA, R) quizzed one of Biden’s judicial nominees. She signed on to an “assault weapon” ban, which in Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) parlance means an AR-15 or anything that resembles one, but had no idea what an “assault weapon, is:

Graphic: X Screenshot

That’s surely, in part, because there is no such thing.

D/s/cs also want to ban “high-capacity magazines, which they define as any magazine holding more than 10 rounds, though they’d surely like to ban them entirely. The M16, the automatic, military version of the semiautomatic civilian legal AR-15, was originally issued with 20 round magazines, but during the Vietnam era, 30 round magazines quickly became, and remain, the standard.

An in-depth AR primer may be found here. 

Among the more common D/S/C lies about ARs is if the Founders knew about AR-15s, they would have never written the Second Amendment. The Founders would have been delighted to have ARs, and they were content to allow citizens the most effective military arms of their time, including, unlike what Joe Biden keeps saying, cannon. One can hardly trust people who ignore and want to abolish the Second Amendment to tell the truth about such things. It’s interesting that the very people who claim semiautomatic AR-15s would be useless against them, are so desperate to take them away from Americans.

Graphic: Author. L to R: .22LR, 9mm, .223, .308

Another common lie is the AR-15 is a high-powered rifle.  Nonsense. It fires a .223/5.56mm cartridge, which is intermediate in power, designed for Coyote-sized game.

Yet another common lie is the AR-15 is a military “assault weapon.” This particular lie is based on a decades-old D/s/c tactic of trying to trick Americans into thinking anything that remotely resembles a machinegun must be a machinegun. Military M4 versions are automatic, civilian AR-15s are semiautomatic only, no different than any other semiautomatic firearm. It’s safe to assume any AR-15 one sees is a semiauto. Citizens may theoretically own a machinegun, but the process is expensive and lengthy. So few are on the market, and are so expensive, it’s practically impossible.

Best estimates indicate Americans own around 30 million ARs, which makes it the most popular and common “sporting rifle” in circulation. This is hardly a surprise as Americans have bought more than a million firearms a month for more than 50 months, and there is no sign of that number diminishing.

Graphic: Author. Colt AR-15.

The AR platform is so popular because it is brilliantly ergonomically designed. All the controls fall easily to hand, and the rifle weighs relatively—by rifle terms–little. Men, woman, even little girls can easily handle it. For most, it just feels right.  I’ve yet to teach a woman or girl to shoot the AR-15 without witnessing wide grins of surprise and delight.

The recoil is light indeed, and the muzzle flash and report are also easily manageable. Its design is rugged, its finish needs only minimal attention and is far less prone to rust than blued steel. The very qualities that make it an outstanding military arm also make it suitable for hunting. Its design and ergonomics also make the rifle highly accurate, and its lack of recoil makes follow-up shots fast and easy.

One reason the AR platform is so popular is the amazing profusion of accessories easily installed by the user—no gunsmithing is required. Everything from lighter triggers, lasers, flashlights, scopes, red dot and other electronic sights and magnifiers are readily available. Little is required to make an already ergonomic, accurate rifle even better suited to anyone.

Its original military design also makes taking down the rifle for cleaning fast and easy, as is reassembly. There are few parts involved, and for normal cleaning, there are no tiny springs or other parts that rocket off into the gun parts black hole, never to be seen again. Ammunition, in comparison with most rifle ammo, is inexpensive, and ARs may be had for as little as $500.00.

Perhaps the best reason to buy an AR is you’re an American, and you want one.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.