I just picked up my first AR platform rifle, a older model S&W M&P15 Sport, the model with the 1/8 5R 5.56 barrel....
I had no centerfire rifle in the collection, my Win '92 in .44-40 fires a handgun cartridge, the gun is a rifle, yes, but fires a handgun round, plus, at the moment in my area both components for reloads and factory loaded .44-40 ammo are nigh-impossible to find
The Sport fills the "centerfire rifle cartridge" requirement quite handily, and as an added side-benefit, it pisses off the nannystaters, protectionists and other Idiots In Power, especially since it has all the Evil Scary Features like a Pistol Grip, Flash Hider, Bayonet Lug, and Collapsible Stock, as well as the utterly terrifying Thirty Round Magazine!
Thing is, I don't even like AR's, I'm a manual action guy (bolts, levers, pumps, break actions, falling blocks and the like), the AR is too noisy, the buttstock uncomfortable on the cheek, I hate the sproingy noise of the buffer, it's just not ..."me"....
....but it pisses off the bliss ninnies and other idiots, so I love it for what it is, plus, it's good to have on hand for the inevitable Zombie Uprising that we all know is coming, right
(ok, I promise, no more zombie talk in this post, was just making a truly lame joke, something I excel at...)
I have no attachment to the Sport, to be honest, I never would have got it, if it wasn't for all the attention the bliss ninnies and idiots in power have paid to it, tell me I can't or shouldn't have something that is perfectly legal to own? Bite me, I'm going to get it anyway now, just 'cause you said I shouldn't