Will we see a sharp dropoff in the popularity of the AR platform now?

JShirley said:

While true, SOF have used different weapons since almost the beginning. I also believe these weapons- essentially .270 Magnums- will be almost entirely relegated to Special Operations Forces, except perhaps in Sniper/DMR and crew-served roles.

John

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Yup and if you dig, back in the early days they setup a support system inside each FOB to take care of little issues. When the sweed k was popular back then I remember reading about having on hand springs and the like to service them. You can't be down, you don't want it to stop working when you need it working, so good service is key. If you have read any of those SOG books that are so popular you can catch glimpses of this, they are the only ones that service their weapons. I remember reading about them trading range time with the "not normal" weapons for stuff off a USN base. I can't remember what book that was in, but I do remember the navy guys offering to clean the weapons they got to shoot, I remember a short RPK was popular in the story.....and the guys said, no don't worry about cleaning we can take care of it. This same book (again I think) also put to bed the myth of using diesel to clean the guns, and guys would basically shower with them. Some fantastic stories.

I just went back to look and I want to say the book was whispers in the tall grass....but again it has been over a year that I read it and I could be getting it mixed up with another.

I also wanted to add I was going to take a snap of the page off my audible account, but it is intermixed with stuff from the Boer war to Angola to Congo....I was on an africa kick for a while, boxer in china....just all over the road....if interested I can suggest some.

Roverguy said:

Yes. The AR and .223 Rem are dead. Just like the 40 S&W. Within months, it will be hard to even find an AR rifle.

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The buy-back programs will have to haul them away to the crusher with dump trucks.

Seriously, all of my rifles are 5.56 x 45. I have a mountain of 5.56 brass and thousands of bullets. The military needs a new cartridge, I don't.

Elite Units=>First Line Infantry=>Most Combat Troops=>Army Reserve=>National Guard=>LEO and so the flow goes...

The only thing that would lead to a sharp drop-off in AR sales is a Republican president with a Republican majority in Congress. Then most ALL gun sales will drop off.

Until the Democrats win again.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

As a skull-adorned totem stick in the Shaman's hut if nothing else- along with other relics of the Before Time, like Sellfone, the glass box that talked and Meester Cough-hee who gave the people the Wide-Awake juice.

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You've been watching too much Road Warrior and Water World. Or maybe just the right amount.

Will we see a sharp dropoff in the popularity of the AR platform now?

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No.

Not like fudds are going to buy this either.

A reminder that the 7.62 NATO round has been in use since it's issue as a military cartridge in weapons like the M60 machine gun besides various Sniper versions. I think the 5.56 and .223 as well as the AR platform will be around a long time. I doubt that the .277 will totally replace the 5.56 in the military for the same reason the M-16 replaced the M-14. Rate of full auto fire. I don't think one size fits all solution works.

Well, flawed premise--the "Spear" is basically an AR-10 in near every respect.

jmr40 said:

The rifle, and cartridge were a failed experiment as a general issue rifle.

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The M-14 was doomed by it's 13 year gestation period. The 7.62nato cartridge has lived on as a GPMG round (and it may be an "ideal" for that application).

JShirley said:

The AR15 will still be around in 200 years, if humans are.

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There are still 6mm Navy Lee rifles around, more than a century later.

The "M-250" (if the XM-250 is adopted) will mostly likely be an M-240B replacement for SOC teams, if only for being a foot shorter and 10# lighter. SOC will be less "fussed" by toting ammo 98% the weight of 7.62nato.

Depends - the buying public still tends to buy 1911s over Beretta 92s or SIG P320s. With all the investment in tooling people will still be able to make AR parts (and hence rifles) for a long time.

Besides, to me the SIG MCX is still just an AR variant. Same with the H&K 416 and such. People act like every minor change is a new rifle but IMHO just switching it to piston doesn't make it a whole new rifle - just a variant.

Its a great modular platform and won't stop being popular.

I’m not certain the new rifle will actually replace the M4 as a general issue rifle. Maybe, and then again maybe not. Time will tell.

In either case, I think the AR will be popular for quite some time yet.

The AR is popular because it works, works well, is affordable, is closely associated with affordable .223 ammo, is very versatile, and the .223 round is actually great for most real world shooting purposes.

The .338 lapua is an issued round just like .50bmg and I don’t see it replacing .308 for the average civilian.

1911 : Glock
AR : New SIG Rifle... If it ever reaches Glock’s level of commercial success!

We tend to be entrenched in our own anachronisms and eventually generate a fanboi cottage industry around them.

I feel the upcoming pistol brace ruling will have a bigger affect on AR sales

The AR-15 is a great platform and will not go away. If you get away from the Mall Ninja versions, the AR-15 is easy to make accurate in a variety of cartridges.

My main prairie dog rifle is an AR-15 chambered in 204 Ruger with a 26” barrel. Good medicine on prairie dogs.

The AR isn’t going anywhere.

Popularity of the US military rifle doesn't go away. There are still many fans of the 45-70, 30-40, 30-06, 308, and 5.56. The 308 and 5.56 worked well in thep only wars I participated.

There are the fan boys that will suck up any new caliber. The 6.5 Creedmoor has better performance than the 7.62 NATO (that may say the Swedes picked the right caliber over 100 years ago). I like the 7.62 NATO. Not buying a 6.5 Creedmoor although it's superior. I'm content with the 7.62 NATO and 5.56 NATO.

I`m 74, in my time remaining on the planet, whatever that is, IMO the AR platform and 5.56 and .223 will not go away. Too popular and plentiful. 5.56 and .223 are capable, relatively inexpensive ( for these days ) and just plain fun to shoot.

I doubt any of us will live long enough to see the AR go away. At any rate it will be a slow transition. And there will always be diehards. I remember when the military changed from the M1911A1 to the Beretta 92. I kept my 1911. Never have warmed up to the 92FS. I like the Sig sidearms though.

Phaedrus/69 said:

Okay, this is kind of the flip side to the discussion of the adoption of the "Sig Spear" by the US Army. For the time being it seems this is a done-deal, perhaps not a total replacement but widespread adoption and broad issuing to troops. So for the sake of argument I'll assume no 11th hour change of heart or reprieve for the M4-family of carbines and rifles. If this comes to pass will be see a broad dropoff in the civilian sales and popularity of the AR platform?

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Anyone can make an AR, but only SIG can make an MCX. Check the prices for a SIG MCX. Second, an MCX is not an MCX SPEAR. Civilian versions of the military weapon will not be popular due to the price of the 6.8 ammo. And the ammo is also patented by SIG. So I don't see it making even a slight dent in the AR-15's popularity in the short term... or the long term.

Thankfully, we've seen a massive drop off of the larpers. Hardly anyone cares about the firearms the .mil uses anymore.

Give or take optics, thermal, and IR lasers.

IMHO the greatest threat to the continued production and sale of AR platforms comes not from the Army adopting the Sig weapon but from Washington. We`ve had an " assault weapon " ban before. Even then, though, if that were to occur, the 5.56 and .223 loads would still be produced because of demand from the owners of guns already out.