AR popularity

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Pacsd

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Over the past two years or so I've noticed an increase on AR type rifles. I guess I'm wondering what is the impetuous for the rage, if you may, in ownership of them. Mind you, I have no qualms with them or questioning the practicallity, just wondering. Or????, is this question going to get my interest so high that I'll run out and get one?
 
I dunno how to explain the fads in different types of guns that the gun-buying public goes through.

For the AR, a lot of reasons go into it, I would guess... it looks cool, it's what the military uses, ammo is cheap and available, it has low recoil, it has high capacity, they are accurate, they are modular and can be built to suit a variety of uses, you can slap a bolt conversion in it and shoot .22 LR, they are fun to build, fun to shoot, and they are good for beginner shooters. And probably a little bit of the good ol' aforementioned herd mentality. But there are plenty of reasons to like them, I'll give them that. Not my personal favorite design, but I still like to have a few around.
 
What's not to love? Like others said, accurate, modular, easy to shoot. Also, I think what C-Grunt said could be true as well; a lot of veterans like the platform that they carried in the service. I know that was my introduction to the AR, and I've been a fan ever since.
 
Well there are many reasons like the ones list above. Also the market and technology have finally caught up to what people have always wanted. Personally I think the herd mentality is a term that people use for thing they are not into. The AR 15 is modular, that alone alows it to be adapted to so many uses. Also there are no other semi auto rifles of such a simplistic design and reliability, that can be chambered in almost every popular cartridge out there. It's design makes it inherently accurate, and you can go hunting in the morning and fend off a whole slew of rioters in the same afternoon(in theory), all with one gun. I believe the recent boom has just been in the fact that so many aftermarket barrels and triggers are now available. Obama has nothing to do with the market from a product design stand point, all he did was boost sales of already existant products.
 
1. Already familiar to anyone who has used one in the military
2. Very modular - with a single lower and multiple uppers, I can have a rifle that shoots everything from .22LR to cartridges that compare to .45-70.
3. Inherently accurate design - if you want a semi-auto that can approach a bolt-rifle for accuracy and cost less than $1,000, you are looking at an AR.
4. Very easy to work on - last time I hung 3 shelves, it ended up being a 4 hours job. Despite my lack of mechanical proficiency, I can build or modify an AR pretty quick.
5. Accessories - you have thousands of options on things like triggers, sights, optics, lights, etc.

The AR is pretty much the Mauser action of the late 20th century.
 
I don't know the numbers but I'd say that it might well be Americas gun in terms of guns out there in peoples hands.
It certainly ranks in popularity with the Marlin/Winchester levers, M70 Win, oe M700 Rem. IMO.
 
When I bought mine, price and lightness were the two major features that attracted me to it. Also, the fact that I roll my own ammo lets me shoot anything around my area by using Barnes 62g TSX Bullets - not to mention regular factory ball ammo in another magazine so it can be used as one of my HD weapons.
 
I think the tipper was when the reciever went to a flat top design.

A lot of shooters shy away from iron sights and the fixed carry handle AR has traditionally be a very poor platform for optics. That is why IMO it wasn't more popular for a few decades ago. Probably also why some didn't recognize the accuracy potential of the design... they could shoot well enough with irons to realize it.

The gun has always had a lot of desireable traits, but I think the ability to easy add optics that fit correctly (ergonomically speaking) was the big break through. The advent of railed forearms I think also was a big part.
 
The first time I held one, I wanted to fire one.
The first time I fired one, I wanted to own one.
The first time I bought one, I wanted another one.
The second time I...

You see where this is going.
 
The first time I held one, I wanted to fire one.
The first time I fired one, I wanted to own one.
The first time I bought one, I wanted another one.
The second time I...

You see where this is going.
Click to expand...

I fell victim to the same thing.

I set out to build exactly the rifle I wanted. It wasn't a money issue and it wasn't a self defense weapon, so I wanted yo build one from a pile of tiny parts all by myself just for the satisfaction of it. I had no idea how an AR worked or functioned, so I wanted to learn and build it...actually build it and learn. :)

A year has passed. "What I want" changes. It still isn't complete. I have a pile of parts that I'm constantly trading, selling and buying. Somewhere along the way in this ordeal...I ended up with a complete 2nd rifle. A DPMS 308 ap-4. The intent was to sell it and build an 18" upper with glass to go along with my lightweight 16" upper with irons and an eotech.

Now I just have a bunch of parts, a lightweight upper that isn't quite setup to my liking, I can't bear to sell off the 308 AR because it is ridiculously fun to shoot and I have no idea what direction to take.
 
it would be interesting to see the last major tactical match that WASN'T won with an AR, which speaks volumes about its relative speed / accuracy compared to other carbines

the NRA HP service rifle scores went up quite a bit as people moved from m14s to AR15s, which again speaks volumes about its competitive accuracy

And the winning team at the ft benning international sniper competition in November used ARs (larue obr in 7.62) which says a lot about the accuracy of the platform compared to bolt guns

but aside from the functional merits, consider this:

The median age of the entire world population is about 24 yrs old.
The US military has been the world's only superpower for about 30 years.
The AR15 has been the icon of the US military for about 50 years.

At this point, its distinctive silhouette is probably as much a symbol of democracy as the US flag (which got its 50th star in '59, only a couple years before the AR was adopted)
 
In my opinion, (it's just my opinion, no data to support it) there are several reasons and concepts that contribute to the popularity.

1) the 'legos for big boys' concept: you can add anything on to the outside. I'll bet someone, somewhere has a sno-cone machine attachted to a pic-rail. ;)

2) While any gun can be modifed to suit your desires, the AR-platform allows this to be done easily. High quality is available, low cost is available, (sometimes these concepts are exclusive, sometimes not)

3) lots of folks that served in the military were introduced to shooting with an ar platform

4) becasue of #2, the gun can be easily modified to fit you ergonomically, thus making it 'feel' better to YOU. I actually think that part of the reason it was designed the way it was, and selected accordingly was just how ergonomic the platform really is. So you have something that is already ergonomic to shoot, and then make it easily modifiable to fit ANYONE. With that alone, you have a head start on any other platform.

5) Sure, the social stuff associated with fears of another ban of some kind (I certainly bought into this concern, quite literally. :banghead:).

6) I'm mechanically inclined, and I intend that my next gun will be an AR/.308. I want to learn more about the internal workings, by 'building' my own. To me, there is an appeal to just that.

7) I like the idea of having multiple uppers for different uses.

8) It's light, and the primairy round (5.56 or .223 Rem) don't recoil very much, so it doesn't beat up the shooter to practice.

Anyway, those are some of the reasons that I see for why the AR is so popular. To me, it's a lot like a chevy 350: the most commonly made, and copied V8 ever, and it's used for all kinds of uses. You can build them cheap, or spend a fortune, you can make other stuff do the same job, but not as easily, nor as inexpensivly. Is it inherintly superior? No. The same concept could be overlayed on the computer world. (Dos-based vs. Apple/Mac) Part of it is mechanically driven, but an equally important part of the reasoning is the combination of 'aftermarket' support structure. It sees like every Tom, Dick and Harry with a CNC mill makes AR parts - not that that's a bad thing either, it's good for the consumer to have options. :D

The more I learn, the more I like the platform.

PE
 
The ability to make your own without many special tools certainly has become more of the draw for me in recent years. I can't think of another gun that you can assemble yourself aside from some of the black powder kits and that is a poor comparison.
 
Well... they're fun to shoot and even a relatively new shooter can do pretty well with one.

My daughter grew up around shooting and didn't like the AR when she was little - said they looked sinister. Then I let her shoot one and she became an instant fan.
 
I was a hold out for blackgun fun for a long time. I'd used them in the military but never really had any affinity for them. They were a tool. Now I have to blame a couple of guys that showed me how to really use an AR, Larry Vickers and Kyle Lamb. Then the killshot for me was actually handling a Knights Armament SR-15, it was a done deal. Now I'm planning to compete in my first 3 gun in May.
 
Lot's o' fire power for a reasonable price. Rugged, accurate, customizable, parts availability, the list goes on and on. Like others have asked, what's not to like?

I also like being able to have a highly customized, high quality billet lower and several, nearly identically equipped uppers in different calibers.


-Matt
 
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