Mosin77
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2019
- Messages
- 1,589
Congrats on your new AR, OP. Sounds like you got a good deal on a solid gun.
My take on some of the philosophizing in this thread about why, or if, an AR is a necessary gun to own, follows.
I’m a younger guy but I truly prefer blued steel and walnut guns. They’re more satisfying to look at, often more fun to shoot than my friends’ semi auto guns, and they aren’t making as many these days so I always figured I’d get them while I could, and only after I had a full collection would I spend money on an ugly utilitarian black gun or the like. I always thought to myself that if a Mauser ‘98 was good enough for the brutal warfare of WWI, then it or something similar should be more than good enough for me as a civilian. It didn’t help that as a cash-strapped teenager with a taste for history, ARs were $1000+ propositions and badass Russian bolt guns with vicious bayonets were $69.99... I didn’t really desire an AR, but economics did force me to rationalize how the bolt action milsurps were “almost as good” and “a much better value.”
However.... rationally speaking, it just ain’t so. The semi-automatic principle was a major leap forward in firearms development, and really revolutionized squad-level tactics as well as what soldiers were capable of in terms of force projection. In other words... soldiers, even very good, well-trained soldiers, armed with bolt guns, going up against bad guys, even peasant conscripts, armed with semi-automatics, would not fare very well. In light of this I decided that even though my principal interest may lie with guns of a different type, if the “SHTF,” I needed to have a modern semi-auto rifle to grab, with which I am proficient. For the same reason the military made that decision in 1930-1970. And of course, going back to the ethos of the 2nd Amendment and being an American... if a modern-day militia muster took place, either to defend against local bandits, to defend the state against invasion, to invade a threatening neighbor, to overthrow King George, whatever... it would be absurd to show up with a Brown Bess and powder horn. What should one show up with in such a hypothetical situation? Clearly, the best answer would be a semi-auto with which you are proficient, preferably with ammunition and controls commonality with the guns of your neighbors. Which is a nice way of saying that the AR-15 is the obvious choice, and only a handful of other guns even come close. The AR, in .223/5.56, also has the advantage of being chambered in a light-recoiling and very versatile cartridge, which can be used for anything from pest control to shooting with the family to self-defense to even deer hunting with the right loads. Hard to argue with the versatility, especially for the price, even now.
My take on some of the philosophizing in this thread about why, or if, an AR is a necessary gun to own, follows.
I’m a younger guy but I truly prefer blued steel and walnut guns. They’re more satisfying to look at, often more fun to shoot than my friends’ semi auto guns, and they aren’t making as many these days so I always figured I’d get them while I could, and only after I had a full collection would I spend money on an ugly utilitarian black gun or the like. I always thought to myself that if a Mauser ‘98 was good enough for the brutal warfare of WWI, then it or something similar should be more than good enough for me as a civilian. It didn’t help that as a cash-strapped teenager with a taste for history, ARs were $1000+ propositions and badass Russian bolt guns with vicious bayonets were $69.99... I didn’t really desire an AR, but economics did force me to rationalize how the bolt action milsurps were “almost as good” and “a much better value.”
However.... rationally speaking, it just ain’t so. The semi-automatic principle was a major leap forward in firearms development, and really revolutionized squad-level tactics as well as what soldiers were capable of in terms of force projection. In other words... soldiers, even very good, well-trained soldiers, armed with bolt guns, going up against bad guys, even peasant conscripts, armed with semi-automatics, would not fare very well. In light of this I decided that even though my principal interest may lie with guns of a different type, if the “SHTF,” I needed to have a modern semi-auto rifle to grab, with which I am proficient. For the same reason the military made that decision in 1930-1970. And of course, going back to the ethos of the 2nd Amendment and being an American... if a modern-day militia muster took place, either to defend against local bandits, to defend the state against invasion, to invade a threatening neighbor, to overthrow King George, whatever... it would be absurd to show up with a Brown Bess and powder horn. What should one show up with in such a hypothetical situation? Clearly, the best answer would be a semi-auto with which you are proficient, preferably with ammunition and controls commonality with the guns of your neighbors. Which is a nice way of saying that the AR-15 is the obvious choice, and only a handful of other guns even come close. The AR, in .223/5.56, also has the advantage of being chambered in a light-recoiling and very versatile cartridge, which can be used for anything from pest control to shooting with the family to self-defense to even deer hunting with the right loads. Hard to argue with the versatility, especially for the price, even now.
