Is the AR 'the' rifle of our times??

[Unistat]

In the Soviet Union, the literacy rate hovered around 99% around WWII (according to another poster on here) so they were at least educated peasants

Well, that certainly is possible. Considering how important it is for Socialist to dominate the indoctrination of the youth, the Soviets did put a very high importance on mandatory education.

On the other hand, it's not like the USSR was ever reluctant to fudge their statistics here and there.

 

[NG VI]

Im gonna say NO... they have yet to win a war like most of your list...

Is this a joke?

 

[JohnBT]

I vote for the Barrett .50 autoloader.

 

[scythefwd]

The AR is probably the most recognizable of the modern rifles... maybe second only to the AK.

Now to the pistol that defines our generation.. glock, but not because it is so popular (still betting there are as many 1911's sold as glocks) but because it ushered in a new age of manufacturing... poly framed handguns.

It was the first publicly accepted gun of that design, and now every manufacturer pretty much has one.

 

[tarosean]

The AR family isn't actually all that common or celebrated outside of North America. Other continents and countries have their own traditions and platforms. In the EU, bullpups are quite common. The British have their L85, the French have their FAMAS, the Austrians have their AUG, with other designs on the way.

I travel the world for business.
One of the most common weapons I see is the venerable MP5. Airports, street corners, checkpoints, borders, etc. etc. etc.



(course it should be noted that I dont hang out with armies, militias or guerrillas, etc. )

 

[Cosmoline]

It's tough to say of course, but I think the AR will be viewed as part and parcel of the rise and fall of American dominance after WW2. An emblem of the high water mark of our influence overseas after the end of the cold war, and marking the decline in following decades as it becomes increasingly outdated (assuming this does happen of course). Comparisons with the AK are inevitable, and it's sadly inevitable that the truckloads of nonsense that get spewed comparing these platforms will continue long after both of them are in museums ;-)

For example the AR is a LESS complex firearm than the AK-47. It has fewer moving parts and little more than a steel straw controlling gas. But everyone thinks of it as this Swiss watch, impossible for third worlders to take care of.

In the far future, we can expect the record to be muddled enough that historical reenactments of the Iraq War will include hovercraft charges into lines of American soldiers armed with baseball bats. The historian will explain to the crowds that the American Legion was a core part of the military during this time, and that it spent great amounts of money training young soldiers to fight with traditional bats. This error will be compounded by the fact that the only surviving films of the era will be "Pale Rider" and "Roadhouse."

 

[Paris]

I'd wouldn't be surprised if there were ten times as many Ruger 10-22s in civilian ownership as there ARs of any variety.

 

[Ala Dan]

has been for over 40 yeara~!

 

[Hocka Louis]

AR is the 20th/21st C. gun. The others mentioned internationaly? Civillians don't have them by and large. Some very strange comparisons in that regard...

 

[BigMag]

I would answer yes, but my rifle of choice is still the AK.

 

[Sport45]

The AK is just a piston operated autoloading rifle, and not the first. We beat them to the punch on that design and it's already listed for the mid-1900's.

 

[Ignition Override]

Both the last part of fatcat4620's comment, and part of hso's may reflect the prime reason why (former Marine Capt.) CW Chivers, "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize", published "The Gun".

You can probably still read excerpts on the Amazon website.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Well, it surely ain't the product of times past, that's "fer-sure!"

 

[Tirod]

Start checking the list, the M14 didn't win any wars, either. Wars are one by soldiers, not the tool. Compared to the AR15, the Krag Jorgensen is less than adequate.

Military has been working on replacing it for ages.

Look at that from the other side - instead of being a jammomatic that haunts the military stuck with it, the design is so adaptable that updates over the last 45 years continue to prove it's superiority. Nothing else so far has been able to justify replacing it - not even the SCAR in SOCOM use. "No real difference" is how the commanders of elite force put it, and they should know, they only get command by having been there, done that.

In the military, it's not the "Unknown Boss" who can't actually do the grunt work - they did, did it well, and aren't too good to do it again. I've been served by General's in the chow line, they are there to prove they can lead by doing, not by position. So if the command of SOCOM says the M4 gets the job done, it's because they've used it, it works, and there's no huge change in tactics that yet makes it obsolete.

Apply those attributes to civilian use, just the same as we have with most of our other firearms, and you find it's an obviously superior design that gets tough work done. Unlike a tightly fitted, exposed action curio firearm still in production, military arms are more user friendly, easier to clean, have a tested and reliable operation, cheaper ammunition, and have numerous sources of parts available.

There's over 20 million prior service men and women trained on it, who can disassemble it in the dark, put it together, and shoot it accurately. Can you do that with a lever gun or even a Mauser?

With over 9 million made in the last 45 years, over 65 countries equipped with it, and the AK going out of service in major nations, yes, the AR is the gun of the age, and will continue to be for the forseeable future.

We haven't invented anything else any better, and what few changes we make are only one small part of the overall design. The competition copies most of what it does, because it's become the standard to work from, not ignore.

For those who want to remain less than knowledgeable about that, it's a free country. Go right ahead. You do so being protected by it, tho. Remarkably ironic, isn't it?

 

[X-Rap]

It seems to me that many of the pictures of these remarkably reliable and durable AK's are in captured caches or laying next to dead terrorists. There are many pics of rusted, wired together and cobbled AK's but I wonder how many FTF or wouldn't work to start with when called upon by their users. I think the superiority of the AK's durability and reliability over our service rifle is greatly over stated in it's modern configuration.

 

[doubleh]

When I purchace ANYTHING it's mine to do with as I please.

If YOU want to preserve your military firearm that good, if you wish to bubba it that's cool too, and if you want to turn it into a very nice sporter, get after it. It's your money, spend it like you want and do what you want with what you spent it on. I'll make the decision on what I purchase and don't need advise on how to do it.

I'll admit that there are certain firearms that I would think you are nuts to convert from the original BUT I won't tell you so.

 

[Slamfire]

The AK is every where. That has been and will be the defining firearm of the second half of the 20th century.

The AR will just be the American weapon.

 

[RangerHAAF]

Both the last part of fatcat4620's comment, and part of hso's may reflect the prime reason why (former Marine Capt.) CW Chivers, "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize", published "The Gun".

You can probably still read excerpts on the Amazon website.

I know Chivers personally; he came through Ranger school a few classes after mine(10-88) and I must say that his book is one of the most detailed and authoritative written about the AK-47, his lectures if you ever get the chance to hear them are even more informative.

But back to the subject, I'd say that the AR is morphing into the gun that the world thinks about when referring to our country. It's much better qualitatively than when I went through basic training in 1986. I still don't like the 5.56 round that it shoots but the complaints that used to be made against the A1s don't really apply to the A2s or the M4s.

Plus I just heard that Rock River is coming out with a new AR model that will accept the AK-47 magazine to fire the 7.62x39 round.

 

[Armored farmer]

Plus I just heard that Rock River is coming out with a new AR model that will accept the AK-47 magazine to fire the 7.62x39 round

....and that is why I believe the AK has yet to reach it's stride. It is too versatile to have limitations. It can be configured to do targets, and hunt everything from prairie dogs to bull moose.

 

[Matthew Courtney]

....and that is why I believe the AK has yet to reach it's stride. It is too versatile to have limitations. It can be configured to do targets, and hunt everything from prairie dogs to bull moose.

The AR is much more versatile than the AK. Heck, we have even come out with a 5.56 version of it that some say has logistical advantages over the venerable 7.62x51 version.

 

[fatcat4620]

What you want to know is what the iconic rifle was during the age if the assault rifle? It is the AK47.

 

[heavyshooter]

The AR is the rifle of our time if you are American (or maybe Western). But that is not true throughout the world. When a rifle is central to the national flags of many countries it has proven itself to be iconic! This only applies to the AK.

 

[NG VI]

I think when you say the phrase "professional fighting force" and the image that universally comes to mind includes a specific rifle, that rifle can be counted as iconic.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Not to be cheeky, the AR cheeks well.

 

[JustinJ]

Look at that from the other side - instead of being a jammomatic that haunts the military stuck with it, the design is so adaptable that updates over the last 45 years continue to prove it's superiority. Nothing else so far has been able to justify replacing it - not even the SCAR in SOCOM use. "No real difference" is how the commanders of elite force put it, and they should know, they only get command by having been there, done that.

That wasn't their attitude until they realized they would be paying for them from their own budget.