The Big Scary AR-15 Part Three-Why I love the AR-15

This is my third and final installment of this series. In cased you missed it part one and part two.

There’s a saying about the AR-15 that it’s the equivalent of the men’s Barbie. I’m not sure that’s true but the concept is this; there’s a thousand ways to accessorize and customize your AR-15. If you own one and you haven’t modified it yet, you’re missing out. It’s one of the beautiful qualities about it and one of the reasons why I love the AR-15.

I’ve owned an AR-15 for a while. It wasn’t until recently I fell in love with it. I had a ho-hum run of the mill version. I was in my favorite gun shop one day and I saw it. I had to have it. It was a stripped lower for an AR-15 engraved with the Second Amendment. I had never built one before but I’ve heard that it wasn’t that hard. I mean, I used to fix airplanes. I could handle building a rifle right? So I bought it, didn’t know what I was doing but that’s where this journey started.

My first AR-15 build

I started researching parts. I immediately felt like I was in over my head. The options were endless. The manufacturers were endless. There was also no shortage of opinions either. Just try going to ar15.com or m4carbine.net. I began to get overwhelmed with the information. Then Sandy Hook happened. The drums of the citizen gun control industrial complex began. Parts began to get scarce. I was no longer worried about what kind of rifle I was going to build but whether or not I was going to be able to build it at all.

Recently I branched out into other calibers with this .300 AAC Blackout

It was over the course of a couple of weeks I was able to resource the necessary parts in order to build. I had no idea what I was doing as you can see by the fact that I put a plastic MBUS sight on the gas block. Luckily it never melted and it worked great. Since I’m never satisfied with my first attempt, I later added some parts like a free floating handguard. I have since sold that rifle and it pained me to do it.

My most recent build. Decided to get into colors

Selling that rifle has since let me move into other custom builds. Quite frankly, since the possibilities are truly endless, it has become almost an addiction. I am experimenting with other calibers and I have developed a definite bias as to what I like and what I don’t. What’s the point? It’s fun. When I go to the range, no one has the same rifle as me.

Besides being really fun to build and having an endless amounts of possible customizations, there are other reasons why I love the SR-15.  This is my list in no particular order:

1. It’s fun to shoot
2. It’s cheap to shoot
3. It’s easy to shoot
4. It’s easy to build and maintain
5. If I don’t like something it’s easy (and probably cheap) to change
6. It’s my plinking/hunting/competition rifle
7. Parts are cheap and readily available
8. I can have only one AR-15 but have multiple upper receivers in different calibers. I would have to purchase multiple rifles to do this otherwise
9. I can customize the hell out of it
10. No one else has the same rifle as me

So get out there and customize your rifle. Did I leave anything off the list? If you need any advice or ideas please don’t hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment.

The Big Scary AR-15 Part Two – Dispelling the Myths

This is part two. If you missed part one read it here.

I get really defensive about the AR-15. I love the AR-15. If there was ever one firearm that could do anything, this is it. It is quickly becoming the stuff of lore. Every time there is a mass shooting the media outlets are so quick to blame the AR-15. Of course they never retract their assertions when they get it wrong. I can’t think of a more marginalized well meaning piece of metal and plastic so that’s why I would like to dispel some of the myths surrounding it.

I’ve already talked about a couple of myths in part one. Like how the AR-15 is not automatic. It is not an assault rifle or machine gun. It’s in fact no different than many other popular rifles. It doesn’t “spray bullets.” There really is no such thing as an “assault weapon.” Here are a couple more myths that I would like to talk about.

Myth #1: The AR-15 isn’t for hunting

I remember the first time I went coyote hunting. I wasn’t really all that experienced with hunting, but when I was handed an AR-15 I felt like it was out of place. I had the same preconceived notions that so many other people do about the Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) and hunting, that they didn’t mix. I have since learned differently and would prefer to take my AR-15 or MSR whenever I go hunting and there are a couple of reasons why.

My personal AR-15 I use for hunting. Look at all the scary features!

First is that it is easier and safer to load and unload. The primary concern for most hunters (myself especially) is safety. Anything that makes the shooting sports safer I’m all for. A couple of my bolt action hunting rifles have what are called “blind magazines.” In order to unload it I have to cycle each round into the chamber and then back out. Not exactly safe.

The second reason why I prefer to hunt with an MSR is the follow up shot. If my first shot was off, I can most likely fire again before the animal is able to run too far. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to try and cycle a bolt action rifle under stress but let me tell you it isn’t easy. It gives me some peace if mind knowing that I’m a more humane hunter.

The third reason is that I can convert it to a variety of calibers to suit almost any type of hunting that I would ever want to do. All I have to do is change the upper receiver and I’m ready to rock. It’s the perfect do it all firearm.

Myth #2: The AR-15 isn’t a good defensive weapon

When anti-gun people look at the AR-15 they seem to be able to only imagine one use for it (or any gun for that matter). To kill. Maybe that’s the reason why the Vice President gave such awful advice when it comes to protecting your home. I’m guessing that most people who would say this have never fired one.

I could put an MSR in the hands of almost anyone and in no time at all they would be able to handle it effectively. The recoil system and relatively weak (yet another myth) round make it perfect for anyone. Since the stock is adjustable, it can fit any size shooter. When I’m teaching someone to shoot, it’s the second firearm I’ll get them behind, after the .22. Proof that anyone can shoot an AR-15:

Nine year old and her AR-15-Photo Credit

Try putting a shotgun in the hands of that 9 year old and see what happens. Even the DHS says it’s a defensive weapon. So why does this myth persist? Maybe it’s because main stream media never goes out of their way to report all of the times one is used in defense. Maybe it’s because of the way it looks. Maybe it’s because the people trying to control the conversation are narrow minded I mean have control issues I mean it looks scary, right?

Myth #3: It’s “High Power”

One of my favorite movies-Photo Credit

I don’t know who came up with this but it’s entirely meant to scare people. The Ar-15 is anything but “high power.” I’m not even sure that the people that use it even know what it means. On the spectrum of how powerful a cartridge is, the 5.56×45 (or .223 Remington) is on the weak end. By on the weak end I mean there are literally hundreds of rifle cartridges that are more powerful.

I dug through some of my ammo and this is what I came up with:

From the .22LR to the .338 Remington Ultra Mag

Guess where the .223 is? Right in the middle. The three cartridges smaller that it other then the .22LR? Those are handgun rounds. Besides the dinky .22 I don’t own another rifle less powerful.  I know there are rifles in between but you really have to go out of your way and know what you’re looking for. Let’s quit using the term “high powered” shall we?

Let me know if you have any other myths that you would like addressed. If you feel differently let me know and we can have a conversation. Up next: why I love the AR-15.

The big scary AR-15 Part One

There’s so much misinformation surrounding the AR-15 that I wanted to clear some things up. First off, there is no such thing as an “assault weapon.” The term was made up by Art Agnos, an anti-gun politician, in 1985. The term assault rifle was already taken so “assault weapon” was used. If you’re confused relax. It was intentionally meant to be confusing. I’ll explain the difference.

The term assault rifle is a legal term to describe select fire fully automatic rifles. When you hear assault rifle think machine gun. The manufacture of assault rifles was banned (for civilian use) in 1986 by the National Firearms Act (NFA). It didn’t make it illegal to own them per se just exceedingly difficult. Like all NFA items, machine guns, silencers, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, as well as some other items, all you have to do is pay the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) a $200 tax and wait about a year. Since the manufacture of assault rifles was banned they are incredibly rare. This also makes them incredibly expensive.

So then you ask, “what is an assault weapon?” The answer to that is relatively easy. It’s a firearm that looks like an assault rifle. Most commonly a magazine fed semiautomatic rifle that has a certain number of “cosmetic, ergonomic, or safety features.” I’m pretty experienced with firearms and I never knew that safety features could make a firearm more deadly. The term continues to change and more loosely means, “anything that scares me.” Still confused? Let me break it down some more.

Arguably the most popular rifle in America is the Ruger 10/22.

Ruger 10/22 Compact-Photo Credit

It is a magazine fed, semiautomatic rifle. Nothing scary about it. It was the first rifle I ever fired. It will be the first rifle I buy my children. Now lets say it didn’t fit me right and I wanted to put on an adjustable stock so that it was comfortable for both my children and I to shoot. Now because I’ve put the new stock on it I have to put a pistol grip on it too in order to shoot it because of the angle of the stock. Also, I want to add a muzzle device to help with compensation for my young daughter. Uh oh, guess what I just did. I made an “assault weapon.”

Ruger 10/22 “Assault Weapon”-Photo Credit

This rifle is now 0% more deadly (it’s a .22lr and I’ve already talked about how weak those are) but 1,000% more scary. I didn’t change the way it functions in the slightest. I only changed the way it looks. Are you beginning to see how ridiculous banning “assault weapons” is? I digress.

But you say, “how does this apply to the AR-15?” First of all the AR-15 already has a strike against it because it looks like the military M-16.

Standard AR-15-Photo Credit

They look the same so they have to be the same right? Wrong. In this case very wrong. I keep hearing talk about military weapons or weapons of war when referring to the AR-15. Let me just tell you, no self respecting military in the world would ever go to war with the AR-15.

Colt M-16-Photo Credit

They look the same. They shoot the same cartridge. They even have some interchangeable parts. So what’s the difference? Well, just the way the firearms operates. What? They operate differently? Yeah. The AR-15 is semiautomatic. The M-16 is also semiautomatic but also either is fully automatic or has a three round burst. If you don’t know the difference educate yourself here. The jist? Semiautomatic means one pull of the trigger one bullet is fired. It’s semiautomatic because when the cartridge is fired it is ejected and another is chambered. With an automatic, when the trigger is pulled multiple rounds are fired. So for those of you paying attention, what does that make the M-16? You guessed it, an assault rifle.

You can see why the term “assault weapon” is used by anti-gun politicians. Not only do they look alike, but if we can make them sound alike, people who don’t know any better will never know the difference. If you’re one of those people do you feel used? You should.

So I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “couldn’t we just make them not look as scary?” Well, would it make you feel any better if they all looked like this?

Pink AR-15-Photo Credit

0% less dangerous but slightly less scary? How about this?

NY/CA Compliant AR-15-Photo Credit

“What is that?” you may ask. That is a NY/CA legal AR-15. You see both states have “assault weapon” bans. This firearm doesn’t have an adjustable stock, a pistol grip or a muzzle device. So by the laws of uncommon sense it is not an “assault weapon” and is now rendered ineffective. Right? Of course not. It’s 0% less lethal and 1,000,000% more ridiculous.

The point of this blog? The entire assault on “assault weapons” is about fear. It’s textbook fear mongering. The term itself is meant to confuse and inspire fear. It’s meant to segregate a section of gun owners because of the way their firearm looks, not the way it functions. If you’re ok with this Ruger Mini 14 (semiauto, magazine fed, fires the same cartridge) but not an AR-15, you need to check your priorities.

Ruger Mini 14-Photo Credit

Freedom will always find a way. I rue the day when innovation is no longer an option.

If you’re now reeling because I’ve pulled the curtain down on the “assault weapon” sham and you need someone to talk to feel free to send me an email or comment.