I own and have shot one but that's kinda misleading. The one I own, I got when my Dad passed and I have never shot it. The only AR platform I've ever fired is my friends' .308 and I fired precisely 3 rounds.

I have 3 AR's and had a M16. That said I prefer bolt action guns. Guess it's just my age?

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Sold it. It didn't do anything for me.

As far as shooting experience goes, 5.56 in particular, I find them very boring.

quote:

Originally posted by creslin:
My first experience with the platform was also an M16(a2) when in the USMC.

Same. June 1986.
I now own 2 Colts and have shot some others.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

But for whatever reason, they just don't seem to have the same "soul" or "cool factor" for me as many other rifles, so it's hard for me to say that I love them. (Personally, I love the old wood and steel battle rifles of the WW2 and postwar era.)

I agree with this as well to a large extent. I feel ARs lack the soul of forged & milled steel set in a nice chunk of walnut which explains why I own 4 M1 Garands, a couple of Springfield rifles, an M1a...

I bought my first AR about 15 years ago, a really nice LMT which I mounted an EoTech on. Trigger was terrible and that, combined with an unsuitable sight, kept me from shooting it to the level of accuracy that I wanted so I sold it.

Fast forward to early in the present administration when I decided it may be prudent to buy an AR. Found a nice Ruger at a good price and mounted a nice optic and my experience is much different. So much so that I recently bought an AR-10. What I really like is that the AR platform is so easy to customize to make it yours. I have changed the grip, added ambi safeties, changed out a trigger, changed out the charging handle.... Ingenious design with substantial aftermarket support.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
ARs are close to the best thing since sliced bread, from a modern fighting rifle standpoint. Ultimately practical and useful for nearly all defensive purposes.

But for whatever reason, they just don't seem to have the same "soul" or "cool factor" for me as many other rifles, so it's hard for me to say that I love them. (Personally, I love the old wood and steel battle rifles of the WW2 and postwar era.)

ARs are the Glock of the rifle world, in more ways than one.

Yup. That's pretty much where I come down on ARs.

Early in my shooting experience I was exposed to wood and steel, both civilian and military...and in my 20s and 30s I was treated to shooting some more exotic semi-autos like the Ruger Mini-14 and even the HK 9X series. In a couple range days I was even given the opportunity to shoot a full auto M3 Grease gun and a full auto M-16. The friend who owned the M-16 liked the rifle well enough, but in telling me about it, mentioned that it needed to be cleaned every couple hundred rounds to shoot reliably.

At that time, and at my relative level of shooting [in] experience, and as I had fallen in lust with the HK carbines of the day, I took my friend's comment as gold and dismissed the AR platform as both pedestrian and lacking in reliability.

Fast forward a couple decades; I had learned more about shooting in general, had joined Sigforum, and was reading more about the ARs, and beginning to see that some of my biases against it were foolish... and, as a gun guy, I realized I should really know more about a gun I didn't know as well as I thought I did.

Several years ago I had convinced myself to buy my first AR and spent over a year researching which one. At the same time, there were some pretty bad gun control laws passed in the state, and I was involved with a grassroots citizens' effort to recall 3 of the state senators who voted for these laws. We were successful in recalling 2 of them (including my local senator) and the remaining senator decided to resign before being recalled. The law to recall elected officials had been on the books for almost 100 years, but our effort was the first one to actually use it, and we were successful.

I figured the victory was worth celebrating, so I contacted one of our forum member gun dealers who was in state and he ordered my first AR (minus the standard cap. mag ).

In a perfect world, there are probably about 5 or 6 ARs/ configurations that I'd like to own eventually, but have been making do with just the one.

There are a lot of cool guns, and only so much discretionary dollars or so many hours to shoot, and the AR is just one of many...but over the last 9 years of ownership, I have a new-found appreciation for the platform.

As I have shot several ARs but only owned one, I wasn't sure which poll answer to select, but chose the owned one/ shot one answer.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
ARs are close to the best thing since sliced bread, from a modern fighting rifle standpoint. Ultimately practical and useful for nearly all defensive purposes.

But for whatever reason, they just don't seem to have the same "soul" or "cool factor" for me as many other rifles, so it's hard for me to say that I love them. (Personally, I love the old wood and steel battle rifles of the WW2 and postwar era.)

ARs are the Glock of the rifle world, in more ways than one.

I agree heavily with this. When I was younger my contrarian streak pushed me to the M1 Carbine, AK, and VZ58. At some point I realized that the screw together nature of the AR, combined with the massive aftermarket makes anything else a silly choice for a “serious” rifle. Same with Glocks as “serious” pistols. They still won’t grab my attention like the imported cold war rifles featured in the golden era of action movies.

I'm a late bloomer with AR's.
Never used one in service and never really wanted one. No particular reason, just never had an itch for one.

I picked up a PSA upper kit about four years ago with an Anderson lower.
That was a good base to start with and the upper and handguard are the only original parts left on that one.

This is a great time to get into AR's.
All kinds of nifty stuff to use that wasn't around 10-15 years ago.

I got out of .308 when ammo wasn't being imported anymore and 7.62x51 misurp went through the roof.
I did like .308, getting another FAL like what I had wasn't going to happen so I went with a Ruger SR762. Kinda wish I had of went with a DI gun now but it runs well.

I messed with an AR 9mm, got it running well then 9mm wasn't $150 a case delivered anymore.
It pretty much sits at the back now.

Basic training we were issues M-14 the in AIT, preparing us for Nam, we were issued M-16. I get to Nam and I'm handed my personal weapon an M-1 carbine as I was shipping into the Delta to work with local cadre who were issues M-1 Carbines. Made my displeasure known and was issues an M-16. It served me well, 3-shot burst easy to maintain. If kept clean worked very well.

I bought my first AR - a Stag left handed optics ready in 2007 I think. Then an M4-ish one a couple years later.

I upgraded them in various ways. Then I built a couple of lowers that I bought during the Obama era shortages and put a Tac Sol .22LR upper on one.

In late 2019 or early 2020 I decided to move to standard AR's and bought a Sig Tread only to realize that the handguard to barrel nut interface sucks and shifts a lot. I liked the ambi lower though.

So when the lockdowns and work at home hit I started building my own. I have all the fixtures and tools and I just try things until I find what I like.

So now I have several. And various parts I don't need. But it's fun and it's like legos for adults.

And now P320's are like that too...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lefty Sig,

Used to own 2. Sold both and now have an AUG.

My older brother’s friend had a Colt HBAR in the late 80’s, so I first shot an AR when I was a teenager. I qualified in the marines in 1992 with the M16A2.

I own a few AR’s now and they’re good for different purposes. I’ve got a pistol, a 16” and a 20” ready to go. The M14 is my passion though and I own seven complete M14’s of various configs.

The kids shoot my AR’s more than I do.

A bit soulless, but still the most adaptable to platform currently avaiLable.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
ARs are close to the best thing since sliced bread, from a modern fighting rifle standpoint. Ultimately practical and useful for nearly all defensive purposes.

But for whatever reason, they just don't seem to have the same "soul" or "cool factor" for me as many other rifles, so it's hard for me to say that I love them. (Personally, I love the old wood and steel battle rifles of the WW2 and postwar era.)

ARs are the Glock of the rifle world, in more ways than one.

I came here to say this, but Rogue already said it, probably better than me.

The first gun I ever shot was an M1 Garand, when I was about 12 years old, and my love of that platform has persisted. I have never served in the military, but have been exposed to the AR through my job in LE, and I do have a great appreciation for the platform as an excellent tool. I'm issued one at work, and I own a couple of my own. I used to own more, but I sold a few off and have kept the ones that are most practical for me.

For fun and sheer enjoyment, though, give me an old battle rifle or a lever action any day.

Have several AR’s.
The most recent being a Brownell’s Retro M16A1 style for a bit of nostalgia.

The triangular handguard brings me back to my youth, learning to shoot the M16A1 at Ft Dix.
Played soldier for a year in the Army Guard before switching to active duty with the USAF.

Had a rude awakening in 1994 when Bill Clinton banned the AR platform.
Paid the exorbitant price for my first AR after the gun ban was put in place.
First in-line when the ban expired to add additional AR’s to the family collection.

I’ve held and fondled several ARs, but I’ve never shot one because until a couple of years ago, I didn’t have a convenient place to shoot one. Now that I’ve found an indoor range that will let me shoot one as long as I use brass, both AR and 5.56 prices skyrocket. I’m almost scared to find out how much a full auto AR rental would be with ammo prices and if the range has enough staff to supervise.

While I do like guns, I’m not going to buy a gun that I can’t shoot on a regular basis.

I love my AR's. Different setups for whatever occasion. Different calibers. It easy to build them with your own parts so you can customize everything down to roll pins. It makes AR's a hobby as much as anything else. I have more then I can count on two hands but I still find myself building more for fun.

I will admit though that I'm hard pressed to find any gun that I don't get excited about.

Never really had the urge to get one. I’d rather have a lever action.

Oh, and I’m selling the Glock I picked up last year too. That was underwhelming to me as well.

I love everything AR. I bought my first as soon as the assault weapons ban ended. It was a 16" Rock River. Great damned rifle. Then I bought a second AR15 also a Rock River. Then I built a couple of SBR's and then a longer barrel AR with a 20" barrel. Now I have about a dozen AR-15s and I can't help myself. Red dots, magnified optics, retro builds... I might buy another one soon.

A friend in HS had an SP 1 that I used to shoot every now and then. I fired an M 16 when I was in the Navy. I didn't think too much about them until the '94 Assault Weapons ban. Then I thought "maybe I ought to get one before it's too late." I have owned a bunch since then and have become pretty familiar with them, and have built a couple from scratch. My favorite rifle is still the FAL, but the AR has parts everywhere, and you can make one into just about any configuration you want. I find them to be a necessity in my life. Most of the shooting I do these days is with an AR.