Given recent events in Orlando, I thought I’d start the blog off with why someone might want an AR style rifle. Notice I didn’t call it an Assault Rifle. That’s because the consumer version of the rifle is just a rifle. It happens to be black. The consumer AR-15 doesn’t normally cycle at 13 rounds per second, unless you have a really twitchy trigger finger and can physically squeeze the trigger 13 times in a second. Personally, I don’t think it’s humanly possible. Heck, even Jerry Miculek can only get off 8 shots in a second. So if your definition of assault weapon is 8 shots per second, in Jerry’s hands, a revolver is then an assault weapon.
If an AR styled rifle is an assault weapon because it’s a semi-automatic rifle, then why would this one not be an assault rifle? Is it because it’s black? Shame on you for being racist.
Seriously, though. A couple of advantages the AR styled weapons have over traditional rifles are mainly to improve accuracy, and ease of handling when firing (meaning less recoil).
First that big scary collapsible stock serves to adjust to the shooters body, rather than forcing the shooter to adapt to the rifle. This makes it a more enjoyable experience especially for smaller individuals or larger individuals. Second and just as important is what the collapsible stock hides, the buffer tube:
See that big giant spring? It’s purpose is to absorb recoil as the rifle cycles. In a traditional rifle there is little to no padding. All you get is a rifle recoil pad:
Which would you rather shoot, a rifle with a giant spring to absorb the shock or some flimsy piece of rubber?
Maybe you classify an assault rifle as having a “flash hider” or “Compensator”. Both of which are used to reduce muzzle flip. The flash hider also helps the hunter by reducing the amount of flash coming from the muzzle after firing, which is helpful in low-light conditions for the hunter.
In reading http://tinyurl.com/hlw6uaf Bruce H. Kobayashi and Joseph E. Olson write:
[trx_quote cite=”http://ssrn.com/abstract=2070920″ title=”Olson, Joseph Edward” top=”inherit” bottom=”inherit” left=”inherit” right=”inherit”]• October 1988. Stephan C. Hensley, Acting Assistant Director of the Cal. DOT’s Investigation and Enforcement Branch, determines that assault weapon cannot be defined workably on the basis of style (size, caliber, rifle/pistol type, or magazine capacity) but only on the basis of action-type (semi-automatic)–a functional characteristic. He warns that -this [action-type] approach would cover hundreds of different types of firearms of which in total many tens of millions of units have been produced,”. and he calls the good gun/bad gun distinction one bored on “faulty logic”. He notes that the involvement of assault rifles in crime is “at or slightly above the statistical aberration level” and points out that the majority of guns chosen by criminals are the .22. and .38-caliber handgun and the 12 gauge shotgun.” [/trx_quote]
For more educational information, check out this site: http://www.assaultweapon.info/ . Bottom-line, educate yourself before you form your opinion. Don’t just be a lemming and follow the clueless media.