this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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[–] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

I understand some people might look away from the AR-15 because it's the gun everyone has which takes away from the cool factor, or maybe you just dislike its connotation due to high use among right-wing folk, but this person speaks the truth.

AR-15s are common because they work. Customizations and spare parts are cheap, effective, and widely available. So are good magazines, which are typically a shockingly difficult part to design well and the place where many otherwise decent guns fail. .223 Remington has one of most varied supplies of ammunition on the market, beaten only by things like 12 gauge.

Don't buy weird shit until you own one of these (or at least a pump-action 12 gauge ffs).

[–] ubergeek@lemmy.today 1 points 33 minutes ago (1 children)

ARs are common because the US military and NATO use them.

Same reason sig Sauer pistols are popular.

Popular is not the same as "superior".

Once the US moves off the AR platform, so will all the gun nuts.

I say this as a former armorer who got to see why ARs might not be the best choice.

[–] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 1 points 10 minutes ago

AR-15s are popular because there's a single standard, and all the parts made should fit that standard, and more-or-less work. I can buy a barrel from any one of ten or more manufacturers, and I know that it's going to fit on my receiver (although I might need a different gas tube). You can't do that with a Ruger Mini-14, you definitely can't do it with any of the fuck-knows-how-many AK variants. ARs do have their own shortcomings it's true, but all rifles have shortcomings; the AR-15 platform does a pretty good job of balancing the competing needs and desires.

[–] GrumpyDuckling@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Nobody cared about the ar-15 unyil it got banned snd then unbanned.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

No lie! They've been available to civilians since the 60s. They weren't popular because they're not the best in any particular class. But they're easy and don't kick.

[–] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Sure, but also wheelguns were also considered more reliable and better than semi autos at the time.

AR ban expiration came around the same time as people were getting more used to gucci guns and mods.

There were a lot of other guns that got unbanned at the same time. The AR platform just happened to be ready for a resurgence right around the time that the expiration.