The Multi-Talented, Always Useful, AR15

It is no secret that I fully support the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Full Stop. No “buts.” I actually support and defend all of the Constitution, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It comes with the territory and the career I’ve chosen for myself. This blog is an Ode to the First and Second Amendments at the same time, and, as such, I do not spend much time (if any) talking about cruel and unusual punishment or speedy trials.

Part of being an avid marksman and amateur gunsmith and competitor means I have come in contact with the brain baby of Eugene Stoner more than a few times. My first awareness of the AR-15 pattern rifle occurred many years ago seeing it for the first time on, if you can believe it, the History Channel. If I remember correctly, it was on an episode of “Tales of the Gun,” where a large, bald man held an old model AR-15 with white gloves. Since then, I have become more than familiar with the AR-15, having built 3 of them personally, and having fired their select fire brethren and instructed others to fire them in the Air Force (Yes, we do occasionally fire guns).

The AR-15 has a pretty long history, which you can read about here. I’m not going to bore you with the full details, but here’s a quick history: Developed in the late 1950’s, Ordered by the US Air Force (first!) in 1960, was pressed into widespread, and controversial service in Vietnam, still in service (as the M-16/M-4 series of rifle/carbine), most of the reliability issues have been (mostly) fixed, and the civilian ownership of such a rifle is often debated, questioned, and protested. Whether or not you believe a civilian should be able to own one (they should), there is no denying that they AR-15 is one of the most versatile rifles money can buy.

For the shooter who wants to buy a rifle that can do it all, from hunting, bench rest shooting, long-range shooting, tactical shooting, home defense, and action shooting competition, the AR-15 is, without a doubt, the way to go. For the rest of this post, I will discuss the benefits of the AR-15 based on three basic shooting applications: Defense, Competition, and Hunting.

I am going to start out the discussion with the most contentious application, defense. Bottom line up front, the AR-15 excels at home defense. Easier and more intuitive to use than a handgun, with less recoil and penetration than both a shotgun and a handgun (using the right ammunition), the AR-15 gives you the most where it counts. The user is able to easily attached lights and optics to their rifle, and that gives them an even bigger advantage.

I mentioned penetration, which is a huge issue to consider when discussing home defense. Specifically, you want to avoid over penetrating. Meaning, you don’t want your rounds going through the bad guy, the wall behind him, the rest of your house, and then your neighbor’s house before stopping. While some may rant and rave about the capability of .30 caliber (7.62mm) bullets, one thing the AR-15 and its typical round (the 5.56 NATO or .223 Remington) does much better is provide you with more options for minimizing penetration. The cheap and relatively plentiful 55 grain Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) actually does a pretty good job at this (although it is not the best choice), as the round tends to tumble, causing cavitation when it strikes your target, leading to less penetration. There are even better rounds out there, and you can do your research on what works best for you and your situation.

Moving on to competition, whether it be bench rest, long range, or action/practical rifle, the AR-15 continues to excel. Many of the standard parts are easily swapped out for enhanced parts, allowing a user to turn a Plain Jane AR-15 into a finely tuned, highly accurate machine. It also allows a user to build their own from various parts as well (and I do recommend going that way).

From action/practical rifle competition to benchmark or long range shooting, with the right bullet, the AR-15 can do it all. When it comes to longer ranges, is it as effective as an M-14 style rifle, or any rifle that fires a heavier, more powerful bullet? Not really, but it can be cheaper to practice with, and it will hold its own, provided you do your part.

Hunting. I’ll admit that the AR-15 is not the traditional choice for most hunters, but with a variety of calibers between the AR-15 and it’s bigger, older brother the AR-10,  you can find something that will cleanly kill whatever your quarry may be. Even the relatively puny .223 round can be used for multiple species of game, and has been used to pretty adequate effect on feral hogs. If you are going for deer sized game, there are bigger and better options, like the 6.8mm SPC II, the 300 Blackout, or the .458 SOCOM, each with their own pros and cons. Again, you have to decide what the application is before making a decision, however, there is one feature of the AR-15 that allows you to be a little more indecisive on caliber than you can be with other guns.

One of the features of the AR-15 is that the receiver can be separated into two different halves: referred to as an upper receiver, or “Upper,” and a lower receiver, also called a “Lower.” In the United States, the Lower is the serialized part that is considered the firearm. This means you could go out and buy a lower, and customize it to be just the way you want, and buy or assemble several different Uppers for different applications.

For example, if I was to build a rifle that would cover Defense, Practical Rifle Competitions, and Deer Hunting, I would assemble an upper receiver that fit me just the way I wanted, with a comfortable stock, enhanced trigger, and a comfortable grip, along with all the other parts that go into putting together an upper. Then I would get an upper in 5.56 NATO with a flash hider, put a red dot optic and a light on it, and call that my defensive carbine. For Practical Rifle competitions, I would assemble an upper aimed at making the rifle shoot as quickly and flatly as possible, with super cool hand guards and probably a compensator, put a 1-6x scope on it, and call that my Practical Rifle carbine. Then for Deer Hunting, I would get myself a 300 Blackout Upper, with lighter handguards and a 2-7x scope. With one background check, I now have a rifle that can easily be used for three different applications.

While some may think of them as ugly rifles, and some may even abhor the thought of their existence, the AR-15 has been around since the late 1950’s, and has proven itself to be one of the most versatile rifles you can get. But don’t just take my word for it, buy or build one for yourself and see.

-Spencer