Shot-1

Reader RW writes:

The Guardian made a case that the so-called assault weapon ban created a market for the AR-15 and other firearms of military-style appearance. “When Martin KA Morgan was a kid in the 1970s, military-style rifles were only a “small sliver” of the firearms market in the United States.” Then, “A series of high-profile shootings had put military-style rifles on the political agenda. In 1989, a man with an AK-47 opened fire on a schoolyard in Stockton, California. The state passed a ban on semi-automatic ‘assault weapons’ that same year. None of the banned guns . . .

“were actual military weapons, which are capable of fully-automatic fire. But they looked like battlefield guns, and many Americans did not know the difference. By 1994, the Clinton administration was close to passing a federal assault weapon ban. Gun owners saw the ban coming, (Martin KA) Morgan said, and their attitude towards military-style rifles changed dramatically.”

While I have a great respect for Martin KA Morgan as a military historian and I wish I could have attended his speeches at the recent NRA meeting, I think he’s off base in his assessment of modern culture and is dismissing many other factors impacting the decisions of rifle purchasers.

Many of us employ the, “it might be banned” rationale to justify spending money on ammunition or a new weapon instead of other uses for it such as savings. But to claim that’s the driving force behind the changes in firearms is to ignore 20 plus years of technological and cultural change.

Improved polymers in GLOCKs and other similar pistols changed the market by creating a huge number of reasonably priced choices. It’s easier for each person to find a weapon that’s a good fit. Starting with that good fit helps people either improve or learn shooting more quickly than some of the more old-school choices that might have required more adaption of their body, stance or grip.

The AR-15 did the same thing for the rifle market. It’s easier to use, easier to fit to a shooter, and incredibly modular and adaptable. The positives are too numerous to count. An AR is easier to hide in a case that doesn’t look tactical if you need to conceal your rifle ownership from the neighbors when you head to the range. The size also makes it easier to maneuver through doors and hallways if home-defense is your goal. Its modular nature and the build-your-own possibilities also appeal to a wide range of people who might not have been interested in rifles otherwise.

A resurgence of the do-it-yourself culture manifests itself all over the US from the mid 90’s to the present. We can see it in many growing movements like Maker Faire, urban homesteading, preparedness, Arduino, Linux, steampunk. To discuss the AR platform as though guns are separate from other DIY trends in our culture is, in my opinion, un-American and out of touch with the reality we live in.

Building an AR is on my to-do list, not because they might be banned sometime soon, but because it sounds like fun. I’ve already added more LED lights and speakers to the patio than any backyard needs, and there’s nothing else I want to mod on the family vehicles. We don’t hunt and we don’t need rifles in addition to out pistols, but I want to build one. Lots of Americans already have.

While the “Hillary might ban them” argument might help me put the purchase of an AR lower above other priorities when budgeting, it’s not the reason I want to make the purchase. Why did you buy or build yours?

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100 COMMENTS

  3. I don’t believe that the threat Of an assault weapons ban caused people to go out and purchase more firearms. I believe the threat was that the government was going to take away people’s freedoms And their rights That caused them to go and purchase Such firearms. And just like in the past when the British tried to Take away more and more freedoms from the colonist They said hell no And while the Revolutionary War happened. You can only push people in this country so far Before something has to give. I believe we are approaching that point in record speed. If something is not done about the government and the way it handles itself and treats the people in which it was sworn to protect and defend under the Constitution Of the United States Something will give.

    • The flip side of that political coin is that other people think it is the government’s responsibility to give them free stuff. “Free stuff” and “freedom” are the same thing to these people and they realy truly deeply belive that if they are not getting free stuff, then THEIR freedom is being taken away……. And those are the people we see these days who are rioting and causing the problems for the political class….. These are also the same folks we shoot when they try to hurt people while taking/destroying our stuff. So, naturally THEY don’t want us to have guns and the politicians (who also want YOUR stuff) respond in kind….. Viscous and weird world we live in.

  4. Yep after 5 years of saying I don’t really need it and it isn’t much better than what I got. Just one crooked ass politician and I dropped the 4k on a hk mr762a1. Don’t regret it either. Now for those 50.00 ea 20rd mags that’s what hurts.

  5. myself and my father both bought ar-15’s thanks to slick willie. I have also worked with at least one person who went out and bought a ar-15 in the 90’s and still hasn’t shot it.

  9. Yep. I already had several handguns and a couple of long guns but I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in acquiring an AR-15 until the scumbag government bureaucrats said that they might not give me permission.

    I am a free man. Don’t tread on me.

    I discovered that the AR-15 is in fact a very effective defensive tool… Just FYI.

    • Indirectly… I was not into firearms until a friend pointed out that with Obama as president we may lose the ability to buy them. Now, multiple handguns, ARs and a Tavor later, I don’t know what took me so long to start flushing my money 🙂

  10. It has made no difference. Here in the mountains of Virginia, I buy what I want when I want.

    • I live in the mountains of Virginia, too, but that doesn’t mean I can buy anything, anytime. Legality aside, there’s economics. Where did you find a $500 AR15 after Sandy Hook or a “high cap” magazine during the AWB? How about ammo? I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s not realistic. We need to keep bad laws and worse lawmakers at bay. Sic Semper McAuliffe.

  11. I was indifferent to gun ownership until the AWB. I was indifferent toward a lot of things.
    The AWB, Tippers “Parental Advisory” campaign, the obscenity arrest of 2LiveCrew, Bills impeachment meaning essentially nothing, the medias and certain politicians war on the imaginary phenomenon of “satanic cults”, Waco, Ruby Ridge, and an awful lot more all occurring around the time I was coming of age as it were shaped my outlook on politicians, government at large and authority in general and cured it into a solid immovable pillar.

    If any of these assholes don;t like me having or doing a thing then I should probably have twenty and do more of whatever. Nobody should pay any attention to any politician, listen to any jackoff in a uniform or otherwise dignify these institutions or any supporter/participant of these institutions in any way.

  12. I just paid way too much for a pre-94 lower, so yeah, the CT post-Newtown “strengthened” AWB definitely influenced my choice. Of course, now I have the pre-ban, I can SBR it and/or suppress it, which I could not do with a 94-through-2013 AR.

    • “Of course, now I have the pre-ban, I can SBR it and/or suppress it, which I could not do with a 94-through-2013 AR.”

      Um… what? I’ve had two RRA AR’s one built in 2005 the other in 2009 and both could be suppressed or SBR’d at your leisure. In fact the 2009 has a TBAC P223-1 can on it right now.

      • Might depend on state laws, not federal.
        I don’t know which, if any state has laws that would create such a carve out though.
        I’m lucky enough to live in a state that so long as it’s federally legal it’s ok. So I just have to satasify the BATFE.
        We still have to play the chief LEO sign off for NFA crap, but basicly as long as your record is clean, and parking tickets are paid off, he signs off without more hassle than heading down to the trooper station.

        • You’re correct. He’s referring to CT law that says you can’t own anything made after 1994 that can accept a suppressor or flash hider and has more than one more of various cosmetic features (pistol grip, folding/telescoping stock, bayonet lug, grenade launcher). I misread his comment originally and thought he meant the gun wasn’t manufactured to accept such devices.

          Reading the law it would seem that he should be good on a muffler if he gets an upper with no bayonet lug and gets a fixed stock or pins the telescoping one. Then he would only have two features (threaded barrel and pistol grip) and it wouldn’t be an “assault weapon”. No idea how that affects SBR dreams though and since he lives there I’ll defer to him on that since I doubt he bought an expensive lower just for giggles.

        • @Wilson – close, except the detachable mag is also a feature, so on a 1994-2013 AR, a suppressor is impossible – ok on a Mini14 or M1A. Also, Cali-style bullet buttons don’t get around the “detachable mag” thing.

      • From 1994 through July 2013, CT had a “weak” AWB, limiting a semi-auto to two “evil features” – usually a detachable magazine and a pistol grip, and a minimum overall length that I can’t exactly remember. So a federally ok’d SBR would still be illegal in CT if you did it on a rifle built after the ’94 gratuitous version of the AWB. So you can only SBR a pre-94. Also, since a suppressor is a “flash hider” – it’s an evil feature, so you can’t do that to a post-94 semi auto unless you give up the pistol grip (so you could do it to a 1994-2013 M1A or Mini14).

        Anyway, a collector recently joined the Choir Invisible, and my local shop was helping the widow cash out his collection.

  13. I’m planning on buying another one. Partly because Hildabeast may get elected. At the rate the federal goverment is growing in size and power, I figure the chances are good that at sometime in the future guns will be severely restricted, if not by law through regulation. I want to be able to leave my kids an arsenal someday. They may really need one.

    • Unfortunately I’m in the same boat. I really don’t want 5 AR15s, but the prices are unbeatable now, and I can build ’em for less than $400. I would like each of my kids to have one should it ever come to a ban — as a reminder of how low we sank.

  15. It hasn’t influenced any of my purchases yet, but my thinking and ownership has started shifting away from hunting to concealed carry and personal defense. I bought my first compact last year for a variety of reasons (and threats) and am looking to trade my huge hunting shotgun out for something a little more comfortable and functional. I had never considered buying an AR-15 until this month when someone showed me how easy they are to build. Before this year, all of my experience with firearms was long rifles, sporting shotguns, a full size metal handguns and revolvers. I’m tempted to get a Bersa Thunder just because of how much I like the PPK design, but I wish I could get that model in 9×19.

    • i like the bersa too/ the fixed barrel mean you can’t get much hotter than 380 and your wrist will appreciate that.

  16. I stocked up on mags and ammo long ago, but I am buying 3 handguns and a Barrett AR as I expect them to be difficult or impossible to get once the political S hits the F

  17. The threat of a trump presidency is more than enough reason to stock up on ARs and ammo.

    The threat of a hillary presidency is more than enough reason to stock up on ARs and ammo.

    The threat of a sanders presidency is more than enough reason to stock up on ARs and ammo.

    The threat of a civil war because of whomever gets presidency is more than enough reason to stock up on ARs and ammo.

  18. The looming prospect of Hilldawg and an election panic spurred my latest purchase. Since January I’ve been scrounging up standard capacity magazines as well.

  19. It defiantly was in my case. When Newtown happened New York State passed the SAFE Act in the dead of night before anyone knew anything about it. I immediately started the process for getting my pistol license and purchased a Glock. When the President and his minions started going after the AR15 I started buying parts to build my NY compliant featureless AR15 as a big FU. I was raised in a home with firearms I was indifferent about guns most of my life but with this constant demonization of legally armed citizens and Government overreach it inspired me to become a gun owner myself and join the NRA. Now I’m actively encouraging others to do the same.

    • I said as much on an earlier thread, though not as well as Mike did. I am also in NY, Hi Mike!

      I got into guns specifically because the government keeps pushing us to take them away. Am glad I did to because it is fun and a useful way to spend time.

      And this is a good thing, more responsible citizens with firearms is good for society and makes the state taking them away more difficult. Everyone should arm up – safely, responsibly and legally, if you haven’t yet, this is the time.

      • Hi Mr 308, I agree with you 100%. I’m doing my part reforming and converting gun fearing NY liberals one by one. I find It’s more productive inviting these people to the local range and educate them about firearms. In my experience many times their fear is driven by ignorance. It takes a lot of patience but it’s worth it. Hopefully it will go a long way to preserving our constitutional rights in NY

  20. Obama is responsible for my first AR-15 and handgun purchase. My friend recently went out and bought an AR-15 after I told him about the California ammo bills in the pipeline. About 50% of the people I know that own guns got them because of the threat of restriction or ban.

  21. I don’t think it’s in my best interests to comment about what I may or may not have purchased after noises were made for reinstituting various bans…

  22. My *rate* of purchase was affected by the post-Newtown environment.

    *What* I purchase was affected by a friend letting me try his AR.

  23. I bought my first AR after Newtown, but the threat of an AWB didn’t factor into the purchase. My interest in guns had predated the Newtown incident, up until then I only had pistols. Getting an AR made sense regardless of political winds.

  24. I didn’t go through the first Clinton AWB, but after watching the frenzy after Newtown, it seems unquestionable that the threat of further restrictions drove all sorts of new buyers into the market. I watched one lady on the phone call her husband and from her responses it sounded like he was saying “is it an AR? I don’t care what brand, if it’s an AR, get it!” People bought anything and everything, because they feared that they soon may not be able to. And I would expect that if Hillary is elected, or if Donald “makes a great deal” to get a new AWB in place, then we’ll see a similar frenzy start up.

  25. Yes, I am very fortunate that the California LEO didn’t bust me for the illegally carried pistol years ago. Now in these crazy gun banning days, I don’t have to buy all my gums in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot.

  26. Trained on an M-14 in Basic Training, learned how to be a Hawk Missile Fire Control Technician and then to Ft. Sill to learn how to run a Counter Mortar Radar before going to VietNam and was loaned an M16 for a year by the government. Ten days before Newtown I had ordered a left handed Stag Arms AR just because I thought I should own one. Got it in January a totally lucky purchase as they honored the original price and delivery.

  27. What motivated me to buy an AR, a platform that I do not love, was the pukes in Washington trying to tell me that I shouldn’t or couldn’t. Whatever they hate, I love. Whatever agenda they try to push, I push back. Whatever freedom they want to destroy, I want to protect. I will not submit meekly to the Clinton Crime Family. I’d rather see them, especially her, in prison.

  28. No, the AR15 is like LEGOS for Adults. I love LEGOS and built my AR15 according to what I wanted.

    • ^ This. The engineering aspects are what got me into the world of ARs. Previously I was more of a Garand and its derivative-designs kinda guy. But now I’ve conquered the sub-MOA AR in three calibers, and am looking at the AR-10 next.

      Maybe a .300 Win-Mag AR…?

      I MUST BUILD THEM ALL!

  29. Yes, absolutely!

    Bought my first full size service pistol (and extra mags) in 9mm and for the increased mag capacity for home defense as the anti’s were ramping up after Newtown. I thought they’d have gotten closer to a standard capacity mag ban then.

    My AR purchase was also influenced in the sense that I bought while there was supply, before the next ban threat, and before the next (now upcoming) presidential election.

  30. I live in California, so that would be… a YES. It was not the 1989 ban, but instead the De Leon “Ghost Gun” 80% lower ban bill proposed a few years ago (and withdrawn when his buddy and co-sponsor Leland Yee got popped by the FBI for conspiracy to run machine guns). As a political statement, I bought an 80% polymer lower. Never having had any particular affinity for ARs, I had no plans to do anything with it but throw it in the gun cabinet. But being a tinkerer, one thing led to another. First I milled it out, and that was cool, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone. So I ordered a lower kit (with an upgrade in an ALG trigger), and that was cooler still. Eventually I purchased the remaining pieces, and voila, all of a sudden I had an AR.

    The next question is whether I serialize it and register it as an “assault weapon” if the revival of the Ghost Gun bill is enacted, or ship it to my daughter out of state. (I’m sure my son would like to have it, but he lives in California too.)

    • It sucks you even have to make that decision.

      Are there any hints as to what gets signed and what gets vetoed?

    • I’m temporarily in the same boat. I bought one that I could assemble myself prior to Sandy Hook when I was in VA. Then I bought a fully assembled one prior to moving behind enemy lines. I got into 80% lowers just before the first push by ‘Ghost Gun’ De Leon. Now, I’m moving again to another liberty-enriched state. With a possible AWB on the horizon, I’ve scaled back my purchases–but I’m contemplating the future skill of reloading. From a purely academic perspective…of course. And recently established an NFA Trust based on my permanent residence.

  31. Nah not the original ban back in 94. I had an SKS back in 90 or so for some cheap shooting. Set it all up as a nice “black” gun.
    Then traded it off in 2000 to help pay a debt.
    Got me a new Ruger 556 in Nov 2015. A couple of 30 rounders and set it up with a few hundred $ worth of goodies. Bought 1500 assorted rounds of 223 and 5.56. Here it is June already 8 months later.
    Havent even fired it yet…………………………….Ban?? what Ban. Hildabeast you betcha I bought me a new “black” gun.

  33. The threat of authoritarian Democrats like Obama and Hillary banning something you might need some day definitely drives you to buy it now, while you still can. I don’t think so-called mass shootings drove the market, however. That would be some combination of vets coming back and wanting the civvy version of their military weapons and concerns over terrorism/societal breakdown. From there it’s essentially peer influence, where you ask what you should get for X situation, or look at the other lanes in the range, and everything are ARs or the like.

  34. Yes – Bought an M&P 15 Sport last December to stick in the back of the gun cabinet, so my son doesn’t have to pay thousands for one when he grows up and wants to buy one.

  35. I had NO interest in AR’s/Ak’s until the aftermath of Newtown.NOW I am for SHTF. I can’t see practicing with one as ranges are far away. So snap caps I guess. Right now I’m planning for more pistols,another shotgun and tons of ammo. And an AR if my dough holds out…only been interested in being a gun owner for 6 or 7 years so the 90’s had no effect on me…

  36. The constant drum beating from the media and politicians is like an advertisement to buy more and more. I bought 2 ARs and an AK so far this year with 1000s of rounds.

    Unfortunately, a wave hit my boat and they were all lost overboard.

  38. I got into this fight in 1968 and have been at it since. I don’t buy guns because of looming legislation. I buy them because I want them.

    I have enough now that I would never need to buy another and I would be fine. But sometimes want overcomes need…..

    • need and want so true.
      I always had thought I needed just one woman in my life, now I see and/ or meet many that I want. OH well!

  39. I had a Ruger Mini-14 prior to the ban and kept it and the 30 round magazines for it until the Clinton AWB was done. I then went out and bought a lower and built it out and bought a complete upper. I have had a .223/5.56 rifle of one type or another for over 35 years.

  40. Yes for Rifles and magazines. I even bought a .458 SOCOM upper just in case there is a situation where the round count is limited and I need to form a legal defense. It’s actually time for a larger gun safe.

  41. It was on my list, but my state’s reaction to Newtown was to pass an anti-lawbiding and anti 2nd amendment set of laws, so I moved the date up.

  42. I guess I’ve never really thought about it. I was 20 when the AWB expired and before that I didn’t have the money to seriously collect guns.

    I honestly don’t worry about a new AWB unless HRC gets elected and gets to appoint SCOTUS justices. Heller protects any firearm “in common use” and the AR is the most popular semi-auto sporting rifle in the country so in effect, until SCOTUS reverses that decision makes the AR platform is safe from an AWB.

    Further, the ones already in circulation can’t really be touched either due to Article 1, Section 9’s prohibition on ex post facto laws. For all the talk about banning them and then not allowing the transfer later when the owner dies, I’m fairly confident that can’t be done legally. If it could have been then transfers of pre-ban “assault weapons” would have been implemented in the 1994 law.

  43. I realized early last year that I couldn’t rebuff anti arguments without it. I wanted to show that my rifle and the many like it made sense for the “average” owner for a number of reasons. I think being able to show that you can hunt with one, they are low recoil, made the purchase easier to stomach

  44. It’s a nice theory, but I think it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny of the facts.

    Seeing as how I’m a tad older and have been around guns in a fairly serious way since the late 70’s, allow me to offer up an alternative explanation:

    Before 1991, we (as a nation) were not involved in the “continuous war” that the neo-cons have brought upon us. After Vietnam, the draft ended, there was a draw-down in the numbers of active duty military people, and those who stayed in the military were more of the career types.

    Starting in 1991, Bush Sr. started us on the road to continuous war, and we started cycling a lot of people through the now-volunteer military between then and now. Signing up for the National Guard or Reserve was no longer going to mean that you’d always be stateside, or in the rear with the gear. Lots of people have done a stint with a M16 or M4 in their hands.

    As we started down this road of continuous war and churning hundreds of thousands of people through our armed forces, lots of people coming out of the military knew how to operate the M-16, which was now pretty well debugged and shaken out. The M-16 was “their rifle” and when they came out, just as with vets of previous military periods in US history, these vets wanted “their rifle” again. That used to be pretty difficult… until the late 80’s.

    The reason why the AR-15 seems to not have been in wide commercial production prior to the AWB was because the Armalite patents that were sold to Colt had not run out yet. This finally happened in 1986, if memory serves, and after that you started to see clone AR’s show up in the market at prices people would pay. eg, Eagle Arms EA-15’s were a popular AR clone back in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I have one. It works quite nicely.

    The problem for the unhinged left in this country was that the mere image of an AR-15 or AK-47 bought flashbacks of the nasty brown acid at Woodstock and Vietnam. For the Baby Boomer lefties, the Vietnam War lives rent-free in their torpid imaginations, year after year. Seeing AR’s and AK’s in civilian hands in America really sets these people off on a tangent for the rest of their week.

    From my perspective, the popularity of the AR would not be what it is today were it not for how many people have had to rely on the M16 & M4 for their daily job since 1991.

    • “The problem for the unhinged left in this country was that the mere image of an AR-15 or AK-47 bought flashbacks of the nasty brown acid at Woodstock and Vietnam.”

      Bwhahahahahaha! Well played!

  45. Very interesting perspective as usual. Good food for thought. Would one more guy asking you to write more around here do any good?

  46. I waited until the Obama campaign trail before I started stocking up on ARs. Then, after shootings and gun ban proposals, I started stocking up on ARs, as well as guns, ammo and mags. I’m now in the double digits just for ARs and AR-10s. I smile when I consider how much the statists hate my guns, and endeavor to expand their span of control.

    In CA, I’ve often said: buy it while you still can. Of course there will always be a black market, but buying and selling on it requires a level of risk many aren’t willing to take.

    • I smile when I consider how much the statists hate my guns

      You smile and I laugh. You just might be a better person than I am. 🙂

  47. I bought an M&P-15 Sport in the frenzy after Sandy Hook that I later realized I didn’t really want. I’m going to try and avoid making that mistake again, as the threat of a President Pantsuit grows nearer.

  48. Have an AR Bushmaster carbine, and an AR10 clone. Not buying more firearms, I’m buying reloading equipment….

  49. Bought mine a few months after Aurora. Enough of a fire had finally been lit under my ass. 3 weeks later, Sandy Hook. I was seriously considering buying a couple more ARs and scored a box full of PMAGs at a reasonable price. By February it seemed like a new AWB was just on the horizon.

    • As for ’94, I was 9 years old. I’ve always had a lot of gun owning family members, but only a few had any familiarity with the AR15 through military service and nobody cared for .223 cal rifles. The restriction on magazine size was definitely the big problem, and I recall my grandpa making a profit on some Glock 17 mags but regretting selling them later. Even then, there were very few semiautos in the family that weren’t 1911s, Ruger 10/22s and MK IIs, or Remington 1100s. Before the sundown in ’04, the only person I knew who had an AR was my then-stepdad. He’d been in the Army in the 80’s and served in Panama. He used it to deer hunt and later for home defense as a small town pot dealer.

      Now everyone has at least one AR in the safe.

  50. Oh, yeah. An acquaintance was very nervous about being apprehended by DIFi and Pelosi with his three SKSs, complete with intact bayonet lugs and extended magazines, all of which he was glad to be rid of for $400 cash. So, yes, one could say the ’94 AWB definitely influenced my buying decision.

  51. SAFE Act inspired purchases:

    Ruger Mini 14

    Sagia Sporter

    Rossi M92 (inspired by the 7 round mag ban as this Rossi holds 10 and no one at the police helpline seemed to know if they’d be legal or not. In fact, the officer on the phone when asked if lever guns with 10 round mags would be legal said “I don’t know. I don’t think anyone thought of that.”)

    NY compliant Stag 6H (once I learned you could build an AR as long as it had no evil features.)

    Piles of magazines and perhaps 10,000 rounds of ammo.

    Bite me, Cuomo.

    I already had an M&P 15.

  52. At that time I already had an AR15 lower and was in the process of saving up for an upper. As soon as the proposed ban came along and prices more than doubled overnight. I decided to purchase a handgun for conceal carry instead and waited for AR15 prices eventually returned to their normal range. Once that happened, I purchased my upper and don’t regret waiting as long as I did.

  53. I bought my ar-15 in December of 2012. I had been saving up “fun money” for about 6 months and decided I wanted one as my Christmas present to myself. I mostly wanted it for fun, but also knew in the back of my mind it would have lots of defense application as well.

    I bought the last “reasonably priced” AR-15 in that particular store as Sandy Hook happened the Friday prior. Just some really bad timing for my first AR-15!

  54. I don’t have a use for a AK/AR/MSR. Since no one can predict future requirements, it is best to prepare for the worst: I have!!!!

  55. I bought my AR-15 when I was still in the Army to better work on my marksmanship. I kept my AR-15 after leaving the service out of spite.

  56. Believed in the 2nd amendment for years before our dear leader pushed me to buy my first gun, a 9mm handgun. At the same time, I knew I wanted an ‘end-of-the-world’ gun. Not because I’m some sorta self-proclaimed prophet, but because it’s better to prepare than not. I figure I probably won’t ever “need” it in my lifetime, but perhaps my children, or their children, or their children will be glad to have it.

  57. I purchased an AR 15 for home defense for all the reasons RW stated. The thought of future availability of this style of firearm was considered but was not a deciding factor.

    Neither my AR 15 or any others I have seen commercially available fit the definition of “assault rifle”. Liberals, Democrats, and gun haters use the term “assault rifle” because it promotes the impression that whatever “assault rifle” is, it’s not appropriate for civilians. I wish 2nd amendment proponents and rifle owners would stop using the term “assault rifle” because every time they do it helps promote the Liberal message.

  58. Uncle Sam turned me on to AR at a young age and expected me to be proficient. I’m keeping my end of the bargain.

  59. I got an inexpensive AR because I enjoy shooting and they are fun to shoot. I am getting too old and fat to have illusions of being a commando if it comes to SHTF time, I would be more useful long range and stationary so I have interest in weapons to serve that purpose. For home defense I am more shotgun and pistol kind of guy.

  60. I didn’t realize how far the American electorate had degenerated until Obama’s reelection occurred. I had never really thought about owning a gun until then. Bought my first gun shortly after his second inauguration.

  61. California Democrats keep making me buy firearms:
    12/31/13 ended Non-FFL C&R long gun transfers, non-FFL familial transfers and started registry of long gun purchases.
    12/31/14 ended SSE purchases for most nonroster handguns.
    What restrictions will be next?

  62. Even though I carried an M-16 for 5 years as an SP in the Air Force I don’t care for them.
    I grew up shooting slug guns so compared to 12 ga., 5.56 is anemic.
    Not a bad gun or caliber, just not for me.
    Meh, would sum up my feelings about AR’s.

    Until NYS went full retard with the SAFE act.

    Since then I’ve built two.
    Not because I’m worried about more banning nonsense but because they tried telling me I couldn’t have one.
    Because “F*ck You!”
    And that’s all the reason I needed.

  63. I was always in to them they were my reference of choice. Since I didn’t grow up in a household with guns my only access to knowledge was video games, books, magazines, and websites. What guns were they heavy on? Assault rifles and semi-auto pistols.

    I was too young during the first AWB and broke as well being a kid. My state didn’t allow me AK’s and normal AR’s until I was 21 so I was stuck with buying old milsurps and a Vz-58 since it wasn’t on the regulated list haha.

    Since then I have concentrated all my purchasing power on AK’s, AR’s, and the other semi-auto military clones since the government, media, etc. demonizes them to the point where they will get their way eventually. Heck when my state passed new laws after Sandy Hook I cashed out stick to buy a smorgasbord of guns they were going to ban before they did. Of course this was before I knew I was moving to a free-er state however I am glad I bought them when I did now with the ever looming threat of another AWB on the horizon.

    That is why my main areas I focus on are the guns, mags, and ammo since those three things ate what politicians obsess over.

  64. I built a lower assembly starting about 9 months after Sandy Hook when parts started to appear again at moderately reasonable prices. I took my time, did not go into panic buying mode and had fun with it over about seven months. By that time I could buy a barreled upper for less money than I could build one, so I went that route. It’s fun, relatively inexpensive to shoot and accurate with my hand loads. Just wish it was legal to hunt with in my state.

  65. Definitely, I got while the getting was good in CT. I had no interest in the AR platform for years because everyone has one, and was waiting for the right priced FNC, AUG, or Galil to be found. CT ban 2.0 comes rolling around and I took what was available and that ended up being an AR lower. Now these days, I’m quite happy I did and wish I bought a few more lowers sooner because of all the different guns I want to build.

  66. after the Southeast Asian War games, My judgement on the AR is Tainted as three I used were a piece of S**t, One jammed up so tight up I dropped weapon and used an AK! another Dropped 3 ft to ground and the recoil spring tube and back half of receiver with tube ring fell off!! had to hump that broke dick weapon for miles! Last one used, the tail on the bolt broke off in the carrier! most AR”s are finicky feeder’s, so Ak’s and SKS for me

  68. I was gonna do it eventually, but my friend started building one and I wasn’t going to be left behind 🙂 Also, if someone doesn’t want me to have it, I want it.

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