Why did AR-15 become so popular?

MarkRohfrietsch · Jul 31, 2018

We used them up here in Canada for Coyote hunting back in the late 70's and 80's; then in recent years the government made them "restricted" so no more hunting; range only. I then bough a mini 14; and what a piece of junk. I will never buy a ruger anything after that rifle.

I am now building another AR15 so I can have one, and it will just be a range gun; but a very fun range gun! They shoot like a laser, are light, point well, and function great!

Aryeh Jay · Jul 31, 2018

MarkRohfrietsch said:
We used them up here in Canada for Coyote hunting back in the late 70's and 80's; then in recent years the government made them "restricted" so no more hunting; range only. I then bough a mini 14; and what a piece of junk. I will never buy a ruger anything after that rifle.

I am now building another AR15 so I can have one, and it will just be a range gun; but a very fun range gun! They shoot like a laser, are light, point well, and function great!

What year did you get the Mini-14?

marineimaging · Jul 31, 2018

Aryeh Jay said:
What year did you get the Mini-14?

Yes, I think they retooled the factory and changed some of the design in 2005-2007 so that accuracy and reliability were much improved.

Aryeh Jay · Jul 31, 2018

marineimaging said:
Yes, I think they retooled the factory and changed some of the design in 2005-2007 so that accuracy and reliability were much improved.

I purchased one in 2017 and have been very pleased with it, especially the ease of cleaning. A friend of mine had one from the 1990 and offered it to me with all the accessories. The sights were garbage, especially the oversized blade that they called a front sight, the stock would not fit, and the barrel was the pencil barrel (something that I never heard about on the Mini until I saw it). I told him he could keep it.

MarkRohfrietsch · Aug 1, 2018

Aryeh Jay said:
What year did you get the Mini-14?

Around 1983. First shot, right on the bullseye; consecutive shots always got wider and wider. 5 shots, about 10"; 10 shots, about 20" at 100. Home loads, factory, light bullets, heavy bullets, it did not matter.

I was not the only one; and from what I'm hearing most shoot about the same to this day.

I loved the rifle for fit and handling; it functioned perfectly; it just did not shoot where it was pointed... Ever wonder why the A-Team never shot anyone? They were using Mini-14s.

Aryeh Jay · Aug 1, 2018

MarkRohfrietsch said:
Around 1983. First shot, right on the bullseye; consecutive shots always got wider and wider. 5 shots, about 10"; 10 shots, about 20" at 100. Home loads, factory, light bullets, heavy bullets, it did not matter.

I was not the only one; and from what I'm hearing most shoot about the same to this day.

I loved the rifle for fit and handling; it functioned perfectly; it just did not shoot where it was pointed... Ever wonder why the A-Team never shot anyone? They were using Mini-14s.

I would want one of the A-Teams Mini’s just for its ability to flip jeeps over.

Aldebaran · Aug 1, 2018

Aryeh Jay said:
I would want one of the A-Teams Mini’s just for its ability to flip jeeps over.

Here's a "mini" of a different kind that just might flip jeeps over.

Aryeh Jay · Aug 1, 2018

Aldebaran said:
Here's a "mini" of a different kind that just might flip jeeps over.

Cool, but I would have to be Jessie “The Body” Ventura to carry that thing around.

Aldebaran · Aug 1, 2018

Aryeh Jay said:
Cool, but I would have to be Jessie “The Body” Ventura to carry that thing around.

Oh yeah! This guy:
(Removed Link)

While looking that up, I just discovered that there's a remake of Predator coming out this year:

Aryeh Jay · Aug 1, 2018

Aldebaran said:
Oh yeah! This guy:

While looking that up, I just discovered that there's a remake of Predator coming out this year:

“I ain’t got time to bleed”

“Ol' Painless is waitin'”

marineimaging · Aug 1, 2018

Aldebaran said:
The first picture in the post you linked to looks just like mine, except my fore-end is more plane, without any rails. Is that what you paid only $489 for (as you mentioned in post #6)?

mine was like this without any rails as well. Then I found one like this for 35.00 and will tell you that is a bit too much. The machined shapes cut into my hands super mean like.

So I ended up covering them with quad rail covers. The good thing about those soft rubber snap on's is that you can trim them for accessories and save the pieces, then put the pieces back if you remove the accessory.

marineimaging · Aug 1, 2018

Aryeh Jay said:
“I ain’t got time to bleed”

“Ol' Painless is waitin'”

I hate to be a prude but I don't think that clip is appro for a Christian web site. Stuff like that is why I left FB

marineimaging · Aug 1, 2018

Aldebaran said:
The AR15 was first put into service by the military in 1963, but it was only within the last 10 years or so that it has exploded in popularity. It's still pretty much the same as it was when it first came on the scene, except for maybe more parts options available for it.

Perhaps it has something to do with politicians trying to ban it, but that happened (temporarily) back in 1994 when the AWB happened and lasted for 10 years. But still, it wasn't until well after that when it became much more popular. What was the cause?

I actually have one, and now realized I paid way too much for it, so now selling it would result in a big loss.

This from a former Manufacturing Engineer for electronic manufacturing, plastics, university research, and Burris Rifle Scopes. If you look at the machining speeds for aluminum billet vs steel blanks and forgings, and that you can set up a CNC to run 24/7 with palletized blanks, super fast tooling changes, and that machining aluminum runs much cooler, you would understand better why this style became so popular. Forget cost per unit. If I had a shop setup to make guns and had my choice to produce the M-16 or the M-14 in order to field an army, the M-16 wins hands down. Drop in trigger groups, interchangeable uppers, tube and spring makes up the buffer tube, and two pins to assemble top and bottom..., I wish I had thought it up.

MarkRohfrietsch · Aug 2, 2018

Aryeh Jay said:
I would want one of the A-Teams Mini’s just for its ability to flip jeeps over.

LOL!

Phil 1:21 · Aug 2, 2018

Why did they become so popular? One word: marketing.

That's not to say they aren't good guns. Not at all. But the gun industry was very smart to rebrand them as "modern sporting rifles."

Aldebaran · Aug 2, 2018

marineimaging said:
I hate to be a prude but I don't think that clip is appro for a Christian web site. Stuff like that is why I left FB

You're probably right. I'll take it down.

marineimaging · Aug 2, 2018

Aldebaran said:
You're probably right. I'll take it down.

Thank you. I have done the same thing myself in the past. I was thinking of part of the comment and not the other parts.

marineimaging · Aug 2, 2018

Phil 1:21 said:
Why did they become so popular? One word: marketing.

That's not to say they aren't good guns. Not at all. But the gun industry was very smart to rebrand them as "modern sporting rifles."

I called mine MMSR for Modern Modular Sporting Rifle. But then when I said MMSR people looked at me like I was goofy.

MarkRohfrietsch · Aug 3, 2018

marineimaging said:
I called mine MMSR for Modern Modular Sporting Rifle. But then when I said MMSR people looked at me like I was goofy.

Yes, the molecularity allows for it to be tailored to specific rolls in various calibers. The ultimate in convertibility.

Aldebaran · Aug 3, 2018

marineimaging said:
Thank you. I have done the same thing myself in the past. I was thinking of part of the comment and not the other parts.

Actually, I don't even know what was in the video and didn't have a way to hear it. I just posted it because of the guy in it.

Why did AR-15 become so popular?

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