I don't own an AR. Am I alone?

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

Owned a few and could not get into the AR Hype,Shoot my SKSs,MI Carbine and that fills the desire ! much prefer my handguns glock get most range time and safe queens well they are just that they get fondled oiled and put away for children and grandchildren !

[zachomega]

they often have free shipping......

Free shipping on an out of stock gun still doesn't negate the transfer and lost savings by not buying used.

-Zach

[j_h_smith]

I would totally own one if the price was right. Used s&w under or at 400$, I'd jump on it. Unknown (to me) manufacturer new at the same price I'd probably avoid.

Also, to the Wal-Mart buyers, lucky you. My local Wal-Mart pretty much only has shotguns and bolt and lever guns up to say 30-30 with an odd caliber here and there. No semi auto anything other than a 10/22.

-Zach

You can buy a brand new AR for just a few dollars more. We have an FFL here in MD who is selling a Windham AR15 carbine for under $500. There are others who are selling no name ARs for about what you want to pay for a used rifle. It would seem that Hillary's loss has a lot of unsold inventory in stock and vendors are forced to sell at super low prices.

You can buy a nice AR15 for less than the price of a nice handgun. Ammo is cheap and they are pretty accurate right out of the box.

If you don't own one and are thinking about it, now is the tie to buy. I doubt prices will ever be this low again!

[KCJones]

I have nothing against the AR platform. It is actually pretty cool. But the flooded market of aftermarket parts is just too much for me to wade through and scares me off.

There are a ton of manufacturers. Some better than others. Price points all over. And subtle differences in makes and models. Again, it seems like sensory overload for me.

I'm not saying never. But for now it just seems so much easier (I'm already incredibly indecisive) not to get bogged down with all of the accessories. My wallet of course thanks me too.

Just wondering how many other people don't own an AR.

-Zach

You're not alone, as others have said: Plenty don't.

I myself own one - a Windham. Got it for $400. Bone stock. I'm really more a pistol shooter, but have had a great time putting 000's of rounds through it at the range and my folks' farm.

I definitely understand the 'it's all so confusing' factor. I have more knowledge of AR's than my ownership would suggest (have helped and learned from many friends on builds/mods and similar). But even at that the mind boggles and I don't even begin to compare with the knowledge of folks who are truly "into it".

They certainly can be a money-sink. I know in the motorcycle world (one I know far better than firearms), I'm often amused at the guys with various 'mods' on their bikes that are 3x the value of the bike as a whole. But they love 'em, they enjoy the modding, and they're very proud of whatever gains they've made with them. So more power to 'em. My attitude is ditto on AR's. But the point is you don't HAVE to mod/customize/etc a basic AR to have a very good rifle.

[free]

But the point is you don't HAVE to mod/customize/etc a basic AR to have a very good rifle.

Yeah...but if you don't, then why bother? You can have a different very good rifle instead...and some of us do (:

[theduke]

I do not own an AR, but I do own 2 AKs. I never wanted an AR.

[j_h_smith]

Yeah...but if you don't, then why bother? You can have a different very good rifle instead...and some of us do (:

That's what makes the AR platform such an attractive option for shooters. Right out of the box, you can have an accurate rifle out to 200 yards. Then when the money is available, you can start to do things with it. You can keep adding to the rifle until you have a 21st century race gun. But throughout the entire course of time, you have a riffle that can probably outshoot most owners. You can add bells and whistles or you can build it for a specific task (like 3 gun). You can even build a pink one for your woman if she so desires. The possibilities are endless. That's why I love the platform. I've got a bunch of them and not any 2 are built the same way.

[zachomega]

You can buy a brand new AR for just a few dollars more. We have an FFL here in MD who is selling a Windham AR15 carbine for under $500. There are others who are selling no name ARs for about what you want to pay for a used rifle. It would seem that Hillary's loss has a lot of unsold inventory in stock and vendors are forced to sell at super low prices.

You can buy a nice AR15 for less than the price of a nice handgun. Ammo is cheap and they are pretty accurate right out of the box.

If you don't own one and are thinking about it, now is the tie to buy. I doubt prices will ever be this low again!

Well then it shouldn't be hard to find a good one at my price point. I say that but haven't seen any locally in the classifieds.

Also, why can't a guy build a pink one for himself? Haha.

-Zach

[bripro]

All this AR talk made me lug this SBR and pistol to the range today. We have a max distance of just over one hundred yards and one can punch the center out all day with iron sights. These are only ten and a half inch barrels too. If I could only have one AR I would take an A2 all day. Fixed carry handle and fsp is just fine with me. They are often marketed as patrol rifles and are generally at the bottom end if the price scale.

[eatmydust]

Here is something to consider, in the event of true societal chaos, a $1500 insurance policy is fairly cheap, and amortized over a decade or three, really, really cheap.

That $1500 policy could consist of 1 - AR15 @ ~ $500, 1 - Glock 17/19 @ ~ $500, and $500 worth of ammo for both firearms.

These two platforms are widely available, reliable and robust enough to last decades. The ammo is cheap, light and can be stored safely long-term. Both guns are fun to shoot and easy enough to maintain for recreational purposes. They are also light enough in weight that they are not a burden to carry if it ever became necessary, God forbid.

Food for thought.