AR-15 AR-10 Why is this so popular

I spend time every Saturday morning on the internet, just some quiet time before getting down to business for the day. I am amazed at the number of people machining AR-15 and AR-10 lowers.

I know very little about guns and haven't owned one myself since giving up Duck hunting in the late 80's. I do like them and will someday own a nice AR.

So whats the deal ? why are so many shops large and small making these parts ? Who buys them ? What are the advantages over the factory produced lower ? What are the laws around the manufacture and sale of these parts ? The market must be flooded and the price of the part must be beat to hell by now ?

I don't plan on doing this I've had a few guitars on the drawing board for years now and I'm so busy making parts for my customers they will never get made, I'm just curious.

Fill me in Boys !

Make Chips Boys !

Supply and demand. Well, a demand lead by fear. Fear these scary "assault rifles" will be banned. So every Tom, Dick, and Harry is buying them. Then Tom's, Dick's, and Harry's buddy has to have one cuz they are "cool".

If that pile of lies and deceit(the female ) gets into office, they will be manufacturing even more of them. It will dwarf the gun boom of '08/'09.

Dupa3872 said:

AR-15 AR-10 Why is this so popular

I know very little about guns and haven't owned one myself since giving up Duck hunting in the late 80's. I do like them and will someday own a nice AR.

Click to expand...

The 'aura of the forbidden.' There was zero, and i mean zero interest in these types of firearms before the Assault Weapons Ban.

It did the one thing you never do to an American- Tell him he can't have something!!!

I had an M16 MOD assigned to me in the Guard- I think I was assigned newer rifles during Federal training.
It's a good firearm but in test after test, it jams after extended usage at a much higher rate than other country's (or historical semi auto's) service rifles.

we've all heard the story about the original M-16's flawed debut in Vietnam- How there needed to be a forward assist added.

The flaw is that propellant is introduced into the bolt area via a tube from an orifice in the barrel. It makes the rifle light, unlike a Kalashnikov that uses a piston attached to a rod to move the action.

Modern version of these guns are quite accurate and reliable. They look more modern/space age than some other long guns. They are fairly inexpensive for the technology and accuracy they have. The small frame (ar15) is fairly light, and of course this was a big reason the military liked it when they took it up. (lighter weight ammunition too). Nice that the frame/receivers are aluminum, easier to machine than steel, and of course this keeps them light. They are modular, and easy to build/modify/maintain.
They are also a target of ignorant gun haters, who think they look "scary."
(from here on out,we would get into the politics and psychology of various viewpoints)

Why do people machine their own lowers? (or bolts and uppers for that matter)

Because barrels are difficult without "special machinery", and the rest of the firearm is made of plastic. And who wants the smell of molded plastic in the shop ? ;-)

There is a certain "did it myself" satisfaction, even if you need to point out the mistakes in order to tell the user machined piece from the store bought and FFL transferred units.

It's a hobby....with a history. That's about all.

If you look at what is going on in Massachusetts first our legislature passed a "ban" based on the Federal one that listed certain cosmetic features such as pistol grips, flash hiders, and bayonet lugs as defining what is an "Assault Rifle". AR-15s and others that did not have multiple features were exempt and huge numbers of "Mass Compliant" models were sold over a period of nearly two decades.

Now along comes our newest Attorney General who has decided to interpret "intent" of the legislature, even though that same legislature has had years to rework the legislation if they had felt it flawed, and is now declaring firearms PREVIOUSLY LEGALLY SOLD to be "copycat weapons". The wording of her enforcement notice seems to imply that virtually ANY semi-automatic rifle is now illegal.

She has threatened dealers with prosecution if they did not dispose of inventory and FOR NOW has promised not to prosecute citizens who legally acquired firearms prior to her notice.

Edit: forgot to add links

Assault Weapons Ban Enforcement

maura healey Archives - GOAL Blog

Good question????

I own a lot of guns , no ar 10 or 15.

If I was given one I would sell it.
i have no tolerance for a jamming firearm,it's one of the most unreliable weapon systems I have used.

After 300 or so rounds get ready for it, usually rips the head off the case stuck in the chamber and tries to load one in that headless case. Big problems now

Ive shot ar 10-15 over 40 different times friends guns. Not impressed in the least.

My favorite is my cz vz 58 in 7.62x39

Looks like a ak. Its much more accurate , and is fully machined reciver is still lighter than a stamped ak reciver.

I have over 8,000 rounds through it(I shoot competitvely) never cleaned it, waiting on the first failure from it.

I shoot a cz 75b stainless as my pistol, super impressed with it as well.

Prob have 10,000 no failures rounds from the pistol. ( most shoot glocks as they are law enforcement but as many as I have seen jam I have a different out look on them now)

Our Nanny Government wants to ban them, so we have to have them.
Our Nanny Government demands registration of these (and other) rifles (varies by state), and we don't like that idea.

By finishing an AR lower receiver yourself you both a)have one, and b) avoid registration. This is attractive to some segments of our population.

Add the pride of doing it yourself and you have another reason that this option is attractive.

Accuracy: The accuracy of this rifle platform is all in the upper, not the lower: I have One MOA AR15's (from prone, not off a bench or bipod). I have seen 8MOA AR15's. Accuracy comes with a price.

Jamming or failing to feed: A well broken in AR platform rifle can perform flawlessly through a 400 round weekend marksmanship event, and I see this frequently. On the other hand some of my brand new builds cannot go 50 rounds without being oiled (but eventually do run flawlessly)

I personally have always preferred parkerized steel and walnut stocks for my rifles. But after trying an accurate AR15 years ago I have acquired several for myself.

Another platform advantage to this rifle system: Changing calibers and barrel lengths.

I have AR15's 22LR, 223 Remington, and 9mm. I also have AR15 pistols.
I have AR10's (actually LR308's but that's an issue of a lack of industry standard for lowers) in 260 Remington and 308 Winchester.

From a machining standpoint: America has long been heading down the path towards a population that is incapable of working with their hands. If a noobie buys an AR 80%, and learns something about working with metal in the process of finishing that receiver, then this is a good thing.

From a political standpoint: American government has been headed down the path of disarming the population. The young are interested in AR platform rifles and this is getting them involved in the shooting sports, then they learn about their government trying to ban their sports, then they finally decide that they give a damn about politics and realize that elections have consequences.

I believe that 80% AR lower receivers are good medicine.

roll-a-leblond said:

After 300 or so rounds get ready for it, usually rips the head off the case stuck in the chamber and tries to load one in that headless case. Big problems now

Click to expand...

if you are having that problem you either
a. used an improperly sized round to check headspace instead of proper gages
b. are using improperly sized ammunition ( get a case gage )
or C. have an issue with the chamber in the barrel (bad headspace etc.).

Most common with reloads ( I actually had a sizing die from a major source that did fine with virgin brass but would not resize once fire properly, fine after exchange) case separation can happen after XX many times reloaded if everything is kosher as well.

try different ammo before you blame the gun.

roll-a-leblond said:

Good question????

I own a lot of guns , no ar 10 or 15.

If I was given one I would sell it.
i have no tolerance for a jamming firearm,it's one of the most unreliable weapon systems I have used.

After 300 or so rounds get ready for it, usually rips the head off the case stuck in the chamber and tries to load one in that headless case. Big problems now

Ive shot ar 10-15 over 40 different times friends guns. Not impressed in the least.

Click to expand...

What ever.. If you are confident in your opinions watch these two videos that where produced by an admitted ak fan. Comeback and tell us what you think. Of course this is just one data point. But a helluva rebuttal to the armchair warriors consensus.
(ar15 meltdown)
ULTIMATE AR-15 MELTDOWN! - YouTube

(ak meltdown)
Ultimate AK-47 Meltdown! - YouTube

And don't shoot that garbage 5.56 primed steel cased ammo...............the paint or shellac or whatever they put on the outside of the casings can coat you chamber with crud. Have fun gettin that crap cleaned outa there......................

The AR I have will drive tacks at 100 yds, and about 1.5" groups at 200 yds. Sure it would hang up when new, but after a few hundred rounds, it shoots flawlessly. When you get a new rifle, pull the bolt carrier and dip into some 10W30 or equivalent. None of that crap Rem oil. Some nice thick stuff. Don't even wipe it off and put it back in the gun dripping. Keep shootin. She won't hang up. After a coupla hundred rounds, use your favorite flavor gun oil. Straight from the mouth of an insider of the manufacturer, DPMS..............................

They are popular because they are easy to modify/customize and they are reliable and accurate.

As for the people who have stories about how unreliable they are... They are just stories, and I have a reliability story for you. My A2 style 20" barrel AR-15 has almost 8000 rounds through her since the last real cleaning. On top of that, most of the almost 8000 rounds has been dirty, steel case Russian crap. All I have done with that rifle is a few squirts of BreakFree into the upper/bolt carrier and wipe off the outside of the gun so it isn't so dirty. No malfunctions yet.

why are they so popular well just about any one can easily shoot one,
5.56 has very little recoil, and is effective, it's light and versatile.
and you have several choices as to what round you chamber it in.

just about any baboon can build one from parts.

ar308 well that's a little different, fairly easy to build not really light weight
not as easy to shoot it has noticeable recoil about the same weight as an m1a1, m14,
but not as complicated to manufacture, and highly customizable.
honestly although you could hunt with an AR308 it's way to heavy to be carrying around.

both ar15 and ar308 are easy to find ammunition for

short of like all the 9mm autos easy to feed fairly easy to shoot

Rock6.3 said:

From a machining standpoint: America has long been heading down the path towards a population that is incapable of working with their hands. If a noobie buys an AR 80%, and learns something about working with metal in the process of finishing that receiver, then this is a good thing.

From a political standpoint: American government has been headed down the path of disarming the population. The young are interested in AR platform rifles and this is getting them involved in the shooting sports, then they learn about their government trying to ban their sports, then they finally decide that they give a damn about politics and realize that elections have consequences.

Click to expand...

Double-barreled relevance! Right on.

The AR platform is the Chevy small block of the firearm world. Very easy to customize, aftermarket parts are readily available from countless manufacturers, reliable and proven.

GunBum said:

They are popular because they are easy to modify/customize and they are reliable and accurate.

As for the people who have stories about how unreliable they are... They are just stories, and I have a reliability story for you. My A2 style 20" barrel AR-15 has almost 8000 rounds through her since the last real cleaning. On top of that, most of the almost 8000 rounds has been dirty, steel case Russian crap. All I have done with that rifle is a few squirts of BreakFree into the upper/bolt carrier and wipe off the outside of the gun so it isn't so dirty. No malfunctions yet.

Click to expand...

I think there were some thrown together by some "manufacturers" with crappy parts that had reliability issues and that is likely where the stories come from. On the other hand I know many people who have better grade rifles and they tend to be very reliable. At many of the 200 yard club matches more and more shooters are showing up with ARs and they are extremely popular with women due to low recoil and easy maintenance. At one club I belong to they have several club guns and the smith who supervised cleaning used a thin metal tube inserted into the plastic extension tube on a can of Gun Scrubber to flush the carbon out of the gas tubes and port. Bolts can be de-carboned without disassembly using top cylinder cleaner or anything else that dissolves carbon.

GunBum,

Brush the chamber well before shooting any brass cased ammo. The steel cases don't seal as well so carbon leaks past the case mouth. It then embeds in the brass cases causing them to stick. I've helped remove quite a few stuck cases at the range.

lowCountryCamo said:

What ever.. If you are confident in your opinions watch these two videos that where produced by an admitted ak fan. Comeback and tell us what you think. Of course this is just one data point. But a helluva rebuttal to the armchair warriors consensus.
(ar15 meltdown)
ULTIMATE AR-15 MELTDOWN! - YouTube

(ak meltdown)
Ultimate AK-47 Meltdown! - YouTube

Click to expand...

I am not a gun person by any means. Thanks for posting the links, was a cool watch! (:

Dupa3872 said:

I spend time every Saturday morning on the internet, just some quiet time before getting down to business for the day. I am amazed at the number of people machining AR-15 and AR-10 lowers.

I know very little about guns and haven't owned one myself since giving up Duck hunting in the late 80's. I do like them and will someday own a nice AR.

So whats the deal ? why are so many shops large and small making these parts ? Who buys them ? What are the advantages over the factory produced lower ? What are the laws around the manufacture and sale of these parts ? The market must be flooded and the price of the part must be beat to hell by now ?

I don't plan on doing this I've had a few guitars on the drawing board for years now and I'm so busy making parts for my customers they will never get made, I'm just curious.

Fill me in Boys !

Make Chips Boys !

Click to expand...

The reasons why the AR platform is popular are pretty simple:

1. Since the 1991 Gulf War, we've had hundreds of thousands of men and women who have cycled through our military forces. The M-16 or M-4 is "their gun." Just as the 1903, 1917, M1 Garand and M1 Carbine used to be very popular in the civilian world with prior generations, (I can remember when a Carol Burnett Show episode had a M1 Garand a prop), the civilian version of the rifle that so many people trained with is "their rifle." They view the prior rifles of the US military as antiques and curious - nice, but not "their rifle."

2. The AR is easy to work on. Most things you could or would do to an AR need no mill, no lathe, no real gunsmithing knowledge. You can buy into almost every tool you'd conceivably use on an AR for less than $500 - all the wrenches, fixtures, gages, etc are easily available.

3. You can detail strip an AR in less than 15 minutes once you get good at it. When I'm on top of my game, I can detail strip an AR down to the pins and detents, and re-assemble it to spec in less than 30 minutes. It is a very straightforward gun to clean and re-assemble.

4. You can own one lower (the part with the serial number) and as many "uppers" as you'd like, changing uppers on/off the lower (which contains the trigger group, magazine catch, safety, etc) takes less than a minute. You can have a variety of barrel lengths on the uppers, or even different chamberings. One serial number, 'n' actual different guns.

5. There's a million and one accessories for them. AR's are a Lego set for adult shooters. If you're wondering how many accessories or parts for an AR are available, just get a Brownells catalog. The Brownells catalog is organized from the most popular guns in the front of the catalog to the least common/popular guns in the back. The greatest number of pages devoted to any gun in the Brownells catalog is for the AR-15, and it occupies dozens of pages in the front of the catalog. Brownells doesn't carry even half of the accessories available for AR's in the market - just the stuff their customers have requested.

6. Riffing off points (2) and (4), you can install a new barrel on an AR without needing a lathe - and most guys changing over barrels don't even use headspace gages. They just get a new barrel with the extension screwed/pinned on there, a new bolt (or a new bolt & carrier) and slap it together. Done.

AR's are light, accurate, easy to work on, have low (or almost no) recoil, have excellent trigger groups now available for them, etc.

Now the reason why the 80% lowers are popular? Some people want the DIY experience. Some people want less paper trail. Some people want special features.

I need to get me some of these jam-o-matic Glocks and AR's, just so I can practice malfunction clearing---all my evil black guns have been flawless. Usually we'll load up each others mags with the occasional empty brass, just to induce a malf so we can practice tap/rack/bang drill on the fly.

The only recent malfunction I've had with an AR was brass that had been reloaded too many times and had rims damaged by too many previous extractor dings.

My Springfield M1A cost me $1600
My AR cost 1/3 that. You could use one and have two hidden for later for the same as I paid for the Springfield .

And I for one hope there are millions of them hidden away for later, and guys from the past like Adams and Jefferson would be thinking the same way I think.