Just found this article. Thought I’d hack up one really egregious paragraph.
But the AR-15 is not ideal for the hunting and home-defense uses that the NRA’s Keene cited today. Though it can be used for hunting, the AR-15 isn’t really a hunting rifle. Its standard .223 caliber ammunition doesn’t offer much stopping power for anything other than small game.
Well many hunters would disagree. Even then, it takes a pretty ignorant person to think that .223 Rem is the ONLY caliber AR-15s come in.
Hunters themselves find the rifle controversial, with some arguing AR-15-style rifles empower sloppy, “spray and pray” hunters to waste ammunition. (The official Bushmaster XM15 manual lists the maximum effective rate of fire at 45 rounds per minute.) As one hunter put it in the comments section of an article on americanhunter.org, “I served in the military and the M16A2/M4 was the weapon I used for 20 years. It is first and foremost designed as an assault weapon platform, no matter what the spin. A hunter does not need a semi-automatic rifle to hunt, if he does he sucks, and should go play video games. I see more men running around the bush all cammo’d up with assault vests and face paint with tricked out AR’s. These are not hunters but wannabe weekend warriors.”
First let’s ignore the slander, strawman, and appeal to authority that claims that because this person served in the military they can’t POSSIBLY be ignorant. First up nobody NEEDS to hunt. Sorry you won’t starve if you don’t get your deer. Hunters don’t die when they have an unsuccessful hunt, so that argument is invalid. Further many places impose a magazine limit. So how can somebody with a 5-shot AR-15 be able to waste ammo any LESS than somebody with a Remington 700 Bolt action?
Of course also, what makes an auto-loading gun any less able to take game with a well-placed shot?
In terms of repelling a home invasion—which is what most people mean when they talk about home defense—an AR-15-style rifle is probably less useful than a handgun. The AR-15 is a long gun, and can be tough to maneuver in tight quarters.
Hold out a pistol in a modern stance…then hold out a 16″ AR. Which sticks out further? Chances are the size is irrelevant.
When you shoot it, it’ll overpenetrate—sending bullets through the walls of your house and possibly into the walls of your neighbor’s house—unless you purchase the sort of ammunition that fragments on impact. (This is true for other guns, as well, but, again, the thing with the AR-15 is that it lets you fire more rounds faster.)
Again IGNORANCE! Reality begs to differ. The long rifle bullet quickly yaws when it hits an object so it technically penetrates LESS than buckshot or pistol rounds. It also has more muzzle energy, and is easier to shoot. We call that a “Win Win”.
Another great example of how IGNORANCE is the driving force behind the anti-gun movement.
