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I came away from this article feeling like I had a better understanding of why the AR-15 is such a popular weapon - considered configurable, reliable, etc. The

I came away from this article feeling like I had a better understanding of why the AR-15 is such a popular weapon - considered configurable, reliable, etc. The historical argument about buying military-grade weapons because it's known to be reliable _because it has to be_ made sense to me as well. However, I didn't feel like I understood why he needed that gun. Is he a hunter? Does he own his AR-15 for self-defense? As far as I could tell, the reason he wanted the rifle is because it's considered "cool" and he makes it clear that he views it as somewhat of a toy. Calling the AR-15 "a Lego kit for adults" made my stomach turn, but I understand where he's coming from. EDIT: a commenter below mentions that the author lives on a 17-acre farm and owns a gun to take care of animals that invade, as well as for recreational shooting. What's missing from this article is a discussion of why so many guys feel like they need to own such a weapon (and usually more than one) in the first place. If you're a hunter, survivalist, preparing for the zombie apocalypse, fine, yes, you need a weapon. That's understandable. But it seems disingenuous for the author to write such a long post without including a critique of the way the AR-15 is marketed. A common ad I've seen posted is just a picture of the rifle with the caption: "consider your man card reissued". Call me insensitive, but the person who gets fired up by that ad is not someone I want to see owning a rifle. Or any kind of weapon for that matter. Our definition of what it means to be "a real man" needs a deep and thorough re-evaluation.

8note 10y ago
Reliable because it has to be is also a strong argument that what he's doing with his guns doesn't need that level of reliability. if that level of reliability was needed, non military grade guns would have it.
picklesman 10y ago
Yes this. I was also uncomfortably aware of the transparent appeals to the engineer's sensibility ("open source", modularity, geeking out on youtube, using adverbs like "exquisitely", "lego-blocks" etc). I found it somewhat sneaky, and in no way whatsoever did it translate to need. We are not talking about a car or a musical instrument, we are talking about an instrument of death. Necessary for certain tasks? yes. Something all civilians should have access to? no. As a musician, "gear-head"ism always struck me as kind of sad, a rabbit hole that has almost nothing to do with where music comes from. Ultimately harmless, though. This kind of fetishization, on the other hand, frankly disgusts me.
bgentry 10y ago
The author's response to this question from Twitter: I live on 17 acres, so: coyotes, hogs, nutria (and other destructive varmints), recreational shooting. https://t.co/o0eSUusHXI https://t.co/o0eSUusHXI
- paloaltokid 10y ago
  Thanks for sharing!
ufmace 10y ago
What makes you think of the AR-15 as a high-powered weapon? It's actually pretty low-powered as far as rifles go - virtually all bolt-action "hunting rifles" are much more powerful. The whole design purpose for this class of weapons is to be lower-powered and lower recoil to make rapid fire and fast follow-up shots more practical.
- paloaltokid 10y ago
  Fair enough, the word "high-powered" isn't necessarily relevant to the point I'm trying to make. I removed it from my post. The rest of my argument stands.
tracker1 10y ago
The AR-15 is inappropriate for the likes of deer or elk, and overkill from smaller animals... The many sizes of ammo and rounds are the nature of having many weapons from many manufacturers in many cultures, mostly around war times. Some people are just avid collectors... Nobody needs to have 2+ cars per household, and teenage deaths from auto accidents are significant. For me, it's about extending personal freedom and accepting that you can never be completely safe. In the case of this shooting, it probably would have been a bomb otherwise, and would have killed/injured about as many people.
- vanattab 10y ago
  The gun is perfect for varmint hunting. It handles anything from a coyote down and I am not sure what overkill means it all depends on the bullet style. Also ar-15 style guns don't have to me .277 they can be higher caliber suitable for dear/elk. Although I agree I would rather have a lite weight bolt action if I am walking and elk hunting alot. The modular nature is great for coyote hunting.
  - tracker1 10y ago
    I mean that for smaller things, rabbits, prairy dogs etc... I'd probably be inclined to reach for a .22 LR... same regarding elk/deer. 3030 or 308 ... As to the style, I think that's more about personal preference... I'm not concerned about people that want "scary looking" guns. Again, I'm not an owner... but with all this talk, wondering if i can find a local butcher that carries rabbit. ... wow, just looked, didn't realize there were that many caliber choices...
- drewrv 10y ago
  The car analogy is apt because auto deaths are studied, cars are strongly regulated, and as a result deaths have been declining for years now.
mac01021 10y ago
> "consider your man card reissued" > Our definition of what it means to be "a real man" needs a deep and thorough re-evaluation. That's got to be a play on memes from the current presidential campaign, right? It might be more an appeal to people who consider themselves anti-Clinton or anti-democratic-party than an appeal to guys who want to feel more masculine. I don't know, though.
- paloaltokid 10y ago
  I think it could definitely be a play on memes from the current campaign, which itself could be seen as a referendum on masculinity. But it goes much deeper than just the politics of year 2016.

8note 10y ago

Reliable because it has to be is also a strong argument that what he's doing with his guns doesn't need that level of reliability. if that level of reliability was needed, non military grade guns would have it.

picklesman 10y ago

Yes this. I was also uncomfortably aware of the transparent appeals to the engineer's sensibility ("open source", modularity, geeking out on youtube, using adverbs like "exquisitely", "lego-blocks" etc). I found it somewhat sneaky, and in no way whatsoever did it translate to need. We are not talking about a car or a musical instrument, we are talking about an instrument of death. Necessary for certain tasks? yes. Something all civilians should have access to? no. As a musician, "gear-head"ism always struck me as kind of sad, a rabbit hole that has almost nothing to do with where music comes from. Ultimately harmless, though. This kind of fetishization, on the other hand, frankly disgusts me.

bgentry 10y ago

The author's response to this question from Twitter: I live on 17 acres, so: coyotes, hogs, nutria (and other destructive varmints), recreational shooting. https://t.co/o0eSUusHXI https://t.co/o0eSUusHXI

paloaltokid 10y ago
Thanks for sharing!

ufmace 10y ago

What makes you think of the AR-15 as a high-powered weapon? It's actually pretty low-powered as far as rifles go - virtually all bolt-action "hunting rifles" are much more powerful. The whole design purpose for this class of weapons is to be lower-powered and lower recoil to make rapid fire and fast follow-up shots more practical.

paloaltokid 10y ago
Fair enough, the word "high-powered" isn't necessarily relevant to the point I'm trying to make. I removed it from my post. The rest of my argument stands.

tracker1 10y ago

The AR-15 is inappropriate for the likes of deer or elk, and overkill from smaller animals... The many sizes of ammo and rounds are the nature of having many weapons from many manufacturers in many cultures, mostly around war times. Some people are just avid collectors... Nobody needs to have 2+ cars per household, and teenage deaths from auto accidents are significant. For me, it's about extending personal freedom and accepting that you can never be completely safe. In the case of this shooting, it probably would have been a bomb otherwise, and would have killed/injured about as many people.

vanattab 10y ago
The gun is perfect for varmint hunting. It handles anything from a coyote down and I am not sure what overkill means it all depends on the bullet style. Also ar-15 style guns don't have to me .277 they can be higher caliber suitable for dear/elk. Although I agree I would rather have a lite weight bolt action if I am walking and elk hunting alot. The modular nature is great for coyote hunting.
- tracker1 10y ago
  I mean that for smaller things, rabbits, prairy dogs etc... I'd probably be inclined to reach for a .22 LR... same regarding elk/deer. 3030 or 308 ... As to the style, I think that's more about personal preference... I'm not concerned about people that want "scary looking" guns. Again, I'm not an owner... but with all this talk, wondering if i can find a local butcher that carries rabbit. ... wow, just looked, didn't realize there were that many caliber choices...
drewrv 10y ago
The car analogy is apt because auto deaths are studied, cars are strongly regulated, and as a result deaths have been declining for years now.

mac01021 10y ago

> "consider your man card reissued" > Our definition of what it means to be "a real man" needs a deep and thorough re-evaluation. That's got to be a play on memes from the current presidential campaign, right? It might be more an appeal to people who consider themselves anti-Clinton or anti-democratic-party than an appeal to guys who want to feel more masculine. I don't know, though.

paloaltokid 10y ago
I think it could definitely be a play on memes from the current campaign, which itself could be seen as a referendum on masculinity. But it goes much deeper than just the politics of year 2016.