4 ms·

The entire point of the article was that "an AR-15" is a nonsense phrase. There isn't any such thing as "an AR-15." Today, the "AR-15" alphanumeric code refers

by mpbm 10y ago

The entire point of the article was that "an AR-15" is a nonsense phrase. There isn't any such thing as "an AR-15." Today, the "AR-15" alphanumeric code refers to a set of modular standards for interoperable gun parts. Assembling a weapon out of AR-15 compliant parts allows a non-gunsmith to adapt to different goals. So, not only are we way, way, way past Vietnam's M-16, but there isn't even an AR-15 you can point to today as the thing you don't want. The closest you could come to saying that in a sensible way is that you don't like any of the wide variety of options in the AR-15 standard.

giardini 10y ago
OK. I'll use your terminology: "The 'AR-15 standard' jams frequently" and "I don't want a rifle that jams." In the 1950's men customized their cars by "hot-rodding" the engines, transmissions, etc. They tested them by street racing. Today the desire of men to fiddle with some sort of handy tech has, to some degree, been assumed by the "AR-15 standard". Like Legos, a buyer can mix and match, fiddle forever w/o actually shooting his rifle. Just as most hot-rodders never actually street-raced their Holley-carbureted Chevys or their Hurst-shifted Buicks in that era, most AR-15 fiddlers today have rarely, if at all, shot their jury-rigged AR-15s. And, except for those who have been in the military, virtually none have formal training and experience in the use of those weapons or even the simulation of their use (not that that is required, but it helps when the chips are down). So the "AR-15 standard" is Pokemon or Lego for adults. Entertaining, costly, with unending variations, it is a "scissors, rock, paper" for AR-15 buffs. It has an associated symbolic status value among a limited group of people and is largely harmless (even in time of conflict, I would add), unless you're married to one of them and have a limited budget.

by mpbm 10y ago

giardini 10y ago

OK. I'll use your terminology: "The 'AR-15 standard' jams frequently" and "I don't want a rifle that jams." In the 1950's men customized their cars by "hot-rodding" the engines, transmissions, etc. They tested them by street racing. Today the desire of men to fiddle with some sort of handy tech has, to some degree, been assumed by the "AR-15 standard". Like Legos, a buyer can mix and match, fiddle forever w/o actually shooting his rifle. Just as most hot-rodders never actually street-raced their Holley-carbureted Chevys or their Hurst-shifted Buicks in that era, most AR-15 fiddlers today have rarely, if at all, shot their jury-rigged AR-15s. And, except for those who have been in the military, virtually none have formal training and experience in the use of those weapons or even the simulation of their use (not that that is required, but it helps when the chips are down). So the "AR-15 standard" is Pokemon or Lego for adults. Entertaining, costly, with unending variations, it is a "scissors, rock, paper" for AR-15 buffs. It has an associated symbolic status value among a limited group of people and is largely harmless (even in time of conflict, I would add), unless you're married to one of them and have a limited budget.