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In my mind that is the only reason, because the USSR made a whole lot of them, and then shipped them out to every third-world country. It is for a similar reas

by cgore 13y ago

In my mind that is the only reason, because the USSR made a whole lot of them, and then shipped them out to every third-world country. It is for a similar reason AR-15s are so popular here in the USA, because the US Military mostly uses M16s ,which are almost the same, and therefore they are the "cool, I'm almost-for-really a soldier now" gun.

teuobk 13y ago
The popularity of the AR-15 is related to the popularity of the M16, but the "pretend you're a soldier" aspect isn't the main reason. A more complete explanation includes: - Lots of manufacturers - Reliable action (depending on manufacturer) - 5.56mm NATO and/or .223 Remington ammo is (or, before late 2012, was) relatively cheap - Light recoil - Tons of accessories available - Relatively accurate - Fun to shoot And also, among gun guys, there's at least a little bit of the feeling that by owning one, you're giving the middle finger to people who want to ban them.
- commandar 13y ago
  The AR pattern of rifles has also evolved into something highly modular in the past 20 years. The same lower receiver can be swapped into an upper receiver set up for anything from long distance precision target shooting to close-quarters room clearing. Saying someone owns an AR is sort of like (loosely) saying they own a PC - that could mean anything from an Intel NUC to a Xeon workstation in a huge case. There's a common architecture, but it's the flexibility of the architecture that makes it popular.
- pjmlp 13y ago
  > And also, among gun guys, there's at least a little bit of the feeling that by owning one, you're giving the middle finger to people who want to ban them. Sure, because we all know how safe guns are kept in the USA and no one ever runs amok with a few of them around.
InclinedPlane 13y ago
The AR-15 design uses a very common type of ammo (.223/5.56), it's light-weight with low recoil, it's fairly ergonomic and compact, and it's accurate. All of those things are factors that make it desirable for civilian uses ranging from recreational range shooting to home defense. The "tacticool" factor is probably responsible for only a tiny fraction of all AR-15 sales.

by cgore 13y ago

teuobk 13y ago

The popularity of the AR-15 is related to the popularity of the M16, but the "pretend you're a soldier" aspect isn't the main reason. A more complete explanation includes: - Lots of manufacturers - Reliable action (depending on manufacturer) - 5.56mm NATO and/or .223 Remington ammo is (or, before late 2012, was) relatively cheap - Light recoil - Tons of accessories available - Relatively accurate - Fun to shoot And also, among gun guys, there's at least a little bit of the feeling that by owning one, you're giving the middle finger to people who want to ban them.

commandar 13y ago
The AR pattern of rifles has also evolved into something highly modular in the past 20 years. The same lower receiver can be swapped into an upper receiver set up for anything from long distance precision target shooting to close-quarters room clearing. Saying someone owns an AR is sort of like (loosely) saying they own a PC - that could mean anything from an Intel NUC to a Xeon workstation in a huge case. There's a common architecture, but it's the flexibility of the architecture that makes it popular.
pjmlp 13y ago
> And also, among gun guys, there's at least a little bit of the feeling that by owning one, you're giving the middle finger to people who want to ban them. Sure, because we all know how safe guns are kept in the USA and no one ever runs amok with a few of them around.

InclinedPlane 13y ago

The AR-15 design uses a very common type of ammo (.223/5.56), it's light-weight with low recoil, it's fairly ergonomic and compact, and it's accurate. All of those things are factors that make it desirable for civilian uses ranging from recreational range shooting to home defense. The "tacticool" factor is probably responsible for only a tiny fraction of all AR-15 sales.