AR15 Myth #1: The “AR” means automatic rifle or assault rifle.
Firstly, the “AR” in AR15 has no association with the words “automatic” nor “assault”. It comes from the company that first produced the rifle, called Armalite. Armalite is still in business however Colt now owns the model AR15.
Secondly, the AR15 is a semi-automatic rifle, not an automatic rifle. An automatic firearm is one in which the trigger is held down and the rifle continues firing automatically until the trigger is released or all live ammunition is expended. The AR15 is only capable of firing a single round per trigger pull, just like every handgun on the market. Thus, you can hold the trigger for as long as you’d like and you are still only going to fire the rifle once.
Lastly, the term “assault weapon” is a moving goal post. Everyone’s definition of an “assault weapons” is different and thus what may be an “assault weapon” in one place may not be in another. Consider that California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, the District of Columbia, Chicago, Boston, and Denver all have different definitions of an “assault weapon”. Now consider that there are AR15 ban compliant models available in those states and municipalities. Consider than despite at least 11 “assault weapon” bans with their own definitions on the books in this country, one can still buy a “50-state legal AR15”.
Let’s ditch the legal mumbo jumbo and use the original traditional definition. Hugo Schmeisser developed a new rifle for the Nazi German Army; the rifle was light, short, capable of both semi-automatic and automatic fire, and fired a cartridge smaller than a full-size rifle cartridge and larger than a pistol sized cartridge. The rifle was called the MP44. When Hitler saw the rifle, it is said he was so impressed he himself had it renamed the SturmGewehr, this translates to “Assault Rifle”. So not only does the AR15 not fit the original definition of an “assault rifle”, but dare I say using word is using Nazi propaganda.
AR15 Myth #2: An automatic AR15 assault rifle is easy to obtain.
They are actually not easy to obtain. They are quite pricey in both cash and time. The National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 began the classification of and regulation of machine guns including a registration, an excise tax on the transfer of ownership of automatic weapons pending approval by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and requiring the owners to notify the ATF of transporting automatic weapons across state lines.
In 1986, President Reagan signed the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act into law which prohibited the new manufacture of automatic rifles for commercial sale in this country. In other words, fully automatic weapons have not been manufactured (except for government use) for over 30 years.
To lawfully obtain an automatic AR15 the following steps must be taken (this is simplified and not comprehensive):
- Reside in a state that allows machine guns. While most states allow machine guns, some states like California do not.
- Find and purchase a transferable model (manufactured prior to 1986). Typical pricing as of 2019 will be between $20,000 to $50,000 depending on the specific sub-model, but prices are rising fast.
- Find a local firearms dealer who possesses both a license to deal NFA products and an SOT, to transfer the automatic rifle for you. This will cost between $50 to $200 per transfer for the service.
- Complete an ATF Form 4 with your local transfer dealer. To complete the form, you will also be required to submit fingerprints and passport photos.
- You then must pass an FBI criminal background check and the ATF will register the automatic rifle to you.
After approval, which can take up to one year depending on the ATF’s backlog, your tax stamp will be sent to your transfer dealer and you can pick up your automatic rifle.
AR15 Myth #3: The AR15 is a high-powered rifle.
I myself find it particularly interesting that the media likes to refer to the AR15 as “high powered”, and yet I’ve never heard them refer to any other firearms as “low powered” or “standard power”. Even more interestingly, when the media talks of the AR15’s potential replacement or the weapons of the enemy, it is often labeled as underpowered and a largely insufficient weapon. So what exactly is a high-powered rifle? The problem is the phrase doesn’t mean anything, “high powered” lacks both definition and proportion.
So, let’s use some actual proportions…
For the AR15 the most common bullet is .224 inches in diameter, weights 55 grains (3.5 grams) and is traveling about 3,000 feet per second (fps) out of the muzzle. Energy is about 1,100-foot pounds.
The 308 cartridge is the most popular hunting cartridge in the US and is used extensively by the US military from the 1960’s to this day. This cartridge was used in the previous standard military issue rifle too and today is still popular in sniper rifles and machine guns. This bullet diameter is .30 inches, may weight as little as 150 grains (10g) and is traveling about 2,820 feet per second out of the muzzle. Energy is about 2,648-foot pounds.
In World War 2 American soldiers went to war with a rifle chambered in 30-06 and it still remains a popular hunting round. The bullet diameter is .30 inches, may weight as little as 150 grains (10 grams), leaves the muzzle at 2,910 feet per second, and delivers energies at 2,820-foot pounds.
In 1876 General George Custer and his battalion were annihilated at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. General Custer’s troops were largely carrying the Springfield 1873 Trapdoor Rifle chambered in 45-70. The 45-70 bullet diameter is .458 inches, weights 405 grains (26.2 grams) and leaves the muzzle at 1,350 feet per second delivering 1,748-foot pounds of energy.
So, what do the numbers tell us…
Looking at some of the most important rifle cartridges preceding the AR15’s 5.56mm cartridge we’ve found that the bullet of an AR15 is smaller than all of them, weighs less than all of them, travels faster than all of them but just barely beating the 308 and the 30-06 in speed, but puts out the least amount of energy.
It is also worth noting that compared to the AR15’s 5.56mm cartridge the 308 and the 30-06 are almost a 1/10th of an inch larger, almost 3x heavier, and are moving only 200 feet per second slower. The result is over double the amount of energy on target.
So what is the conclusion…
This isn’t a question of cartridge effectiveness or ability to perform. The question is, is the AR15 bullet some super high-powered killing missile? Clearly it is not. Of the three, all previous US military rifle cartridges, the 5.56mm could be argued as the lowest powered considering it is smaller, lighter, and delivers less energy on target. The bullet is also not generally considered a hunting cartridge as it is not an effective cartridge for shooting large animals.
AR15 Myth #4: The AR15 is a “military style” rifle designed for war.
Armalite, the original creator of the rifle, was a division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. Armalite’s focus was weapon designs using plastics and aircraft grade aluminum alloys, and licensing them to larger manufacturers who could mass produce them. That is what the rifle was designed for. After Armalite sold the rights to Colt, Colt was able to successfully sell the rifle to the US Air Force as the M16 for the purposes of base security. So, if we want to talk about design, the M16 was arguably designed for area protection at best, specifically US Air Forces bases, not for war and battlefields.
The AR15 unequivocally is not the same thing as the US military’s M16 nor M4 Carbine, despite how closely they might look. The semi-automatic AR15 is purpose built for non-military (commerical) sales, in fact the vast majority of AR15 manufacturers hold zero total government contracts. The pertinent parts are not interchangeable and cannot readily be swapped to mimic the function.
AR15 Myth #5: You cannot hunt with an AR15.
The AR15 is one of the most popular hunting rifles currently available and its popularity is rising fast. It is quite simple to figure out why.
With the use of aluminum alloy instead of steel they do not rust, they are more corrosion resistant, and they are lighter. The use of polymer furniture makes it lighter and significantly more tolerant of the outdoors as opposed to wood. The rail over the upper receiver makes mounting a traditional hunting scope or night vision/thermal accessories too easy. The rifle is also more than accurate enough to get a precise shot for a humane kill.
The 5.56mm round works well enough for coyotes and some use it to success for small deer and small pig. Some AR15 shooters prefer to swap uppers for a larger caliber for game larger than coyote and the options are endless whether you want to go 6.5 Grendel, 6.8SPC, 300blk, 450 Bushmaster, 458 SOCOM, etc. You can also go the other way and swap in a .22LR bolt for ground squirrel and rabbits. This adaptability to change the cartridge and/or scope so quickly and easily, depending on your use purpose is unmatched by any other rifle, arguably making it the best hunting rifle available.
AR15 Myth #6: There is no legitimate purpose to own an AR15.
There AR15 actually fits very neatly into every legitimate purpose; hunting, competition shooting, self-defense, training both new and more advanced shooters, emergency preparation, and good old-fashioned fun.
We’ve already discussed in the previous point that you can in fact hunt with an AR15. In fact, it could easily be argued that it is the best hunting rifle available today because of its flexible design to allow changes for multi-roles.
The AR15 is also the most successful rifle for competition shooting, particularly in competitions like 2-Gun or 3-Gun. It is also able to compete in competitions utilizing only pistol caliber cartridges as a result of its flexible ability to readily adapt to caliber conversions. Because of its accuracy and that same caliber adaptability, it is also found a limited home in certain accuracy competitions. Perhaps what surprises most people is how good the AR15 is for home defense.
AR15 Myth #7: The AR15 is the weapon of choice for mass killers.
FBI statistics have consistently shown that rifles are responsible for the vast minority of all murders by guns, sitting around 2%-4% in any given year, this would include significantly more models than just the AR15.
With respect to mass public shootings specifically, these represent a fraction of 1% of homicides. While handguns are still the most popular weapon for mass public shootings, AR15’s are the most popular long gun for mass public shootings. Why? Well, this is actually a really easy question to answer, the AR15 is the most successful and best-selling rifle in the country today. Would you be surprised if the best-selling car in the country was also at the top of the list of vehicles involved in collisions? What about if the best-selling and most popular bug and pest poison was the most responsible for emergency room visits? Would you be surprised if the shark species most populous on the American coastline was responsible for most of the shark bites in this country? This is a simply misunderstanding of causation versus correlation, a circumstance of sheer numbers.
AR15 Myth #8: The AR15 can easily be converted into a machine gun.
This is simply not true. In order to physically complete such a conversion, one need to know where and how much metal to remove, how to locate the hole(s) to be drilled and for what size, they would need to source or otherwise manufacture and install the missing parts, then they would have to time the action. Failure to do this correctly could permanently destroy the rifle.
Legally speaking they would be required to obtain a business license, tax permit, and the appropriate licenses and permits from the ATF. Failure to do so could mean up to 15 years in prison and fines totaling $510,000. And that is just the Feds, your own state may well have their own punishments they can dole out. In other words, no. The AR15 cannot be easily be converted into a machine gun.
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