Are AR-15 Style Rifles "Weapons of War"?

[Physics-Man]

Yes

No

[saffoler]

The Armalight-15 isn't a weapon of war; as it is only semi-automatic. The M4 is; as it is fully automatic. Personally I would rather have the M249-SAW if I was going into battle; that or a P-90.

[DarkWinterNights]

I’m intrigued. Are you military or law enforcement?

[Sixgunsound]

@saffoler I heard a story about a guy in Vietnam who got his hunting rifle shipped over piece by piece, it was a lever gun in.444 Marlin. Cuts through trees, brush, and Chinese body armor no problem. Also when you’re in a battle of lots of little pips and pops and suddenly you cut loose with a ‘rack-click BOOM’ and whatever is in front of you goes down, that’s the gun I want. Attention is typically bad in a firefight, but you don’t need full auto, which seems to me like a waste of ammo. I guess if you can make a private carry it then it’s ok😆

[Sixgunsound]

Also why are we talking about the last name of the guy who invented it being stoner?

[saffoler]

@DarkWinterNights nope. Just a fan of guns.

[saffoler]

@Sixgunsound I am in the Spray and Pray school of firearms. I don't know what you are talking about; who is a stoner?

[DarkWinterNights]

@saffoler, I think he was referring to Eugene Stoner, the original inventor of the AR. Iirc he sold the patent to Armalite who put it into production.
While there are a lot more female gun owners these days, most gun owners in general don’t know what a P90 is. It was my dream gun from one of my favorite shows ever since I was a kid.

[saffoler]

Stargate SG-1?

[DarkWinterNights]

Hell yeah, and to a little bit lesser extent Atlantis.

[saffoler]

Nice, I love the Stargate series. I wish they would have gone further with Universe.

[DarkWinterNights]

Same, some of the best sci-fi shows ever. Though I did have a hard time getting involved with Universe. SG-1 was hard to beat. Even after they got rid of several of the best characters.

[saffoler]

Did you also watch BSG? When Sci-Fi had SG-1, Atlantis, and BSG running together it was the best night of TV ever in my opinion.

[DarkWinterNights]

I watched the first two seasons and I fell behind - probably sci-fi’s horribly inconsistent schedule. I picked the series up and binge watched them later. Another solid show. Really broke sci-fi shows out of a rut and into a golden age. Remember when WWE was on sci-fi? Lol.

[saffoler]

That made no sense to me.

[Sixgunsound]

@DarkWinterNights I’d say on order of 80% of the new CCW permit holders I work with are women, and of those slightly more minority women. Gun control is going to be a lot tougher sell when the core demographic (middle class women) of the Democrat party are buying more guns than the demon-spawn known as cis het white men. New York rammed gun control through a midnight session earlier in the week, it would be a shame if that backfired because women raised on Hermione and Katniss aren’t afraid anymore.

[DarkWinterNights]

Sorry, kinda got carried away. I watched BSG as a whole later when you could buy the whole series on DVD. In my opinion, BSG and the Stargate’s showed what Space Science fiction was capable of. Most of the shows on SyFy channel were B-movies and shows like WWE wrestling.

[DarkWinterNights]

@Sixgunsound, That’s awesome. I know the range I go to has changed drastically in the last 5 years. A lot of friend groups and families now. There was even a couple who made a date out of it my last trip.

[Daniela1982]

@Sixgunsound I find that hard to believe as big bullets like that are heavy to carry in quantity and can't be loaded very fast. If you have a bunch of Viet Cong attacking you then a slow firing lever action rifle is not what you want.

[Pterodon]

I used to have a 444 Marlin. Sharp recoil

[KrakenAttackin]

@saffoler. Damn, a SAW girl! Marry me!

[Sixgunsound]

@Daniela1982 Slower actions make you more thoughtful about pulling the trigger. Spray and pray is effective for Rambo when he has the Internet emoji enabled, but a lot of those bullets end up just going into a tree or the ground. It looks cool that sounds cool and it’s really scary when it’s coming at you, but a lot of the value to a government of full auto is it takes less time to create the degree of skill required to spray and pray.

[Sixgunsound]

Infinite anmo cheat enabled. Speech to text is not my friend🤣

[alice55]

I don't know a lot about gun but to what I heard they're semi automatic which then would mean they're not war weapon no?

[razelove]

The AK-47 sees much more use in that capacity, M-16's are truly going to be civilian weapons coming up as the military is changing infantry weapons completely away from 5.56 to 6.8 x 51 mm in the MCX spear.

M-16's are a popular rifle for one reason, they're really cheap in comparison to most other rifles. The ammo is also cheap as you can buy military ball ammo in bulk for cheap. Hell, they're so cheap you can buy them cheaper than a good handgun most times.

As the ammo gets more expensive, and the die for milling the metal isn't as in demand because they aren't being produced for the military, cost will go up, and if the trade stays halted with Russia, I'm predicting we're going to switch to either the AKM or type 56 rifle or an offshoot as most popular.

I've always considered explosives more a weapon of war. They don't have as many moving parts, but also don't need them...

[OlderAndWiser]

Depends on whether you ask leftists with an agenda or people who are knowledgeable about firearms.

[DCPowered]

And I'm still searching for a "Fully Semi Automatic Gun"

[NamerOfStars]

During the Solomon Islands campaign of World War 2, the USS O'Bannon (the most decorated destroyer of the war) picked up an incoming Japanese submarine, heading toward the airfield they were guarding. It was a big sub- they'd initially planned to ram it, but paused, realizing that it might be a minelayer, in which case ramming it would destroy them both. So they slewed sideways at the last minute, sailing parallel to them- and the sub didn't react. Confused, the Americans looked over the side of their ship- and found the surface crew of the sub atop it, ASLEEP. Apparently, even the wave from a destroyer sharply turning close by didn't wake them- but time did, and eventually they realized their situation.

The sub had a deck gun, and crew began running for it. The O'Bannon had deck guns, too, but were too close and too high to use them. Sailors ran for the storage bins, desperate to find ANY kind of weapon to respond with, and did. They began a vicious bombardment of the enemy sub. With depth charges? No- potatoes. Lots and lots of potatoes. The Japanese, still half-asleep and no doubt panicked from the sight of the massive, destroyer-shaped alarm clock, ran about the deck, either pushing the potatoes overboard or, for the truly brave, picking them up and throwing them back at the Americans, who promptly picked them up and threw them AGAIN. It's believed they thought they were grenades, and no doubt the sub crew wondered why the fuses had been set for such a long time.

Inexplicably, none of the potatoes exploded (now THERE'S a sentence you don't get to write every day!), but the time the sub crew spent chasing them gave the O'Bannon time to get enough distance to use its guns and sink the sub.

The moral of the story is that ANYTHING is a weapon of war if you're desperate and resourceful enough.

[DarkWinterNights]

I never heard this one before, it almost sounds like a made up story, but I’m not even sure if that would have been the weirdest thing that happened during WWII

[ChrisMaster69]

If they are not weapons of war, why do civilians own them in the US?

the reason that is constantly touted is that of The Militia.

The Militia would be used in a time of war, surely then they should be offered proper weapons of war.

Also, the majority of the time weapons are set to rounds and not auto.

Imagine doing guard duty with your weapon set to auto.

The idea is aimed rounds on target, auto is mainly those of fuck moments.

Looking forward, the real pain will be when the civilian M5 with 6.8mm is available in numbers in the US.

it’s the round that is the killer not so much the weapon platform

you can get AR15 in the UK but are limited to.22 and.223

Where a person is hit with a.223 / 5.56 Mm they may be wounded but with the new 6.8mm they will likely be dead.

Anyhow, they need to stop referring to various weapons systems as Assault rifles as it’s pointless.

they need to look at restricting single shot, semi automatic and fully automatic coupled with types of rounds allowed, also operating pressure.
in the UK the cut off for semi auto and single shot is.223 and.22

[Lliam]

Only if one argues that ALL guns are weapons of war.

People who say that AR-15s, in particular, are weapons of war are simpletons.

AR-15s aren't used by the military because they are strictly semiautomatic. They were never intended for war. The M-16 is the full-auto, military version of the AR-15.

The typical caliber for an AR-15 is 5.56 NATO/ .223, which is one of the smallest rifle calibers.

The AR-15 design is the most popular sporting platforms today because it's reliable, accurate and versatile.

[Oigit]

Guns are a lot like vehicles, a lot do share some characteristics. But the specifics of two given vehicles can be vast. For example a mini cooper and dump truck are both four wheeled vehicles. But despite sharing some characteristics they are vastly different. Hence the entire reason both are classified differently. So in order to drive a lot of dump trucks and especially professionally, you do need a CDL license. Something that can't be said about a mini cooper.

The issue with the AR-15 debate is that a lot of people are unwilling to take specifics into account. So it's as if people are saying that a mini cooper is exactly the same as a dump truck designed to carry 401 tons.

[Anonymous]

Well first of all what is a 'weapon of war'?

Wtf does that even mean?

I can't actually find a definition but it would seem that pretty much anything can be a 'weapon of war', cutting off a water supply for example could be a weapon of war, does this mean that water shouldn't be allowed in peoples homes because it could be weaponised?

No, clearly that is absurd.

Guns are tools, they do a job. Can an assault rifle be used to defend a home or property? Yes.

Is it excessive or is there an argument that this is strictly a military weapon?

No, I don't think so.

Considering that there are things like 'drive by shootings' in the States an assault rifle seems to be an appropriate tool for the job, in fact something like an rpg would be reasonable to counter this sort of threat.

This is every day life for some people in America and you are unquestionably allowed to defend yourself.

[N192K001]

lol Yes, as is everything used in warfare since the dawn of mankind… or even before, since animals have also been documented to also go to war.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160130-animals-insects-ants-war-chimpanzees-science

Not only are AR-15's weapons of war, but so are blades, farming-equipment with sharp/pointy parts (given most of humanity involved subsistence-farming for most of mankind, plus conscripting by lords who rarely provided them sufficient weapons & armor), stones, bare-hands, feet, teeth, claws, poisons, fire, and basically anything weaponizeable in a given battlefield of any location on Earth by any life-form (human or otherwise) in any era.

[KelleyNice]

Of course the AR-15 is not a weapon of war. Like my father explained to me, the AR-15 is a typical civilian semiautomatic rifle. Aside from some similarities in appearance, it is very different from fully automatic M-16 used by the military. Because of its similar appearance it was selected in the mass shootings which are false flag operations by people in the CIA and other powerful people that want the public to accept gutting the 2nd Amendment.

[Aerissa_Jade]

Its what I call a lego gun, three main pieces you can change out to change how it looks and feels.

It fires pretty much the same as a regular rifle with the same amount size magazine capacity to me.

No burst mode, no full auto... ask what military person would want a strictly semi auto weapon in a war zone?

[OldWorldOrder]

Plenty of semi-auto only weapons used in combat in modern times. Many FN FAL variants are S-1 only, all of the British & Australian ones are. In Afghanistan & Iraq there are still some semi-auto AKs in use, especially by police units. Not to mention all the M14, PSL, SVD, SKS, Hakim and other rifles that are S-1 only.

Select-fire is nice to have, but rarely is it actually used in combat.

[WindAtMyBack]

Ukrainians have been using rocks and Molotov cocktails as weapons of war.

Pretty much anything can be used as weapons of war, and ARE used as weapons of war. I don't know whether any standing professional military use AR-15s like civilians can buy or not. As far as I know they are not used out on the front lines in combat because there are much better alternatives, but they may be used for other things.

[Dargil]

That may not be an AR15.
AR15's are carbines that deliver a low (.22 inch) caliber projectile, unlike a 30.06.
M16's and M4's are designed to be weapons for infantry, An AR15 just looks like one.

Most weapons sold in the USA are "weapons of war" by CNN's definition. They are semi-automatic and look scary. That includes Glock pistols and double action revolvers..

[BeMuse]

Armalite is an American small arms company. They make AR-10s, AR-19s, and AR-50s as well. Commies are just too brainwashed to look up what AR means. Watch them try to go after the AR-50s next. 50 is bigger than 15... It must kill more people per second. lol AR-50s are single shot bolt action rifles, but watch them call them Assault Rifles like fucking retards.

[Anonymous]

I've heard people refer to them as assault rifles. According to the Webster online dictionary, this is the definition of an assault rifle.

assault rifle - any of the automatic rifles or semiautomatic rifles with large magazines designed for military use

https://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/assault%20rifle

[Chthou95]

No theyre not. People especially liberals label this as a weapon of war because they think it's an M16 or M4. Those are strictly military. The Ar-15 is a civilian semi auto rifle. No different than your mimi ruger 14 that fires the same caliber at the same rate of fire each pull of the trigger

[andreasderjuengere]

Once, a pitchfork was a 'weapon of war'.
It's its user who defines what a weapon's nature is.

Keep them all locked away securely, and nothing bad will happen.
(read between the lines)

[Quigly]

AR-15 is designed for civilian use,
No military uses the AR-15
The military created the term Assault Rifle referring to a fully automatic rifle.
AR-15 is a semi automatic rifle. No different than many civilian rifles.

[Sixgunsound]

Define weapon of war without using political talking points, then we can continue.

[spartan55]

Most people are so ignorant of firearms and their capabities.

[Daniela1982]

Well they were created for a weapon to replace older weapons for use in Vietnam. But they also had civilian models that just fired semi auto only.

[KrakenAttackin]

@daniela1982. Here's a fact. Mattel (the toy maker) designed the first M-16.

[Daniela1982]

@KrakenAttackin No they didn't, Armalite Arms designed it after the AR-18.

[KrakenAttackin]

It was subbed out to Mattel engineers.

[Daniela1982]

@KrakenAttackin Oh get out of here! They make toys and don't know the first thing about chamber pressures or anything else there is to know about the manufacturing of guns. They can't even design toys that last for longer than a few years.