Since the Orlando nightclub shooting on Sunday, gun sales have rapidly increased throughout the United States.
Adventure Outdoors Owner Jay Wallace told Fox Business Network’s Stuart Varney that sales of AR-15s and other firearms have “really kicked up” since Sunday.
AR-15’s may look like military rifles but they are actually semi-automatic guns, which means they can only fire one round with each pull of the trigger. By contrast, military-style guns have the ability to fire multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger. The ‘AR’ in AR-15 actually stands for ArmaLite rifle, named after the company that developed it and does not stand for “assault rifle,” according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Wallace claimed that he has sold more than 15 AR-15’s per hour and may know the reasons as to why there is such a rise in sales.
“[People] are afraid that the government is going to take [guns] away and there are folks that are in fear because of the times that we are living in today and those are two big reasons,” he said.
If a rifle is being sold for $500 (new), then it isn’t a real AR-15. It’s just a clone made with inferior materials and/or lax quality control. I’d never trust my life to a DPMS, Olympic Arms, etc.
Real ARs are built to certain minimum specs. Colt’s LE6920 is identical in every way to the military M4 except for the lack of the burst switch and the extra 1.5″ of barrel length, neither of which is of any real consequence. Bravo Company, Daniel Defense, and LMT also make great rifles in a variety of configurations that will hold up under hard use. A 16″ barrel with a midlength gas system is probably ideal.
“If a rifle is being sold for $500 (new), then it isn’t a real AR-15.”
Very few on the the market ARE true AR15’s, BMF. The majority of them AREN’T manufactured by Armalite.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj18JD23K3NAhVDF2MKHacjD6sQFggiMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Farmalite.com%2F&usg=AFQjCNF3nW7ZNZk8POdNxpwgQjeXkKnGlg
“A 16″ barrel with a midlength gas system is probably ideal.”
Disagree.
A 20″ barrel (1/8 twist) with 55 gr. ammo (.223 or .556, makes no difference) will penetrate Class lll body armor.
A 16″ barrel will not.
Hi Hatr,
While the “AR” does stand for “Armalite Rifle,” that’s for historical reasons. What makes a “real” AR-15 today is a manufacturer’s adherence to the Technical Data Package (TDP). Very few companies make rifles to the TDP standards (or better). Most cut corners on materials and/or quality control. I say those who are dedicated to preserving freedom deserve to have rifles at LEAST as good as the government’s thugs.
There’s a ton of info on this subject on the Web (M4carbine.net is great, even if it’s full of pigs), but long story short: people should only trust rifles that are built to TDP standards (or better). That means Colt, Bravo Company, LMT, Daniel Defense, and a few other companies whose rifles have been repeatedly proven to hold up under extreme use (i.e., thousands of rounds over a weekend training class with lots of rapid fire, no cleaning, and only some lube every few hundred rounds).
Fortunately, those with lesser brands of rifle can upgrade parts fairly inexpensively. A good bolt and bolt carrier are probably the most important. I like Bravo Company for bolt stuff. Daniel Defense sells good lower parts kits. Sprinco springs are also good to go. All these parts need to be replaced eventually anyway, even in weapons built to TDP specs, like the LE6920. Extractors, extractor springs, action springs, bolts — none of them last forever.
As for punching Level III hard armor, you’re right about the 20″ barrel and light, fast rounds — but ONLY if the armor is steel, like AR500. Other kinds of Level III plates, like hard polyethylene, will still stop that 55 grain round from a 20″ barrel. You need M855 or a true .30-cal AP round to punch through the polyethylene plates.
Also, keep in mind that the 20″ barrel only buys you another 50 yards over the 16″. In other words, the velocity of a bullet from a 20″ barrel after only 50 yards of flight has dropped to the muzzle velocity of a bullet fired from a16″ barrel. So you’ll only be able to punch steel armor plates with 55-grain bullets from a 20″ barrel out to 50 yards or less — and that’s ONLY steel armor, not ceramic or polyethylene.
The 20″ barrel AR does have some other advantages, though. It’s a little more reliable when dirty and less likely to break parts at high round counts. I like this barrel length too, and you may be right that it’s better overall for nost situations. Ultimately, I guess it depends on what trade-offs a person is willing to make, and whether you expect to be in close quarters a lot, etc.
We do what we can, BMF… 🙂
knee jerk bs, chicken shit has not the stones
to go heads up agin the govt, i say this cause
when some folks are scared shitless to help a brother in DIRE NEED ,how the hell do you think they’ll find the guts to take on the same
govt that thier scare shitless of now, and when that day arrives they’ll somehow find
instant courage? think about it.
I’m not sure quite where your goin’ with that comment Mikey. Please clarify.