Unless you have lived in a cave for the past month, you may not know that Barack Obama is the current president of the United States. While many people are rejoicing and congratulating our new president, it is quite certain that others may not be so happy. Whatever your political views happen to be, it is now quite apparent that gun sales have skyrocketed mostly due to fear that gun owners have that the new administration will certainly seek to ban many firearms that are legal at this point in time, especially the so-called "assault weapons" or as many gun rights activists mockingly call "scary-looking weapons", which include the AK-47, AR15, FAL, etc. Among the most popular and sought after of these weapons is the AR15 rifle which is made by several different companies.The AR15 can be said to be one of the modern marvels of firearms technology although the basic design was introduced sometime in the late 1950's and put into military use during the Vietnam War. The AR15 is the civilian, semi-automatic version of the select-fire military assault rifle, the M16. The M16 was revolutionary for the United States military because at the time, American soldiers had several weapons which were issued for different purposes, the M1 Garand was the most common, which was good for long distances, but not so good for short distances, the Thompson submachine gun, which was good for close range, but not long range, and the M1 Carbine, which was good at medium ranges. The M16, which fires a 5.56 mm round (.223 Remington) would combine the traits of all 3 of these weapons, it was designed to be accurate up to 500+ yards, depending on the shooter, excellent for close ranges, and have a large magazine capacity. In the early years, the M16 was very unreliable to say the least, and many soldiers may have lost their lives due to the early designs of the weapon, but over the years, it was perfected to the point where it is the World's 2nd most popular assault rifle, right behind the AK47. Take the M16 rifle and make it semi-automatic, and you have the AR15 Rifle.
The AR15 rifle for civilian use is a wonderful rifle, with many uses, including hunting, target shooting, and self-defense/home protection. I admit that although guns may scare people, especially ones that look dangerous, with a little bit of training, preparation, knowledge of safety, common sense, and responsibility, the AR15 is an excellent choice for those looking for a realiable rifle for hunting, target shooting, or self-defense. Often times many people believe that only dangerous criminals, extremists, white-supremecists, and other groups of unlikeables own weapons like these, this is not actually the case. I can vouch for myself, I am of Hispanic origin, I am a responsible adult, and take joy in going to the shooting range to shoot some targets in a fun and safe manner. The AR15 is a wonderful weapon, the one that I purchased was made by DPMS Panther, which is a reliable, accurate, and fun rifle. Although I do not hunt, and do not have this gun for home-defense, I support those who do, as long as they do so responsibly.
In closing, I would like to say that although some may not agree with civilians owning firearms, it is important to remember that the 2nd Amendment allows citizens to own firearms. Eventhough this is a right and not a privledge, every person who owns a firearm should be responsible and act as if it were a privledge. It is unfortunate that we live in a society where people are hurt or killed due to negligence, it should not happen. Those who do own guns, look no further, the AR15, whether it be made by Smith and Wesson, DPMS Panther, Olympic Arms, etc., and whether you want a reliable weapon for hunting, target shooting, or home-defense, the AR15 is the gun for the job.