There is nothing inherently wrong with a "Military-style" firearm

One complaint you hear a lot of people making about the Modern Sporting Rifle (or AR rifle, or the so-called assault rifle) is that it is a military style rifle that was never designed for the civilian marketplace. Well, I own AR rifles and I am here to tell you: they're absolutely right.

Eugene Stoner never thought about the ways that people are currently using his rifle design. It was made to be the modern follow-up to the previous battle rifle, the M-14. It was meant to be lighter to carry, more reliable and generally just be a better rifle for the modern soldier.

And those are in fact exactly why it is so good at all the other things people now use it for. For most people in Texas and other places in the South and Southwest, it has become the de-facto Hog Gun. It has quickly worked its way to being a very popular predator gun, that takes numerous coyotes and other species very well. In places where it is legal, it is being used for deer. It is without equal in the shooting competitions that it is allowed in. All in all, you will not find a better all around rifle that combines this mix of features than the MSR. In fact, if you get yours in the stouter 308 caliber and forget about the Jeff Cooper imposed bolt action requirement, it can be made to hit all the high points of his Scout Rifle concept: under 3kg, under 1m in length, hit a man sized target at 450m with iron sights.

And in this way it is exactly like every other popular evolution of firearm that has happened in the history of us as a race. Every single improvement, most of which are now common practice in firearms that aren't on Sen Feinstein's ban list, has been precipitated by conflict and the need for an efficient military weapon.

Like what, you ask? How about:

• Gunpowder in the first place,
• Black powder weapons that increased the range and power of the soldier past the bow and arrow,
• Rifling used to spin projectiles to make them more accurate than the smooth bores of earlier firearms,
• Paper cartridges that increased the speed and convenience of loading these weapons,
• metallic cartridges that made loading even faster, and eventually lead to,
• Bolt and lever action firearms, that lead to
• multi-shot and magazine fed firearms.

Every rifle in existence owes its roots to a military weapon. It was work done to make the soldier better equipped for battle that allows us to have accurate hunting rifles and shotguns. Nobody seems to worry that the modern hunting rifle is descendant from the military rifles that were considered state of the art in 1900. When they first came out, trapdoor levers and bolt action rifles must have seemed like science fiction to the enemy that had to stare down the barrel of these rapid shooting weapons. And exactly the same thing is happening now; after a generation of seeing what a truly fine tool these firearms are, people who have used them and become comfortable with them are finding non-military uses for them.

So, let's quit fearing things just because they have a military origin. Guns have been used to fight wars, but they also put food on the table and allow recreation and competition for those so inclined. Knives have been used in battle since the beginning of time. People used to bludgeon each other with essentially big hammers and axes.

And we do all remember that originally the Internet was a DARPA project, right? Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency? And just like the AR rifle, it is now a force for good as well as evil.