I think I'm over my AR...

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The political nonsense right now does make me want to tuck it in the back of the safe, just in case the country does something resulting from emotions. I just don’t find myself reaching for it much at all.

The idea of swapping uppers for another caliber is also interesting.....

It just kinda seems like it’s sorta good in lots of roles, but not ideal for many, primarily because of the shorter barrel and caliber. The hand-loading thing really changed my perspective on most of my guns.
 
Herkyguy, I hear you 100%. I am in the same boat. I am a great fan of the single shots only bought an AR during the Obama years just because I still could, I felt restrictions were coming. The gun that Obama sold me.

All that changed when I scoped it and found out that I had an MOA carbine. Still, with it's short 16" barrel, it was much inferior performance wise to to my longer barrelled 223 single shot. So I built a 20" heavy barrelled .223 Wylde and an identical 6.5 Grendel. Both are tack drivers, especially the 6.5 Grendel.

I did find a use for a 16" barrel. But in 300 Blackout. I built it specifically for supersonic use and it's my dedicated woods deer rifle.

On a roll I built a AR pistol. It was a novelty. Fun the first couple times at the range then I quickly lost interest in it. I need to turn it into a big bore rifle, probably a 450 Bushmaster or 458 SOCOM. Dedicated feral pig hunting rifle.

I still have my original rifle, but you would not recognize it for what it was. And I do reload plinking rounds for it. Still, it pretty much stays in the safe. Fun for informal plinking, but I would rather spend range time putting bullets through nearly the same hole. I have built two more uppers as well, a 223 Wylde and a 300 BLK. I thought the 223 would maybe be a coyote rifle and the 300 Blackout just a spare, but both remain unfired.

All this to say, don't give up on it if it's not what you want, turn it into something you do want. I can make the single shots shoot good, but it's much easier to make the MSR shoot good. And accurate rifles are interesting rifles.
 
Maybe a change in perception is in order. Lots of AR owners don’t realize the accuracy potential of the platform due to cheap barrels and cheaper ammo. With the right upper and a quality scope you’d have everything a traditional rifle offers plus a bolt that cycles itself. Once I started loading for mine the accuracy increased markedly.

If that doesn’t do it for you, sell it and move on. I’ve got mine configured for a RDS and scope, depending on the size targets I’m shooting at.
 
If I was going to sell one, it would be the AK. The AR just has so much going for it. the only areas the AK edges out the AR in my opinion is possibly cost of ammo and the lack of maintenance required- assuming you are someone who doesn't maintain their guns. You could also obtain a new upper with a longer barrel online through PSA or another company, and just run that upper on the lower you have now. In fact, since AK's now cost more than AR's (which I still have a hard time believing) you could sell the Ak and what you have with it and finance the longer upper. Just an idea.
 
Many years ago Jeff Cooper, yes the 1911 Guru, recommended the lever action 30-30 as a ideal home defense weapon. It was light enough for women, the stock could be shorten, easy to store the gun in a corner behind a door with the magazine tube loaded and chamber empty, accurate to 150 yards with iron sights, simple to operate and shoot.

Today the AR-15 has replaced the lever-action 30-30. The AR .223/5.56 has all of advantages of the 30-30 with the added pluses of light recoil and being able to be stored unloaded yet easy to put into action when needed.

Despite the media's war on President Trump and gun owners happy days for us are going to continue meaning low prices on guns and ammo. Unfortunately it means the trade-in and resell value of AR-15's are going to remain low.

IMO every responsible head of household should own a AR-15 and a GI 50 caliber ammo can containing extra magazines and ammunition. Personally I would keep the AR, get a metal 50 caliber USGI surplus ammo can, fill it with extra magazines (I put 10 mags per can as I like a lot of magazines) and ammunition and store the can and gun together in a place that is convenient for you.
 
Like the OP, I never saw the attraction of the AR. In 1979, I bought and still use a Mini-14. BUT, I bought an AR for each of my sons since it is a de-facto standard.

If the OP has no use for an AR, then there's no reason to keep it. And right now might be a good time to sell it.
 
Since the OP doesn't seem to like it or shoot it much and because of the aforementioned low dollar amount he'd get if he sold it right now if it were me I'd change it into something I'd use. Probably for hunting.

Either turn it into a prairie dog/varmint gun (perhaps maybe going to a .204 Ruger upper although the .223 is fine) or maybe going up in caliber to either a 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel or a .244 Valkyrie (my next purchase) and hunt pretty much whatever.

I personally like .223 Rem, but our east TX deer are the size of Great Danes with longer legs and having horns. I've used the same 20" inch 1/7 BCM/Upper PSA/Lower FrankenRifle to take a bunch of hogs, a couple coyotes and a few deer over the years. So it works in that role fine for me.

Even if I didn't hunt I'd still have one in the closet with a few loaded mags in it just in case and the one that's in there right now has a 16" in barrel and a light.
 
Quite apart from their usefulness, AR's have become a commodity. "Buy low and sell high." Buy during the lulls between panics (such as during 2017), and sell during the height of panics. This cycle has become as predictable as night and day.
 
I went through this myself. Take a breather and don’t sell it because, I promise, you will want another one eventually.

I did it when I only had one, I took a break and pursued other ventures, cycled right back around to them and now I have 3.

I learned my lesson with this with 1911s some years back. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with them and I buy, sell, then buy, then, sell etc, till eventually I learned to stop wasting my money and I’d just put em up for a while until my interests came back around to them.

YMMV.
 
I bought my AR in November of 2012. I got lucky with my first reloads for it, it likes 64 grain Winchester PP’s. It has an A2 stock and 20” barrel. It has BUIS, a nice mini red dot, a nice scope and a Timney 3lb trigger on it. It very accurate with reloads. It’s for HD and predator hunting though not my primary weapon for either. I’ve hunted with it twice and that was in 2013. I don’t use it, I don’t plink and don’t target shoot. I’m not selling it even though I’m not an AR person and might not shoot it again for another five years. It has had maybe 120 rounds fired through it.

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I'll echo a lot of other comments here - hold on to it. If your bored with it now put it in the safe. You're likely to circle back on it again in the future. You can bring new life to your AR format rifle by rebarrelling or adding/upgrading other components. I just put a new barrel on my rifle (went from a 16" to an 18" Faxon gunner barrel), added a lightweight bolt and swapped out the trigger. Although it's my first MSR my rifle cabinet now has four other direct impingement system rifles. One is in 6.5 Grendel and three .308 AR 10 style rifles. Tip o' hat to RSA1 I also have a 30-30 I'm turning into a Jeff Cooper style scout rifle.
 
It's main purpose today is to send chills down the spines of Feinstein and Pelosi and their ilk. Just having that in your home makes them sick and I for one am happy it does. Keep up the good work.:thumbup:

That's the main reason I just bought one. I'm not a rifle guy. They've just never really been something I was interested in. But when I saw a stack of Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II's at my LGS last week I figured "why not?" I guess I'll shoot it one of these days.

So, I'll give the credit to Pelosi and Feinstein for one more AR in the world.

To the OP's question. When I "get over" a gun, I just sell it and move on. If I lose a few bucks, big deal. That's the cost of ownership.
 
I have an AR that I used to shoot a lot.

Then I scratched the M1A itch and the AR got pushed to the back while I obsessed over making small groups with the battle rifle.

Then I started reloading to make even smaller groups (you know, that hobby that “saves you money”) and the M1A was no longer up to the task so it got put away with AR in favor of a bolt action target rifle.

Now I have 2 target rifles and another custom rifle in the works. The AR and the M1A get pushed even further to the back of the safe.

I occasionally think about selling them, but......

As I’ve gotten into shooting some F Class matches I’ve been watching these service rifle guys shooting. It’s got me thinking and asking questions. Quite frankly I’m a bit scared to dip my toe in those waters. The guys and gals that shoot sling matches are ate up with it. I’m afraid I would get sucked in too and I already have enough addictions (see above)
 
I understand your thinking, herkyguy. I did build one after I got out of the Army, (back when building one meant more than throwing the triggergroup in a lower and popping the upper on) but I was kind of burnt out on them. As an Armorer, I was sick in fixing them. Back then, in MN, I couldn't hunt with it, I lived in apartments with paper-thin walls, so not my best HD choice, so it was a range toy. When the Klinton Ban was about to take effect, i took advantage of the $$$ offered me at a gun show. With a kid on the way, it was welcome money.
That kid, now 24, just traded his AR to me, and I think I'll keep it. I convinced his younger brother to pick one up on sale for $399 the day after Cruz's rampage. We both plan on hunting with them, the older boy killed 4 deer with his-I intend to add to that.......

As long as you can afford to, why not keep it? Might come in handy......
 
I'll opt for one of those two any day over a 55 grain .223 round at close to 3000 fps. My house is brick, but I'm still a bit worried about the neighbors if I ever resorted to my AR in that kind of scenario.
You’ve got it backwards. Both your shotgun and your 9mm carbine will send rounds much farther through interior walls than an AR loaded with proper defensive ammo.

In my opinion, an AR is better for home defense than a shotgun in almost every single way. It’s usually shorter (due to NFA restrictions), more reliable (unless you have a pump shotgun and you’re experienced enough to never short-stroke it), has less recoil, and is easier for smaller, less experienced people to use. Add in the fact that .223 hollow points are very effective and yet will penetrate through walls far less than buckshot or handgun hollow-points, and it’s a no-brainer for me.
 
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I bought an AR strictly because I believe it’s my civic duty to own one. Honestly though, I don’t enjoy shooting it that much. I much prefer shooting my bolt actions or lever actions. All that noise and movement inside the buffer makes me feel like I’m shooing a cheap POS, and it seems to be in every AR15 I’ve shot.

That being said, I’ll probably try to buy a 2nd one before 2020. Might even give an AR10 a shot. If a time ever comes where I couldn’t buy one, I’d feel good knowing there’s already a couple in the safe.
 
NOW's the time to sell...

No, not really. Last two gunshows I went to they were just about giving them away. You could get a NIB 16" carbine for $460. Most of the AR part vendors were standing around with their hands in their pockets.

If you mean sell while the sellin's good, meh, ok. But if you would take a hit on it vs the purchase price, you might as well park it in the safe for a rainy day.

I love my ARs... I shoot them about as much as anything else in the safe. Light, handy, easily modified, cheap ammos. They are easy to shoot well. Two pins and you can swap in any number of different uppers. The list goes on. BUT. They are not everyone's cup of tea, and that's cool, too.
 
I went through the same thing with a .17 HMR. I saw how popular and accurate the round was and thought I just had to have one. I got one and it shot great. But after the 3rd or 4th trip to the range I realized I wasn't really reaching for it and had no practical use for it. So I sold it. I've never missed that rifle.

I bought an AR strictly because I believe it’s my civic duty to own one.

This is a mindset I just don't understand. I guess I figure my pre-64 Winchester 30-30 fills that role for me, and although it predates the AR by nearly a century, it's still more fun and more practical to me.

If I just want to P.O. the "establishment" - there are more productive and constructive ways to do that IMO.
 
I got my first this summer and after a couple months I was ready to sell it. I just didn't really see any use for it and didn't enjoy shooting it at the range. I rebarreled it several times and bought another upper and made a 300 blackout. One day I stopped shooting paper and trying to do load development for it and I started making games for myself shooting steel plates at 200 yards and seeing how quickly I could put 5 rounds on a certain plate, or transitioning from plate to plate putting 1 round on each plate and then it clicked for me what AR's are good at. I later built a 7.62x39 upper and I have lots and lots of fun shooting that with steel case junk. The 5.56 upper I put a 20" fluted BA barrel on it and made it a coyote gun. This summer I would like to put a 2x red dot on the. 7.62 and find a 3 gun shoot to try. I shoot the 7.62x39 frequently but haven't shot the 223 in a couple months.

Anyway, they are not for everybody so if you can't find something you like to do with it I suggest you turn it back into money and get something you do find interesting. Mabey an old milsurp of some variety will be more your style.
 
Maybe a change in perception is in order. Lots of AR owners don’t realize the accuracy potential of the platform due to cheap barrels and cheaper ammo. With the right upper and a quality scope you’d have everything a traditional rifle offers plus a bolt that cycles itself. Once I started loading for mine the accuracy increased markedly.
Good point.
 
I would think that your AK would satisfy your autoloader plinking and is very cheap ammo. Our troops have complained a lot about the ineffective power of the .223/5.56 mm. If you sell it now, could get a very good return in stock market now. Due to the wimpy 5.56, there will be a lot more on the future market also. Or, with the sale money, you could get a lighter-weight DPMS G2 in .308 that has some hutzbah for hunting big game.
 
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