Ar 15 cons

[Bcwitt]

Anyone else find the fwd assist, mag catch, hold open, mag well & GI magazines very annoying? I like the AR, not doubt. But they could have made a better magazine system, & the charging handle is probably the worst ever.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Can't agree with a single one of those statements but I'm guessing you're expecting a fight anyhow.

Forward assist for quietly seating the bolt.
Mag catch right there for your index finger.
Bolt stop out of the way but nicely accessible.
Can't even begin to guess what might be wrong with the magazine wells.
Magazines? Easily loaded with stripper clips. LOTS of inexpensive GI magazines. Several aftermarkets and Colt's in 30 and several lesser capacities.

Oh, and the charging handle? Damn fine design when made properly. Testimony to the fact is that I never saw one fail in combat.

Accurate, reliable, cheap, low recoil, VERY modifiable...

The single thing I see as a *con* is the public perception foisted on the gun by politicians, activists and *the media*.

Todd.

 

[mcb]

You seem like you have an agenda?

Some of my AR's don't even have a forward assist.



I love the mag catch on the AR as my strong hand can reach it without moving its position.

Never had an issue with the magazine well. Though you can have fun making it larger and easier to hit in a rush and more stylish too.



Never have had an issue with GI magazines (ie magazines made by companies that have held GI contracts). My favorite are the old NHMTG brand, straight 20rd magazine reminiscent of the Vietnam era. I believe they became part of Okay and the brand mothballed.

Not sure what there is to complain about the charging handle. I have enlarged latch on a few of my competition ARs to make them easer to use from just from the left side. Other than clearing a stuck case I have never has much to complain about the charging handle and even then a quick mortaring of the rifle has always cleared nearly all stuck cases I have encountered.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

My favorite are the old NHMTG brand, straight 20rd magazine reminiscent of the Vietnam era.

Yup. For my money 3 GI 20s beat two GI 30s in almost every scenario.

Todd.

 

[entropy]

I'm gonna have to agree with Todd, here, but what do I know; I only worked on them in the Army.

If you're that against those things, buy a slabside upper with a side charger, get the Magpul BAD bolt catch, or an ambidexterous mag release, not sure which one you are knocking here, as the mag release is a release, and the bolt catch is a catch; a lower with a flared mag well, and P-Mags, or whatever non-GI mags suit your fancy.

If you're issued an M4, or other issued variant, suck it up and Charlie Mike.

If you think the AR's ergos suck, you've never handled an AK.

 

[edwardware]

Sounds like you bought an el cheapo AR, or you've been reading "sports journalism".

All of my entry-level sub-$500 ARs have run flawlessly, save for a single snapped extractor. I wish I could find pistol magazines for anything as boringly reliable as $8 D&H AR magazines. The controls are strongly right-handed, but otherwise along the more sensible layouts available.

 

[DustyGmt]

Can't agree with a single one of those statements but I'm guessing you're expecting a fight anyhow.

Forward assist for quietly seating the bolt.
Mag catch right there for your index finger.
Bolt stop out of the way but nicely accessible.
Can't even begin to guess what might be wrong with the magazine wells.
Magazines? Easily loaded with stripper clips. LOTS of inexpensive GI magazines. Several aftermarkets and Colt's in 30 and several lesser capacities.

Oh, and the charging handle? Damn fine design when made properly. Testimony to the fact is that I never saw one fail in combat.

Accurate, reliable, cheap, low recoil, VERY modifiable...

The single thing I see as a *con* is the public perception foisted on the gun by politicians, activists and *the media*.

Todd.

Yep, what he said. I was really taxing myself trying to think of some improvements to each of the "cons". Couldn't think of any.....

They are awfully lightweight and accurate though.

They are known for their lousy layout of controls and just suckyness in general....

 

[herrwalther]

Only con to the AR15 is politicians try to ban them every time they turn around.

Forward assist for quietly seating the bolt.

Also very useful if you have private joe snuffy put together his rifle and forgot the buffer and spring. The forward assist does 70% of the work getting the carrier group out of the way when it gets stuck. The other 30% I had down to a science with a cleaning rod.

 

[chicharrones]

Anyone else find the fwd assist, mag catch, hold open, mag well & ****** GI magazines very annoying? I like the AR, not doubt. But they could have made a better magazine system, & the charging handle is probably the worst ever.

So . . . get something other than an AR.
Problem solved.

 

[Orcon]

I'd prefer a side charging handle but for the rest of your problems you're just screaming at clouds. Don't buy one if these are all deal breakers.

 

[cfullgraf]

My long barrel, prairie dog AR-15 has a side pull bolt. I have found I prefer the standard charging handle system. I have not built another side pull AR-15.

I prefer the standard charging handle latch versus an extended one but that is personnal preference.

Like others, I don’t have any issues with the bolt catch or magazine release. On AR builds, I have at times needed to do a little fitting work to get them to function reliably.

 

[Ironicaintit]

I’m not an AR fan really, but I can’t agree with the OPs premise. They’re smartly designed and user friendly.
There’s a reason they’re so popular.

I still enjoy a mini14 or 30 carbine more (shrugs)

 

[entropy]

Only con to the AR15 is politicians try to ban them every time they turn around.



Also very useful if you have private joe snuffy put together his rifle and forgot the buffer and spring. The forward assist does 70% of the work getting the carrier group out of the way when it gets stuck. The other 30% I had down to a science with a cleaning rod.

I know whence you speak. BTDT.

 

[MosinT53Hunter]

Go with an SKS then. Each rifle has pros and cons. Just pick the one that has the least cons to it.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

The charging handle is goofy, but it sits out of the way and you usually only need to pull it once.

 

[Rexster]

I wish the safety lever had been designed differently. As it is, the semi-auto fire position is when the “Dingus Is Down,” which has caused me no small amount of cognitive dissonance, as I had learned to use the safety levers on S&W Third-Generation autos a number of years before I acquired my first AR15. The mantra of “don’t get caught with your Dingus down” had been thoroughly learned, before I had to adjust everything to accommodate the AR15, when I acquired one to be my authorized personally-owned police patrol rifle.

Then along came the mandated, issued Tasers. Yessiree, the Taser had safety levers like the Third-Gen S&W autos, on-safe when the Dingus is down, while the AR15 is on semi-auto fire when the Dingus is down. Sigh.

I have no issues with the other controls.

 

[briansmithwins]

Anyone else find the fwd assist, mag catch, hold open, mag well & ****** GI magazines very annoying? I like the AR, not doubt. But they could have made a better magazine system, & the charging handle is probably the worst ever.

I kinda agree with you.

I've done a basic manual of arms with some completely naive shooters and the AR is one of the harder rifles to teach. Controls are scattered all over the place and are not intuitive to an inexperienced shooter.

The bolt hold open is particularly obtuse and defies logic. To hold the bolt open I press this random lever in at the bottom while pulling back on this other random bit? To close the bolt I press the other end in but I don't need to pull back on the handle thing?

A rifle that's easy to teach is the AK. To pull the bolt back I grab ahold of this piece of metal that attached directly to the bolt? To force the bolt forward I push on the sticky out piece? Makes sense. The safety directly blocks operation of the bolt and the magazine catch obviously interacts directly with the magazine. Also, the rock and lock magazine is easy to fit to the rifle even when fully loaded.

ARs are what we're used to and we tend to think they are optimized just because we're used to them. Given a chance for a clean sheet design we wouldn't end up with that design.

BSW

 

[12Bravo20]

Considering I could teach a new recruit within a few minutes how to operate the controls on the M16, I would say that there isn't any issues with the setup. Even as a left handed shooter, I have never had an issue with the M16 family of rifles. And if the controls were an issue, one would think that issues would have been dealt with back in the 1960's. Here we are 60 years later and the setup still works just fine for the countless numbers of service members that have been using the M16 since it was first issued.

 

[Steve S.]

Sounds like “same-same”!

 

[jmorris]

I can’t say I use the forward assist. I prefer GI 20 round mags though. Things can always be made better but many things are subjective too. Good thing the AR isn’t the only rifle one can buy.

 

[Rubone]

My feeling has always been that if you find fault in something, avoid it. Don't purchase one, don't attempt to use one, just move on. Problem solved!!

 

[Riomouse911]

An AR armorer here. We run full auto M/4’s and semi AR-15’s at work. No issues related to anything the OP listed since far and our Colts are going on 11-12 years in service...and still going strong.

As much as I respect them, if you really want to see frustration knit your brow try running a mini 14 in a patrol rifle course. You’ll have a whole new level of respect for Mr. Stoners’ vision and genius that began nearly 70 years ago if you do (I have!)

Stay safe.

 

[LoonWulf]

the only really bad part about ar-15s?

I dont enjoy shooting them as much as I enjoy building them....

In design I think they are really solid.
I don't care for the charging handle, and prefer a right side reciprocating, so that removes any need for a shell deflector or forward assist, but other wise the controls are simple, and easily accessed. The big mag well supports the magazines really well, and protects the upper half....USUALLY even cheap mags work well....honestly I don't have a lot to complain about, besides not liking them particularly.

As a fighting arm ive got no real opinion.

 

[troy fairweather]

I've never had any problems the op listed, luckily with the ar most of the op's problem makers can be replaced with something else. Just be happy you don't have to use the Neutered semi autos we have in ny.

 

[ms6852]

So . . . get something other than an AR.
Problem solved.

Like a mini 14. AR 15's are not my cup of tea. Spent 21 years in the army and unit armorer as well. I prefer rifles with beautiful furniture but if I get invaded my rifles with the beautiful furniture become safe queens and I'll reach for my m16A2 until the threat is gone or eliminated....darn pesky rabbits.