AR Sponsor
Posted: 3/27/2005 5:00:50 PM EDT
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Has anyone been at the range and have others roling their eyes when you pull out an AR? I have a cure, let them shoot it, then they walk off with a shit eating grin on their face. I don't shop at Gander Mountain anymore. I asked once why they don't carry them. It is against their policy to even trade for one but they carry Mini 14's. The anti's hate our AR's but alot of gun people do too! |
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I had a guy next to me shooting a MINI-14, I asked him if he wanted to shoot my AR, he shot it with the Aimoint, he seemed to enjoy shooting it. If I meet people at the range, I think are safe,cool people I will let them shoot my firearms, usually they will return the favor and I get to shoot one of theirs. I usaully end shooting something new I never tried b4. |
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I tend to do that whenever possible. Some bolt gunner sitting there admiring his 1-2 inch groups that he labors for god knows how long to shoot thinking it's a benchrest gun while he is sneering at my 20inch AR15 that can do similar groups all day long with blasting ammo. If that isn't enough to convince him I pull out the accurized AR15 and show him how it can do 3/4 inch group averages for 10 shots with moderately accurate handloads. I then tell him to shoot the gun and experience how little recoil there is and ask him which he thinks makes the better varmint rifle. In conversation if he doesn't get it that I'm an enthusiast who enjoys all aspects of firearms, including his bolt action "sniper rifle"(as it will one day be portrayed) and I can't sway him to see my side of the coin then I write them off as being a lost cause. One day while I was at the range, shortly after getting my accurized AR15 put together, an entire scout troop came down to the line to learn how to shoot what appeared to be an old Springfield M1. I could feel about a dozen little pairs of eyes staring at my rifle and I didn't have anywhere near enough ammo with me that day to let them pop off a few rounds, I was there sighting in and only had a little bit of ammo with me. I made it a point from that day forward to have enough ammo with me at the range to let a few folks shoot a magazine or two through the rifle to help leave a lasting impression on them. Few months later while I was at the range again I was just setting up as a family was getting ready to leave, they had a son with them that must have been maybe 7-8 years old and as soon as I uncased the behemoth rifle the kid couldn't stop starring. Without flinching I looked over and asked him if he'd like to shoot it, he didn't say anything and his dad had to chime in and say, "Son, I think he's offering to let you shoot the rifle." Took a few minutes to set the rifle up, position it on the bench, and show the kid how it operates so that he could operate/fire it correctly. He was too short to sit at the bench and fire so he had to stand behind the bench, he leveled the sights on a little 4x4 inch steel gong at 200 yards and managed to hit it 9 out of 10 shots. The dad couldn't thank me enough and I told them it's all apart of enjoying shooting and sharing the sport with others. Now I've got a 50BMG that is soon to be finished up, wonder how many folks will want to shoot that sucker? |
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Similar experience the other day. A older (even older than me) guy with a very nice Remington .308 bolt gun with a Swarovski 4-16x50 scope was absolutely amazed at the 1/2 inch group from my 18" LMT at 100 yards. He then got interested and started asking me about the ACOG "that's what they use in Iraq, isn't it", and "how's the recoil?" He shot about a 3/4" inch group with it after a few tries, commenting on the superb KAC trigger and the apparent effectivness of the QC brake, and them was extremely pleased with himself. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen a bigger sh-t eating grin in a while. He's obviously quite an enthusiast, but said he hasn't ever messed with an AR. He told me I needed to put a higher power scope on the weapon, "not because it needs it, but because it'll be a heck of a lot of fun!" I told him the Nightforce 3.5-15X50(he had never heard of them) was on the way. His Remington was superb, I've got to get me one of those! |
| I usually only go to the range with the guys from my HTF... and we usually end up dominating the benches. Needless to say it's a line full of ARs and AKs. The occasional "outsiders" will make his way onto a bench. If they are outgoing enough to approach us, someone will gladly let them ge some trigger time. Some of the guys from the HTF will go out of their way to shoot the sh*t with anyone and offer. I'm not one of those guys, but if someone asks I'll gladly let them. |
Me too.
You got that right. It's only a matter of time.
I had a similar experience with some scouts last summer, except I had my FAL Para with me that day. Only two were brave enough to shoot it, but they all ooh'd and ah'd over it. Boys instinctively recognize the merits of an Evil Black Rifle, whatever the make. |
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I walked into the range with my AR pistol the otherday, and all the guys swabbing their barrels after each round thru their HB flat tops all sneered. Why do you have a big scope on that pistol? One asked...I set three golfballs on a two by four and bench rested the pistol on it's bipod... five shots three golfballs one hundered yards. I let every body who wanted fire five rounds, and some tried to lecture me aout how to make it more accurate... Swab the barrel after each round.... It was a little commical to see their faces after the sixth or seventh mag went thru and my groups were not growing. ARs are inherently accurate. I love my first. It is a Mega custom 11.5 pistol with no FA. It is a dream with that short pistol buffer, recoil is so manageable you can fire standing with a scope. I am a big guy but I love this lil powerhouse, and I share. |
| I have a "home range" from 50 to 300 yards. A lot of my familys friends come over to my parents for cookouts etc and I love to get the guest behind my AR when I found out they like to hunt etc. This past Easter weekend , my brother in law brings his bolt action 308 to "teach me how to shoot". I set up the usual targets with the 3 inch orange pasties and we shot at those for while. Then He wanted to drive out and check his groups. I reach in my range box and grab a handfull of golfballs and tell him to throw them out at the 300 yard line. He just laughed but did it anyway. He went through a whole box of 308 and never hit a one. I hit my second and then he darn near took the rifle away!! After helping him dope the wind he was bouncing them around. He shot every 69 SMK I had in my box. The golfball shooting has hooked quite a few people. I have yet to get any women to shoot it though...... |
Bought my wife a carbon model #4 and when we go to the range shes gottne quite a few other women who usualy come just to watch ther husband or boyfriend shoot and dont want to try.They see her ,talk to her and low and behold women that were afraid to try a hangun are shooting an AR carbine...warms my heart to see it.
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"Has anyone been at the range and have others roling their eyes when you pull out an AR?" I get that all the time... it's pathetic like my "evil rifle" is a more destructive device then there's or somethin.... Next time i get a roll eye I think i will offer a mag and see what they have to say then.... prolly go and buy one like I did 15 minutes after my first shot with one. |
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I get the roll eyes all the time. Not a whole lot of people own ARs around here it seems. The local dealer (really great to deal with BTW) has had the same 5 Bushmasters in stock for months. I was shooting at a range the other day and the guy didnt even know what the hell my m4 was, and wanted to know what I used it for. I shoot ground squirrels at a friend of mines ranch, and the first time I pulled out my AR he immediately started giving me crap for having an "inaccurate spray and pray rifle." After a day of shooting ground squirrels one after another with open sights, and letting him shoot it, he definately changed his tune. I do try to do my part to share and give as many people as possible the Black Rifle disease. 3 people I know have come down with it allready because of me. |
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Well all I can say is when I go to the range there are mostly AR’S there already. I would let people have a try if I felt they were responsible enough My friends and I went out to the desert and we all have AR’S and AK’S. A group of guys showed up to ride their motorcycles and started watching us. We were pretty much done for the day so we were not rapid firing from the time they showed up. They yelled out some smart ass comments about us and our shooting and that we needed to get real guns stuff like that. So the five of us all decided to give them a show. Without yelling back at them we broke out our thirty rounder’s loaded up and fired two mags apiece into the hillside. Decimating the remaining targets. As we turned to look at them they were taking off in a hurry. I wonder why? We all had a good laugh packed up and went home. Oh the Joy of the Black Rifle.
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People come up to me all the time and ask me if they can shoot my AR. I tell them, "Sure, go ahead and take 5 shots with it". I see no problem with that. Then, after I shoot a few mags off, I mosey on down the range and ask the same people if I can try their weapon. It's all good. ETA: It's great to see the expression on their faces after they shot an AR for the 1st time. I guess you could relate it to that expression someone has when say... getting a chance to take a Ferrari around the block when the best you've ever driven is a Ford Mustang or something like that. |
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That's what I miss most about a public range, sharing firearms. I shoot mostly IDPA matches and at my Police Dept range. No one swaps firearms at a match, and I'm usually alone at the dept range (on purpose.) I remember once after a match I pulled out two ARs and my G36 clone, and had a couple young boys gawking. They were there with their dads shooting .22lr rifles. I offered, but their dads were hesitant to allow it. I'm not sure if they were just being polite, didn't want to admit they didn't know how to handle the rifles, or if they were scared of them!? A couple other guys who were there (20s-30s) shot a few out of each of my rifles. One was remembering back to his military days as he shot my A2 clone. However, I am a bit hesitant to let people shoot this one: http://www.photopeg.com/peg/pic.php?u=328BV9fC&i=3408 My M21 is guarded a little closer than my ARs... |
No one looks at my AR at my range because it's 90% LEO with their SIG rifles, and full auto HK weapons. 
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| I was shooting at bullet express in Springfield Illinois once and a older gentleman came in to shoot with his 10 year old grandson. I had alot of rifles with me and I could tell the young man was wanting to shoot them. All they had brought was a 22 rifle. i told the gentleman his grandson could shoot anything I had. the guy turned out to be a Vietnam Vet and asked if he could shoot my m14. I told him go ahead. He said the last time he had one of these in his hands was in Vietnam when he was in the Corps, after he shot it he didnt say much but I think it might have brought back some memories. The boy shot my ar and the m14. I didnt even let them give me money for ammo. It is good to get the young people into shooting since alot of kids are never around firearms. |
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we were shooting out in a popular outdoor spot, and my brother, brother in law and I all showed up with our ARs. There was a dad there with his 3 kids, probably 7-12 years old. They stopped watching their dad sight in his hunting rifle and playing with their airsoft and just gawked at the ARs. We let them shoot ours, the dad was a deadeye with it. One of the kids couldnt even hold it up to his shoulder so I held it by the foregrip from the left side of the gun. He had fun, but holy crap did I get blasted! My ears were ringing for a couple days. ETZ: worth it if the kid remembered how much fun it was and buys and AR down the road |
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Kind of funny story, I live in more of a "hunters" type of area. What few ranges we have around here are mostly dedicated to clay games (Skeet, trap, ect) so I'm always concious of the reaction get when I pull out an AR. A month or so ago, I went to a small, out of the way public range with my son (11). The was to be the first time my son was going to shoot an AR. Around the same time I get there I see a minivan pull up with a few people in it. I'm thinking great, More hunters that are going to think I have some kind of rambo complex because I have an AR and they are going to think I'm a real winner for bringing my son with me.  Well I see them pull open the back of the van and what do they pull out? 1 AR and 1 AK! Sweet Turns out they where thinking the same thing when they saw me and my son. They thought they were going to freak us out with their "Assault Weapons". Anyway, they couldn't stay too long and right around the time they where leaving, another older guy pulls up. What does he have with him? An AR of course! You just never know these days!
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that happens with me from time to time. had a guy really get in to it about how the ar was a military gun and should stay that way. then he starts blabbing about how my scope was mounted too high. then he said that i wasted my money for the nice scope since the rifle couldnt hold up to the scope............ .................shortly after he pulls out the rifle he brought to shoot with  .177 cal pellet riflei like offering my rifle to those that inquire about it, brings them to our side real quick!! most have never shot one and would never buy one but after shooting someone else's they're hooked for life.. well except this one time i had my beowulf out at the range, had a guy out there bring his kids and their friends so i let them get a round off each(all they wanted to after the first shot) after that they wouldnt accept my offer  whats really fun is watching a lot of the deer hunters around deer season sighting in their bolt actions... all day and when it hits paper (12x16"), its good enough. most have the same attitude towards ar's too , negative. but its fun to have my ar's outshoot their boltactions 
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I'll let just about anyone shoot my AR's, especially older bolt gunners. I usually offer the shooters to my left and right a few tries and it's good for everyone to do this. We make friends this way. Many shooters don't have personal experience with these rifles and the media/hollywood demonizes them to a point that's hard to overcome unless these shooters(or non shoters) are introuced to this rifle in a polite, casual setting. After they fire it, they like it, and it takes away a lot of the negativity of both the owner of such weapons and the weapon itself. Once I tell them that thier hunting rifle is a much more powerful weapon and that I still have to pull the trigger once for each shot fired, I destroy the myth. Many ask questions and wish to aquire one for themselves, plus I've pointed at least 20 shooters to this website who have become members themselves. It's a great way of debunking the assault weapon theory, please share your AR's. |
Constant with the gun community, you guys are doing the right thing. But for me, is it wrong not to allow people to fingerfu@k my stuff? I just dont feel comfrotable. Good friends, yeah, but strangers at the range...I just can't... 
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I don't think I had anyone roll their eyes at my AR but I have only had it 3 months. |
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I always try to share. The way I see it, every new AR shooter means more people buying ARs and accessories and the more people buying ARs, the cheaper it is for all of us. Likewise, the more people that own ARs and enjoy them, the more secure my own rights to own them are. 5 rounds of Q3131A come to about $0.75 - that is a pretty small price to pay for the benefits above and it is one I am absolutely happy to pay any time I get the chance. Naturally, if you do it long enough you'll run into the occasional jerk; but overall I've found it very rewarding and I don't let the one or two negative experiences detract from all the positive experiences I've had. |
Friends yeah, the ones I trust, otherwise they wouldn't be shooting with me. Strangers: I observe their gun handling behavior, especially for safety, beforehand, but I don't rule out all strangers just because they're strangers. |
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I mostly shoot at a DNR range in north Georgia. There's some real diversity there. Hunters in season, a few young Hispanic guys with AK's and hi-cap auto pistols, some match shooters, milsurp guys, and a few families. I shoot a little of everything (last weekend, a Trapdoor, Krag, FAL and AR). It's considered OK to watch others shooting, and questions are welcomed. We look for the family groups and will almost always offer to let them shoot something different. At this range, there's a volunteer Rangemaster on weekends. One of the regulars is a retired Marine who brings out his RPK and a few other toys for display and tryouts. Education. It's the right way to win our case. |
AR Sponsor