I was ambivalent at first, but I grew to like 'em. I only have five now.

Neophyte to the AR world but for a time I did rather dislike it though without having owned one. Namely because it seemed so ubiquitous and common... There was zero novelty in owning one. The  round handguards made it look underwhelming especially compared with more timeless wood framed rifles like the AK and M1/Mini.

Trying one out and coming to see the genius of how modular, ultra customizable, and versatile the rifle is helped opened my eyes. What was formerly a negative in the sense of how common it is now made sense in how affordable and readily available accessories are.

There are plenty of reasons why it's such a widely used platform and I came to understand they're good reasons at that.

Having come from M1 and a AR180... Firing the AR was a big let down and felt strange. You could here/feel the buffer action through cheek weld and the recoil climbed. The AR180 with the 3 slot break recoiled straight back such that you could keep your scope on target and see the bullet impact.

I have learned to ignore the action noise and enjoy the platform flexibility.

I didn't like the AR15 platform at first because it seemed like everybody and their brother had one, and I wanted something more unique. Eventually I did build my own because I love tinkering with guns, and I've since built a couple more. It's just such an excellent platform.

I wasn't too pleased with the AR when I first started with it in early 90'/91' with an Olympic Arms.

It had a good number of failures initially, ( loosening buttstock, bad ejector, bad disconnector, bolt catch snapped off and more, ) so I wasn't too thrilled about ARs.  I started with SKSs, then my first AK and they worked all the time.  Years later, I became more familiar with the inner workings of ARs.  I trust ARs, ( that I've gone over for myself, ) extensively.

I had never fired one until my cousin bought one. I had an AK and believed the hype that the AR was unreliable and an ak would never jam up. After going through basic and seeing the abuse including one m4 rotated through about 15 mags as fast as you could reload and fire on 3rd burst until the barrel glowed red I was a believer in the platform.

I own two AR’s currently but have owned probably 10 total.

No. I bought one with my first Police paycheck in 1978 and I’ve owned one or a dozen ever since. I introduced a lot of people to shooting ARs and everyone loved it.

Had an LT I had to disavow of that notion once. (Done in private so as not to undermine his authority; fortunately for me he was a quick study.)

I heard they were made by Mattel, wasn't legal for deer hunting in my state, read Cooper call it a mouse gun, heard the jamming horror stories from Vietnam...never wanted one. In 1988 I was issued an A1 in basic, the thing rattled, jammed, and wasn't very accurate, took forever to clean to inspection standards. Still didn't want one. I was issued a 1911 once I got back to my unit, so I never really got to use an A2.

Somewhere along the line I got to shoot a JP Enterprises rifle. The thing was beautiful and a tack driver. I got into multi-gun matches and had a ball. I found that the ergonomics of the platform were about the best of any rifle I'd ever tried. I haven't found anything better.

Never. I've been a fanboy of ARs from the day I bought my first one.

I liked my A2 back in the day but when I decided to buy an M4gery in 2005 I just never cared for it compared to my AK74s. Sold it in 2006 and was AR-less for 10 years. A lot changed since then and I decided to see what was out there

I didn't get back into ARs until 2016, and not seriously until late 2018. Still not hooked like I am for the 74 but I really like the ARs I have. It's caused me to branch out into the ACR and PCCs as well

In 1983 I took up competitive high power rifle shooting.  At that time the M1 and M14 (M1A) ruled the ranges.  I borrowed a club M1 in order to qualify to buy an M1 from the DCM (Now CMP).  As I improved I moved to a match grade M1 in .308 Win, and a heavy stocked match M1A.

My first real experience with an M16A1 was at the Camp Perry Small Arms firing school in the summer of 1984.  We were issued arsenal refurbished A1s that had a blocked attached to prevent the selector from going into the “Auto” position.  The receivers had been coated with a black wrinkle finish, and were a very sloppy fit together.  The stock was too short.  The accuracy was poor.  I was not impressed and went back to mastering an M1A.

About 4 years later some changes came about that caused me to reconsider the Mousegun.  First was the introduction of the Colt A2 HBar.  The new furniture and the new A2 rear sight changed everything.  The other import development was the Sierra 69 gr HPBT Matchking.  This made shooting in the wind at 600 yards and getting good scores feasible.  I also found that shooting the .223 was much more pleasant and didn’t push me around and out of position as much as a .30 caliber gun did.  At Camp Perry in those days the ratio of .30 caliber to .223 shooters was about 100 to 1 on the line.  Maybe more.

With practice and experience my scores continued to improve.  While I kept shooting 69 Sierras at 200 and 300 yards, I adopted the first 80 gr VLD bullets which I thought fought the wind as well as a .30 caliber 168 Matchking.

I ended up finishing my Distinguished with the Mousegun and went on to earn a high master rating with it.  Even today I still compete with an AR, albeit using a 4x optical sight.  It is my favorite rifle.

Once a year or so I will go out the range with my match M1 and M1A just to reminisce about what it was like shooting in service rifle class 30 years ago.  But my heart belongs to the AR.

Hi, my name is Moonlight Again, and I am a recovering denier.

I used to believe all that blued steel and walnut bullshit.  I was raised to be a true American, which means by God thirty caliber if not forty five.  I would have taken an M14, hell, a Garand, over any piddly ass poodle shooting Mattel polymer popper.  (I guess calling it a polymer popper is anachronistic, how about a plastic fantastic?)  I would have taken a Thompson over a AR/M16.

We get older, we get smarter.

Is the 5.56mm "as good" as the 7.62x51mm?  It really all depends.  In a single shot rifle, the answer is, "No, not even close."  In a LMGAS?  Hells to the yes, particularly for GP uses.

AR is accurate.  AR is lightweight (with a wee bit of attention to detail).  AR is mod-friendly, with COTS solutions that rival if not exceed the Ruger Mark .22 pistols and the 1911.  We have cracked the code on the AR, like we did on the service .38/.357 back in the day.

Same here with me.

Whenever I clean my MR556s (10.4 and 16”) after shooting suppressed I scratch my head at where these people get the “no fouling whatsoever!” stories from.  They’re less dirty than DI but still filthy.

I eyed other platforms until I used rifles at work, this focused attention on what attributes of a rifle really matter and explained why the AR platform is so damn popular.

Thank you

I was raised to hate it.  My old man was a Navy lifer who saw Vietnam from the beginning to the end and got out in '80.  His love was for the M14.  I was told that 7.62 ruled all.
I was 21 when the AWB dawned, and my first .223 was a Ruger Ranch Rifle, as I could not afford an AR at the time, and besides, dad said they sucked!
I spent those 10 years with the Ruger, and AKs, which I TRULY grew to despise.  At the end of the AWB I was exposed to ARs for the first time, and that was it for me.  If the old man was still alive, we would have had a discussion!  I got my first 6920, and the a Rock River.  
A .308 AR was the first one that I completely modified, and once you have mastered modding one of those (back then it was bit harder), you are hooked!

LOL I think back to shouldering, and shooting that big ass M1 with a wood stock and .308 rounds...damn you, dad!
Happy Father's Day!  

Up until fairly recently never cared much for the AR.
Started in basic back in 1980 with the M16A1. Worn out, loose, just felt crappy. Then there's that little pipsqueak of a round. Somehow, I still managed to shot expert, barely. Got to my first unit, rifles there were barely any better. No more than what we did with them, you'd have thought they'd been like new. Reenlisted, changed MOS, now I had a M1911. Just as bad if not worse than the M16s. Got out and didn't think much about the M16/AR for a few years If I did, it was they were expensive and inaccurate POS.
In the very early 1990s a friend got a M16A2 clone. Much better accuracy but I thought the ergos were worse than the A1. Still way too expensive though. I was into uber accurate bolt guns, fiberglass stocks, and high end glass. Then the ban came around and my attitude was why bother if you can't have all the "evil" features? If I'm going to buy a neutered semi, then I want a round with a little bit more authority. So went with Saigas in 7.62x39 and 308.
Ban went away, prices dropped, and the accessories market exploded. Decided, eh, why not. I can get one for less than $500,and if I don't like it I can stash it back then sell if there's another ban. It was a DPMS Oracle. Actually it shoots pretty damn good, reliable, and build quality wasn't bad at all. Made a few minor improvements to that one. If that cheapy is that good, then a better one will be even mo better! So I got a another one, a S&W M&P,  set it up the way I like it. Then another one, a Ruger AR556, set it for a different "job". Well, that is fun! Let's try building one! Now I've got 6, 2 set up for "social" purposes, the rest are all different for different purposes, yote hunting, plinking, beater. And I'm gathering parts to build a couple more just in case KISS carbines. Hell, I don't know, maybe I'll SBR one. Ooops, guess that makes 3 in the works.
ETA And all are in that pipsqueak of a round. Guess I should build one in another caliber. Doh...

I’m the opposite. Loved the AR platform.

Now I’m bored of it. Bought a SCAR 16 last year and I have had zero desire to shoot any of my AR’s. Infact I haven’t shot a 5.56 AR in over a year.

I still shoot my .300 blk ar pistol occasionally but that’s about it. SCAR16 only now.

I'm a tinkerer, so my first AR, and nearly the rest (sans PSA deals, dang them..) I've assembled from parts.

From the very first I was enamored at the system, it's advantages, and modularity.