Florida76 asked "Im new to AR-15's.... i have a few Hand guns and shotguns... but no AR-15... i hear alot of people are going to buy lots of AR's because the ban is over..."
Answer: We have been able to buy AR-15's all along, but not with the banned features. The rifle is the same, the accessories are different.
Let me put it this way, what if people were all upset about street racing? So, the Coalition to Ban Street Racing Cars looked in Hot Rod Magazine and looked at the pictures. They wrote the Street Safety Bill of 2000 that banned Camaros and Mustangs. Also, any car painted red, or with more than three colors, mag wheels, or hood scoops.
To get the Street Safety Bill of 2000 passed, the politicians and police chiefs warned "No one needs a nitro burning funny car dragster to run to the grocery store."
The new media, when talking about the SSB of 2000, showed a stop light changing from red to green, then cut to scenes of funny cars at the NHRA Championships smoking tires at the starting line, then cut to scenes of cars (actually involved in police chases from a popular TV show) being involved in terrible wrecks.
Camaros and Mustangs from previous years can still be owned and sold, but prices go up as they are highly desirable cars from when Men were Men and Cars were Cars. NHRA dragsters are completely unaffected by the SSB 2000 because they are never driven on public roads.
So, the car manufacturers made the same cars, but restyled the bodies, same frame and engines, as these were used in their other cars, too. They renamed them the Soccarmom and Executive. You could not buy them in red, or with more than two colors, and no hood scoop or mag wheel option was offered. Mag Wheels and hood scoops sold in auto shops had warning stickers on the boxes that said, "For use only on pre-2000 cars. Use on cars made after September of 2000 is a felony punishable by 10 yrs in Fed prison."
But the Soccermom and the Executive go from 0-60 just as fast as the older Camaro and Mustang. They handle the same, just as cool, just no mags or scoops. Some stupid kid put mag wheels on his Mom's Soccermom and went to prison where he roomed with Bubba.
Florida76 further asked: "my question is whats going to be diffrent on a AR-15 now the ban is over? i know you can use Hi-caps mags but what else?"
Now the car mfgs can change the name back to Camaro and Mustang if they want. They can offer hood scoops and mag wheels. You can put mag wheels and hood scoops on your 2001 Executive. But that poor kid will still be in prison with Bubba. It was a felony when he did it, but is not now. Tough, he was a criminal.
After the SSB of 2000 expired, the politicians, police chiefs, and news media talking heads are once again saying, "When this bill expires, it will once again be possible for 12 year old kids to go to any car dealership, buy one of these terrible machines and once again terrorize the streets with these nitro burning dragsters that are made only for running school buses off the road."
Now, back to the real question, the AWB... AR-15 type rifles may now have threaded barrels that can accept flash suppressors. That metal on the barrel has no effect on the muzzle velocity of the firearm, and will not keep your position hidden at night time. What it will do is lessen the night blinding effect of muzzle flash should you ever have to defend your family at night.
The manufacturers will no longer have to grind the bayonet lug off the front sight base. You see, the AR-15 and the military M16 do share a lot of parts in common, just not the parts that make it fire full auto. No, you cannot convert your AR-15 to full auto by filing the firing pin. All of the parts inside the AR-15 are designed to prevent conversion. You cannot buy the M16 parts needed unless you have a legally possessed full auto M16 (a police department, officer, etc). So, the front sight bases are made with the bayonet lug on there already, for use on the M16. For the last 10 years they had to be ground off for use on "post ban" AR's. Now they don't have to do that extra mfg step. I have never seen anyone put on a bayonet except a display AR-15 at a gun show. Cops don't use them. Bayonets are useless for home defense, and no one bothers. It just pisses me off to be told I can go to prison for having it on my rifle... that little lump of metal.
Oh, stocks.... now we can have folding or adjustable stocks. Let's use the car as an example, your driving age daughter is short, has to adjust the seat forward to drive. You are tall, let the seat back. Simple. The CAR(carbine telescoping) stock lets me adjust the stock short for my daughter, longer for me, and even longer for my very tall son. We can all shoot the same rifle with a simple adjustment.
A folding or telescoping stock is a convenience for storage, and does not make the firearm "concealable." It still won't fit under your shirt. The carbine is still 30" long with the stock in its shortest position, and about 35" with stock extended. Odd thing, you could legally put on a short fixed stock (so-called "tactical" stock) that is the same length as the adjustable CAR stock in its FULLY COLLAPSED POSITION. Some of these short "tactical stocks" have EXTENDABLE buttplates. Those were legal, but not the carbine "telescopic stock". If you can figure out the logic of this, fine, I can't.
None of the now legal features, their presence or lack, makes the AR-15 shoot more rapidly, with more velocity, whatever.
Magazines holding more than 10 rounds made after the enactment of the AWB could only be sold to cops, not civilians. But civilians could buy and use magazines made before the ban. Prices rose from $8 for a M16 30 round mag to as high as $40.
And these large (normal capacity) magazines could be used in firearms made during the ban. Only new magazines were banned.
Oh, and now families of our soldiers overseas will be able to buy NEW Beretta 9mm 15 round (standard capacity) magazines to send to them in Iraq. The military Checkmate brand mags are apparently very trouble prone, and make our soldiers pistols unreliable... risking their life even more than just being in a warzone. This has nothing to do with the AR-15, but a benefit of the sunset.
Florida76, I hope this answers your question.
Oh, why should you own an AR-15? They are FUN to shoot, easy to handle, and are effective home defense firearms. Recoil is very light, the firearm as a whole is light. Your wife and children can learn to shoot it quickly and safely.
(Clarification: The ban had NOTHING to do with machine guns. It was illegal before and during the ban, and is still illegal for you to have a machinegun (except under very exceptional circumstances) and you STILL MAY NOT convert an AR-15 to full auto. You still may not go into a store and buy a full auto like any other gun. Let me repeat, the AWB had NO effect on MACHINE GUNS. Not even apples and oranges, we are talking apples and parking garages. AWB affected only semi autos, not machine guns.)