And believe it or not, ARs are, in fact, used for hunting. They're small game rifles; rabbits, squirrels, and things of that sort. And for home defense they offer a great psychological advantage. If a robber finds a homeowner aiming one of those at him, his first thought will be to go away. Also, ARs are an inexpensive and very accurate platform for hobby target shooters such as myself.
What's the advantage over hunting rifles (for hunting, obviously) and a shotgun (for home defense)? All the gun safety courses I've taken have suggested shotguns for home defense, pointing out the psychological advantage of the sound it makes when being cocked.
Also, your link isn't working for me.
Fixed the link.
The area of advantage in AR rifles differs from that of shotguns and generic hunting rifles and this is largely due to popular culture's portrayal of the rifle. For example, a shotgun being cocked says quite clearly "Get the fuck off my property" in every language.
However, an AR-15 looks exactly like it's military counterpart; which is also why it is so easy to demonize. When a crook sees an AR, the first thing he'll flash on is every post-Korean War movie he's ever seen and associate those images with that rifle. Another advantage over a shotgun is that a shotgun will hold, at most, nine rounds. Sounds like a lot, but a shotgun won't spew out a man-sized spread. At most, you may get a spread the size of an apple but in the close range of a home it isn't gonna spread much more than maybe an inch and a half or two inches so you'll still have to aim it.
An AR also has a common magazine size of 30 rounds and much less recoil than a shotgun so you can fire off a quick follow-up shot if you need to. It is also louder than a shotgun and inside neither you nor the assailant is going to hear anything at all for a while after the first round. Another thing about an AR is that is about the same over-all length as a shotgun if you have the carbine model so moving around indoors isn't a huge issue. And the rounds an AR shoots are light weight with 55 grains being the most common you'll find. What this means is that there is less chance of the rounds penetrating through two layers of drywall and all the odds and ends between the walls and still retaining a lethal velocity so lethal over-penetration isn't as much of a danger compared to a shotgun or even a handgun, both of which can fire slower, heavier rounds which can still be quite deadly. This isn't to say it's safe to blaze away inside, far from it, just that the chance of hitting an innocent is reduced slightly.
Now a hunting rifle is horrible for home defense for the fact that they are usually much heavier and longer than an AR, fire much larger, heavier and higher velocity rounds and rarely have a magazine capacity exceeding 5 to 8 rounds in addition to not having the psychological impact of being visually identical to a military rifle.
Now, I will not discount shotguns, not at all; they are fantastic for home defense. They're light weight and portable, cocking them can make an invader shit himself and they can fire about anything you can fit in the shell so there are scores of less-than-lethal ammo you can keep loaded into it that just aren't available in a .223 caliber. In fact, given the choices between my shotgun and my AR, the shotgun is my go-to gun if someone is trying to force their way into the house.
But my Fuck-Off-I-Am-Not-Even-Kidding gun is my AR and may even end up being my default choice for the simple fact that it would be the easiest for me to get to in a hurry.
