Forums / Gun Discussion / Cons

Well, I only have one. The sight line is 2.6 inches above the bore, which requires quite a bit of offset aiming when shooting at extremely close ranges. I would love to see a system using action bars that allows the gass tube to be put under the barrel, allowing the sights to be lower like the Garand or a shotgun. One of the resaons it is higher, though, is keeping the eye level when getting a stockweld with the straight stock allows more accuracy. Having the sights lower may not be as accurate for distance shooting, but for a CQB weapon, it wouldn't matter. All the other cons (direct impingement versus piston, weak caliber, thin barrels) have been addressed by gun manufacturers.

1. price

2. front sight issue (similar to runaway) but that you to get a gas block on most AR's with a fixed front sight, if I want to replace it with a flip up sight

3. their inability to take large numbers of steel cased ammo vs. brass. i.e ejector spring wear

4. easily susceptible to over lubrication

5. must be kept pretty clean to function properly (versus some eastern bloc rifles like the SKS and AK)

What do you mean by over lubrication?

I was just stating that there is a fine line between not enough lubrication and over lubrication on many M16/AR rifles

New guidance has come out for maintenance on the M4 that says there should be enough CLP on the internal parts that you can move it around with your finger. I have never seen an M4 with too much lube on it.

the "stright bolt action rifle" scenerio happen twice. once was because of the blowback from cheap russian ammo into the chamber, the other was because it was over lubed. this thing basically looked like it just left the car wash

I used to get asked about them alot because I used them so much. Some of the old guys would spew out hatred about them and talk in splendid terms of the M14 and Garands, and 1903s.(all good weapons). Well I must say I think the AR is a fantastic platform. We used to take guys, most of which had never handled any gun, and in two weeks, most of them could hit 9 out of 10 open site prone at 500 yards. I think that is quite impressive. They are very easy to operate. They are really quite accurate. They have virtually no recoil. You can put anything you want on them. With hollow point and or premium ammo, they are quite capable. Mine has never jammed that I remember anyway. As a matter of course, I don't ever remember one of mine jamming. I saw some other guys jam every once in a while, but mine.. not. I hear the old timers tell me that if they are in the mud or jungle, or dessert or whatever, that these bad things will happen. I have been in some of those places, and did not see it. And, I am not there anymore nor will I ever be, so I don't care. My guns are always clean, and they always work. I think ARs will end up being a large force even with hunters due to the ability to change uppers and calibers. I like the others as well, but they are not nearly as versatile as an AR platform. They are pretty expensive, but they are worth it in my opinion.

for over a decade in the army and have never seen a gun with too much lube to work. Not calling BS, but it has to be awfully rare because I use a spray bottle with CLP for my rifle and have never seen it. I've definitely seen too little lube, though.

I have to agree with runawaygun762.

ummmmmm I am going with NONE at this point. I have been around AR's most of my life and just don't see any major flaws. Sure they work best clean as do most rifles, but I am a gun lover and have no problem keeping my guns spottles. I rather enjoy it. Infact I left my AR dirty yesterday so I could enjoy some alone time with her tonight :)