While many hunters own an ar15, they’re not a popular hunting round. The typical M16 doesn’t have enough power to take down the deer. You own ar15 because it’s fun to fire once in a while. You want a more powerful rifle or often shotgun depending on where you are because that’s what puts foods on the table. If you want to challenge, you will get a bow and arrow or a muzzle loader. They’re lots of fun. However, they take a lot more practice.
There is no one best hunting gun. That is why hunters will tend to own at least four or five guns. You want a 20-gauge shotgun for small birds. You want a 12-gauge for larger birds. You need a small rifle, say a .22 or something in that range for your squirrels and rabbits. And then you need a bigger gun, like a .30-06 common for your deer. Since guns do break once in a while, you will try and have a couple spares. Usually you’re hunting with a buddy and if a buddy has a spare that would be good enough that you can borrow it if you need it. But for one of your hunting trips, you will be that buddy that the other person borrows from. Often when you’re young you will buy a cheap gun that works but it’s not very good and so you’ll keep that while you buy a more expensive one which again adds to your collection.
OP really emphasized the full auto aspect of M16s, so in this case I think differentiating them from semi-auto AR-15 models is relevant when giving an answer.
Almost no one owns an m16. That would be a NFA (National Firearms Act) weapon that requires a special tax stamp for and would also have to be made before 1986. No new fully automatic firearms have been allowed to be made except for LEO/military purposes since 1986. All the of what you’re calling an “m16” is an AR-15 (Armalite Rifle 15) or some variant. They’re all semi-automatic.
The AR-15 is so popular because it is a very accurate, reliable rifle, and can be very affordable. It also helps that it’s the civilian model of the m16 and m4 rifles the military has. I have one that I target shoot with and it’s a very fun rifle to use. That’s probably the biggest reason it’s so popular.
I do agree that we need much stricter gun control in this country but it needs to be based around logic and fact. The “assault rifle bans” of the 90s were completely useless and didn’t van anything meaningfully dangerous. They banned things like collapsable stocks, threaded muzzles and other silly things that don’t effect the operation of the gun. Hell, California currently bans rifles with pistol grips, so when you buy an at there it just has a different grip. The function of the rifle is still the same. Personally I think we need stricter licensing on who can own a firearm. You should have to prove you are competent, capable, and safe in your use of firearms before you’re allowed to own one. That includes VERY thorough background searches and atleast 20-30 hours of instruction. The old tired adage of “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” does have some truth to it. But if less people had the guns to begin with, they’d have a lot harder time hurting people.
While many hunters own an ar15, they’re not a popular hunting round. The typical M16 doesn’t have enough power to take down the deer. You own ar15 because it’s fun to fire once in a while. You want a more powerful rifle or often shotgun depending on where you are because that’s what puts foods on the table. If you want to challenge, you will get a bow and arrow or a muzzle loader. They’re lots of fun. However, they take a lot more practice.
There is no one best hunting gun. That is why hunters will tend to own at least four or five guns. You want a 20-gauge shotgun for small birds. You want a 12-gauge for larger birds. You need a small rifle, say a .22 or something in that range for your squirrels and rabbits. And then you need a bigger gun, like a .30-06 common for your deer. Since guns do break once in a while, you will try and have a couple spares. Usually you’re hunting with a buddy and if a buddy has a spare that would be good enough that you can borrow it if you need it. But for one of your hunting trips, you will be that buddy that the other person borrows from. Often when you’re young you will buy a cheap gun that works but it’s not very good and so you’ll keep that while you buy a more expensive one which again adds to your collection.
Edit the ar15 is what hunters would have
Really?
Ar15, but they are the same other than details
OP really emphasized the full auto aspect of M16s, so in this case I think differentiating them from semi-auto AR-15 models is relevant when giving an answer.
Almost no one owns an m16. That would be a NFA (National Firearms Act) weapon that requires a special tax stamp for and would also have to be made before 1986. No new fully automatic firearms have been allowed to be made except for LEO/military purposes since 1986. All the of what you’re calling an “m16” is an AR-15 (Armalite Rifle 15) or some variant. They’re all semi-automatic.
The AR-15 is so popular because it is a very accurate, reliable rifle, and can be very affordable. It also helps that it’s the civilian model of the m16 and m4 rifles the military has. I have one that I target shoot with and it’s a very fun rifle to use. That’s probably the biggest reason it’s so popular.
I do agree that we need much stricter gun control in this country but it needs to be based around logic and fact. The “assault rifle bans” of the 90s were completely useless and didn’t van anything meaningfully dangerous. They banned things like collapsable stocks, threaded muzzles and other silly things that don’t effect the operation of the gun. Hell, California currently bans rifles with pistol grips, so when you buy an at there it just has a different grip. The function of the rifle is still the same. Personally I think we need stricter licensing on who can own a firearm. You should have to prove you are competent, capable, and safe in your use of firearms before you’re allowed to own one. That includes VERY thorough background searches and atleast 20-30 hours of instruction. The old tired adage of “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” does have some truth to it. But if less people had the guns to begin with, they’d have a lot harder time hurting people.