Once again i feel i must voice a professional and historical prospective on the current firearms debate. So lets light this candle.

The AR-15 was originally designed and manufactured by Armalite in 1957. Due to financial woes, Armalite sold the rights to Colt. It was originally designed as a select fire rifle for the United States Military. The AR-15 is based off of Eugene Stoners much heavier AR-10, which is a 7.62mm. Colt marketed the AR-15 as a civilian model of the infamous M16/M4 variants.

The AR-15 uses the same direct gas impingement system as its cousins. While a vast majority of AR's are chambered for the Remington .223, (a varmint round in professional circles), the M16/M4 variants along with a good number of civilian AR's are chambered for the NATO 5.56mm. I would recommend any serious firearms enthusiast to purchase a variant chambered for 5.56mm. You can fire a Remington .223 out of a weapons platform chambered for 5.56mm NATO. However, any professional will tell you NOT to attempt to fire a 5.56mm out of a weapon chambered only for Remington .223, it will result in a critical weapons failure. IT WILL BLOW UP. Rendering your firearm inoperable, and could cause a fatality, if not serious bodily harm. To check, simply remove the hand guard that surrounds the barrel. The caliber it is chambered for should be stamped along the barrel. If not contact the manufacturer.

Barrel lengths vary from 6.5" to 24". Mind you, any length shorter than 16 inches will require the owner to pay a $200 tax stamp because the weapon is considered a short barreled rifle,( SBR ). There are no federal restrictions on the AR platform. In the United States the lower reciever is considered the actual weapon. I recommend checking your states current firearms laws before making a purchase. However, most firearms are not really banned. They just require a Federal background check along with paying the appropriate tax stamps depending on the weapon system. Mind you the background check can take anywhere from 3 months to a year, and these types of weapon platforms are not cheap. Expect to drop at the minimum a couple thousand and over 15k at auction depending on your preference.

Most models come with adjustable front and rear iron sights unless otherwise specified. The maximum rate of fire is 800 rounds per minute on full auto. Civilian models are incapable of this rate of fire unless a bump stock is equipped or the weapon has been illegally modified. Maximum effective range is 400 to 600 meters, (about 547 yds), depending on optics. In the military a common term used when describing the effective range is "point to target". In other words, if you can see the target, you can hit it.

Currently, it is estimated that there are between 2.5 and 3.7 million rifles of the AR family in civilian use in the United States. These systems are preferred for target shooting, hunting, and personal protection.

Machine Guns are a completely different story. They must be manufactured before 1986, unless you can convince the ATF to add it to the Federal list, odds are you can not legally own it. Owning a Machine Gun is a better investment than real estate these days. As the value increases about 25% annually.

Recently i saw where Vice President Biden made the statement "buy a shotgun, not an AR". I disagree with his statement, not because of politics, after all i voted for Obama, but because this is America, and we can own whatever firearm we please. If you want to own an air cooled, belt fed Machine Gun,( as long as you pass the background check and pay the tax), then more power to you. Let me know when you want to shoot it, and i'll bring the ammo! It is not about a need. It is the rights we have as citizens of this nation. Because i can, if you will. I am a law abiding disabled Iraq war combat veteran, and i believe i have earned the right to own whatever firearm i please. To steal a line from The Constitution, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed". In my book that means banning a firearm because you do not like it is an infringement upon my rights as a citizen, and a violation of The Constitution i swore to defend.