The Number One Defender of Our Second Amendment Rights
In a blog piece at American Thinker yesterday, Michael Filozof, warned readers that Obama is using executive agency powers to make an end-run on the 2nd Amendment by banning a form of ammunition that the government fears most, the 5.56x45mm, 62 grain, M-855 military round. Mass-produced for use by our military, it is quite popular among American gun owners due to its relatively low cost. Ammunition manufacturers producing billions of rounds for military use have no problem in turning out an extra billion for civilian shooters. The ready availability of 5.56mm leads many American shooting enthusiasts to purchase very large numbers of the civilian versions of the military rifles that fire it.
Therein lies the problem for a government that fears its own citizens. Millions of military veterans, many of them combat veterans, have been trained in the effective use of the M-16 rifle and the M-4 carbine, both of which fire the 5.56mm round, with the M-16 in widespread military use since the mid-sixties. Pause for a moment to consider how many millions of soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen have been trained in the use of the M-16 in the half century since it was first issued to our troops.
If you’ve never considered that number before, others certainly have: the left-wing progressives in the Democrat party, the Alinskyites who are slowly but surely eliminating any vestiges of moderation in that party. A major obstacle to the ultimate implementation of their socialist programs is a heavily-armed populace resistant to being subjects of an all-powerful central government. Democrats have tried repeatedly to pass laws to begin the process of disarmament through gun registration, but conservative forces, fearing that registration is but the first step to owner identification and ultimately confiscation, have successfully fought back and limited passage of such laws to states controlled by Democrats. With most of their efforts thwarted, this ever devious administration, unable to disarm us outrightly, thinks it can turn our millions of guns into useless clubs if they can cut off our supply of ammunition, thus these machinations of the BATFE.
A comment on yesterday’s article said simply, “Join the NRA,” and I said to myself yes, yes, yes! I was shamefully reminded of my own failing in waiting so late in life to become a member; but I rather imagine there are millions out there like me, who didn’t wake up to the threat from the left to disarm us until this president took office with his promise of fundamental change. Barack Obama was the catalyst that made an NRA member of me and tens of thousands of others. Yet there are still millions of you out there who haven’t availed yourselves of this very inexpensive but very effective way to have your voice heard and your gun ownership rights ferociously defended in courtrooms and legislatures throughout America; all that for only $25.00 per year, including a subscription to their excellent monthly magazine, American Rifleman.
No other organization has stood taller and fought harder against liberal incursions on the 2d Amendment than the National Rifle Association through its Institute for Legislative Action, NRA-ILA. I hope these few paragraphs I’ve written will inspire you to get off your duff and join the National Rifle Association now. In an America governed by our constitution, our citizenry would need no organization like the Institute for Legislative Action to guard against government encroachment upon our right to keep and bear arms. But under the increasingly socialistic, centralized rule of Barack Obama and the Democrat party, we should be thankful the ILA is there for us. For $25.00 a year you get top-notch, legal representation throughout Washington, D.C. as well as in every statehouse, legislature and courthouse in this nation.
Try finding a lawyer who can match that.
The author has absolutely no connection with the NRA other than as a dues-paying member.
Crossposted at American Thinker
Category: Politics
The NRA has done a fine job of telling Bloomberg to get screwed also. If for no other reason, that’s why I’m a member.
On a different note, is it time to buy more stock in the companies that make 5.56? I’m expecting another run like we saw with the 9mm ammo.
It’s pretty much over. I saw this on Saturday and immediately went to the sites I use for ammo. Almost every one of them was sold out. That was the day after the ATF announcement. It seems some companies have learned a hard lesson though. None of them were gouging the public by raising the price of M855.
I’m also a NRA member, Endowment Life.
Even the M193 55-grain rounds are becoming scarce, according to my go-to source for ammo. Hopefully the panic buying will taper off at some point.
That’s why I buy in the middle of these panics. I have a few thousand M855 rounds stocked up. Hell, I might price gouge myself and sell a little of my stockpile. Probably not…I like hoarding too much
Yup. Barack Obama. Firearms Salesman of the Century.
For far too long the NRA was super FUDD, but that’s finally changing. I renewed my membership last year. Way too much AFT shenanigans going on.
I dropped my NRA membership for two reasons: I don’t like La Pierre, and I got heartily sick of six notices a year to renew or upgrade my membership.
And is it possible to reload the 5.56 cartridge? A ton of people in this area reload ammo, so while the factory ammo might become a problem, I think the round will still be available, if it can be reloaded.
It is reloadable. The problem is obtaining components. Powder is hard to find and when you do find it on ebay it is triple retail price.
It is much cheaper to buy assembled cartridges.
…oh,and if you think this is something, just wait. This is just the beginning of the fun. /sarc
Yes, you can reload the brass case Berdan primed can be reloaded, but it’s a PITA), but I doubt you’ll find the M855 bullet to seat into it. That’s the “problem”. There’s still plenty of 62 grain 5.56 to be had, but it lacks the projectile that makes the M855 what it is.
US made 5.56 (Both M855 and M193) are boxer primed cartridges and easily reloaded. Berdan primed rounds are usually from European manufacturers.
Will the bullet be available to reload? Like Planet Ord said, finding the powder and primers will be problematic.
Nag, perhaps you should reconsider. Those seem like awfully petty reasons to not support the largest, most effective organization fighting to preserve your gun rights.
You don’t like La Pierre? It’s kind of like voting Republican sometimes; you just have to hold your nose while you’re doing it. Too many solicitations? hell, every organization I’m a member of does the same thing.
We’re just one Supreme Court vote away from a possible liberal ruling on the meaning of the right to keep and bear arms and the meaning of the term “militia.”
Think about it…
Nag, NRA is sorta like TAH – we don’t ALL agree on things all the time, but we still have each others back. I’m a Life Member but still the NRA has done things that royally pissed me off.
If not NRA, please consider Gun Owners of America. We aren’t nearly as big, but we fight like crazy.
OC
Yes, I am thinking about re-joining. I had a year’s membership with NAGR, and they’re just as annoying, so I might at well stay with the group I like best, right?
Nag, the biggest turn off to me for NAGR is the “fibs” they would tell about NRA.
OC
Good on ya…
I reload 5.56. I have components. I tried M855 projectiles and my weapons did not like them. I settled on 77 grain Sierras and RL15. They shoot slower but they are much more accurate, hit harder, and the trajectory out to 300 meters (in my opinion, the max effective range of an M4) is satisfactory.
I bought a lot of once-fired brass. It is all boxer-primed. I use either CCI #41 primers or CCI 450 small rifle magnum primers. I reload on a Dillon 550b, it is fast enough for me. After loading, I put everything into 10-round clips, drop three of them into those cardboard boxes, and put four boxes into 120-round bandoliers with a charger. I get a lot of bandoliers into a fat 50 ammo box.
When I read up on the 855 “penetrator”, I came to the conclusion that the objective was to put lightweight steel in the front of the bullet and push the CG further to the rear. That makes the bullet fly straight but if it hits anything, it flips to a base forward configuration. That flip dumps a lot of energy into the target. At this point I am not convinced that the “penetrator” has any value for penetrating anything. Maybe someone here can educate me.
I found 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(17)(B). It seems that, according to federal law, 855 cannot be easily reclassified as AP or a pistol bullet. Anyone know better?
This link is interesting:
http://bearingarms.com/atf-lacks-legal-authority-ban-m855-ammunition-heres/
replying to myself. I paid about $0.15 per bullet. Primers are about $0.02 per round and powder is about $0.05 per round. In my opinion because I get to reuse it a lot, brass is free even if I have to pay for it. So I load 1,000 rounds for $220. I don’t think that is too bad but YMMV.
if you are buying primers at $20/1000, that is about half of what the market is in Houston. Mind telling your source?
No magic. I bought two and half cases two years ago. I also have quite a bit of RL15. I happened pass near Sierra and bought a lot of seconds from them.
Reloading 5.56x45mm is done by many people. Here are a few of my observations with my experience from it.
1) Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.
2) Most 5.56 is some kind of military style and has crimped primers. Those pieces of brass tend to break decapping pins.
a) You have to either swage or ream the primer pocket after you decap and before you can recap them. (This is a mind numbingly tedious step.)
b) This step is only really practical for the people who shoot varmints or targets in single shot and bolt action rifles with this round.
c) If you have no way of recrimping the primer they tend to fail in military style rifles. (This is true of 5.56×45 and 7.62×39 in my experience.)
3) Steel case, Berdan primed brass, is not (I do not believe anyway) reloadable and that is the most available ammo I have seen.
4) Components are available, but, unlike most pistol ammo, is just as expensive as loaded ammo.
5) It can be done, in a pinch, but it’s just not worth the effort for military type weapons and shooters.
Like I said, YMMV.
I have no problem swaging out the primer crimp, I can do about 500 per hour on a Dillon tool. I noticed that if I was too enthusiastic with the primer pocket swage, the case would not hold a primer. In my experience the new primers I insert do not fail or fall out.
I bought LC once-fired brass, not steel. I agree steel cases are not reloadable.
I found that real-live M855 green tip didn’t perform well in my weapons so I made a round that worked for me. I have 16.5″ barrels, one brand new Colt 1:7 and two Daniel Defense 1:7. I had a shot-out Colt that now rests in my old-barrel bucket.
I like to reload and 5.56 is no harder than anything else that I make. The 550b meters RL15 reliably. I am confident in my handloads, my rifles shoot less than 2-inch groups at 100 yards, and I like the price. The price lets me keep up skills and shoot as much as I like with accurate reliable ammo.
I realize that it sounds like advertising. I don’t care if anyone else reloads but those are my reasons. I make everything from good practice 45 with 200 grain SWC lead on the Dillon through BR and precision 1,000 yard stuff using Wilson hand dies. If anybody want to talk reloading, ping Jonn. He knows how to reach me.
I haven’t reloaded 5.56 since the very early 1980’s so I bow to your more recent experience.
You can email me anytime at jimlegansjr@gmail.com
Richard, do you use the military grade deprimer tool? This is a heavy guage steel deprimer tool. Main on those steel shells for those that do not reload. Joe
Joe,
Nope, I use Dillon carbide dies. I polish in a tumbler, size and decap on my RCBS single-stage press using the Dillon dies, swage the primer pockets with a Dillon tool, polish again to remove sizing lube, then load them on the Dillon 550. By the time they get to the 550, the cases are clean, sized, and primer pockets swaged so the 550 is happy.
I use the Dillon carbide dies for 3 reasons, they are very hard so if there is a little grit on my brass it doesn’t gouge the dies, they are slippery so sizing is easier, and they have a very sturdy depriming pin – I have never broken one of their pins. I cannot say that about RCBS or Redding.
I use only Lake City cases because my gear is set up for them and I don’t have to worry about berdan primers or steel cases. I do not sort 5.56 brass, I typically sort all other rifle cases. All of my 5.56 is seated a little under the published max COL and all of it will fit into metal or PMAG 20s or 30s. This is not precision handloading but it creates rounds that are adequate for the purpose.
I also load 7.62 equivalent to FGMM but that is done using different techniques. For example, 308 cases have to be sorted to achieve good accuracy.
A few of the prier pocket reamers can be removed and chucked into a drill – makes cleaning that damned ring crimp MUCH faster and easier.
If you want to shoot 5.56, use other bullets and save M885 for when you might actually need it.
Sounds like we have a reloading community here. (I’m shocked… shocked!)
I reload,
My current cost on 5.56 with a 62 grain fmjbt is about 21 cents a round, not including brass. I have never had to buy 5.56 brass. I use once fired nato headstamp that I process myself.
the math
I am going to give current prices so the cost will work out just a bit higher.
the bullet will cost between 7 and 8 cents per round depending on purchase quantity.
The powder cost between 11 and 13 cents per round
the Primer between 3 and 4 cents.
The set up cost can be fairly cheap to very expensive.
I currently have the equipment to reload 15 different calibers.
It can be a daunting task when you first start. I enjoy reloading as much as I do sIf there is any shooting.
If there is any interest I will do an article with pictures and video of reloading basics and step by step on a dillon 550
Don’t forget the Vets/LEO discount for NRA membership. You can do payments on it and become a life member.
Another reason to buy more guns and more ammo!
I just bought a Glock 380 for a member of my family for CC!
So, maybe that person needs another gun and more ammo! Friday night shopping!
Well, Axelrod has spilled the beans on bodaprez. He describes him as ‘prickly, contemptuous, short-fused’ and other things.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/axelrod-reveals-a-prickly-emotional-obama/ar-BBhFVRw
Go to the 5th paragraph: the expectation was that WDC would be instantly changed, overnight, blink of an eye, when bodaprez arrived, and (unfortunately for him) it did not. And last paragraph, he makes it clear that bodaprez actually does not give a flying fart in space about the job. He’ll leave behind a trainwreck that he created all on his own and will not look back.
Try to find a freebie copy of the book, instead of paying for it. Might be available on wattpad.
As far as a specific ammo is concerned, every time one of these announcements appears, there is a run on the product. I can’t think of a better sales method than that. Remember all the panic buying not so very long ago, when the government was ‘gobbling’ up millions of rounds of ammo, which it does anyway, and people thought they’d have no ammo left to buy?
If I could create a panic like that for my stuff, it would make my sales zoom, too, but I write books and stories. I don’t make ammunition products.
This kind of ban was discussed in 2002 in this forum:
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=141970
Then read this:
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/02/contact-atf-oppose-5-56-m855-ball-ammunition-ban/#axzz3S2OZBjIk
Here’s one online source for 5.56 ammo:
http://www.bulkammo.com/rifle/bulk-5.56×45-ammo
Here are some companies that are carrying bulk 5.56 ammo.
http://www.venturamunitions.com/
http://www.basspro.com/American-Eagle-Lake-City-5-56-AR-Ammo/product/1402271231/
The special notice designates which states BassPro cannot ship ammo to by mail.
http://www.gandermountain.com/search/5.56%20ammunition
Gander Mtn probably can’t mail ammo to certain states, also, so you might have to drive there, but order ahead and pay for it and they’ll have it for you.
Like I said, I can’t think of a better way to bump up sales for something like guns or ammunition, than when the media puts out stories like this. If something like 5.56 calibre ammunition becomes unavailable, it’s entirely due to panic buying.
Don’t buy anything from those Cheaper Than Dirt folks. They have already started gouging the consumer just like last time/shortage.
Plus when they did have the M855 rounds, they appeared to be crappy “seconds”. The reviews on the M855 rounds were really bad.
Cheaper Than Dirt is usually a good source for ammo, but like you said, they’re starting to jack up the prices plus the shipping damn near doubles the final cost.
They had 100-round magazines for ARs at about $100 before New Town. A week later, they were $400. I wouldn’t buy from CTD ever.
I also don’t like their ‘you bought it, you own it’ attitude when you call with a problem with their stuff. The last contact I had with them was about 15 years ago, and I never went back after I got done with that phone call.
I can’t believe they’re still in business after what they did after Newtown.
I think one of those – either BassPro or Gander Mtn. – was having a sale on ammo at the end of January, because turkey hunting season is coming up.
gunbot.net
😉
Not going to mourn 5.56mm’s loss. It was a crappy round anyway. Give this a read, it’s a really good breakdown of why 5.56mm is crap, and why we should shift to something larger: http://www.quarryhs.co.uk/The%20Next%20Generation.htm
So how many “crappy rounds” are you going to give up to the gun banners before they decide that your favorite “crappy round” should be outlawed too??? Short sighted to say the least
+1 to jonp.
Note in the article cited, the 5.56 is being compared to “high powered” 7.62(x54) weapons, NOT the average 7.62×39. Apples and oranges… the writers assume a high mix of SVDs and RPKs and virtually ignore the ubiquitous AKs – which if anything perform even worse at long range than the M885. NO ONE is 100% equipped with a “perfect” cartridge. I am not a huge fan of M885, but at least do an honest comparison. They should have compared the Russian 7.62 with 7.62×51.
If you are a gun owner and not an NRA member, please reconsider.
5.56 is a very forgiving round to reload. It will function very well with a very wide range of powders and bullets, so don’t believe any “there’s only one powder/bullet that will work” nonsense. Let’s face it, 99% of what you actually shoot is probably paper anyway, and if you want teeny-tiny groups you probably aren’t using M885 for that anyway – you are probably shooting the round because it is cheap. Note too the only ammo mentioned is M885 ball – there are literally hundreds of other 5.56/.223 loads which should not be affected – except by panic buying.
Learn to reload. Hell, learn to make your own bullets.
David, do you have a good source for bullet swaging dies and good 22-caliber jackets? I used to buy 6mm J4 jackets from Berger is that still a viable source?
Didn’t Sierra start by making jackets from .22LR empties? Saw some discussion of that on castboolit, I think. Berger is still in business, as is Captech and Corbin (the gold standard, but they are real proud of their stuff.
Me, I’m a caster…anywhere from 55 to 450 grains.
I have never tried to make jackets out of 22 brass. I guess that I just don’t believe in it – a 22-cal brass case is not enough like bullet jacket gilding metal.
I have a set of Simonson carbide dies for 6 PPC and one bucket of .825 J4 jackets. I haven’t made 6 PPC in quite a while; my bullets shot as well as any of the custom bullets I bought.
If I had my druthers, I would buy a set of carbide dies in 30 cal – squirt, seater, boat-tail, and pointup. I would go for an overall shape between the Sierra 175 match and the 240 match.
If I could make 30-cal jacketed bullets that cuts me loose from another external supplier. Now, if I could chamber/fit my own barrels and repair scopes that would really be something!
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?89177-No-lathe-required-22-LR-de-rimmer&s=b2c0541f97a4d3f2b0aee1acaf072633&p=952650#post952650
making your own
Many people have a problem with The NRA considering them not radical or militant enough for their tastes. The fact is that they are the 900lb gorilla in the room on every piece of legislation that affects gun owners in this country.
If you own a firearm and do not belong to the nations oldest civil rights organization, The NRA, then shame on you.
I’m a NRA Endowment Life Member and proud to be. How much is your liberty worth to you?
One last comment on this subject. Just remember that the justification for banning this round is that it is armor piercing. Any centerfire round can be armor piercing. Get my drift?????
I will counter your observation by saying that anyone who gets in some actual practice and learns to make each round count doesn’t need armor-piercing whatevers.
And I will counter that any round is armor piercing if you goober the standards, like say by an anti-2A type.
Thus if we allow this, then they start “deeming” more items as “AP”, thus “not needed”.
Need has nothing to do with the Second Amendment.
Ever see what a solid-brass .45-70 “dangerous game” slug will do, fired from a modern high-velocity .45 caliber rifle? The ancient .45-70 round with this slug is hugely penetrative. Modern stuff even more so. These are meant for very large, very dangerous critters like large bear, or cape buffalo. They will do a number on steel plate.
So are these unneeded and therefore banned?
Well the all lead ones used in the old BP guns will also go through light plates. Whoops, that 140 year old blackpowder round is now “AP” thus “unneeded” and thus banned.
Nah, lets stop them here, before we are lamenting the day they banned birdshot larger than #12 and bores larger than 28 gauge.
OK. Maybe I should not have used ‘need’, but another term instead.
My point was that a well-practiced shooter should have good enough aim to practice economy of use, e.g., making every shot hit a specfic spot on a target, as opposed to using (for want of a better word) something that will blow a hole through steel or Kevlar to compensate for poor aim and lack of practice.
In fact, arrows fired from a bow can penetrate chain mail and the padding underneath if aimed properly, and everyone can be made to hit the target by thorough practice.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
After all, a 9-pound cannonball can do a massive amount of damage to just about any vehicle if charged and aimed properly and fired from an appropriately mounted cannon.
I’d like one day to get a m16 or m4 variant rather than a handgun. I’m just a bad shot with my handgun and would feel more secure with what I used for years.
There are no bad handgun shots, just bad instructors. Trust me, anyone with basic eye/hand coordination can learn to shoot one effectively.
But if a two-hand gun is your confidence choice, go for it. Whatever works for you is the right answer.
M-16 or M-4? You’ll need a Federal tax stamp and a LOT of happy $$$$s to own one as a private citizen. For a home defense long gun it’s hard to beat a shottie in size 12, or even 20. Regular 2-3/4 inch shells will work just fine, and at room distances the shot pattern is roughly the size of a clenched fist, so pick the shot size you like. Lots of info out there on the interwebs, good luck!
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-887/model-887-nitro-mag.aspx
Handles 12-gauge 2 3/4″, 3″ and 3 1/2″ loads interchangeably
Rugged ArmorLokt™ coating totally prevents rust on all exterior surfaces
I saw them listed at $499
Just “point and shoot.” It’s an old technique: point at something with your index finger; then, follow line-of-sight to the target. More likely than not you’ll be center-mass.
Now, extend this concept to your pistol and think of the barrel as your finger.
I learned this from an instructor at the Ft. Bragg “Quick Kill” course taught in 1968 … they used bb rifles without sights.
Point shooting, aka combat shooting, is what I train on. The problem is that most people try training to shoot like they’re getting ready for Camp Perry, which doesn’t serve you well in the every day real world scenarios you might experience. Find an instructor that trains in that and give it a try.
As for the ATF………they make it appear that they don’t know an AR-15 from a Savage model 64. Either they are that incompetent and dumb, or it is part of their agenda for the low information voters. I’m betting on the latter. When was the last time you heard of a shootout with law enforcement that involved and AR-15 pistol loaded with M855 ammunition? Yeah, me neither. It’s an excuse to bolster their agenda. Obama can’t get the guns, so he’s doing a workaround by making ammunition hard to get and very expensive. His own version of gun control. Just like .22LR is almost non-existent, unless you want to pay a premium on armslist, this, too, will happen with 5.56.
http://www.ammoseek.com
http://www.gunbot.net
Live trackers of price and availability.
Another vote for gunbot, cool.
The problem I had as a member of the NRA was blatant hypocrisy. Out where I live we have a sheriff who pretends to be the poster boy for the NRA. He is whole heartedly supported by the NRA. In reality only 700 people in his county of way over 1,000,000 have been deemed responsible enough for a CCW. I contacted the NRA as to why when asked by his last opponent to endorse him(he ran on a shall issue stand) the NRA told him no. The NRA would never give me an answer. In a state where we need them the most they do nothing. And Peralta has been stopped in its tracks. I hear crickets from the NRA.
Not to be labeled a coward here. Look up sheriff Stan Sniff. Honorable service, traitor to the 2nd Amendment. He needs pressure from veterans to not be a political hack. Plenty of his deputy’s have ended up in prison under his reign. Google (riverside California deputy charged). Murderers, rapists thieves. The NRA loves him. His cops can carry but we cannot protect ourselves in his county.
This is the sort of thing that concerns me about the NRA. These goobers get an A+ rating from the NRA, all the while stabbing gun owners in the back. And the NRA looks the other way.
My two cents is to join the NRA, GOA, and your state Rifle and Pistol Association.
There are assholes in all those groups I do not like, but I can eat the meat and spit out the bones.
This is true of Veterans Sevice Organizations too. There are plenty of dicks in them all, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
REMEMBER how the bleeding-heart-on-the-sleeve liberal snotweasels screeched about how bad and eevil the AK47 was? Yeah, they’re doing the same thing about the AR15 nowadays, but here’s a classic video (Obviously dubbed from VHS) that debunks media hype about rifle calibers, I like how the Gentleman shooting and narrating highlights how the liberal media LIES:
Wow, if the ATF is upset about 5.56AP, I wonder what they think of the 1,000 rounds of .30-06 AP I have sitting in my gun case? That stuff’ll go right through a SAPI plate… err, at least that’s what I heard…
SKS, 2000 rounds. Only need 20 or so every few months to stay accurate.
What was exceptionally ridiculous was the reasoning behind it…that it is armor piercing and puts law enforcement in danger. News flash you idiots. Most LEOs wear level II body armor and the cheap .223 ammo you can buy at Walmart will rip through that. Also, if a LEO is wearing level III armor, the M855 isn’t going to go through that. Fucking idiots
As I just stated above; either the ATF is chock full of dumbasses, or they have an agenda and their reasoning is for the low information types. I believe it’s the latter. When was the last time you heard of a shootout with law enforcement that involved an AR-15 pistol loaded with M855 rounds? It’s an excuse. They are going to let us have the guns, but are going to take the ammunition away. This is just the beginning, unless we can get common sense back in the Whitehouse.
OT: I think that Common Sense is somewhere in the Caribbean sipping rum and laughing his ass off. He might come back to the World and poke a couple people in 2016. In the meantime, we are on our own.
I cannot imagine anyone using an AR-15 pistol for anything. Imagine the flash! In my personal opinion, it embodies the bad parts of an AR-15 and the bad parts of a pistol.