The M-16 got a bad rap when the military first started using it, but it was not the rifles fault, it was the ammo. They were using ammo they were told not to use in that rifle, and having problems. What a shock! Once they got that corrected and learned to clean them properly in the field they became quite the weapon.

The AR is a great gun and can be very accurate, like said though, not too cheap. Then again some bolt actions are pretty expensive as well, and look at some auto shotguns that are in the thousand dollar range. Heck some over and unders are around 2 grand. M1's are not cheap either.

If I could afford an AR I would own one, I just can't justify the money for what I would do with it.

As far as if you can hunt with one it would depend on your state laws. Some won't allow semi auto's at all, others have capacity limits, weapon type restricitons, caliber restrictions and over all size restrictions. So depending on how your AR is set up you may or may not be able use it.

In michigan up north you can use a standard AR with a 5 shot magazine to hunt with. We have no weapon or caliber restrictions (has to be a centerfire). Only a capacity limit on shells. However where I live in the southern part of the state you can't even use a centerfire on deer, so it doesn't matter. You can varmint hunt with them though.

Paul