The 'tater head: the AR-15 is perhaps our most versatile rifle

Guns Magazine, Jan, 2005 by Glen Zediker

I call myself a shooter who writes rather than a gunwriter. For the past 35 years or so I have operated kind of a non-profit guidance counseling center for bullets. Sort of a home for wayward projectiles. My interest (with most any and all firearms) has always been in helping bullets find target centers and then, if applicable, getting successive holes really close together. Most of those bullets have been .224 diameter, and a goodly number of .308s.

I've long believed that the only way to really learn more about guns is to learn to shoot them better. I hold an NRA High Master classification in High Power Rifle, and earned that shooting an AR-15 Service Rifle. I still get my feet wet crossing over ponds, because all that means is that my scoring average across the course (200/300/600 yard events) is over 97 percent. That's a ways away from true championship-contender status, but I can work triggers well enough to forward my opinions. I wrote a book on AR-15s a few years ago (The Competitive AR15: The Mouse That Roared) that's been a wonderful accomplishment. You all can learn more about me at www.zediker.com. Go see, and send questions. I answer.

I call R "Mr. Potato Head"

Others call it an AR-15. This gun has developed into perhaps the widest array of truly useful firearm forms we have available today. It can be anything from a plinker to a tactical entry gun to a competition firearm to a varmint rifle to a daggone pistol (of sorts). It's been chambered in everything from .22 rimfire to a .50 caliber centerfire. It may not be the world's "ultimate" in every form amazingly, but it is as capable a firearm as everything I've seen it become.

What makes it so versatile? It's a 'tater head! Get a short barrel and stock and plug in its mad face. Get a long barrel and tube fore-end and work up its serious face. Pin on a .22 LR upper and outfit the happy face. Keep mixing and matching pieces-parts and its faces change right along with your needs in a rifle.

A Competitive Nature

My primary experience with AR-15s has been in the competitive venue. NRA High Power Rifle to be precise. Having been around and in this arena, I believe "we" have a good handle on what really works. I say that because we play a score game on decimal targets at 200, 300 and 600 yards (sometimes farther). Bullets leave holes on targets and where these holes are shows a fellow just about everything he needs to know about the current state of his rifle and himself. One goal I have is relating what we have learned about AR-15 accuracy and rifle performance. This truth won't hurt.

If I don't know for sure myself, I know who does. You'll be reading about the latest in tactical or professional (my preferred term) applications, as well as serious field work in pest control. We'll talk about pieces-parts and those topics will include barrels (chambering, construction and form, twist rates, and more), triggers, sights (irons and optics), stocks, calibers and cartridges, reloading, bullet designs, trouble-shooting, maintenance, and, wahoo, this column could last a good long while.

I'll mix up the material in hopes everyone's interests will be supported. You'll read about the high-end and the midrange. Not everyone will own a $4,000 rifle, but everyone shooting an AR-15 deserves the satisfaction from learning how best not to waste funds on things that don't work. I'll mention brand names. If a brand name is mentioned assume that's a recommendation, or at least a suggestion. If a brand name is not mentioned, it might be an oversight but it also might mean more. I'll try to keep it clean.

I'm looking forward to sharing some "tricks" that have proven to work well, and these will include some drop-in and bolt-on additions that make life nicer.

I'll be showing you some of the truly custom rifles available as well as going into and on about the "big" rifle--the AR10. I like these. We'll take a look at the one David Tubb used to win the NRA High Power Rifle National Championship. That was a big deal in the history of this rifle platform.

I'd appreciate some feedback regarding topics you all would like to see done up and I'll see what I can do to help. Otherwise, check here and I hope you'll always check back.

Next time we'll take a look at accuracy basics, and you'll learn why and how nearly all AR-15s can be made to shoot really, really well.