No. They are not.
The AR-15 is a semi-automatic, .223 caliber rifles; very much the same as the semi-automatic, .223 caliber rifles used by small game hunters all over the country. In fact, some people hunt small game with AR-15s.
On a side note, in Virginia it is illegal to hunt deer with an AR-15, or any weapon of a claiber smaller than 0.23. The Commonwealth has determined that anything as small as .223 is not powerful enough to allow for consistent, clean, humane, one-shot kills of animals the size of a deer.
Speaking of undersized bullets, I am going to Alaska over Memorial day and am bringing my handgun in case of a big game attack on my rental car. It is a Walther P99 in .40 cal., so feel free to say a little prayer for me!
But, our boys have had to take that ‘not powerful enough cartridge to war since 1965? Amazing, the gub’ment says it inhumane to kill dear with a 223, but our sons & daughters are strapped with it! Take a deep breath, you can almost smell the hypocracy!
That’s what I thought. It is usually safe to assume that media types have no clue what they are talking about in regards to firearms. They do love to use that term.
jw