[SauronOfMordor]

They're not my favorite, but I'll have to say that these have been reliable so far and we have not been "nice" to them. Also, EVERYBODY can use them, from the 10 yr old, up to and including the wife!

That is the AR-15's saving grace with me. My 12-yo daughter had no problem with it when I had her use it at CMP matches

[hiredhand]

She's shooting CMP matches! Good for her! My 12 yr old girl is a very "private" shooter. She doesn't like to be around anybody else usually when we're shooting. She competes with me though, and she's quite good! She says she wants to start shooting the AR, and maybe our .243 Win.

She baffles me though. She used to shoot my FAL (.308 Win) when I had a bipod on it, but she was afraid of the AR-15 for the longest time! She said it was because of the spring noise in the stock (of the AR).

As a purist, I can badmouth the AR for a LONG time. But there's something to be said for a weapon that holds a reasonable amount of ammo (we've got a BUNCH fo 30 rd mags), is fairly accurate at 300 to 400 yards, and that EVERYBODY can use! I agree. It's useability is a DEFINITE advantage. :-)