No doubt you are absolutely right. This story is complete fiction - he just made it up. Anyone who has actually fired an AR rifle (or any 5.56/.223 rifle) could see this immediately.
My thoughts exactly. AR-15 is nice and light. A typical shotgun is more closely related to a bazooka. The joy of firing the weapon is it has a VERY manageable recoil and follow up target acquisition is less demanding. Smell of sulfur? I don't think this heathen knows what sulfur smells like. He might think it's loud, but most guns seem loud when firing at an indoor range. I always get a kick at the looks I get when I fire my .357 snubby. BIG BOOM in tiny gun. Now you want to talk about some recoil?
And what panty-waste gun store owner did he talk into that tripe? Did the store owner explain how many bullets the "clip" held? Did he make sure the weapon select fire was not on "Full Auto"? Did he load it with black powder for him? The store owner should be embarrassed that someone came into his store, fired a weapon and published an article that suggests his customer was not competent to be shooting on his range, especially if there were other customers sharing space with him. It's a life and death safety issue when that level of stupidity is introduced to guns.
Anyone have an e-mail address for that reporter? On second thought, don't point out his mistakes. Let him go on being ignorant so as to advertise his lack of intelligence for future unsuspecting readers.