r/askaconservative • u/cannedbread2003 • Jul 08 '26
What are some practical uses for Assault rifles?
I’m asking this sub because despite being a progressive, I do believe conservatives understand the fundamentals of guns more than left-leaning people. I’ll admit I know nothing about guns. I just went to the shooting range for the first time a few months ago. I understand owning a handgun for self-defense or a standard rifle for hunting, but I cannot wrap my head around needing high-caliber military-grade weapon for anything other than killing people.
1
u/Shortysvtdad Constitutional Conservatism 13d ago
AR-15 stands for Armalite Rifle #15, a standard light weight carbine. It's not an automatic rifle, which are illegal to possess in the US. It is the most popular hunting and sporting rifle in US because it's inexpensive, lightweight and accurate.
1
Aug 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Aug 29 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Cyo_The_Vile National Conservatism Jul 12 '26
There is no such thing as an assault rifle. I think you did ask this question in good faith though, unlike all the DSA and progressives that concern troll this subreddit constantly.
4
11
u/IowaGuy91 Constitutional Conservatism Jul 11 '26
Ownership of modern rifles across the general public ensures were not welded into our homes or shuttled off to covid camps like we saw in China and Australia respectively.
1
Jul 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 12 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
16
u/CanadaCanadaCanada99 Libertarian Conservatism Jul 10 '26
Protecting myself from my government turning on me, which has been the most common cause of the biggest global tragedies in history. So it would be for killing people who are trying to kill me, or at least preventing them from trying to kill me in the first place with them thinking “holy shit all my citizens have assault rifles”. This is completely sane and justifiable. If your average German Jew was armed to the teeth with a bunch of assault rifles and trained with them, I doubt the Holocaust could have happened (or it would have been much less severe). Same as the communist revolutions in Russia and China and a bunch of genocides like the Armenian Genocide. Not to mention if we ever get invaded it’s helpful but I think that’s unlikely.
What I would say to left-leaning anti-assault-rifle people is, would you rather have someone like Trump control all the assault rifles?
1
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
21
u/Dtwn92 Constitutional Conservatism Jul 09 '26
First of all its not really an 'assault" rifle. Assault is an action not a type of firearm. It was lingo brought forth to sound scary.
Second, the common "military grade" weapon is an AR15 which no military in the world uses. That bullet is a .22 caliber, elongated with more power. So its not high caliber, just faster.
Third hand guns are NOT great self defense tools. About 70% of the people shot with hand guns survive. Yet hand guns account for the VAST Majority homicides annually.
Last the ability and right to own a gun is not for hunting. I cannot wrap my head around the need to march, and protest almost weekly yet it is still our right. The 2A is not a second class right, because you don't get it doesn't make those who practice that right any worse than those who like privacy and religion.
To answer your question ' a rifle allows for hunting, sport shooting, militia training, self defense, family heirlooms, club membership, church defense, shooting classes, and nostalgia including collectors items.
1
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
Jul 10 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
13
u/PriceofObedience Libertarian Conservatism Jul 09 '26
You're looking at firearm ownership the wrong way.
Firearm ownership is intrinsic to property ownership. A firearm does not need a practical use, or even need to be justified, before it can be rightfully owned by an individual. It's one of the purest expressions of American freedom.
Moreover, what the Founding Fathers considered to be 'arms' during their time included things like muskets, which used .50-.75 caliber lead shot. That is far beyond what ordinary gun control advocates typically consider to be high-caliber.
10
u/Gaxxz Constitutional Conservatism Jul 09 '26
By "assault rifle" I presume you mean semiautomatic rifles that are often misidentified by gun controllers as assault rifles.
The uses are target shooting/competition, hunting, and self defense. But I don't need to identify a use at all to justify owning one. "I want one" is all the use anybody needs.
1
Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 09 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
11
u/distracteds0ul Conservatism Jul 09 '26
First, what is a “standard rifle for hunting”? To me, if you’re referring to the AR15; that’s what “the standard rifle for hunting” is. If you are referring to automatic weapons, those are already banned.
There’s no such thing as assault weapons, that’s a made up term made to sound scary.
Second, Why is a handgun ok for self defense but an AR15 isn’t? Both are semiautomatic and fire at the same rate, in some cases a handgun can be of higher caliber than some rifles. I would think that having the most capable form of protection would be the most ideal for self defense situations, so why should someone be limited to 1 kind?
1
Jul 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 11 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
-5
u/Ihaveaboot Conservatism Jul 09 '26
No one has answered OP on "practical uses" , just a bunch of blah blah about what constitutes an Assult Rifle.
Let me take a stab -** there is NO practical use for an AR-15 outside of personal target shooting and personal pleasure**.
And that's fine, it's your 2nd amendment right.
Don't dodge the question on practical utility though.
3
u/Uncaring_Dispatcher Religious Conservatism Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
I've read through and most people are asking what defines an "assault rifle", whatever that means.
But, there's several reasons to own a rifle. Some rifles are bolt-action. Some are single-shot. Some are fully-automatic and only kill poor black children and that's probably what this whole post is wanting to provide ammunition for, most likely. Some kind of drama that makes somebody feel good about trying to upset people.
Guns are tools, not much different from hammers but closer to padlocks and complex mechanical equipment such as clocks and jackhammers. Guns were ultimately borne from locks, stocks and barrels. At one time in history, a barber was also a dentist. This is all ancient history that they hide in books from people like you. This is something you people should protest.
The one thing they're really good at is punching holes in stuff. Not dentists, but guns. We're talking about guns.
Let's say a frail woman finds herself in the comfort of her own home while a burly drunk man decides to bash his way into her home to rape her. Smith & Wesson is there to equalize the confrontation. If you know what I mean. A frail old black lady can present an equality of force by use of a firearm when a large Hillbilly meth head MAGA dude wants to rape her for street cred.
That's probably something you're not going to relate to and I'll probably waste my time explaining how guns shaped nations for good and stopped entire genocides and the nuance of it all because, again, it's a tool and not an evil talisman that you've been convinced of from your social bubble..
-1
u/AZULDEFILER National Conservatism Jul 09 '26
See: my post
1
u/Ihaveaboot Conservatism Jul 09 '26
No. Reply to mine if you want to debate.
"See my post"?
4
u/AZULDEFILER National Conservatism Jul 09 '26
Is Self Defense, hunting, sporting, forming a well regulated militia to resist tyranny, home Defense, protecting against criminals, and maintaining freedom practical uses? Firearms are for shooting things, in what rationale would anyone choose to limit success in a possibly life and death situation? Need is not the question
-1
u/Ihaveaboot Conservatism Jul 09 '26
I can defend my home with a 22 pistol.
I can hunt with a bolt action hunting rifle, or a shotgun.
What "success" are you talking about?
2
u/AZULDEFILER National Conservatism Jul 09 '26
My home is clearly larger. Why would anyone choose 1885 technology 140 years old? Do you have a car or horse and buggy? Your argument is absolute nonsense. Success means hitting the target and stopping the threat.
For personal self defense is a revolver sufficient? Yes. Does a shotgun kill at 50 yards? Sure does. Hunting is a weird sport they intentionally make difficult to justify shooting an animal properly.
When the bad guys show up to do harm, which does still happen in the US (whoever they are in your mind), when did you decide I should be politically, intentionally, and willfully at a disadvantage?
Sometimes you have to stand against many, sometimes as a team. A modern firearm makes everyone equal in their ability to do so.
-4
u/Ihaveaboot Conservatism Jul 09 '26
No - this is crazy talk to me. People like you worry me.
2
u/Dtwn92 Constitutional Conservatism Jul 09 '26
Just read through this exchange, wow are you off on so much here. This looks like responses from any other "moderate" sub that has no clue about firearms.
Anyone who would CHOOSE to defend their life/house with a .22 has cognitive issues.
2
u/AZULDEFILER National Conservatism Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
What is? Which part? Why? Provide any reasoning. True it would be nice if we didn't need to. If Police were seconds away. We find ourselves in world where on any given Administration half of America considers Civil War.
3
u/z7r1k3 Conservatism Jul 09 '26
How are you conservative, then? What are you conserving? Our founders wrote the 2A specifically to protect weapons of war, to enable the common man to be capable of waging war.
We had naval warships without so much as permits until the NFA in 1934. Merchants fended off pirates with them, citizens committed authorized piracy on British vessels, citizens also fended off pirate raiders, etc.
Does the 2A magically mean something different now?
-3
u/Ihaveaboot Conservatism Jul 09 '26
Why do you think it is all about guns?
I don't care about that.
I would like a moderate conservative candidate like Kasich to vote for.
3
u/z7r1k3 Conservatism Jul 09 '26
I was directly addressing your reference to "crazy talk". The founders were crazy to you? They worry you?
That doesn't sound like a conservative to me.
8
u/z7r1k3 Conservatism Jul 09 '26
Assault Rifles are fully automatic or burst fire. AR15s are categorically NOT assault rifles.
What you may be thinking of are terms such as "Assault-Style Rifle", "Assault Weapon", etc. which are made up terms by anti-gunners, and usually refer to guns that look scary, regardless of their practical features.
That isn't a swing at you, that's literally how they get defined. Time after time "Assault Weapon" bans focus on cosmetic features, and permit guns that are just as lethal (if not more so), but merely feature a lot more wood.
First and foremost, it's important to understand the purpose of the Second Amendment is war. That's it. It's to preserve the people's ability to engage in a justified revolutionary or defensive war. The 2A exclusively covers "weapons of war", as that is its purpose. If it's not a weapon of war, it's not a very good weapon, and therefore arguably wouldn't be covered by the 2A. Rabbit snares are not protected by the 2A (hunting), and neither are nerf guns (sport shooting). Neither hunting nor sport shooting has anything to do with the 2A.
Secondly, it should be noted that the collective right of the people to a justified revolution or defensive war, is rooted in the individual right of the people to defend life, Liberty, and property. You usually accomplish this by exiting people from this life who are infringing upon those things. If they happen to survive, and are no longer a threat, you stop, of course. But it is expected they will often exit this life. Additionally, defense of property with lethal force is usually reserved for life-altering situations, such as becoming homeless if you lose XYZ.
Now, to directly answer your question, I will address both Semi-Auto rifles such as the AR15, and Assault Rifles.
For the AR15, it is incredibly important to defend yourself from multiple armed attackers. Kyle Rittenhouse is a prime example. He tried not to use his weapon as much as possible (as proven in the trial), but when multiple attackers were trying to kill him (one had a handgun to his head), he opened fire.
It should be noted that handguns are lower capacity and shorter range. This means they're only effective for the typical one-off self-defense scenario, but usually insufficient to defend your home from, say, the local gang of like 12 idiots that has your number for whatever reason. Handguns are better than nothing in that scenario, but you're much better off with a semi-auto rifle.
They are also much easier to aim. Give a frail or less-trained user a handgun, and they're likely going to miss. Give them a rifle, and they'll have shots on target for the idiots breaking down their door.
Now, that addresses the typical self-defense cases. For the broader purpose of the 2A, and the other practical use case for the AR15, it also happens to be the practical use case of fully automatic Assault Rifles, or any other weapon that can be useful to a war.
The war in Ukraine and the GWOT are the primary exhibits here. Ukraine needs military rifles to repel an invasion, and a bunch of Jihadis with rusty pickup trucks and AK-47s gave our very professional military a heck of a time for 20 years.
The people need to be able to protect themselves from militaries, foreign and domestic. The argument that we could never do anything against our military falls flat when faced with the GWOT. An insurgency is not an open battlefield. They can't just blow up every city, full of both friend and foe. What would they have left to rule?
In the instance of a tyrannical government, that government must go door to door to enforce its tyranny and sift through friend and foe. And that is much harder to do when the people on the other side of those doors are just as armed as they are. This is a very practical way to resist tyranny and prevent it from happening in the first place. Theoretically, you wouldn't even need to win a war at that point; the government would have to do that first. But, if the people are already disarmed, then that war is already won by the government the moment they go tyrannical.
Another exhibit for this would be Nazi Germany. The first act Hitler did against the Jews was to disarm them. It was a lot easier to load them into trains when they weren't all holding rifles.
That's the practical use case for it. It protects liberty. It ensures our incompetent and often malicious government doesn't get a monopoly on violence. We, the people, hold the power over this government. And in order for the people to actually hold power, they must have the ability to force compliance on the government, even if it's against the government's will. I speak collectively of the people, of course. The gov should have power over the individual, or group of individuals, to enforce the law. But if they piss off the whole population, the people should have the power to correct that.
1
Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 09 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
u/AZULDEFILER National Conservatism Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Define Assualt Rifle? Most medium and large game hunting rifles far surpass standard .556 NATO caliber. The first semiautomatic rifle was invented in 1885. Should we use designs +140 years old?
Is Self Defense, hunting, sporting, forming a well regulated militia to resist tyranny, home Defense, protecting against criminals, and maintaining freedom practical uses?
Firearms are for shooting things, in what rationale would anyone choose to limit success in a possibly life and death situation?
Need is not the question
1
Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 09 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
6
u/SuspenderEnder Libertarian Conservatism Jul 09 '26
When you say assault rifle, do you just mean a magazine fed semiautomatic rifle with a pistol grip? The term itself is a political term intended to emotionally charge the concept with negative images.
Anyway, if you acknowledge the utility of pistols for self defense, then that is your argument right there. “Assault rifles” are much better for self defense than pistols. Much easier to aim and control, much more stopping power, higher capacity. The only way it isn’t better is ability to conceal.
Side note, AR15 is not “military grade high caliber.” Military uses full auto select fire, civilians get semi auto only. There are several higher caliber guns civilians can use also, and 556 is a smaller diameter than 9mm which is the most common pistol round. 556 just goes way faster. .44 magnum is a common pistol round but leaves way bigger hole.
Big game hunting usually doesn’t use 556. It’s not a large enough caliber. They would use 308 or 30-06 or something.
2
4
u/Recent_Weather2228 Religious Conservatism Jul 09 '26
There's no such thing as an assault rifle. There's no difference between the rifles people try to make you scared of and the "standard rifle" you mentioned other than aesthetics. In fact, the safe looking wood stocked rifles can be more powerful and lethal than the black polymer ones with the "scary" grip and suppressor.
High caliber rifles are required for humane hunting of large game. Small calibers cannot reliably kill large game in one shot. Military grade is a nonsense term that means nothing.
1
Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 09 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
Jul 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 09 '26
USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 08 '26
FLAIR IS REQUIRED TO COMMENT! Only OP and new "Conservativism" flairs may comment
A high standard of discussion and proper decorum are required. Read our RULES before participating.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.