When the military designed the M-16, they created a modern rifle. In contrast to the old blue steel and wood rifles from the late 1800's, the M-16 and the M-4 rifle:
- Has improved ergonomics with it's straight stock, pistol grip, and safety selector.
- Has excellent peep sights as opposed to the older style dove tail sights. The sights are easily adjustable for windage and elevation.
- Has a lower recoil and flat shooting caliber.
- Has excellent accuracy due to it's direct impingement design.
- Uses modern polymer and aluminum components as opposed to wood that is prone to shrinking and expanding when exposed to the elements.
- Can be readily configured for various optics to include red dot and various scopes.
- Can be configured to use calibers other than the original 5.56 mm NATO round.
These characteristics (minus the full automatic fire) make the AR-15 a great sporting rifle. The AR-15 can be used for:
- Hunting. Using calibers such as 300 AAC, 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, or 450 Bushmaster,
- Target shooting. Both formal and informal plinking.
- Action shooting, such as Two-gun or Three-gun competition.
