I grew up with a gun in my hands at age 10 I got my first shotgun a JCHiggens single shot 410 and I was allowed to roam the local woods and shoot quail,squirrels, and rabbits but I had to shuck walnuts for shell money but the best lesson I ever had was my mother who is Native would fix for us whatever i managed to get and instilled in me that if i kill it we will eat it . Well needless to say I have hunted all my life ,my children grew up teething on bear meat and elk jerky. Elk and deer have and still are the staples of meat at our home along with fish,I got my first colt AR 15 in 1974 was a fun gun to shoot and i loaded for it but it had no practical purpose for me in the hunting world to small for elk.. flash forward to last year the LR308 that i picked up I took elk hunting this year and it is the very best gun I have ever had in the woods of the pacific northwest rain does not effect it like a blued gun, no wood to swell and chip or break, easy to clean, very easy to carry a lot of options there,weight is comparable to bolt guns with 24 inch barrels. but what i love most of all is the simplicity I am a old school hunter and depend on hunting for my family I am not a trophy hunter and I think the AR platform is the best thing since sliced bread, I just wished I would have gotten into it a long time ago..... and I took a elk with it this year and could have shot many deer with it but it is just the wife and I now and a elk gives us what we need...