ThirdWatcher

I served in the post-Vietnam Army (1973-76). While I was always interested in firearms, the only time I ever got to shoot was at Boy Scout Camp. I really knew nothing about firearms when I enlisted. The first centerfire rifle I ever fired was an M16A1, the first centerfire pistol was a M1911A1. Being bigger than most soldiers I always had an M60 Machine Gun issued to me as well. I was impressed with the range of 900 meters (rather than the 300 of the M16A1). When I left the Army, I started reading (pre-internet days) and I was surprised to learn of the AR10. I wondered why the Army didn’t have AR10’s too, for use in future theaters that would require longer range weapons (like, as it turned out Afghanistan). Anyway, I like the 7.62 NATO/ .308 Winchester cartridge. It’s the most powerful cartridge I use and I have a Savage 99, a Ruger Gunsite Scout, a S&W M&P10, and my favorite, my ArmaLite AR10A2 Infantry Model, all in .308.

Thank you all for the welcome. Just to add, I’m an NRA Benefactor Member and I’ve become pretty libertarian in my outlook on life. The first thing I did after signing out-of-service after my last shift, before exiting my patrol car was to give thanks to the Lord that I never had to shoot anyone (although I had several close calls over the years). I have been blessed.

New to the forum but not new to AR’s. The first centerfire rifle I ever fired was an M16A1 (made by the Hydramatic Div. of GM) in Army BCT back in 1973. Since then I’ve acquired several Colt AR’s (in 5.56 & 9mm), a BCM-4, a couple S&W’s (in 5.56 & 7.62), and an ArmaLite AR-10A2 “Infantry Model” and an M-15A2 “Service Model”. I retired from LE last year, 42 years working patrol. I found the older I got, the more I appreciated lightweight weapons and the last AR I carried was a Colt AR6720 w/ Aimpoint PRO & Surefire Scoutlight (furnished by yours truly). I never heard of an AR-10 until after I left the Army but from the time I read of it I wanted one. I finally got one back in early 2007 and I liked it so much that I bought the 5.56 version (both with green furniture). Even though I have several flat tops with red dot sights I really enjoy shooting my ArmaLites (honestly, I’ve never really warmed up to RDS anyway, still prefer iron sights even though I don’t see as good as I used to). A lot of good info in this forum.