Originally Posted By: AWSthe only advantage over a bolt they have is they hold lots of cartridges and shoot as fast as you can pull the trigger. They are awkward, complicated, noisy, hard to shoot off a bench, not great triggers, not very handy off shooting sticks and not great for fast target acquisition. Lots of minuses for the one plus.
comments from experience
Again, some of that is simple preference. AR's do hold lots of cartridges, though I'm not sure that's a big deal in a typical hunting situation. Follow up shots are very quick and come without disturbing the sight picture because of a need to physically manipulate the action to reload. That is a plus.
Awkward is a draw, give that to personal preference and what you get used to. AR's are not complicated, in fact they are very straightforward to manipulate and keep them operating.
Noisy... maybe so when chambering the first round. Mine stays hot from the time I leave the truck so that's not a consideration for me personally. Hard to shoot from a bench? Ten round magazines pretty much solve that issue.
Good triggers are all over the place and don't need to cost an arm and a leg. The RRA two stage is a very good trigger and often can be found for around $100. Install can be done without needing a gunsmith unless you're a putz in the shop. I've seen those combo shotgun/rifles you favor and I'd be willing to bet on a good AR trigger as much better than those combo guns have. Shooting off sticks is an issue? Can't possibly see how. And it has never been an issue for me or anyone I know.
Not great for fast target acquisition? C'mon... that's silly. The sporting world blazes down targets in various matches and law enforcement and the military burn down bad guys PDQ. Other than a shotgun I don't know anything faster.
It seems you just aren't comfortable with the AR platform and don't like them. That's ok, you don't have to. Your issues with the platform aren't other peoples experiences.
Different strokes...