Feb 29, 2016 4 min read

As the first phases of cabin fever set in, I tend to become a bit philosophical. I have always believed a person can suffer a brain hernia from too much thinking, so under normal circumstances, I do as little as possible.

From a nonthinking standpoint, here goes nothing.

More than once, I sat at a bench rest seeking a perfect reload for a high-priced rifle and heard the sound of casings bouncing off of the walnut stock.

Like others of a conservative nature, the hair on my neck stands up and my face starts to redden. The person with the AR-style rifle is bombarding me with ejected brass.

I truly dislike those rifles and ill-mannered shooters. I don’t like warm casings bouncing off what might be a high-priced bolt-action rifle.

I am not alone in my frustration. A friend of mine – yes, I do have a few – won’t get out of the car if there is a semi-auto rifle present on the bench. His dislike borders on fanatical.

While I don’t own what I call a “black rifle,” another term for assault rifle, my dislike of rude owners doesn’t mean I hate the semi-auto rifle. Perhaps, such a firearm is just not my cup of tea.

I take an occasional break from shooting and wander over to the new benches built just for those type of rifles. Those shooters certainly seem to be having fun, and I see little that is threatening to society.

Perhaps, it is a case of beauty in the eye of the beholder and it is just that. I think they are ugly.

I am sure somewhere in the United States, there is a person employed so he can feed his or her children. That person just happens to be making ammunition to be sold in a local sports store.

The owner of the black rifle means job security to him.

In other words, anything that helps the manufacturing industry in this country is good. While I don’t own a semi-auto, center-fire rifle, perhaps there is a logical reason why I should.

First, I am too old to run far and too small and old to fight. That leaves me little in the way of defending myself. Of course, I could talk the attacker to death, or so it has been said. In some instances, I bet the attacker would rather be shot.

But in all seriousness, there is a logical reason why this dislike of black rifles occurs in most of us who are grey of hair. They just don’t look like a rifle.

Maybe it’s the black plastic stocks. I know many sporting rifles are equipped with such stocks, but they look different.

Nothing looks as nice to me on a rifle as a nicely figured piece of walnut.

I have never heard anyone complain about the Sporting Browning BAR semi-auto, the Remington 740 or the Ruger 10/22 – perhaps the top selling rim-fire. The Ruger even looks like a military rifle from the 1940s.

In reality, it comes down to me not liking a rifle embraced by younger shooters that is ugly. We reject it based on looks.

If one is old enough, they remember the DCM shoots that were dominated by the 03 Springfield and the M1 Garand. Then, the M14 took over for a brief spell and now it is the M16 look-alike. It seems to be a natural progression.

Shooters have always embraced military-style rifles and that includes the cartridge they re-chambered for the .223. It is a poorly designed round, yet it is tremendously popular. Most AR-styled guns are chambered for this round, while the better .222 Magnum which is a parallel in performance languishes.

Most who don’t understand firearms – and that includes many people – think these rifles are auto in design, and this is not true. They also say they are not used in hunting, which is also not true.

The rifles being bought by civilians are semi-auto in design like the Browning and the Ruger 10/22 and are not legal in Pennsylvania. Just about all states that allow rifles for big game hunting allow the semi-autos. Pennsylvania is a very conservative state.

I oppose them not because of their semi-auto design nor their looks, but because the common cartridge they use is too puny for deer-sized game. For varmints, they are alright.

For me, it comes down to not liking the looks of them but they certainly are a best seller to those under 60. As I said before, it is a natural progression but I think I will buy a Ruger Mini 14. It looks like a rifle and does the same things.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.