I have always been pretty much a rifle snob. I felt that hunting rifles and banjos have a lot in common. First and foremost, neither is worth mentioning if they aren't made from highly figured hardwood and high-grade steel. they need to cost a lot so that your friends will think you have a lot of money even though you can't afford the gas to drive to work. I have been especially hard on the AR rifles with all of their aluminum and plastic as anything but a zombie killer and certainly nothing that an avid hunter or self-respecting sportsman should even think about owning. I seem to be evolving.
The last two waterfowl seasons have been so poor in my regular spot that I haven't pulled the trigger in two years. The freezer is filled with vacu-packed chicken breasts from Costco. I don't even think I could recognize a duck or a goose if one landed in front of me. This year, while gathering up 2400 decoys we decided to start hunting pigs. I know nothing about the sport except that I am probably not going to use a .300 Wthby topped with a 3X9 Zeiss at 300 yards.
I have put together an AR rifle for this purpose and they are da bomb! You can mix and match barrels, stocks, red-dot sights with the push of a pin. .450 Bushmaster too expensive to shoot? Pop to pins and replace the barrel with a .223. Want to plink with a .22 LR.? Slide the bolt carrier group out and put in an adaptor and a 22 LR magazine. These AR's are like Transformer toys for Grown-ups.