Let's call them what they are:

[Straw Man]

25. Facts, please.

The AR's cyclic rate is almost 700 rounds per minute-I know I'be done it.

The 700 rounds-per-minute figure is for the full-auto M16 or M4. For a semi-auto rifle -- like an AR -- to achieve that rate of fire, you would have to be able to pull the trigger 11.66 times per second. Tell me you've done that.

Do you know the difference between sustained and cyclic rate of fire? The sustained rate of fire for an M16 -- meaning how many rounds you can fire over an extended period of time without destroying your rifle -- is 12 to 15 rounds per minute.

The M1 only carries 10 rounds, cycles at a fraction of the AR and is reloaded with replaceable clips that can't be replaced as quickly. It is twice the size of the MCX, can't be hidden under a coat and is unwieldy in crowded spaces.

The rate of fire for semi-auto rifles is based on how fast you can pull the trigger. That of an M1 Garand is 40 to 50 rounds per minute. That of an AR (or an M16 fired in semi-auto mode) is 45 to 60. That's a marginal difference, as is the differential in the time it takes to change magazines.

The M1 was the last trench gun. The AR is an urban , close quarters weapon.

There is no such thing as an "urban, close quarters weapon" that fires only in semi-auto. Perhaps you're thinking of the M4/M16.

The "urban, close quarters weapon" of WWII was the Thompson submachine gun. However, it fired a lowly pistol caliber: .45 ACP. The whole "assault rifle" concept was to develop a rifle-caliber weapon that fires full-auto. The civilian variant AR does not.