It has been around 20+ years now. Since one of my older bro's(Recon combat grunt in Viet Nam). Advised me to get rid of my bolt rifle & buy me an AR. I told him, "I do not like that design". He followed up, "They are an accurate rifle & have a very fast follow up shot". Yet I held off buying one for awhile anyway. Not long afterwards. I bought one & gave it a go. It was a 20" HB 1:9 twist .223 Bushmaster AR. I bought varying mfg ammo & bullet weights. Wanting to find the most accurate ammo. While testing those various bullets. I quickly realized how accurate my rifle was. Shooting the 45gr HP Win Varmint pack. It would print(no crosswind days). 1/2-3/4" groups consistently off of a bench rest or shooting prone. The 55gr Win Ballistic Tips. Were more accurate @ 100yrds in a crosswind vs the Win 45 gr HP Varmint Pack ammo. Which would drift 4" in a 10mph crosswind. I used both for hunting coyotes. Which ended up very similar in the kill shots. I've been hooked on AR's ever since. I still miss my 22-250 bolt rifle now & then. Because it was a tack driver shooting prone.