With all due respect to Skuzzy, sunfan’s post was far from the most political post in this thread; I see it as an honest answer to RedTop’s original line of inquiry; although RedTop was primarily asking about multiple clips, he implicitly asked, “why the AR?” I happen to concur on sunfan’s reading of the Constitution, but I digress. To answer, in my most apolitical fashion, RedTops specific questions…
The AR as a home defense weapon –
There are, in my opinion, better choices, but who am I to say? I’d think a pump-action shotgun or pistol would be a better choice, but it comes down to what you’re comfortable with. Regardless, if you keep a magazine-fed weapon of any kind for home defense, it needs to have at least one magazine filled (most proponents of “firearms for home defense” would recommend at least two) and ready for use at all times (no time to load a mag if someone’s breaking in the door). However, keeping a magazine filled for extended periods of time will cause undue stress on the spring; this could result in a higher risk of failure to feed when your life might depend on it. So, the idea is to rotate them periodically, unloading the one(s) not kept ready for use. In my opinion, more is better when it comes to the magazine capacity for your home defense weapon, within reason: you can buy 100-round AR magazines, but they tend to be less reliable than the 10, 20, or even 30 round magazines. Personally, I’d rather have multiple but very reliable 10-round magazines than a 100-round mag that’s likely to miss-feed in a crisis.
The AR for hunting –
The AR comes in both .223 and .308, with both long and short barrels, so depending on what you’re hunting, both variants are viable for hunting. However, the main thrust of RedTop’s questions are in regards to multiple, high-capacity (i.e. +10 rounds) magazines, I’d have to say these are not optimal for hunting. You’re rarely going to need or get more than one shot at a time. Plus, they add excess weight (might not seem like much on the hike in, but when you’re hiking back out with 50-60 lbs of meat on your back, that extra couple pounds of mag and ammo can really dig into the shoulders). But again, that’s the hunter’s choice (and should be).
At the range –
At the range I frequent, you’re not allowed to handle weapons or magazines during cease-fires, and I wouldn’t want to waste live-fire time on reloading. So, having multiple magazines makes sense. How many rounds, and at what cost? The answer? As many as I want, and can afford, of course. The .223 is, next to the .22LR and 7.62x39 (in that order) is the cheapest rifle ammo out there. I’ve fired all three. The .22LR loses energy (and thus, accuracy) at relatively short range; the 7.62 is a bit punishing on the shoulder after a while, and your stock AK-47 is not particularly accurate. You can shoot the .223 all day without fatigue, and most are pretty accurate at 100 yds.
That’s my take on it. I apologize to Skuzzy in advance if anything I’ve said crosses his line.
