‘It’s a weapon to hunt people!’ Why so many Americans hate – and love – the AR-15

A family mourns the six victims of the Covenant school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, last month. Photograph: Mickey Bernal/Rex/Shutterstock

Hogs are a big problem on Brandon Brown’s ranchland in the Texas panhandle. They tear up the ground, travel in droves and are a general nuisance, as they are in many other parts of the southern US. For some, hunting them is a combination of pastime and pest control.

So when Brown wanted to find a rifle that was accurate, lightweight and fired bullets big enough to take out a feral pig, he chose the most popular rifle in the US: the AR-15. “It’s a great hunting gun. It’s great,” Brown says. “The AR overall is pretty much indestructible.”