Why would one need AR-15 or AK-47?
You can't hunt moose or grouse with it.
Les, The 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting. That's a straw man from those opposed to guns. The 2nd Amendment is to there to keep an armed citizenry to take down an oppressive government should the need ever arise. It's also there for personal protection.
The 2nd amendment does not allow you to hunt. There are no natural or constitutional rights to hunt. Hunting is a privilege issued by each of the 50 states just like driving a car. The right can be taken away at any time. Hunting laws like fishing and trapping regulations are issued by each of the 50 states. Regulations vary by each state. Regulations change from year to year. They indicate what animals you can hunt, how many or none at all, even what type of weapons you can use and not use, how many cartridges in the gun, etc. For example, where I live in New Jersey, there's a park that's open for deer hunting 5 days a year. However, you have to use a shotgun with a slug. AR15's, ifn fact rifles of any kind, are forbidden. The long range of a rifle slug would endanger nearby residents who live just outside the park. A shotgun slug's range is very short. In addition, most states require training to get a hunting license just like driving a car. The NRA gives these classes as do other organizations.
I'm not a hunter but have fired both the M16 automatic machine gun military version in the service and an AR15 non-automatic non-machine gun version at a civilian range. The AR15 is a great rifle for small people and women as it's very light and easy to carry. In fact, that's one of the reasons the military went to the M16 because of it's lightness. Troops could carry it easier. It's 22 caliber cartridges are a lot smaller than normal hunting rifles the latter which go further and are more damaging due to the larger size of the slug. You wouldn't use an AR15 or any rifle for that matter for birding. A shotgun is better. However, shooting varmints, squirrels, coyotes, etc would be very effective with an AR15.
If the government became tyrannical, it would be the kind of weapon i would like to have to take back my country.