If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for the Wyoming gun enthusiast on your list — and you’ve got a budget of about $1,500 — the AR-15 Pressure Washer might be just what you’ve been looking for.
Some Wyoming firearms aficionados told Cowboy State Daily that they’d love to have one after viewing a social media video of the device in action, as a user rapid-fires high-pressure water at his beefy pickup.
“Only in America! I love it and I want one!” exclaimed Mark Jones of Buffalo, a spokesman for Gun Owners of America.
Meets The Specs
The AR platform is one of the America’s most popular firearms. The AR-15 design originated with a company called Armalite. The “AR” stands for “Armalite Rifle.”
Numerous firearms manufacturers make ARs. The rifles have been at the center of political controversy because some people associate them with mass shootings and would like to see them severely restricted or banned.
But they remain a staple among Wyomingites for everything from target shooting to big-game hunting.
A North Carolina company called DeBerti manufactures AR-15 pressure washers, which are made to match the size, weight and feel of the rifles. The gadgets can even include an authentic “red dot” sight. Red dots are electronic sights that project a small dot, crosshairs or other configuration onto an optic, which the shooter uses for shot placement.
Water is supplied through a hose adapter in the faux weapon’s pistol grip handle and can sprayed at a high velocity by pulling the trigger. Great for tactical washing and rinsing.
Some models include an adapter for mounting a bottle of foaming car wash formula near the front of the weapon, making aggressive vehicle washing possible.
Favorable Reviews
Like Jones, some other Wyoming gun experts gave the device favorable reviews.
“The power washer is bizarre, but I like it,” said Greg Buchel of Cody.
He knows ARs well. He’s the founder and president of Big Horn Armory, which builds the AR500. That rifle is designed for big game and dangerous game hunting, and is chambered for the company’s .500 Auto Max cartridge.
Buchel said he can see AR-15 pressure washers catching on in Wyoming, just as AR rifle have.
Even though the pressure washer wouldn’t be any good for dropping big game, it might come in handy getting a carcass ready for butchering after a successful hunt, said Scott Weber, who owns Gunrunner Firearms & Auction in Cody.
“I want one. It would be good for rinsing off elk,” he said.
Will They Regulate That Thing?
Vince Vanata, a retired Marine and law enforcement officer from Cody, wondered if AR-15 pressure washers could come under the same regulatory scrutiny that the real rifles have in some states.
“The first thing they need to do is keep the water pressure down to 10 psi, because limiting AR ammunition magazines to 10 rounds makes them safer,” he said, in wry reference to some states limiting firearm magazines to 10 rounds of ammo or less.
“They need to make sure the barrel is at least 16 inches long, and it’s probably banned in the state of California,” he added.
Vanata said if he ever got one, he wouldn’t use it to wash his pickup because nothing — not even a rifle-shaped pressure washer — could make that chore any more pleasant.
“I don’t have any fun washing my car,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
