In parts of the nation where “freedom” is more of a Scrabble word than a working concept, there are restrictions and sometimes outright bans on owning the most popular rifle platform in the nation, the Eugene Stoner-designed AR-15. Other self-loading rifles with certain cosmetic features are also affected.

To get around these absurd restrictions, some companies gun have opted to alter or remove the cosmetic features that simple-minded legislators have banned, keeping the same semi-automatic action intact. Black Rain Ordnance has chosen to go that route with their New York compliant models.

Troy Defense has gone another way with their Troy Sporting Rifle (TSR). Their rifle has kept all of the AR-15’s most common cosmetic features, but changed the action from the traditional direct gas impingement (DGI) semi-automatic action, to an interesting-looking pump design.

Unlike semi-automatic AR-15s, the TSR has no need of a buffer tube. The stock can be folded for storage. In addition, the telescoping stock can be set at any of five positions accommodate different shooters.

It will be interesting to see precisely how the Troy Sporting Rifle’s pump-action mechanism is constructed, and precisely how they’ve tied in the trigger. I’m not sure that Troy would design a mechanism lacking a trigger disconnector, but if they did, they could create an extremely fast-firing pump-action, as those of you familiar with the Winchester 1897 are aware.

If given the option of ditching the AR-15’s ergonomics and cosmetics in order to keep the semi-automatic action, or adopting a pump-action mechanism to keep the ergonomics and cosmetics, I think I’d decide to keep the ergonomics and go for the pump.

Which way would you go?