Yes I was very disappointed when I got to the end of the article. But I wanted to point out that military style rifles are effective and commonly used in Alaska for hunting. More and more so. The Ruger mini 14 was real popular with a lot of bush folks but like he mentions more and more have gone to the AR platform. You can find AK's and SKS as well.
He totally misses the 2nd amendment issue like many people and a lot out here where we're used to being able to do pretty much what we want and can be out of touch with the population centers..
Not at all uncommon in the winter to have folks on snogos driving thru town with a rifle or shotgun on their back, even pulling up to gas stations totally unrecognizable in snow suit, helmet or heavy hat and goggles - even young folks. More than once I took my boys at 6, 7, 8 to the gas station, each of us with something on our backs.