Good point. In the original article, he's the one who said it was an AR, but he also said it was a $3500 gun. Either or both of those could be incorrect. Not that you can't find a $3500 AR, but I'd expect them to give a new guy an M&P 15 or something.
He said it was an HK.
I think you can get an MR556A1 up to $3500, but it'd be a stretch. HK doesn't have all that many AR15 type rifles on their website, and the only one with a scope is 7.62. (
https://hk-usa.com/product/rifles/ ) A 16.5" barreled 7.62 inside is probably pretty loud. I've never touched of one of mine in an indoor range.
Also, as I mentioned, he said in the article that he paid $59.99 for 60 rounds of rifle ammo. While I've seen 5.56 that expensive, I could see that being range sold 7.62 as well.
I suspect the subtleties of AR15 type vs. AR10 type would be lost on the author.
ETA: Nope, I stand corrected. A google search shows me that the going rate for an HK MR556A1 with flip up sights is $3499. Fuuuuuuck. I don't know which is worse, HK thinking their knockoff AR is worth $3500, or the HK fanbois that pay that *expletive deleted*it. But that's almost certainly what they handed the reporter from the available evidence. So he was that stressed from a 16" 5.56 with a flash suppressor. [shakes head] For anyone that wants to know, an HK AR10 is $6700 and comes with a Leupold 3-9 VX-R Patrol.