Blast from the Past

Flashpoint

Smile, wait for flash
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Picked up a piece of personal history tonight from one of our fine members here. I used to have one of these ugly SOBs and thoroughly enjoyed owning and shooting it. Like most things of that nature I traded it away for the next thing that caught my eye but I'm glad another opportunity came around for me to restore that experience.

For those who might not know what you're looking at this is an AR-180B, a "modernized" version of the original AR-180 which itself was a commercial semi-automatic version of the AR-18, which was Eugene Stoner's design that Armalite hoped would replace the AR-15/M16. Armalite had sold the patents for the AR-15 to Colt so they couldn't use the direct impingement system again and went with a short stroke piston. It was a stamped metal rifle so it could be made in 3rd world countries like an AK, and was rushed to market when the M16 was having issues to try and unseat it in the military but it wasn't quite ready. By the time it was the M16 had taken hold and the rest is history.

It was manufactured as the AR-180 in 3 countries for commercial and military/police use. Some were better made than others. Sales didn't meet expectations and it was discontinued after just a few years. The IRA used them and dubbed it "The Widowmaker". This one, the B model, is the last gasp of the AR180 design, re-released by Armalite around 2000 during the ban years so it does not have the folding stock the original ones did or a threaded barrel (it has an integrated brake instead), and it has a metal reinforced polymer lower receiver. Polymer was still not highly thought of then and it was possible for the polymer receiver to break at the upper/lower pivot point which for some reason had no metal reinforcement. Although a very rare occurrence, the fact that it was possible understandably gave people pause so the AR-180B wan't a resounding success this time around either.

The rifle was/is a great shooter though and quite reliable. Very handy due to weighing only 6.6 lbs and takes AR magazines. There are aftermarket replacement metal pivots and even full billet lower receivers that can be purchased for the rifle now, as well as folding stock adapters. I think I might purchase the metal pivot and leave the rest as is, I like the retro look. A billet aluminum receiver will just make it look like an AR-15. Anyway I threw a lightweight 3x 223 BDC scope on it with see-through mounts and can use both scope and irons fairly comfortably. The stock drops down compared to an AR-15 so the irons can stay low and the scope just nestles right over them so there is not much of a "chin weld" required. ;)

Anyway, I like the ugly old thing with all it's flaws and coolness. Can't wait to shoot it. Fun Fact: Ah-nold shot up the police station in Terminator 1 with an AR-18 with the folding stock removed.

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I really wanted to jump on that gun.

Have wanted an AR18o or one of the variants.
Neat guns!
 
My friend had an AR180 back in the 70s, it was a reliable arm. Surprised it never really caught on except with the IRA.
 
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