Gun Wielding Maniac
05-31-2002, 08:17 PM
Just got my AR-180B today. By total freak chance. And thank god for freak chance!! I've been looking for AR-180B's ever since I first heard about them
September of last year. I was patrolling around assweb the other day and I came
across a post by a guy who working a shop in Loveland Colorado. He said they
had three in the store. Seeing as how I live in Colorado Springs, and Loveland is
only 2 1/2 hours away, I, of course, jumped on the chance. Drove up and picked
it up this morning. Got to shoot it at dragon man's today as well. They still have
1 AR-180B at that shop. They are available for 570 dollars plus tax if you live in
CO and can drive there, 610 dollars if you live out of state or want it delivered to
an FFL. If you need contact info, email me.
First of all, reports of shitty finish work on the AR-180B are BS. This rifle is as
well finished as any other Armalite product. After firing, here are my results.
The rifle is extremely light. Much lighter then an M-16, or even most M-4's. The
compensator works very well. It has six holes lined up at the 10 and 2 oclock. There is no muzzle flash and muzzle rise is
negligable. M193 south african and SB SS109 ball both functioned well. I think the
SB had a slight edge in accurracy. The trigger was very stiff and heavy. The
documentation that comes with the rifle says it is 7 to 8 pounds and I believe it.
I think the heavy trigger pull kept the rifle from achieving its full potential
accuracy wise. I had some pulled shots. The national match trigger option would
be a very good idea. Of course, I'm no Carlos Hathcock either. In any case,
groups were never larger then 2 1/2 inches at 100 yards and usually much
smaller. I had a few groups with the SB that were straight clover leafs, but I
couldnt repeat them. Shows a lot of accuracy potential that I do not have the
skill to realize. The sight picture is very good and the stock provides a good
natural cheek weld. The lightness of the rifle is no obstacle to good offhand
shooting as the balance is toward the muzzle. As soon as I recover from all these
recent firearms purchases, I'll try and get some good ammo to run through.
Now for the serious problems. Orlite and thermold magazines do not function in
this rifle. The mags dont seem to go up into the well far enough to trigger the
bolt release. I've dropped a note to armalite to ask if this is a defect in *MY* rifle
or of the whole series. It really sucks seeing as how so many Orlites are available
cheaply. I have six of them! My GI mags function just fine, except for the usual
trouble makers. The only malfunction I had in this rifle was when I failed to seat a
GI mag all the way. Didnt feed.
ANother drawback of the rifle is that there is a noticeable hole in the receiver on
the right hand side for the bolt to slide into. THis is an obvious place for dust to
get into and something Armalite really should apply a cover to. I also mentioned
that. Then there is the problem of finding good optics mounts for the rifle.
All in all, I love the rifle. For 570 dollars, it really is the best deal if firearms today.
But, it is not yet the M-16/Mini-14 killer it could be if Armalite decided to finish
the project. Certain parts are unnecessarily fragile. For instance, the foregrips
yield to light pressure. This tells me they will break if they are struck by anything
hard. Obviously, something that needs to be strengthened.
Dissassembly was easy and I noted that though I put over 200 rounds through
the rifle, the bolt and inner receiver were much cleaner then an M-16 would be
with half the rounds through it.
My advice... Go for it!
But you may be in for a long wait. Before I found this place in Loveland I talked
to Armalite. They said there was a year long waiting list for AR-180B's...
That is all.
UPDATE: I managed to solve the problem with the Orlite magazines. The channel on the rear of the back of the magazine was too narrow to allow the bolt to slide forward and pick up the cartridge. By taking a small file to either side of the mags, I was able, with experimentation, to find the right width. The magazines function reliably now and are easier to disassemble then GI mags...
Another problem has cropped up, however. The rear windage drum does not click when I turn it... The unit simply rotates smoothly, giving me no indication of the number of MOA I have adjusted. Also, the front sight blade seems to be of the M16A1 type. Using a 5.56 bullet or even a thin wire will not turn the sight to allow me to adjust for elevation. I'm going to look for an M16A1 sight adjustment tool and hope for the best. I'm taking the rifle out with me again this weekend with a variety of differant bullet weights and styles. I will shoot for accuracy instead of function now.
Armalite has still not returned my emails...
September of last year. I was patrolling around assweb the other day and I came
across a post by a guy who working a shop in Loveland Colorado. He said they
had three in the store. Seeing as how I live in Colorado Springs, and Loveland is
only 2 1/2 hours away, I, of course, jumped on the chance. Drove up and picked
it up this morning. Got to shoot it at dragon man's today as well. They still have
1 AR-180B at that shop. They are available for 570 dollars plus tax if you live in
CO and can drive there, 610 dollars if you live out of state or want it delivered to
an FFL. If you need contact info, email me.
First of all, reports of shitty finish work on the AR-180B are BS. This rifle is as
well finished as any other Armalite product. After firing, here are my results.
The rifle is extremely light. Much lighter then an M-16, or even most M-4's. The
compensator works very well. It has six holes lined up at the 10 and 2 oclock. There is no muzzle flash and muzzle rise is
negligable. M193 south african and SB SS109 ball both functioned well. I think the
SB had a slight edge in accurracy. The trigger was very stiff and heavy. The
documentation that comes with the rifle says it is 7 to 8 pounds and I believe it.
I think the heavy trigger pull kept the rifle from achieving its full potential
accuracy wise. I had some pulled shots. The national match trigger option would
be a very good idea. Of course, I'm no Carlos Hathcock either. In any case,
groups were never larger then 2 1/2 inches at 100 yards and usually much
smaller. I had a few groups with the SB that were straight clover leafs, but I
couldnt repeat them. Shows a lot of accuracy potential that I do not have the
skill to realize. The sight picture is very good and the stock provides a good
natural cheek weld. The lightness of the rifle is no obstacle to good offhand
shooting as the balance is toward the muzzle. As soon as I recover from all these
recent firearms purchases, I'll try and get some good ammo to run through.
Now for the serious problems. Orlite and thermold magazines do not function in
this rifle. The mags dont seem to go up into the well far enough to trigger the
bolt release. I've dropped a note to armalite to ask if this is a defect in *MY* rifle
or of the whole series. It really sucks seeing as how so many Orlites are available
cheaply. I have six of them! My GI mags function just fine, except for the usual
trouble makers. The only malfunction I had in this rifle was when I failed to seat a
GI mag all the way. Didnt feed.
ANother drawback of the rifle is that there is a noticeable hole in the receiver on
the right hand side for the bolt to slide into. THis is an obvious place for dust to
get into and something Armalite really should apply a cover to. I also mentioned
that. Then there is the problem of finding good optics mounts for the rifle.
All in all, I love the rifle. For 570 dollars, it really is the best deal if firearms today.
But, it is not yet the M-16/Mini-14 killer it could be if Armalite decided to finish
the project. Certain parts are unnecessarily fragile. For instance, the foregrips
yield to light pressure. This tells me they will break if they are struck by anything
hard. Obviously, something that needs to be strengthened.
Dissassembly was easy and I noted that though I put over 200 rounds through
the rifle, the bolt and inner receiver were much cleaner then an M-16 would be
with half the rounds through it.
My advice... Go for it!
But you may be in for a long wait. Before I found this place in Loveland I talked
to Armalite. They said there was a year long waiting list for AR-180B's...
That is all.
UPDATE: I managed to solve the problem with the Orlite magazines. The channel on the rear of the back of the magazine was too narrow to allow the bolt to slide forward and pick up the cartridge. By taking a small file to either side of the mags, I was able, with experimentation, to find the right width. The magazines function reliably now and are easier to disassemble then GI mags...
Another problem has cropped up, however. The rear windage drum does not click when I turn it... The unit simply rotates smoothly, giving me no indication of the number of MOA I have adjusted. Also, the front sight blade seems to be of the M16A1 type. Using a 5.56 bullet or even a thin wire will not turn the sight to allow me to adjust for elevation. I'm going to look for an M16A1 sight adjustment tool and hope for the best. I'm taking the rifle out with me again this weekend with a variety of differant bullet weights and styles. I will shoot for accuracy instead of function now.
Armalite has still not returned my emails...