Reader Maurice sent me some wonderful pictures of his Costa Mesa AR-180 in the original box, including an original scope.
I think this is a great way to see how these rifles were originally sent out when they were sold new.
Enjoy
Early HOWA AR-180 – Spot The Differences
Leave a comment and tell me what differences you see between the early Howa and the early Costa Mesa in these pictures.
Early Howa AR-180 Part 2
One feature of early Howa AR-180 rifles that is unique is the flash hider, or recoil compensator as it is referred to in the factory documentation.
These were of a different design and had serial numbers stamped into them. What I did not realize was that the barrels were also different. As you can see in these two pictures, the contour of the barrels is not the same between this early Howa shown first, and the early Costa Mesa shown second. I plan to remove the flash hiders to see if the threaded sections are the same. I suspect the Howa will have shorter threads because a lock nut is not used. Late Howas also have the same contour (the step up at the muzzle end) so this may not be true as they use lock nuts.
The fact that no lock nut is used means that special care had to be taken to get the flash hiders to be timed properly. I believe that the flat washer behind the lock washer must have come in different thicknesses to accomplish this.
Finally, one of the fantastic guys over at the AR15.com Retro Forums (isplice) reports that where the flats ended up and where the serial numbers were stamped was not consistent.
If viewed from the firing position my example has the flats at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock with the serial number stamped at 9 o’clock. On gun 96x, the flats are in the same orientation but the serial is stamped at 3 o’clock. Guns 34x and 82x, the flats are at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock and the serial number is stamped at 6 o’clock.
Reader and AR-18 Guru, Pete points out that he has noticed a difference in the windage knobs on Howa guns and all the others. I looked through the picture I shot this weekend and sure enough, he was right.
Howa – Knurled
Costa Mesa – Lines
I have found the earliest incarnation of the extra cut out on the bolt carrier as seen in my last post.
This picture is of the very first AR-18 serial number X001. It was scanned from an early AR-18 manual. If you look closely you can see that the cut out is along the full length of the bolt carrier.
The first AR-18s did not have a dust cover, it was a later improvement after military testing found fault with the opening allowing dirt and debris to get into the action. When the dust cover was added the cut out was shortened so that the second cut could be made. This second cut is there to cam open the dust cover.
More updates will be coming soon so please comment and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.
Early HOWA AR-180; One of the First 1000
As luck would have it, after writing the article about The First 1000 Howa AR-180 I came across one and it has now joined the collection. Special thanks goes to one of my readers (you know who you are) that stayed out of the fray and let me take a run at it. I certainly could not have competed against him for this rifle.
Other than sling swivels and original Howa magazines, this Howa AR-180 is complete. Condition leaves a lot to be desired for many. For me it is perfect. Everything rattles and is loose. There is a slight hint of rust in a few places. It has “Patina”. I love it. Best of all, I can shoot it and have fun with it.
In addition to having one to help round out my collection, I wanted it because I was curious about the differences between these rifles and later versions.
This is the picture that first caught my eye.
If you look closely you will notice a difference in the bolt carrier compared to any others that I know of.
Here is the bolt carrier next to the one from my early Costa Mesa rifle. (The one shown on the splash screen at the top of page and in your emails from me)
Both of these early 180 bolt carries started life as AR-18 carriers but there are differences. The most striking and the reason I wanted this example, was the extra machined cutout on the right side of the carrier.
The left sides are very similar with only a few distinctions. A radius on the cam pin and the quality of the machine work, with the Howa coming out on top.
The firing pins differ as well. The early Costa Mesa using an AR-18 firing pin and the Howa using what I think is a modified AR-18 pin.
This is just one of the unique features of these fine weapons. Stay tuned for more in-depth articles soon.
Now some more pics for you, the Early Howa and the Early Costa Mesa.
Navigating Armalite.com
I’ve gotten quite a few folks emailing me to ask how to find parts on Armalite.com.
They still have some AR-180B parts and many are on clearance. There won’t be any more once these are gone.
The best advice I can give you is to look in your manual and find the part number for the part you want and search for that. The break down can be found on pages 8 – 12.
Your second option is to do a search for 180B. That brings up many parts but will leave you somewhat lacking when you consider that some parts used on these guns are actually AR15 parts.
Armalite re-configured their site a few months back and there are no longer direct links on the homepage to the 180B parts. They are still there if you know how to search.
Now some other interesting information can be gathered from looking at the manual, the part numbers are in three different formats. This gives us a clue as to their origin.
Parts with a four digit number are the same as Original AR-180 Parts. They may or may not have been left over stock but they are a direct replacement.
2641 Operating Rod
Parts with an eight digit number are 180B only parts.
1882000 Front Sight Base
Finally parts with six digits and are prefaced with letters are AR15 parts that were used on the 180B.
EU0190 Front Sling Swivel
So there you go. Get them while they last, or at least before I buy them all.