History – Page 3 – AR180S.COM

July 16, 2016

ArmaLite AR-180 Scopes

As I have collected more AR-180 scopes I have been able to note certain features and changes that occurred over the production run.

I first wrote an article about the early scopes or first generation scopes back in 2014. First Generation Scope

Now that I have multiple scopes from each generation I felt I should expand on my earlier article.

Lets look at the group so far.

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Here they are shown from left to right in order of production date.

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The three on the right are first generation, inverted post reticle, marked in meters, serial numbers starting in 67.

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Scopes four and five are second generation, inverted post reticle, marked in yards, serial numbers starting in 71.

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The last two are third generation, cross-hair reticle, marked in yards, no serial number.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the ArmaLite and power engravings. They appear to become thicker in the later scopes and the change happened during the second run of scopes. Those made in 1971.

The first second gen scope is numbered 711201 and this scope has markings like the early, first gen scopes. The second scope is numbered 712116 and has markings like the late, third gen scopes. Somewhere between these two scopes the change happened.

If anyone has any scope numbered between these two I would like to know the serial number and style of marking. I think we can pin this down a little closer.

The shape of the downward leg of the 7 is different on the second generation scopes, independent of the thickness of the lettering. Early and late scopes have a curved leg on the 7. Second gen scopes have straight leg.

Sorry, my numismatic past still surfaces from time to time. Next thing you know, I will have my loop out looking for variations.

The markings for the bullet drop compensation knob are also different. Not just the meters vs. yards but the spacing and placement of the markings. The knobs are all on the “1 to 2” position.

Early

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Second gen

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Third gen

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Finally some notes about inspection stickers. I do not have any on my second gen scopes but there are different ones on the first and third gen scopes.

Early sticker is on top front of scope.

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Third gen is on the bottom front

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Still looking for the variation that has a “K” sticker on the windage adjuster cover. I’m not sure yet where that one falls into the mix.

July 7, 2016

The AR-180 Police Carbine

I’ve seen references to the AR-180 Police Carbine in the past but to date no pictures have surfaced.

Surfing the web this morning I stumbled across a Japanese web site that appears to show the lower for one such animal.

The lower for a AR-180 Police Carbine is shown along with a Costa Mesa AR-18 on the web site.

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It is speculated was that Sterling built 200 of these semi automatic Police Carbines. I believe they where short barreled rifle versions with the same dimensions as the full auto AR-18S. Unfortunately no upper is shown with these pictures. The serial numbers of the Police Carbine start with SS which is unique in the AR-18/AR-180 family.This particular gun is serial number SS 225 which would mean that at least 225 of them were built.

Lets hope pictures of a complete gun surface. We would also welcome the Sniper version with serial numbers starting with SW and the Pistol version with serial numbers starting with SP.

I love the hunt. If anyone has any pics or comments please contribute.

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November 3, 2015

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.

October 20, 2015

Update: Mystery Bolt: Reader Needs Your Help

Some of you may recall a post some time back with a mystery bolt that a reader was trying to identify.

Mystery Bolt

He just sent me an email and said he found out what it was.

A Bushmaster Assault Rifle.

A very interesting rifle with concepts taken from the AR-180 and the long stroke piston design most commonly seen in the Kalashnikov rifles. I particularly like the captured recoil spring. It looks like something I could build in my shop at home.

A fantastic dis-assembly post over on AR15.com can be found here.

For anyone who might be interested, there is a new in box one for sale on gunbroker for a very reasonable price. Click Here

These rifles never caught on and like the AR-18/AR-180, they never got the years of refinement needed to make them truly great rifles. They both however, show many of the design elements found in modern rifles like the SCAR 16, the HK G36/SL8-6, and the Magpaul Masada/Bushmaster ACR.

Photo above showing the SCAR 16 and SL8-6 was found in an excellent article on The Truth About Guns.

Photo above showing the Bushmaster ACR bolt carrier group. Credit unknown.

September 24, 2015September 30, 2015

The First 1000 Howa AR-180s

In the world of AR-180 collecting one of the top prizes could be considered the early Howa AR-180s.

Several notable features are readily apparent but some subtle clues to it’s origins are hiding just below the surface.

The most obvious feature of the rifles is the placement of the serial number, on the upper receiver as opposed to the lower.

The second is the 180 degree swing safety, which is unique to the Howa.

Some examples show a distinct misalignment of the 0 in the 180. This our first clue that these guns started life as AR-18s.

Further clues can be discovered when looking at the bottom of the upper receiver.

It is obvious when compared to the underside of an AR-18 that the part that held the auto sear has been removed.

The firing pins also look different and it looks to me like these Howas used modified AR-18 firing pins.

The really interesting thing about these guns is when they were actually made. I think the evidence makes a strong case for 1967. Much earlier than many thought.

The first piece of the puzzle is an article in the January 31. 1966 issue of U.S. News & World Report. It states that a provisional agreement was reached and Howa would undertake the first mass production of this rifle.

Japan then, during the Diet session of 1967, introduced the “Three Principles” which forbid the exportation of arms to nations in active conflict. Anyone remember what the US was doing in 1967? In southeast Asia? That’s right the Vietnam War. Howa would not have started production of a rifle they could not export so it makes sense that they were built sometime between Jan ’66 and the passing of the law in 1967.

Yet another clue, and the one first postulated by my friend and mentor, Rich, was that the earliest scopes sold in this country were originally matched up with these first 1000 Howa AR-18s. These particular AR-18s were known to have matching serial numbered flash hiders and Rich speculated that the scopes were matched as well. All the first scopes have serial numbers that start with 67 and do not go above 1000. After the rifles were banned from importation, ArmaLite ramped up production themselves and since there was no ban on the importation of the scopes, there separated from the rifles and sent to the US. These were sold as accessories with the Costa Mesa rifles.

I would like to thank all the generous folks on the retro forum at AR15.com and all those who have helped with the gathering of this information.

Like I said when I started this site, I want it to be a central depository for information about these cool guns.