Subscriber Pictures #4

These come from a self professed AR-180 Fanatic, John.

With 14 rifles I would say his diagnosis might be accurate, at the very least, he has a severe case of RBRD.

That’s Retro Black Rifle Disease for those who are unfamiliar with the acronym. A disease that I too, suffer from.

Here is just a sampling of some of his collection from the last time he pulled them out of the safe.

image1 image2 image3 image1 (2) image2 (1) image2 (2) image3 (1) image1 (1)

I especially like his early Howa. I hope to have one of those myself someday.

He likes to shoot his ,which is what they were made for, and reports great success with steel case ammo.

He also has a surplus of parts, accessories, and guns for sale so send me a message via the contact form if you are looking for anything and I will put you in contact with him.

Thanks again for all the e-mails and suggestions. Keep them coming and don’t forget to subscribe and comment.

AR-180 20 Round Magazines

Today we will be covering the subject of AR-180 20 Round Magazines that were original equipment with your rifle.

All AR-180’s came with two 20 round magazines when sold new but there are several differences in them that we should know about.

They came with magazines that are very similar to AR-15 mags but with a few important differences. They had no cut-out or dimple on the left side and had floor plates that were marked AR-18.

Howa’s came with magazines that were virtually identical but had a different floor plate design.

These are the most common ones found today.

These are generalities and as you will see in the pictures shown below, there are some minor differences even among the 20 round magazines.

FEC0F007-0913-45B6-9FE9-469629ECA093_zpsv1qxetud

Many would consider these magazines interchangeable but upon closer inspection we can see they are different and can be identified as early and late.

The mag on the right has a green/gray color and is quite smooth. The left one is fully gray and has a rougher texture. The one on the right is early and is correct for most Costa Mesa rifles, at least the early ones. It will be referred to as early and the other as late.

E86F1257-BCA0-4BC0-BB83-DA0163F1EE20_zps4csrlmfk

In this picture you can also see that the rivets in the early mag are smaller than the the ones used in the late.

D8515E10-F2B7-4D46-A8EB-3002585C6B68_zpsdodaiufn

Again showing the early mag on the right you can see that the floor plates are different as well. The early plates have a dull finish and the late ones are smooth and shiny. Shown propped on another early magazine.

BD0B5014-B51F-4F1A-B6E8-19086729AD0E_zpsg1mkua8a

The early magazines came with a device to block them to 5 rounds. This piece is often missing as this was one of the first things people removed after buying their new weapon.

I have not been able to determine when these early mags were phased out, we may never know. It is possible they shipped with all the Costa Mesa guns and the later ones went with the Sterlings. It is also possible that they were only used early on and the later CM guns used the late mags. More research is needed but the ease with which mags can be swapped around may make this an impossible task.

One piece of evidence that may help is the fact that the Howa mags were identical to these except for the floor plate design.

9035E48D-64C8-4AEF-9960-74AC43277E29_zps5peog9nu

Here is a Howa next to an early mag. You can plainly see that the rivet is the same and other than the shade being a little off, the color is a close match.

 

D25B47E7-2E72-4B8A-AD5C-8EDB28055AED_zpsp5bcxbiz

 

Here the floor plate design changes are easy to see.

To my mind I believe the mags were made by the same company and in the same time period. That would put the manufacture in the mid 60’s to early 70’s.

Lastly we have the easiest to identify, the late Sterling magazine.

7BF36DA7-39F9-421E-ABF5-D018229150C4_zpslusn1rtx

The Sterling’s were painted black over parkerization till somewhere around the S20,000 serial number. It is my speculation that they used the gray magazines as well as the black during that time and then used the gray during the remaining run of blue finished guns. I have no evidence to back this up.

4E4542C6-023A-4E50-894C-E99452444339_zpsh8z5qkxc

 

 

Shown hear next to an early mag with a late one on the far right. You will note that the rivets are the same as the late mag.

5A708039-E018-48AD-A3FF-DE3011BB6DC8_zpsrzllaknf

 

The floor plate is also smooth and shiny like the late mag but features a white color fill in the lettering.

5281FAEF-F5AD-4C20-B9B3-484E96BFFD2C_zpswjieaots

A better view of the different floor plate designs and finishes.

6021E944-4A26-4A4A-8DFF-B65FA1539845_zps7ksrs73y

All of these mags used a black plastic follower that has a cut-out for the bolt hold open at the rear.

In order of rarity and application;

Late gray magazine, Late Costa Mesa? and Sterling. Overwhelmingly the most common.

Black Sterling Magazine. Not common

Early Costa Mesa magazine. Not common

Howa Magazine. Not common

All of the uncommon mags will be hard to find but many of them will be lumped in for sale with the common gray mags and will not be sold at a premium. This is not true for the Howa mags however as they are easily identified.

I would like to say thank you to Chuck at GunLab.net for the suggestion of this article and the load of original source material he is sending me to further my research and to bring you more articles in the future. Go check out his site, it is a wealth of information.

 

 

Subscriber Pictures #3

These pictures come from my friend Rich, who mentored me when I first got involved with this hobby. He is truly an expert in this field and my go to source of information. This site would not be possible without him.

First up we have a 30 round Armalite magazine and it’s original packaging. Also shown in the first pic is an original 20 round Costa Mesa magazine with a rubberized USAF mag pouch.

IMG_1079

 

Close up of the markings.

 

IMG_0701

 

Next up is the markings on a Howa made 20 round magazine. The are different from the base plates that came on Costa Mesa or Sterling guns.

IMG_1064

 

Next is a Howa “Shop Mag” that was used to check fit and function during manufacture.

IMG_1067

This is also a “Shop Mag” but started life as a Colt 20 rounder that was modified and marked AR-18. It was also featured in an AR-18 Brochure.

IMG_1075

Finally a set of chamber brushes that he believes are factory but he has not been able to verify that, and a cleaning kit in it’s original packaging.

IMG_1076

Please send me your pics you would like posted and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment.

AR-180B Shorty Project Pt. VI

The AR-180B Shorty Project has reached a new milestone.

The Stamp has arrived and I am now the proud owner of my first SBR.

07110DCC-BCF3-491B-8424-DF5C75B7EA76_zpsdiddyqul

So I installed my VZ-58 folding stock and I can’t wait to get it to the range.

5BD58D2F-C61D-4E06-9187-8B0B56877F0E_zpsqot4dnxi

A9423150-457B-4B66-BA76-72496BA42079_zpsbriohzaf

I am not finished with this project as I need to make an end cap for the hand guards. The JB Weld modified retaining pieces are not going to be a long term solution. The lower hand guard fell off as soon as I installed the butt stock. I also think I will make a try to make a shorty Sharpshooter Kit for it. It would be very cool in my opinion.

The box will need a bit of modification to fit, but this was to be expected.

I also plan to make an adapter to install an original butt stock at some point. Unfortunately the transition to my new job is taking all of my free time.

Thanks again to all of you who email me with your encouragement and suggestions for the site. My hope is to continue to give back to this community in any way I can.