Range Photos-Armalite 180

storeyteller

storeyteller

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Went out today shooting AR's with some friends. One of them had an Armalite 180/AR18. Very interesting piston driven AR with a folding stock made in 1963. Thought some of you might like seeing one. I sure did and enjoyed shooting it as well.

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I carried one tucked under the headrests of my patrol car for many years.
It brought calm to some hairy situations.
Then it rode in a gun rack in my pickup on the ranch for over 20 years.
It made quite a few varmints bite the dust over the years.

It's still on duty behind a closet door. Never a hangup or glitch in more than 40 years.
 
There were three versions of this gun - the first made by Armalite in Costa Mesa, CA, the second produced by Howa in Japan, and the last by Sterling in the U.K. up into the mid-1980's (I don't believe any were made, even by Armalite, prior to 1969). Do you recall which type the one you shot was? There's an excellent article on the AR-18/180 in the April 2012 issue of The Blue Press.

Finding the original scope and its proprietary mount for these is a real challenge, but even with the standard iron sights, they have a good reputation for accuracy.

I've attached a photo of the AR-180 as manufactured by Sterling. Note the 40 round magazine, also made by Sterling. These magazines will fit an AR-15, but ordinary AR-15 magazines will not fit an AR-180 without cutting an additional catch slot into them.
 

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I had never heard of much less seen one until today. Was under the impression that piston driven AR's were a relatively new idea. I learned something new today!
 
This one was made by Sterling. The guy that had it was talking about the mags and said he had been looking for an optic and mount for some time. He said it was made around '63 but that may not be correct because he also said it was the precursor to the AR-15 which I now know isn't correct. I did a search and found that article when I got home, it was a good read. We shot it at 50 yds with irons and it had around 1" groups with M193.
 
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I had a Sterling version for many years until I foolishly sold it off .
As I recall Eugene Stoner designed both the AR15 and AR180,
The newer 180 was intended to fix the ailments of the AR15 but it was rejected by the govt. as they were too heavily invested in the AR15 platform.

IMO The 180 was not quite as sturdy as the Ar15 but they worked very well.
The 180 was easier to build and made of stampings instead of the Ar15's castings,
It incorporated a tappet rod that struck the bolt face and exhausted the gas into the front handguard instead of internally like the AR15 and had a true folding stock.

The bolt has two smaller recoil springs (like a P38 pistol) which allows the stock to neatly side fold instead of the protruding buttstock tube of the AR15 .

Another neat feature was the quick release see thru scope mount.


Some side notes,
First Goony is correct except the AR15 mags must also have the lug under the catch hole hammered down or they wont slide into the mag well without brute force ( I know as I had to mod a few).

Next is apparently Sterling used the AR180 action for the foundation of the british light infantry weapon as the internals are almost identicle. (Too bad Armalite didnt offer us that bullpup version instead of the non folding polymer AR180 copy when they tried to reintroduce it a few years back).

Also the only part that will interchange with the AR15 is the extractor claw and spring as they have the same bolt face ,
AR15 flash suppressors will thread on but are shaped differently.

Lastly is if you decide to pick one up make sure the bolt hold open works as IMO that part is extra prone to breakage .
 
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If I remember correctly Armalite made a later version called the AR180B which functioned with unmodified AR15/M16 magazines. It did not have a folding stock and the lower was polymer of some sort. I wish I had picked one up back in the late 90s/early 2000s. I don't remember them being that much more than a Mini14 at the time.
 
Two more tidibits,
I forgot to mention that M16 bayonets also fit the AR180 ,
The select fire version was called the "AR18" and it was available in a short barrel version as well.

Also a wood stock version was made in very limited numbers,
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.

The original design had a smaller charging handle which was much nicer looking , the later one was enlarged to double as a forward assist,

One thing that stuck in my mind was while they went to great lengths to prevent the commercial AR15 from being converted to FA the Ar180 appears to simply have had the tooth on the selector switch filed down to accomplish SA fire only, The FA sear appears to be intact which might make the AR180 a fair candidate for legal conversion to select fire through the ATF application process ,
I do not know anything about the process just saying that if there is a legal path to do so the selector switch appears to be the only part that would need to be changed and it would be inexpensive to convert..
 
Mine was one of the ones built by Howa.

I have the scope mount. I put a Bushnell 3X9 power scope on it, but found for what I needed the scope wasn't necessary.

I used 30 round M-16 magazines, a simple slot machined into the side of the magazine was all that was needed to adapt them to the AR-180.
 
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I have owned several of both the Costa Mesa and Howa versions but stayed away from the Sterling made ones. I found both of the original versions to be reliable and relatively accurate. I wished I had kept one ,but got rid of them in 1988 when the first ban on "funny looking rifles" went into effect. Prices being paid were high and I took advantage by selling a bucket load. Today I wish I had kept the Sig Amt and PE57 as well as some of the HK Models. Oh well, the money went into the Smith collection so I do take comfort in that.
 
Actually the Howa was the better made of the three as far as finish goes. They also came from the factory with part of the bayonet lug ground off. I don't know the specifics, but apparently there is a law in Japan that prevents them from building and marketing a gun for export to the civilian market that allows the mounting of a bayonet. Apparently they're concerned about drive by bayoneting too! :D

I have one that I've owned off an on for the past 37 years. I first picked it up used at a gun show for $175 and one of my best friends and I have traded it back and forth to each other several times over the years. The last trade back to me was about 7 or 8 years ago. I traded him a 2nd generation Glock 23 with night sights and some extra mags. I told him the only way he was getting it back again was in my will. I just love that gun. It has never missed a lick and is extremely accurate for its intended purposes. I've always wanted to pick up an AR18, but somehow over the years, even though I was a Class III dealer, one always eluded me. The unique thing about it is that when the stock is folded, even though it has an 18" barrel, it's still shorter, overall, than my 14 1/2" M16A1 Carbine with the stock collapsed. They weren't designed for buttstroking, but if the stock does break off you can still keep firing. ;) Try that with an M16! :rolleyes:
 
I purchased an Armalite Sterling AR-180 back in 1984 or '85, when I was stationed in Upstate N.Y. It came with the original Q.D. scope mount with a Colt 4X (or maybe 3X, I forget right now) scope, seven 30 round mags and a sling, for $400.

I still have it. It's extremely accurate. Every person I've handed it to has been able to consistently hit with it, from the very first round. I've never had the slightest problem with it (despite it being the "inferior" Sterling model). I do, however, try to baby the folding mechanism, as I'm not overly confident of its durability.

The good news, for those interested in acquiring one, is that I've seen quite a few at gun shows, for what I consider to be quite reasonable prices. The fact seems to be that they just aren't that popular or sought after.

Tim
 
I actually prefer the newer AR-180B with it's polymer lower that housed the standard AR trigger group. It takes standard AR magazines which is a huge plus. It's an accurate and totally dependable rifle that I enjoy shooting.
 

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I've owned both the AR-180 and the AR-180B, I liked both but liked the AR-180 more. Paid $250.00 for the AR-180 with extra mags, a few accesories, and a factory parts kit - and $300 for the AR-180B used with extra mags and some accesories.

Still have the AR-180, haven't fired it in a long time because its on what seems to be permanent loan to my son so maybe I should say I had an AR-180. :) . The AR-180B I sold in 2003.

I see AR-180's and AR-180B's on occaision at gun shows and have actually thought about picking up another of each.
 
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Foxtrot, I believe if you reread the history you will find the AR-18 was built after the AR-15. After Fairchild sold the AR-15 rights to Colt and spun off Armalite as a separate company. The AR-18 was a full auto rifle developed by Armalite because they didnt have the rights to the AR-15 and were designing a rifle to compete against it. The AR-180 was developed as a semi-auto version of the AR-18 and was first marketed in 1969. The AR-15 was designed in 1957 the AR-18 in 1963.
 
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Was going on memory and when I realized it wasn't correct I removed it. You uhhh... didn't catch the removal did you. If your going to stalk my posts then keep up :)

What I really wanted to say, in short, was the AR-180 and AR-180B are derived from the AR-18 which was influenced by the AR-15 design.

The AR-18 was basically a sheet metal version of the AR-15 with a different gas system. Armalite sold the AR-15 to Colt too early, and by the time the AR-18 was developed and tested it was too late because the Army by then had standardized the AR-15. After the AR-180 was developed the British ripped it off and developed it into a bull pup version they designated the SA-80 which was later adopted by the British as the L85.
 
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Foxtrot I dont stalk your posts, I just saw an error, wasnt trying to offend you either. My physical limitations mean that I am on the computer way more than I want to be. LOL
 
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