SOLD - Rare Armalite AR-180 Rifle - With Scope & Extras

Description

1/6/22 - This is an excellent example of a rare Armalite AR-180 Rifle. According to research, only about 4,000 of these guns were made in Costa Mesa, CA starting in July of 1969. The AR-18/180 was the latest iteration of the then-new method of rifle construction featuring stamped and welded steel fabrication. It is, for all intents and purposes, a scaled-down version of the 7.62 NATO-caliber ArmaLite AR-16. The AR-18/180 utilizes a short-stroke piston to facilitate operation. The rifle retains the familiar rotating bolt of the AR-15/M16, mounted in a carrier, but the carrier rides on a pair of guide rods. Instead of a buffer-spring unit contained in the buttstock as the AR-15/M16 has, the AR-18/180 utilizes a pair of action springs on the guide rods. You could say that the AR-18/180 is the more-or-less budget version of an AR-15/M16, which still used expensive forgings in its critical operation components. The AR-18/180 replaced most of these with stamped steel and welded components. Even the internal hammer is a stamping. The use of these stamped components required an increase in the tolerances, that some say leads to a slight increase in reliability in dirty environments, though this notion is by no means proven. A sliding, spring-loaded dust cover, also a stamping, offered some protection of the receiver from debris while the rifle was being transported. This particular example is in excellent condition, retaining virtually of its finish - just some light scuffs here and there. The gun comes with a very nice 2.75x20mm Armalite scope (excellent optics), black canvas sling, two 15-rd Armalite mags, two 30-rd Sterling mags, and one 30-rd un-marked magazine. The gun also comes with a bipod and canvas bipod cover. The bore is mint.