Blog Of The Month: AR180s.com
For our February Blog Of The Month, we take a trip back to the early 1960s, after Armalite had sold the rights to its highly desirable AR-15 to Colt’s, and were searching for a competitor to their own design. The rifle designed by Art Miller to fill this void, itself an evolution of Stoner’s work on the 7.62mm AR-16, was the AR-18, the civilian model of which was called the AR-180. Dedicated to this fairly unsuccessful but highly influential weapon is AR180s.com, a website that in its own words seeks to become “the central depository for AR-180 information.”
The site is only a couple of months old itself, but already contains some interesting information on the AR-180, including different manual variations, scope information, and a project to build a short-barreled AR-180 pistol, patterned off the AR-18S.
The AR-18, though it was a design that prioritized expeditiousness of manufacture uber alles, still was highly mechanically sound, and probably would have achieved greater success had it not been beaten to the market by other designs. Even so, it laid the mechanical foundation for later designs like the G36 and Remington ACR, and so has an important place in the history of modern small arms. AR180s.com promises much more information on this interesting and significant rifle, and is therefore our February Blog Of The Month!
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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You guys are a bunch of turds in a punch bowl. It is what it is. 18 didn't happen, although a noble effort. 15 is the state of the art, today. Get over it! If you have and like an 18... more power to you. I think you are doing what is correct for you. But, get over it, you are wasting to much energy making up something that is not reality. Have it, shoot it, enjoy it. move on to something that means something important. How about them PATRIOTS! ! ? Just as real as a rifle that didn't happen. Love you man, get a life. the world needs your mind to make it better.
Something I kinda noticed:
US adopted Krag-Jorgensen but Mauser refined the bolt action and the Mauser 98 action became a gold standard and proliferated around the world
US adopted the 1911, then Browning/Saive refined the automatic handgun and the Hi-Power became a gold standard/proliferated around the world
US adopted the AR-15 platform, Stoner/Miller refined the design and AR-18 derivatives became a gold standard and proliferated around the world (G-36, SA-80, SAR-21, ACR, FN2000, etc)