Brownells now offers a new retro AR – the BRN-605 Carbine. As the name implies, this is the replica of Colt’s Model 605 which was an early attempt of making a carbine version of the M16 rifle. The Colt 605 was designed in the mid-’60s by cutting the M16 barrel just past the gas block.

The BRN-605 is based on the Brownells XBRN16E1 retro upper and lower receivers that are made of 7075 T6 aluminum forgings. Some of their distinctive features include the partial fence around the magazine release button and the existence of a forward assist mechanism but lack of a brass deflector.

The barrel of this carbine is shortened to 15.5″. It is equipped with a pinned and welded 3-prong flash hider to increase its overall length past the 16″ mark to legally make the gun a rifle (not an SBR). The BRN-605 barrel has a twist rate of 1:12″. Brownells recommends shooting 55-grain M193-type ammunition for best results.

According to the description on the company’s website, original Colt Model 605 carbines had some reliability issues due to the short dwell time caused by the short barrel and rifle length gas system. They fixed that issue by enlarging the gas port diameter which allows more gas to enter the system thus compensating for the short dwell time and making the rifle work reliably.

BRN-605 rifles also feature chrome plated bolt-carriers made of 9310 carbon steel, black polymer handguards of triangular cross-section and fixed stocks. The rifles come with a windage adjustable A1 type drum-style rear sights. The overall length of the BRN-605 rifle is 34″ and it weighs 7.5 lbs.

You can learn about some of the other features of the BRN-605 carbine by watching the Brownells video embedded below.

The Brownells BRN-605 Carbine is listed on the company’s website at an MSRP of $1,299.99. It comes with one 20-round magazine.

Images from www.brownells.com