[ckyllo]

how is the rifle?
accurate?
reliable?
a blast to shoot?
will it get me anything that an AR-15 won't?
how is the aftermarket toy catagory? ie a good folding stock, scope mounts, pic rails...
has anyone used one in a 3 gun shoot?

thanks in advance.

[spook]

My AR180B is inaccurate and the bolt will not lock open. Maybe I'll make it into a lamp as I can't think of anything else it's good for.

[Fumbler]

A friend of mine has one. It's a 2MOA gun.
He's never had one function failure.
As far as the fun factor, any semiauto 223 is fun to shoot.
Truthfully it won't do anything that an AR can't do except the stock can fold due to not having the buffer in the stock.

Scope mounting options suck (so my friend says).

[MacPelto]

Mine is fine, but if you're not tight for funds, just get the AR15.

Accurate - all i have is iron sights, and it holds it's own.

Reliable - eats WWB ball like candy, does not like hollow points

Fun to shoot - same as any other EBR

Anything another AR won't - Nope, except price

Aftermarket stuff - Next to nothing is available. Just recently there is an aftermarket folder/telescope stock, but there aren't any rails, buis, light mounts, etc. There are 2 scope mounts available, period. One is factory, the other is a custom job from Canada - the canadian one is supposed to be the better of the 2.

If you've got the funds, just get the AR15. I firmly believe that the 180b is more comparable to the Su-16, and various AK platforms than to the AR15, both price and performance-wise. It's a nice piece, but it will never get the support available to the AR15 platforms.

YMMV

Mac

[Dave Markowitz]

I had an AR-180B and had high hopes for it. They feel really nice, are light, and point well. The 19" barrel gives better ballistics than 16" M4 barrels.

However, I found that it was very picky as to which magazines it liked. It would feed reliably from some mags but not others. I am talking USGI M16 (AR15) mags here, too. I didn't want to have segregate my AR15 mags as to which rifle likes them, since I also have a Colt AR-15A3 which likes ALL of these mags just fine.

The other thing that annoyed me was that it ejected empties to the right rear, and until I rigged up a brass deflector from a rubber stopper, I got zinged in the face (I'm a lefty).

I wound up trading it off on a Ruger P-90.

[modifiedbrowning]

I have the Ace folding stock on mine and I like it. My 180 has been very reliable and accurate. I plan on removing the brake and having the barrel threaded for a flash suppressor.
Check out www.stormwerkz.com.

[MacPelto]

^^^^^


Those are the guys I was thinking of, it's michigan, not Canada.

It's hard to tell the difference from all the way down here. :o

Mac

[jefnvk]

It's hard to tell the difference from all the way down here.

Yep, and to us, you guys are just Mexico :neener:

I was considering them at one point, Dunhams had them on sale for like $600 or so (mayber cheaper, can't remember back that far). Felt like a decent gun, but I ended up going with the AR.

[LeadPumper]

I bought the first one I saw in the state of MD. maybe two years ago.

First range session was terrible, rifle shot three feet to the right at 25 yrds. When I made corrections to the forward sight tower, it wouldn't cycle, so after E-mailing Armalite, I shipped it off to be fixed.

After I got it back, it worked fine, no problems at all. They even sighted it in at 50 yrds for me. My first shots were all in the black. No cost. (not even shipping thanks to a really good local shop)

I like the rifle just fine, it (now) shoots about as well as any AR I've shot (but no SPROING! inthe ear). Takes USGI mags, and likes a varity of ammo. It's a handy, no-frills 3-4 moa rifle.

If you want high accuracy, lots of mounting points, rail adapters, modular uppers or the such, get a regular AR. If you want different, find a 180B for cheap.

modifiedbrowning- that folding stock adaptor looks intriguing. I may have to try that.

Mine:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/jgelner/Other/AR180B.jpg

-LeadPumper

[oh blanky]

I like the sproing.

[lysander]

My older brother and I briefly "co-owned" one of these rifles. It was simple to operate and clean, accurate enough as a plinker or "fun-gun", seemed to digest anything in terms of ammo and magazines, and was fun to shoot. We put maybe 2000 rounds (Olympic-Greek, Remington and some US Surplus) through it before we sold it off. We got rid of it because as lefties we got tired of taking hot brass in the face, forehead and neck. :fire: Those things are hot you know! :eek:

Other than that...a fine .223 EBR for the money.

[modifiedbrowning]

Lead, check out www.aceltdusa.com. They have their own adaptor as well. You can buy the adaptor and stock together. The Ace adaptor also lets you reattach your original stock if you want.

[Oleg Volk]

I am considering getting one. Does anyone know where I could order the flattop version? Also, if used with a suppressor, how badly does 180B bleed gas out of the back of the receiver?

[spook]

I returned my AR180B to Armalite. It was shooting so far to the right I used up all the adjustment in the scope and the bolt wouldn't lock open either manually or after the last round. After repairs by Armalite (they replaced the upper) things are much better although it occasionally fails to stay open after the last round. I am a lefty and have no problem with ejection as mine sends the brass forward and down. So far no failures to feed or eject.

[BucksDC]

I had one of the B's when they first came out, about 6 or 7 years ago. I was not thrilled at all. I did like the operating system. It was easy to clean. The big plus was the weight. It was very light. Mine came with canted front sight post(not a big deal) and was not as accurate as my RRA AR. I sold it after two months. At the time, noone could get them so I made an obscene profit over what I paid by dealer pre-order pricing. If it wasn't for that I would have thrown it in the safe to tinker with. Also, at the time there were NO accesories except outragous priced scopes for the original 180's.
I mounted a Russian Cobra sight on it and it worked well (for anyone looking for an inexpensive optic that will mount.

[ckyllo]

Oleg, Althougth I have not had a chance to play with one with a suppressor, I can't see that there would be any issue with gas bleeding out the to the shooter due to the gas piston design of the rifle.