AR-180B Pic

Like them or hate them, the AR180B is still a better rifle than all the 5.56 AK varients on the market.
Even better than my favored Saigas.
Good looking rifle Dave, enjoy it.

Sexy rifle, Mr. Markowitz. Have you heard if Armalite is going to come out with railed foregrips and collapsible stocks for this model?

I was thinking about buying one, but if I can't modify it to suit my tastes...

Definitely a pretty weapon.

From what I've read, the AR-180B is a heckuva gun - much better than a Mini-14 .

From what I've read, the AR-180B is a heckuva gun - much better than a Mini-14

Click to expand...

Just curious, how do they compare price wise?

looking at it from my poiunt of view.

its cheap, its pretty (to me), it shoots well.


any way you look at it I think its one of my next guns.

Ar 180b

I got this one about (lemme think...) maybe two years ago. It was the first one I saw in MD, an early production number.

It had some gas problems out of the box, with the sights being three feet right at 25yrds. Moving the front gas block fixed the sight alignment, but turned into a single shot rifle.

A quick trip back to Armalite fixed that and it's been flawless ever since.

I bought it because AR's in general don't do much for me, the 'sproing' in my ear is a nuisance I can do without. And I do prefer the flat top design. I was considering a Bushy A4 until I stumbled onto this AR-180B.

Price was full retail (gotta pay to be first), seven hundred and change, I think. I've seen them lightly used as low as $500 though.

I'm happy with it as a plinker, thats all I need.

-LeadPumper

Let us know how you like the Bushnell Trophy Red Dot. I had one on my M17 but I got too many fliers so I decided to get a 2-7X Compact scope for better precision. The Red Dot was definately cool though, and quick.

ACE may be coming out with a folding stock (much better than a collapsible stock) and there are several QD rails available.

By the way, nice rifles guys. I really love mine. Until recently I had a 1.5-4.5x33 Bushnell on it that worked pretty well but have removed it and plan on getting an EOTech.

Here's one pictured on the ACE website:


Personally, I prefer collapsible stocks, while not as compact overall, I like to be able to adjust LOP.

I have had mine for nearly two years now. I have thought about mounting optics, but so far the iron sights have served me well. I agree, that shooting without that darn AR15 recoil spring twang next to your face is kinda nice.
My AR180B is as accurate as my other 223
black rifles', 1975 Colt AR-15 Sporter, Bushmaster and Armalite, but not in the same league as my Colt Match target HBAR.
I had some initial chambering problems , but the rifle finally 'shot in' ok, and is now ultra reliable.

I e-mailed ACE a few months ago and was told that they will offer both collapsible and folding stocks for the AR-180B in the then coming year. I assume that means they'll make an AR-180B receiver adapter that will accept their modular stocks.

I have a Bushnell red dot on my 180, too. I have the 1 inch Armalite mount so I had to settle for the 1" single dot model (the multi dot is 30mm). I originally had a 1.5-4x compact scope on mine, but I like the red dot much better.

I contacted Armalite last year and they said they had no intention of offering the 180 with a collapsible stock or flash supressor. It seemed like they didn't want to invest any more money developing the gun.

I have the Bushnell Trophy on my Ruger PC9, and like it quite a lot. I like the adjustable reticle. The brightest setting is great for bright sunlight, and the lowest setting works great at indoor ranges. In fact, I don't shoot the gun as much anymore because the range I now go to is only 25 yards, and I can punch magazine after magazine through the ten ring at that range--it gets a little boring. Outdoors at 50-75 yards it's a lot more fun. It's the ultimate squirrel gun. I can pop the little buggers from all the way across my dad's farm yard. The 9mm might not be the ultimate round for stopping large mammals like humans, but against red squirrels it's like a .50 caliber Barett Light Fifty.

When I contacted Armalite shortly after the expiration of the AWB, they said that they would offer a no-ban AR-180B with flash hider, bayonet lug, and fixed stock. I guess they've changed their mind? Too bad

Yeah I was waiting for the unban AR-180 to come out before I bought one. It just got bumped from my list.

My mistake. I went back in my email folders and found the email:

From: ArmaLite Info
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 7:11 AM
Subject: RE: Collapsible buttstocks on AR180B?


We do not have plans for a folding stock for the AR-180B rifles. We will offer the flash suppressors and bayonet lugs, but have no plans for the stock.

You are correct--flash supressor and bayonet lug, but no collapsible or folding stock. If I can get one elsewhere, I might reconsider getting a 180. But I'm still waiting for Dave's range report...

Nice picture. I played with it a little.

I prefer it in B&W personally, gives off more of that plastic texture.

hey my pleasure.

I've had a bit of experience with an original Armalite 180 and one of the things that always annoyed me about it was the folding stock. I've never been a fan of loose, jiggly stocks even if Diane Feinstein also doesn't like them. Unless Armalite could improve substantially on the original design (and there may be some engineering reason behind this), I think they did the right thing in sticking with a fixed stock.

The stock hinge and latches are very much sturdy enough, and allow for a self tightening action, but it actually locks up against a poly buffer. This goes bad after 20-30 years, and doesn;t stick out enough anymore. Shimming it works fine. I put two layers of blue masking tape over the steel part and it never got loose again.

OTOH, I got rid of the gun for mag reliability issues. Still loved it and want something light and handy like that to supplement my FAL. All the 180-Bs I have handled just were not up to Armalite Costa Mesa or even Howa standards. Maybe Sterling.

Flat top! Flash supressor! Bayonet lug! (I think!)


Maybe ACE will pony up with their folding stocks by the time the above hits the shelves.

Oh god please make then under 600 dollars!