Kids today have it good when it comes to the AR-15.

[bannockburn]

.455_Hunter

My interest in the AR platform pretty much goes from the first production guns in the 60's, the M16A1s I used as a Cadet, and stops with what we drew out of the arms room late morning on 9/11/01- full size M16A2 rifles and bone stock M4 carbines.

After I turned off the TV I went down to the basement, got out my AR15, and began loading 30 round magazines.

Someone just declared war on us and I couldn't just sit around doing nothing.

 

[Miami_JBT]

Yes, the stamped-and-welded construction of the AR-180 was its downfall, compared to the AR-15. And by the late 1970's, the Sterling-made ones were worse than the early American- and Japanese-made ones. I considered getting a Sterling, just to complete the series, but the poor quality turned me off completely. (Note: Sterling-made AR-180s represent the vast majority of those that were made.)

The other thing worth noting is that the AR-180 used a non-standard magazine. (To this day, the only dedicated 20-round AR-180 magazines that I have are the 2 each that originally came with the guns.) But, the one thing that Sterling got right was its steel 40-round magazine. These have slots on both sides, so they work equally well with AR-180s and AR-15s. And they are highly prized today.

You can cut a slot in a standard magazine to make it work in an AR-180, but that's a kludge job.

Fast forward to the mid-1980's. The Korean Daewoo K2 was everything the AR-180 should have been: folding stock, piston action, forged construction, standard magazines. But it was only around for a shot time before the import restrictions killed it. The low price (at the time) fooled people into thinking that it wasn't as good as it was. In retrospect, I should have bought more than the one that I did.

I juat recently traded my Daewoo K2 for an all matching Erfurt Luger.

 

[AlexanderA]

I just recently traded my Daewoo K2 for an all matching Erfurt Luger.

Yes, there's been a growing appreciation for the Daewoo, to the point where mint examples sell for $2,000 and up. The question then becomes, why doesn't some enterprising manufacturer arrange to produce them domestically? The market is certainly there.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

Yes this is true but many of today’s youthes are not as good of a shot.

They have a million things to buy and snap on their Armalite, to show off on the electronic apps on the phone, but none of it will make them a better shooter.

I will reckon the country boys growing up with a wood and steel single shot .22 or dad’s old Krag etc. would be able to whip the snot out of most new shooters these days who have been more or less brainwashed into thinking the more things they bolt on the gun and the more gimmicks they spend money on instead of training or ammo, the better of the shooter they are.

This is not the case.