AR-180B Return

I've been wanting one for a while - if they can restart their line using their old tooling that should keep costs way down. Both in the US and Canada the market will be for an affordable AR style rifle - pricier than the SU-16 but not as pricey as a full blown AR-15.

Either an AR-16 or AR180 would be excellent. I'd definitely go for a stamped steel lower like they had originally. If the gun was in the same price range as the t97 it would do tremendously well.
 
Rick911 said:
Can't prove by the negative, you'll (or Armalite) have to show evidence that what you are talking about is the cause.

All you provided is hearsay.

One thing is for sure, metal lower won't crack.
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ArmaLite is a reputable company so I'll take their word for it, and since a vast majority of 180b's never had the issue... Well, you do the math.
 
H Wally said:
I've been wanting one for a while - if they can restart their line using their old tooling that should keep costs way down. Both in the US and Canada the market will be for an affordable AR style rifle - pricier than the SU-16 but not as pricey as a full blown AR-15.

Either an AR-16 or AR180 would be excellent. I'd definitely go for a stamped steel lower like they had originally. If the gun was in the same price range as the t97 it would do tremendously well.
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The issue with a stamped lower is that it'll need a new FRT and may be considered a variant of the 180. How the 180b escaped this is rather miraculous, but likely has to do with the polymer lower of a different design, taking a different trigger group and different mags.
 
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tiriaq said:
Quality control, materials or design? If a person has a broken receiver, it doesn't make much difference. The 18s and 180s didn't have the problem.

There is certainly a market for these rifles. The new owners would be in a position to avoid problems like this.
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QC issues happen to every manufacturer. Do we demand they completely redesign the firearm, or is fixing the problem acceptable? I think we both know the answer...

It sounds to me like you have a bit of a double standard.

Ensure an appropriate polymer is used and reinforce the hinge area. That should be acceptable, no?

Now, if they do decide to go with an aluminum lower, that would be fantastic; however, that will add to the cost of the firearm, which defeats the purpose of the 180b IMHO. For $1100, an improved 180b with reinforced hinge and top picatinny rail (along with railed gas block) would be one of the best deals going up here for a light NR plinker.
 
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Ar180shooter said:
Look in to the issue more thoroughly. Reportedly, the broken lowers were from a bad batch of polymer, and ArmaLite claims that they had not seen receivers breaking outside of the admitted bad batch. I have not seen anyone able to contradict this claim with any evidence whatsoever, so I have no choice other than to accept ArmaLite at its word. I know when I had my 180b, I put it through some heavy use and had no issues. I know of many other members here who did the same, all without issue. Now disregarding instances of serious abuse, I find it unlikely that given a properly manufactured lower, there would be issues.

This isn't to say that there isn't room for improvement, because there is... and I would expect ArmaLite to at the minimum reinforce the front takedown pin area if they decide to re-boot the 180b with polymer lower... but to dismiss a polymer lower out of hand is an archaic view.
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I shot the unholy hell out of mine.

Many many rounds, rapid firing, hard and heavy drills lol

It never failed to feed or function and was acceptably accurate for a semi auto "combat" style rifle.

My biggest "cringe factor" with the rifle was the over inlfated price tags and the complete lack of any support for them as they were a discontinued item and parts were few, far between and very very expensive. But other than that I did have some great times with the rifle.

I'm a huge fan of the design and ergonomics of it. It's beauty is in its simplicity. It rivals the AK for moving parts, I like functional practical guns and the AR180b was that. There was not one single piece of metal or plastic on the rifle that didn't need to be there.

A metal/aluminum lower would be a nice feature but not 100% necessary. Mine never gave me any issues whatsoever. The price tag and parts/support for the rifle would be the ulitmate selling point for this guy. Keep it under $800-$900 and I'd pick one up again.
 
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Unfortunately, any new AR180 will probably be restricted in Canada due to the AW Ban in the USA having sunsetted back in 2004.

Will they make a NR version for Canada? Better start writing to the new Armalite company now.

Stamped steel or Aluminum is the way to go, with the plethora of AR15 mags and trigger mechs that dominate things now, I don't see Armalite copying the old AR18/180 lower receiver.
 
They discontinued it for a reason. Might as well make some improvements to it if they are reviving it....the reason I didn't buy one at the time were exactly the issues Tiriaq listed. Not throwing down $1k for that lack of quality/attention to details.
 
Dr van Nostran said:
Unfortunately, any new AR180 will probably be restricted in Canada due to the AW Ban in the USA having sunsetted back in 2004.

Will they make a NR version for Canada? Better start writing to the new Armalite company now.

Stamped steel or Aluminum is the way to go, with the plethora of AR15 mags and trigger mechs that dominate things now, I don't see Armalite copying the old AR18/180 lower receiver.
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What does that have to do with anything? As long as it is similar in design to the original AR180b and has an 18.5"+ barrel, it will be either be classified as Non-restricted or Prohibited due to some nonsense concocted by the RCMP. There is no mechanism that allows them to arbitrarily class any firearm Restricted, unless they deem it to be a variant of a restricted firearm or it meets the definition of a Restricted firearm.
 
Blastattack said:
What does that have to do with anything? As long as it is similar in design to the original AR180b and has an 18.5"+ barrel, it will be either be classified as Non-restricted or Prohibited due to some nonsense concocted by the RCMP. There is no mechanism that allows them to arbitrarily class any firearm Restricted, unless they deem it to be a variant of a restricted firearm or it meets the definition of a Restricted firearm.
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After the ban ended in 2004, they were made with the removable flash hider which reduced the length of the barrel and made it restricted in Canada.

There are restricted Ar180B's in Canada because of it.
 
Dr van Nostran said:
After the ban ended in 2004, they were made with the removable flash hider which reduced the length of the barrel and made it restricted in Canada.

There are restricted Ar180B's in Canada because of it.
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That doesn't mean it can't be made with a slightly longer barrel to compensate for that, plus as it is currently out of production, any revival would likely be aimed at the Canadian market for a good portion of the sales.
 
Hitzy said:
They discontinued it for a reason. Might as well make some improvements to it if they are reviving it....the reason I didn't buy one at the time were exactly the issues Tiriaq listed. Not throwing down $1k for that lack of quality/attention to details.
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What lack of QC/attention to detail? It was an issue with a batch of lowers, not an on-going problem with every rifle. The early ones did not have reported breakage issues, and neither did the later ones. For what Wolverine was selling them for before they were discontinued, around $1200, I'd pick one up again in a heartbeat.
 
The metal lower might cause issues too - that was one of the things the RCMP looked at, there was some question then over what was/wasn't a variant, but generally we got the benefit of the doubt. Now we don't.
 
enefgee said:
The metal lower might cause issues too - that was one of the things the RCMP looked at, there was some question then over what was/wasn't a variant, but generally we got the benefit of the doubt. Now we don't.
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That's a good point too. Making a new lower out of aluminum would most likely require a new FRT number, and based on RCMP decisions as of late, it would be deemed a prohibited variant of the AR180.
 
Ar180shooter said:
That doesn't mean it can't be made with a slightly longer barrel to compensate for that, plus as it is currently out of production, any revival would likely be aimed at the Canadian market for a good portion of the sales.
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Precisely. I doubt there would be any major attraction to such a rifle in the US, but us Canadians would be clamoring for it. That is unless the rumors are true and the AR15 is de-Restricted.
 
saskcop said:
I would consider one if they came back, but not at the prices that we were being gouged by dealers for them here in Canada. It is sad that they were sub $1000 guns in the States and they were being flogged up here for almost twice that.
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Yeah... Sub $1000 by about $400

I had one... Not impressed. Wouldn't buy another even if they were $500
 
Haters gonna hate. Like with Glocks, Norinco products or any other guns that sharply divide opinions.
I have 3 180B's. Got them because I have a real fascination with the original 18/180 but can't own either. Admittedly, I probably wouldn't bother with the polymer 180B's if the original Sterling/Costa Mesa/Howa 180's weren't 12.5 prohib rifles and I could own one. I've shot coyotes with them and put about 4000 rounds each through the latter 2 I've got. The first one I got in 2006 from Wolverine for under 1k and I'm keeping it like BNIB with only a couple hundred rounds thru it and not a scratch. A have a very good friend that has 2 original Sterling 180's and it's a damn shame we can't shoot them anymore.
I haven't had a single problem with any of them. Not a single stoppage or anything breaking. The one I picked up in 2009 has been a truck gun that has been toted through the bush on foot, quad and horseback. It's been rained on and covered with mud and snow and still runs like a champ. Had it out in +30 and -30 weather and the polymer stays strong. Not a safe/range queen. I respect the opinions of those that don't like them. The polymer lower is a bit of a buzz kill.
My only question is: if they suck so much, why do they sell on the EE the day they're listed for the prices that many agree are overinflated?
 
There is nothing wrong with the polymer lower on the AR180B, the only guys that had problems breaking them were guys that unlocked the upper and just let it swing down and slam against the lower. Do that and you deserve to break it. Same thing will happen to an AR if you let it swing open and slam the lower. It's a stupid thing to do.

I loved my AR180 and am actually going to buy it back from the guy I sold it to. I don't know where guys are getting their prices from. I paid $1400 for mine new and just saw one sell at the Edmonton gun show for $1400. The only reason guys are getting more on the EE is because some guys are willing to pay it.

I find it funny how there are so many posts on here with guys wanting this upgraded or that changed but they want it for $500 less. You realize any changes to the rifle will cost money right?
I think the rifle is perfect the way it is. It is not an AR, it never will be and it doesn't need quadrails and other tacticool junk. It's a lightweight simple battle rifle that is 100% reliable, is easy to clean, and accurate enough to compete against any of the current non restricted offerings we have access to now.

I'd buy one if they brought them out again.
 
The problem is guys buy 180B's thinking they are buying a non-restricted AR-15 and when they realize that they are NOT AR-15's after shooting them a bit they get all down on them. I agree with cr5. The rifle is what it is: "lightweight simple battle rifle that is 100% reliable, is easy to clean, and accurate enough to compete against any of the current non restricted offerings we have access to now." sums it up exactly. I am probably one of the very few Canadian shooters that actually has a restricted 180B. Silly you ask? Maybe it is. But I don't care what others think. I have 2 other non-restricted ones that fill the hunting/farm/Crown land shooting need perfectly. I got the restricted one because I like the look of the original 3 prong flash hider and it includes the bayonet lug. I have a folding stock from Stormwerks on it and the original heat shielded handguards and that makes it about as close to the original 180 as you're ever going to get. The other reason I bought it was because it was very cheap on the EE compared to it's more common non-restricted brother. I do 99% of my shooting at the range anyway so the restricted classification isn't an issue for me.
 
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