Saw a Real AR-10 in the Wild Today (sort of)

rkm456

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So my I went to a slightly out of town gun show today and while wandering around I see one of these behind the vendor's table:

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Yes, 3 position selector. Yes, wood furniture. Dutch production. I drooled very, very much.
 
Still have my minty Portuguese variant. I will, be buried with that rifle, I love it so much! The tragedy is that it is a 57 year-old, MOA-and-a-half battle rifle that hasn'the fired a shot in 11 years because transporting it to a range and home again is deemed too high of a risk to public safety. What an absolute load of pointless, obstructionist, petty and transparent foolishness from our unelected "bureaucratic masters".....
 
Still have my minty Portuguese variant. I will, be buried with that rifle, I love it so much! The tragedy is that it is a 57 year-old, MOA-and-a-half battle rifle that hasn'the fired a shot in 11 years because transporting it to a range and home again is deemed too high of a risk to public safety. What an absolute load of pointless, obstructionist, petty and transparent foolishness from our unelected "bureaucratic masters".....

As a fan of the AR platform it made me sad to be that close to it and know I can never have it.
 
Still have my minty Portuguese variant. I will, be buried with that rifle, I love it so much! The tragedy is that it is a 57 year-old, MOA-and-a-half battle rifle that hasn'the fired a shot in 11 years because transporting it to a range and home again is deemed too high of a risk to public safety. What an absolute load of pointless, obstructionist, petty and transparent foolishness from our unelected "bureaucratic masters".....

Very jealous. The Portugese is my favourite version.

Since the 102 is based on the original than maybe your upper will be compatible with the lower?
 
After seeing it in person I'm tempted to do a build with some wood furniture. I wonder if standard furniture will fit the NEA102.
 
Wood furniture is not original, all AR-10's left NWM with fibreglass stocks.
Quite a few Transitional AR10s left the AI factory with wooden handguards (see mine below). This was because the whole plastic composite molding issue was not yet sorted. Look closely at the rifle below and notice it does not have a Portuguese style charging handle or a Porto front sight base.

But Battlerife is correct in that the Portuguese contract rifles had no wood when they left the factory. Any wood you see on a Porto was put there while the rifle was in Africa, or by Peter Wilke. Many of the rifles Wilke imported into Canada were missing furniture so he had some wooden stocks and grips made.
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Quite a few Transitional AR10s left the AI factory with wooden handguards (see mine below).
mbkdi0.jpg

I didn't realize that, thank you for the correction.

I can't say I have seen a big fraction of the AR-10s that are in Canada, especially since I've gained much knowledge of the platform, but I have seen a few and I don't think any of them have been transitional models, those seem much more common stateside. Up here the ones I've encountered have all been straight up Sudanese or Portuguese variants.
 
In the US Portuguese AR10's are the most common (converted semi) variant of the Dutch AR10. After that come the earlier Sudanese and Guatemalan variants. The Transitionals are not common in the US or Canada. I know that Alan Lever was able to import some Transitionals that came from Dutch factory leftover stock. Civilian Sport shooters in Holland tend to use Transitionals and they seem to be the most common variant over there.

The Transitional guns were varied in their configuration and were the ones that the Dutch experimented with most. For example:
1) The AR102 Sporter semiauto AR10 variant was a transitional with a special lower receiver and polycarbonate handguards.
2) The AR10 light machine guns made by the Dutch were all Transitionals, at least the lower half was Transitional.
3) The heavy squad AR10 guns all had Transitional lowers
4) All "Aberdeen Proving Ground" AR10s were Transitionals
5) All AR10 carbines were Transitional guns and all had wooden handguards

The KLM airline survival AR10s were Sudanese/Guatamalan variants without the flash-hider. The lack of flash-hider only made the barrel look shorter.
 
I bought an Ar-10, the first batch that had come into Canada in the 80's, they were Dutch manufactured, they were convert full auto. They shot nice, my finish was not great so the guy who did all my competition IPSIC guns was in Montana, so I bought it down to the US, declared it at the border, border guys love it and I gave it to my gunsmith to have it refinished. My gunsmith sent it to a place in Florida, when they received it they called the ATF. The ATF seized it because in the US, once a machine gun always a machine gun. The ATF agent called me, told me I was not in trouble because they checked and I had declared it, stated border guards should not have let it in, and they destroyed the rifle. Back in the 80's, I hunted with that rifle and took down a couple deer, miss those days when we could hunt with an AR
 
Some of the ones used in Africa saw hard service. Saw one that had been "carried" by holding the sling at the forend, and dragging the heel of the butt along the ground.
Another still had red African dirt in it.
These AI originals are remarkable rifles.
If the NEA102 variant approaches the quality of the originals, it will be a winner.
 
I bought an Ar-10, the first batch that had come into Canada in the 80's, they were Dutch manufactured, they were convert full auto. They shot nice, my finish was not great so the guy who did all my competition IPSIC guns was in Montana, so I bought it down to the US, declared it at the border, border guys love it and I gave it to my gunsmith to have it refinished. My gunsmith sent it to a place in Florida, when they received it they called the ATF. The ATF seized it because in the US, once a machine gun always a machine gun. The ATF agent called me, told me I was not in trouble because they checked and I had declared it, stated border guards should not have let it in, and they destroyed the rifle. Back in the 80's, I hunted with that rifle and took down a couple deer, miss those days when we could hunt with an AR

Actually, I can give you the end to this story. A gunsmith acquantance of mine in Northern MT told me a similar tale. The rifle was destroyed and some of the debris was sent to the gunsmith Curtis264 used (in Northern MT). I indirectly acquired the debris from that gunsmith.

So the rifle was really destroyed.
 
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Actually, I can give you the end to this story. The rifle was destroyed and some of the debris was sent to the gunsmith Curtis264 used (in Northern MT). I indirectly acquired the debris from that gunsmith.

So the rifle was really destroyed.

I always wonder what happened to the parts they set Mike, they just wanted to destroy the receiver and would send everything else back to him. I never did go back to pick up the parts they returned. I was so disheartened that they destroyed that rifle. Did you get a lower receiver and put it back together?
 
I remember seeing one in Ottawa on the shelf at the local gun store. The hooked cocking handle was replaced with a machine piece that was some sort of hard plastic roller with a spring return. Maybe the guy was tired of dragging his finger on the "trigger" shaped surface?
 
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