AR-180b vs AR-15

[Evil Monkey]

I'm looking to buy a rifle. It has come down to AR180b vs AR15. AR180b is about $600 with tax and the AR15 is about $900. I'd rather pay $600 but that polymer lower scares the crap out of me. I hear it breaks easily. I do like that fact that the AR180b has a piston....I don't know, I like rifles with a piston. Makes me sleep better at night. But the AR15 has a bolt release button (very nice), less problematic with magazines, the lower is metal. But it seems more complex, no piston....

No I will not get both. If I get the AR180b, than means I'll never get the AR15 because the next purchases will go straight to guns like the XCR, SIG556, Masada, etc. Same would happen if I got the AR15 instead.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

AR-15 without question.

 

[Bjg0082]

Didnt vote because I dont have either, but you AR180b guys chime in cause I've not fired or heard reports on em.

I wouldnt think the plastic lowers a huge deal, even if you dropped it, it'd have to be pretty serious impact to break it. But like I say I don't have either. Good survey though

 

[Geronimo45]

Here's the ARFCOM forums, where they've got several AR-180 owners.
This is a thread on the 180 - read through and you can find accessories, etc.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=62&t=218119

Did you try this place when looking for an AR-15?
http://www.budsgunshop.com

An Armalite carbine goes for $767 or so from them. I'm in the market for an EBR meself, and I'll likely go the AR-15 route - it's got the kinks worked out, generally speaking... more accessories, more folks that know how to work on one.

 

[Jenrick]

AR-180 you can just take the pin out of the lower to clean it in two halves, which eliminates the one weak area in the design. Other then that the lower is more then strong enough, believe me it ain't breaking. The bolt release button on the AR15 I suppose is nice, but I really rather like only having two controls on the AR-180, the charging handle and the safety (well and the trigger).

My AR-180 is cleaner internally then a AR15 (no big suprise), lighter (way lighter depending on the type and model of AR15), w/ the stock barrel and sights shoots about as accurately as an equivalent AR15 (not some super-duper NM AR), is easier to lube and run (none of this wet or dry bolt contreversy, followed by the gas system length arguements, etc), and is way cheaper.

I've put an ungodly amount of rounds down the pipe in my AR-180 and have had very few problems (can count on my hands stoppages, etc in probalby 10K+ rounds fired), and most of the ammo has been the cheapest I could find. It's a 3 MOA rifle on a bad day, but I can stack rounds at CQB ranges without trouble. It's reliable, light weight, and cheap. Basically it's everything I feel an EBR needs to be.

If you have any specific questions on the AR-180 feel free to ask, I'll be happy to try and answer them.

-Jenrick

PS In 5 basic SWAT classes, I have yet to not see at least one AR-15 go down for some reason. Then again I have yet to see an AR-180 used by a SWAT team so YMMV

 

[mattw]

I have a dumb question.

So it doesn't take AR mags?

Nevermind I found out that it does.