FL-NC
Member
I remember a friend a couple years older than me around 1984 bought a VN style car-15 from an aftermarket company for $300. Don't ask me what company. Then in the mid-80's, I started seeing some AR's in the $400 range at gun shows that were made by companies like Olympic, PWA, and Eagle Arms. Many were of low quality- poorly assembled from terrible parts. I made the mistake of buying one (PWA). I also got a nice one from a company called EA, which I still have. (I was also fortunate enough to get trained in small arms repair in the military in the late 80's, and I got knowledge worth its weight in gold to a gun-head like me)Then of course, companies like QPC/Bushmaster, DPMS, Rock River, etc. started cranking out guns, kits, and parts like crazy, and we ended up where we are now, eventually. But when did it START? At what point did people start cloning the AR, and offering kits and parts for builders and customizers? Who were these companies?