This is the ArmaLite AR-180, the civilian version of the select-fire AR-18.
Of course, you can’t mention the AR-180 without some wise-ass chiming in with, Better than AR-15 or We should’ve adopted this instead.
And you can’t even mention it without someone saying, I wish they would reproduce these with more modern materials.
And then you show them the AR-180B that was literally what they just described, and it flopped.
Horribly.
So it’s obvious that people these on a pedestal, despite the fact that they flopped twice and I’m not quite sure why people do this.
The AR-18 was literally designed with licensed production to poorer, less advanced countries in mind, who did not have the means to produce more complex designs that required a lot of milling.
Tolerances are relatively loose, the guns are ugly as sin, the stamped and welded construction makes them look like a Max Max prop reject, and still you might think the rifle is AK simple in its disassembly, but it isn’t.
There are more small bits and pieces to lose on an AR-18 than an AR-15.
And there is even a non-captive takedown pin.
The folding stock is a complete joke and the hinge is notorious for breaking.
Hell, it even feels flimsier than Bill Cosby’s morals.
Magazines are rare and expensive and not interchangeable with AR-15 M16 mags, which really sucks.
Performance is often exaggerated, too.
The British government tested it and found that it performed poorly in mud and sand and the US government tested it multiple times at Aberdeen, deeming it unsatisfactory each time.
So the AR-180 was designed to sell to nations who could not afford or produce AR-15s, but remember, the internet tells you that it’s better.
Here’s one that’s going to piss everyone off but whatever.