All,

This is a project I've been wanting to put together for over two years but never got around to it. This collection of photos has been sitting on my phone since August of 2020. However, being a Platoon Leader and an Executive Officer in a CAV Troop obviously have taken precedence / gotten in the way. Regardless, the recent conversations about 601s have re-inspired me to finish what I started.

Below you will find a collection of photographs of 601s in serial number order (the best that I can tell). There are some serial numbers that I could not make out, nor do I remember where I got the photos so I cannot go back and reference the text or site to see if it has the serial.

I am not an expert at identifying the minute differences between the different small parts, but this guide can be used in conjunction with the M16 Variation Guide in order to figure out when certain changes were made. I do not intend to list the components, but simply post the photos in a consolidated forum for reference, as I always found it difficult to find certain pictures of a particular rifle I was looking for. The idea behind this thread was thus to put all the 601 photos I could find into one place. I will add commentary as I see appropriate and hopefully one day I will get the time to add more detailed facts to the thread. I know there are several rifles shown here that are listed in official government reports regarding barrel twist and forward assist experiments.

Please enjoy the collection everyone. Hopefully, this will shed some light on / provide additional context for common questions like "When the horizontal mag button striations went away" and "When Colt switched from the Type A stock to the Type B buttstock."

Additionally, @VA-gunnut or @Aimless PLEASE tag this and make it so that I can continue to update this thread as more images / information are found. I do not want it to drop into the Archive. Please make it a sticky as well!

ArmaLite Prototype SN 000004

To begin the chronology, it should be noted that Colt's basis for the mass production of AR-15's began with ArmaLite SN 000004, as this rifle was purchased by Colt from ArmaLite at the time the rights to produce the weapon were also acquired. SN 000004 is possibly the most important of the ArmaLite prototypes because it was the most heavily modified, again serving as the basis for the Model 601 in its final configuration. Bobby MacDonald (hired to market the AR-15)  took this rifle around the world and demonstrated the weapon to several different countries.

Compared to the other prototypes, it has a completely new upper receiver with duckbill flash hider, 601 style front sight base (though slightly different), wood triangle handguards painted brown, bare aluminum 601 slip ring, 601 upper and triangle charging handle. It retained the original prototype lower receiver, and thus it will only accept magazines without the over-insertion hump. Additionally, the fiberglass buttstock was painted brown, but the weave can still be seen under the paint. The lower has “COLT GUN ROOM” electro-stenciled onto the right side of the magazine well.

This rifle is currently in C. Reed Knight Jr.'s collection at the Institute of Military Technology in Titusville, Florida.  

#4 as taken around the world by Bobby MacDonald (1st modification from original configuration)

Photo courtesy of The Black Rifle

Photo courtesy of "Guns and Ammo"

Photo courtesy of "Guns and Ammo"

#4 in current configuration and used by Colt to begin 601 production (2nd modification from original configuration)


Photo courtesy of the Institute of Military Technology.

Photos courtesy of @Carbinekid:








Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I

#4 601 style FSB (although different from a 601)

Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I

#4 fiberglass buttstock painted brown

Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I

#4 wood triangle handguard painted brown

Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I

Type 4 (601) safety selector as on #4

Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I


SN 000000

This rifle is currently located in C. Reed Knight Jr.'s collection at the Institute of Military Technology in Titusville, Florida. This was the first 601 manufactured by Colt as a crude pre-production prototype of their mass production abilities. As mentioned above, Colt's Model 601 was based off of ArmaLite Prototype SN 000004.


Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I


Photo courtesy of the Vickers Guide AR-15 Volume I

SN 000000 shown here above SN 000004

Photo courtesy of @Carbinekid

SN 000100

This rifle is currently located in C. Reed Knight Jr.'s collection at the Institute of Military Technology in Titusville, Florida. Colt did not know how many ArmaLite prototypes had been produced but assumed (correctly) that it was less than 100 rifles. So, Colt began their 601 production run with SN 000100.



SN 000106

Not counting SN 000000, Colt 601 SN 000106 is the 7th production AR-15 made. This is the famed rifle that General Curtis Lemay fired at Watermelons during a BBQ, which ultimately lead to the weapon being acquired by the Air Force for its Security Forces (replacing M1 and M2 carbines that were in use at the time). Assumingly because of the brown bakelite furniture, or a misinterpretation of its history, this rifle's nickname is the "Coconut Rifle."

Just as ArmaLite prototype SN 000004 is the most important prototype AR-15, Colt 601 SN 000106 is the most important 601, and arguably the most important AR-15 of them all.

As noted by the watermark, this rifle went up for sale at the James D. Julia Auction House and sold for over $100,000. The auction page is found here.








SN 000112

This rifle is the 13th production rifle and is featured both in The Black Rifle and The Vickers Guide, AR-15 Volume I. I think this rifle is also in C. Reed Knight's collection at the Institute of Military Technology, but I could be wrong.

I believe this is the only Colt 601 that has the sling swivel installed on the pistol grip, but it still also has the provision attached to the buttstock as well. It is possible that the person who acquired the weapon (likely a Colt employee or executive) may have added the pistol grip swivel after the rifle was produced by utilizing a left-over ArmaLite grip. Therefore, it is unknown if the pistol grip swivel came from the factory when the rifle was actually produced.

Note the sling attached to the pistol grip below


Note the sling attached the conventional way here




SN 000115

According to The Black Rifle, this 601 and 24 others were sold to Malaysia under export license 3404 dated September 30, 1959. Evidently, an Italian importer acquired this rifle (and 6 others from that contract?) and converted it to be in compliance with Italian law. Information found here.



Note the marking on the upper here:


SN 000125

I cannot find where I found this image. This is also a Malaysian contract rifle, like the rifle above.

Note again the markings on the upper receiver:



SN 000134

As above, I forgot where I found this image. Therefore, I have little information, other than that the rifle exists.


SN 000143

This rifle was posted here, with the images being borrowed from a post on a on a German weapons forum back in 2007. It is claimed that this rifle came from Malaysia and is in a collection in Italy.

This rifle was thus likely part of the Malaysian contract.

In writing this thread, I was beginning to make a few assumptions, and develop my own theory regarding these contract rifles.

My original theory was as follows:

Without talking directly to C. Reed Knight and asking about the history of rifle 000112, and assuming it was the last rifle sold to a Colt executive, rifles 000113-000137 would be the EARLIEST end of the Malaysian contract. We know that rifle 000115 was DEFINITELY a Malaysian contract rifle, so rifles 000115-000139 could be the LATE end of the Malaysian contract.

Assuming the above, rifles 000138-000160 could be the EARLY end of Indian contract rifles and rifles 000140-000162 could be the LATE end of the Indian contract.

However, this rifle appears to disprove my theory if the story is true that it actually came from Malaysia, which leads me to the next theory:

It is possible that Colt did not run the Malaysian and Indian contract numbers consecutively. Perhaps, they just picked 25 rifles for Malaysia and 23 rifles for India without even paying attention to the serials at all.

Because of the above theories, I am going to try to look up the export licenses for these two contracts and see if they list the actual rifles that were shipped.









SN 000145

This rifle is featured on page 83 of The Black Rifle. I do not have any information regarding it. It could have been an executive's rifle, or it could have had its picture taken before being sent off for either the Malaysian or Indian contract.


Image courtesy of The Black Rifle

SN 000150

This rifle evidently now lives in Switzerland. The owner, named Olaf, posted this thread and this thread a while back. He believes his rifle was not part of the Indian contract, but it wears buttstock #2.

Based on my above theories, I believe this rifle was still very likely either a Malaysian or Indian Contract rifle.

These images are very detailed and are a great example of an early 601:































SN 000177

I do not remember where I found this image, so again, I have no info on this rifle other than the fact that it exists.



SN 0001??

This is another rifle I found buried in my photos that I forgot about. It has a similar background as #143 pictured above, but I do not think they are the same rifle. #143 appears to have been photographed on a green mat on a countertop, while this rifle appears to have been photographed on a green rug.  Also, there is noticeable fading on #143's buttstock on the left side. I also compared this rifle with #106, and if you notice the lighter color on the stock on up against the buttplate, #106 does not display that kind of wear. It does not appear to be #112 or #115 because they all have different stock colors and patterns. It is not #125 because that rifle is certainly worn more just based off of the photo that I have of that rifle. Therefore I presume this has to be one of the first 100 rifles simply due to configuration and that it is not one of the brown-furnitured rifles already covered in this thread.

Also pictured with cool Portuguese AR-10!



SN 000300

This rifle is featured on pages 91 and 92 of The Black Rifle. Other than that, I do not have any information about it.




SN 000324

According to @PGT_0673 his buddy apparently took these pictures approximately 10 years ago when they were clearing out a building for demolition at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The weapon was lost/abandoned/forgotten about and found in a locker. No provenance beyond that is known and it is unknown what was done with it afterward.











SN 000544

This weapon has traded hands a few times and last ended up on Sturmgewehr. I believe the person who posted that thread is a member here as well. This is a very nice rifle and the pictures feature a collection to be envious of.














SN 000594

This rifle was listed on the Rock Island Auction website with the following description:

"Manufactured shortly after the acquisition of the AR-15 patents from ArmaLite, this Colt Model 01 holds an important place in the history of 20th century arms development, representing the beginnings of what would become one of the signature weapons of the late 20th century up to the current day. While troubled by some growing pains, the AR-15 design grew to become the de facto standard in small bore defense/combat rifles, and still remains the one to beat for anyone trying to become the next big thing. Many early features are present on this rifle, including a tapered "duck bill" three-prong flash hider, unmarked barrel, cast and milled front sight base with bayonet lug, black painted triangular handguard, windage-adjustable two-leaf rear sight, upper receiver with no deflector or forward assist, first style triangular charging handle, early bolt catch with tapered and serrated lower surface, and the early "slab sided" lower receiver. The magazine well is marked with the Colt logo over "ARMALITE AR15/PATENTS PENDING/CAL. .223/MODEL 01/SERIAL 000594", with a right handed "SAFE/SEMI/AUTO" selector unit, checkered grip, and smooth buttstock with a ribbed buttplate (no trapdoor). The bolt assembly is the early pattern, with a fine chrome finish on the bolt, bolt carrier and gas block, blued firing pin with cylindrical head, with the carrier unmarked and properly devoid of serrations for the forward assist, a "split pin" solid bolt retention pin, and a "P" marked bolt. The bore is chrome lined through the length, with rifle pattern feed ramps and a two-piece buffer is installed. Includes a February 1960 Colt AR-15 manual.

Rating Definition:
Excellent, with 97% plus original matte black phosphate finish, showing some minor scratches on the front sight base and light handling marks overall. The furniture is very fine, with some flaking of the paint on the forearm and mild scratches on the buttstock. Mechanically excellent. NOTE: This weapon is a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) that is classified as a "Curios or Relic" as defined in 27 CFR, 478.11. These weapons are still subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 478."

The auction page is found here.
















RIA also posted a the YouTube video below featuring this rifle:


SN 000598

I have no information on this rifle other than that it was listed on GunBroker in June of 2023.





























SN 000599

This rifle went up for sale around 2015 and was thus posted on The Firearms Blog. Article found here.













SN 000614

This rifle is featured on page 95 of The Black Rifle. The book also notes that this weapon was tested at Aberdeen Proving Ground and was mentioned in the subsequent report. I know I have the documentation, and will post further info another time.




SN 000634

I have no information on this rifle.



SN 000680

This rifle went up for auction here and sold for $57,600 including fees.







SN 000748

The owner as of 2022 says that the rifle came brown tag found in the grip (pictured) that reads "L.P.D." He has put in a FOIA request on this rifle to see who it might have belonged to in years past.

















SN 000759

This rifle was listed on the Rock Island Auction website with the following description:

"Manufactured shortly after the acquisition of the AR-15 patents from ArmaLite, this Colt Model 01 holds an important place in the history of 20th century arms development, representing the beginnings of what would become one of the signature weapons of the late 20th century up to the current day. While troubled by some growing pains, the AR-15 design grew to become the de facto standard in small bore defense/combat rifles, and still remains the one to beat for anyone trying to become the next big thing. Many early features are present on this rifle, including a tapered "duck bill" three-prong flash hider, unmarked barrel, cast and milled front sight base with bayonet lug, black painted triangular handguard, windage-adjustable two-leaf rear sight, upper receiver with no deflector or forward assist, early bolt catch with tapered and serrated lower surface, and the early "slab sided" lower receiver. The magazine well is marked with the Colt logo over "ARMALITE AR15/PATENTS PENDING/CAL. .223/MODEL 01/SERIAL 000759", with a right handed "SAFE/SEMI/AUTO" selector unit, checkered grip, and smooth buttstock with a ribbed buttplate (no trapdoor). The bolt carrier is a later model, with serrations for a forward assist and a wire pin bolt retainer, and the bolt is marked "MPC". One early pattern "waffle" magazine is included, with Colt/Armalite markings on the floorplate. The left side of the upper receiver has an attached metal plate marked "MORTON GROVE POLICE DEPT./114". Located in Cook County, Illinois, north of Chicago, the Morton Grove holds the unpleasant distinction of being one of the first towns in America to enact a total ban on handgun possession from 1981 to 2008. No firm details on what use this rifle saw with the Morton Grove PD were provided by the consignor, but prior to the North Hollywood Shootout in 1997 police AR-15/M16 rifles were chiefly associated with "SWAT" style armed response/high risk warrant units.

Rating Definition:
Excellent, with 98% plus original black anodized finish, showing some light rubbing and scratching on the metal and furniture. Mechanically excellent. NOTE: This weapon is a National Firearms Act (NFA), fully transferable Class 3, which is registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (BATFE) that is classified as a "Curios or Relic" as defined in 27 CFR, 478.11. These weapons are still subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 and 27 CFR part 478."

The auction page is found here.







RIA also posted a the YouTube video below featuring this rifle:


SN 000761

This rifle is apparently located in the Norma Precision AB factory in Sweden, and was posted to a Facebook group around April of 2023.






SN 0007??

I have no information on this rifle.



SN 000836

This rifle is in the collection of the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio and has been posted in threads here and here. This rifle is very interesting to me, because I have a barrel that has the same style of rack number marking on the front of the front sight base.








SN 000859

This rifle is located at the Cody Firearms Museum, which is itself one of the five museums at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. I personally saw the weapon in their collection in 2019 and took the below photographs.








Additionally, the Cody Firearms Museum posted the following pictures here on facebook:



SN 001081

This rifle is featured in a video that the NRA posted on YouTube. Note the black colored furniture.












Video link below:


SN 001117

This rifle was posted in 2010. I am unsure of which department it belongs to, but it was acquired via the DRMO program, where the military "loaned" equipment to police agencies.

Thread discussing this rifle here.







SN 001594

This weapon is featured in a video by none other than Gun Jesus himself, Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons. This is an excellent video and shows the weapon in great detail. Stills attached below in addition to the video link.













SN 001627

This rifle is currently in the collection of the Smithsonian Institute. I believe this rifle is also featured in official government reports, but I will have to look through my collection later. Link to this rifle on the Smithsonian Institute's site here.






SN 001983

This rifle is on display at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site and is one of several 601s in their collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 002030

I have no information on this rifle. If I remember correctly, these images were taken in a gun store because it was on consignment.




















SN 002644

I have no information on this rifle, but as above, I believe these images were posted because the weapon was in a gun store on consignment.







SN 003101

I have no information on this rifle.



SN 0031??

I have no information on this rifle other than that it appears to be converted into M16A2 configuration.



SN 003284

This rifle is in the Smithsonian Institute's collection. In terms of the 601 timeline, we should only pay attention to the lower, as the upper receiver is a replacement from a later rifle. Link to this rifle on the Smithsonian Institute's site here.





SN 004561

I have no information on this rifle.







SN 005700

This rifle is found in the same thread as SN 001117, except it is on page 3. The thread is found here. Other than that, I have no info.






SN 006984

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 007239

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 007256

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here. This rifle was shipped to Springfield in the crate at the bottom of this post.




SN 007506

This rifle is probably one of the best photographed of all of the weapons on this list. It was posted on ARFCOM in this thread back in 2009. At that time, the weapon was still in the USAF's possession on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The thread was created and posted by then USAF MSgt David Johnson, a member of the USAF Rifle Team. The rifle's nickname is "Greenie" according to the thread.












































SN 007672

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.



SN 007721

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 008625

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 008651

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 010453

This rifle was offered for sale here on 3 Feb 22.











SN 010477

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 010712

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 0111??

This rifle shocked the retro forum back in 2018. It was listed on GunBroker at a ridiculous 90k price. Additionally, there were questions as to the rifle's originality. The Firearms Blog picked up on the auction and also wrote an article about it.


















SN 011243

I have no information on this rifle.







SN 011366

I have no information on this rifle.



SN 011425

I have no information on this rifle. Note the “1-12” marking between the FSB legs.

I was able to locate two official test reports regarding the change to 1/12 twist barrels from the earlier 1/14 twist. One report was from January of 1963 from the USAF weapons lab at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. A total of 9x rifles were used in this test. Two AR-15s had 1/14 twist barrels, two had 1/12 twist barrels. They were tested against two M-14s and three Remington 700s with 1/10, 1/12 and 1/14 twist barrels. None of the rifles in this report are named by serial. There is a possibility that 011425 was one of the two rifles tested.

The other test report is from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland in April of 1963. All of the rifles in this test are named by serial. 011425 was not among them.








SN 011476

This rifle is in the Smithsonian Institute's collection and it is also featured on page 124 of The Black Rifle. This was one of the ones used in experimental bolt forward assist project. This particular rifle had the charging handle type forward assist designed by Springfield Armory. See serial number 011926 to see why this charging handle design did not work out.

Like other rifles in the Smithsonian's collection, the upper receiver has been replaced and thus we can only rely on the modern photographs to see what the original configuration of the lower receiver was. The photo from The Black Rifle on page 124 does show it after it was modified with the experimental forward assist. This picture likely came from the official government report, which I have. I will come back with more details later. Link to this rifle on the Smithsonian Institute's site here.


Photo courtesy of The Black Rifle.





SN 011477

This rifle is very cool for two reasons. The first reason is because it has an experimental left-hand side, ratchet style bolt forward assist. This is the style of forward assist we know today, however it is on the wrong side of the weapon and you can very clearly see how it was crudely added on to the upper receiver.

Additionally, this weapon came off of the assembly line directly behind the rifle above. It is interesting that both ended up in the bolt forward assist experiments, because the official reports state that the weapons chosen for these tests were the ones with the most significant barrel wear, etc. I.e., the weapons selected for these tests were the ones in the worst condition. Interesting that these two consecutive serials ended up in the tests. What are the odds?

This rifle is in the National Infantry Museum's collection at Fort Benning, Georgia. It is in a case off to the side in the lobby, and most visitors completely miss this display (which also features ArmaLite Prototype SN 000013, and a Winchester Lightweight Military Rifle among other cool rifles). While I was at Fort Benning, the Arms Curator, Chris A. Goodrow allowed me to personally inspect and photograph this weapon.

Photos Courtesy of the National Infantry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia:





























Below is an image from The Black Rifle that shows what the left-side forward assist bolt carrier looked like.

Photo courtesy of The Black Rifle.

SN 011666

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Evidently, it is missing its front sight base for an unknown reason. Additionally, the white on the left side of the receivers is claimed to be the remnants of an adhesive from a label or sticker that used to be on the weapon. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 011700

I have no information on this rifle.





SN 011767

This rifle is in the Smithsonian Institute's collection and it is also featured on page 128 of The Black Rifle. This rifle is another experimental bolt forward assist prototype. It features the left-side ratchet style forward assist like SN 011477 above. Link to this rifle on the Smithsonian Institute's site here.


Photo courtesy of The Black Rifle.





SN 0118??

I have no information on this rifle.



















SN 011926

This is another experimental bolt forward assist rifle. It features the same charging handle forward assist design as SN 011476, which was designed by Springfield Armory. It is currently in Springfield Armory's collection. This rifle was catastrophically destroyed during testing. I have the official government report that gives more detail, but according to the picture below, a round cooked off when the bolt wasn’t in battery. If I remember correctly, the plate that was added on top of the upper receiver, under the carrying handle, significantly weakened the upper receiver, which was also a contributing factor. I will come back with more details later. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.






SN 011???

I have no information on this rifle.



SN 012006 (or 12008?)

I have no information on this rifle.










SN 012125

This rifle was posted by the owner, a Canadian film industry supplier called Movie Armaments Group, in November of 2023. I have inquired to get more info about this rifle and the originality of its parts.








SN 012476

This is another experimental bolt forward assist rifle. It features the same charging handle forward assist design as SN 011476 and SN 011926, which was designed by Springfield Armory. It is currently in the National Infantry Museum's collection at Fort Benning, Georgia. It is in a case off to the side in the lobby, and most visitors completely miss this display (which also features ArmaLite Prototype SN 000013, and a Winchester Lightweight Military Rifle among other cool rifles). While I was at Fort Benning, the Arms Curator, Chris A. Goodrow allowed me to personally inspect and photograph this weapon.

Photos Courtesy of the National Infantry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia:









































SN 012969

This rifle went up for auction at the James D. Julia auction house. I can no longer find the page for the auction, so I no longer have information on the rifle. I will continue to look for it.















SN 013156

Though no longer a complete “rifle,” this parts kit that was listed on Apex still provides some info about the many 601s that were sold to Puerto Rican law enforcement. I would estimate approximately 20-30 601 parts kits have been imported into the US between 2021 and 2023, after their service with that Puerto Rican law enforcement agency. I forget which one it was.

Note that this rifle appears to have been rearsenaled at least once judging by the handguards, grip, stock, bolt carrier and charging handle.















SN 013168

This rifle is in the Smithsonian Institute's collection and it is also featured on page 128 of The Black Rifle. It is another experimental bolt forward assist prototype. It features the ratchet style forward assist we have come to know and love. You can see that the forward assist is crudely welded onto the right side of the upper receiver. This weapon has also had its furniture swapped out. Link to this rifle on the Smithsonian Institute's site here.


Photo courtesy of The Black Rifle.





SN 013258

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 013296

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 013529

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 013912

This rifle is located in the museum at my Alma Mater, the United States Military Academy Museum at West Point, New York. The upper was replaced with an M16A1 upper, and the furniture painted to be a clone. Thus, only the lower should be used to draw any information about 601s. Les Jensen, the Museum's Curator was kind enough to allow me to inspect and photograph this weapon mere weeks before I graduated (and had a lot more time on my hands) in May of 2019.

Photos courtesy of the United States Military Academy Museum, West Point, New York:


















SN 013929

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here. This rifle was shipped to Springfield in the crate at the bottom of this post.




SN 013943 (or 11???)

I cannot quite make the serial out on this rifle, but I am posting the best that I can see. Additionally, I believe this rifle was on consignment at a gun store. I have no other information about it. Regardless, it is clear that it is a later production rifle.












SN 014129

I have no information on this rifle other than that these photos were found in Small Arms of the World.




SN 014144

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here.




SN 014174

This rifle is in Springfield Armory National Historic Site's collection. Link to this rifle on Springfield Armory's site here. This rifle was shipped to Springfield in the crate at the bottom of this post.




”Transitional” 601s and/or 601 anomalies?

SN 014820

This rifle was posted by the owner, a Canadian film industry supplier called Movie Armaments Group, in November of 2023. I have inquired to get more info about this rifle and the originality of its parts.





SN 014821

I posted my thoughts about the below article in this thread back in February 2021. Regardless, I think the pictures are worth posting here.





SN 014857

This lower was offered for sale on Sturmgewehr in 2022 with a non-original upper and furniture. Note the lack of ArmaLite markings.



SN 202863

I personally do not consider this rifle to be a true 601, and instead consider it an extreme anomaly where an un-serialized “Model 01” marked lower was either set aside by a Colt executive, or found around the factory and built out at a much later date.

The owner is a member and said, “I own one of these “transitional” rifles. I purchased it from the original owner in 2001. He bought it new in 1965. It is quite strange being marked Model 01, but having much later parts and features consistent with a 604. My rifle is identical to the one described in the article but has a much later serial in the 202,800 range.”



There is at least one more of these “Transitional” rifles out there that have been posted in the forum. If you are the owner, and your rifle is not pictured, please send me pictures! I remember there being a thread shortly after my article response above for SN 014821, but I cannot find the thread in the archive.

Other Unknown Rifles

This rifle appears to be an early to mid-production 601 due to the Type A stock. Unknown serial though.




This rifle appears to be an early to mid-production 601 due to the Type A stock. The description reads (Spanish to English translation), “Weapons exhibited at the National Weapons Museum, city of Buenos Aires, Argentina 2014.”


This rifle appears to be a mid to late-production 601 judging by the mag catch button and the Type B stock. It was featured in a video by Brownells, but I do not know the serial.

















Video link here


Unfortunately, I cannot find where I got these images, but this rifle appears to be a 601 that was converted to M16A1 spec (note the forward assist). Assuming the furniture is original to the lower, this would likely be a mid-production 601 due to the Type B buttstock. This would also likely mean that the furniture is heavily worn, as it no longer shows any green paint. Or it could be an early 601 that had the buttstock replaced but I think the former is more likely.

Based solely on the pictures, it was likely found in one of the foreign countries these rifles were sold to. I just wish I could find the info again. I've already attempted to do an image search with no results. I cannot make out the serial though.







This rifle was converted to A2 configuration like SN 0031??. I cannot make out the serial:



This one appears to be a police rifle. I cannot make out the serial:



Finally, this rifle is for sale on autoweapons.com and has the serial blocked out. It is probably the most tampered-with, transferrable 601 out of any on this list, not including all of the experimental military rifles. The upper is completely wrong, and I believe the lower furniture was replaced as well. Only the LPK and the lower itself appear to be somewhat original:








Accessories

Aberdeen Proving Ground to Springfield Armory shipping crate
This crate was utilized to send four rifles, Serials 007256, 010448, 13929, and 014174, to Springfield Armory after testing at Aberdeen.






I hope everyone enjoys this thread!

-Andrew (ASD)

Most of my corrections and additions have been made. Thanks for your patience. -Andrew

Holy moly. Tag

Very interesting stuff , thanks for doing this . Awesome stuff to look at definately .

Wow, this is incredible! What an amazing resource this will be! Def needs to be stickied!!! Thank you for doing this!

I shared the pics of 0324.  It was found forgotten and untouched in a locker at Lackland when they were clearing out a building for demolition by a friend and I shared them with The Colt AR15 Resource.  I have a few other pics of it as well

I'd be happy to add them to the original post if you send 'em my way.

Wow! What a thread! Well done.

Thats a little more appropriate for my ArmaLite AR-15 prototype thread.

Great read, and very informative!
Excellent job!

VERY WELL DONE Lt. I wrote coctailer and Aimless and asked they make this a sticky and hope everyone else will too!

That makes me want to strip the green paint off my 601 stock set.. Outstanding job LT.

Well done! That’s some leg work you did sheep!

Fantastic work!

I noticed you mention pistol grips so, I thought I might contribute.

I have scans of 3 versions of the early contractors manual (and I own the green/brown version)

The earliest (Feb 1960) shows:

Pistol Grip Assembly #62120
Pistol Grip Sling (Short) #62135
Butt Stock Sling (Long) #62149
Stock Assembly (No Swivel) #61935
Stock Assembly (Swivel) #62132

The stock with swivel as also listed as an accessory, so it likely was meant to be the option and not the standard, at least at first.

The later 2 manuals show:

Pistol Grip #62194
Butt Stock Sling #62149
Stock Assembly (Swivel) #62192

So, very quickly it seems they dropped the option as well as changed some of the parts in question.

FPNI

Thank you!

Haha thanks, all told I probably have 15 or so hours into it between finding all the photos, saving all of the photos, clipping them, putting them all into my imgur photo albums (which only hold 50 photos at a time) and then actually writing the thread. Thread took me about 7 like i said.

Been wanting to put this together for a long time, but never got around to it.


@57Octane thanks for the contribution. This thread is for the community, so everyone feel free to add info for discussion. I know quite a bit about these rifles but i was humbly proven wrong in another thread by Octane just last week.

The body of knowledge has substantially improved in the 5 years I have been paying attention to retro and it will continue to improve.

Great job, it's really painful to look at the pictures of the 601's with the experimental forward assists.

Pretty horrifying huh... They did what they had to do, but its surprising how bad the "band aid" fix is for the ratchet style ones, both left and right hand side.

I have a set of publicity photos of SN4 in 601 configuration at Colt that must be from right when they started production. I'll try and post it next week. Someone bug me if I forget.

Edit: Just reread your post. I am very interested. Send them my way!

All of the Smithsonian and Springfield Armory rifles have now been hyperlinked to their respective pages for more info.

My apologies, i have removed it from this thread.

Haha no apology needed, sorry if my tone sounded that way. You didn’t need to remove it either. But I do have a whole thread dedicated to prototypes. Hope you enjoy all of them!

Bravo Zulu, OP.

Fantastic job!

I haven’t looked at Vickers book in a while. I’d forgotten the green furniture correlated with that high of a serial number.

Well, high and low. You can see #150 has green, but so do the very latest 601s.

My God this post is amazing!  Now we need one for XM16E1’s LOL!  J/K

Way more of those and thus way more pictures. I think i have 74ish rifles in this thread after hours and hours of work. I’d have to not have a job to make an XM post lol

Surely you have one miserable gun nut in yer formation that needs some redemption.  Let him make the thread.

Truer words have never been spoken my friend LOL!

Outstanding post. So much information!

Do you have any info at all on the Model 02's?

What info are you looking for.

602s i think are lesser understood because theyre sort-of in the transitional period and less of them are in CIV hands than 601s

Yeah, the early 602's were essentially 601's with Type C furniture. If I were building a late 602, I'd use improved duckbill, newer charging handle, and an actual 602 upper receiver.

Id agree, in part. I think the earliest 602s already had the 3 prong and im not sure when the engraved arrow began, but the rifle discussed in the other thread that utilized a 601 receiver was about halfway through 602 production.

I hear you, it seems like as soon as we have things figured out we find an anomaly.

0594 featured here in this RIA video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A60N6ZDmSNM

I don't poke around here as often as I used to, and missed this when it was first posted. I'm really glad you guys got it pinned.
We lost a lot of pics during the photobucket transition fiasco and I am thrilled to see so many of these in one place.

Thank you for all the effort, @AmericanSheepDog!


(Just for the record, this one's in the back of one of my safes.  I never took it out very often to begin with, and since ammo prices went up these past couple years, I haven't taken the MGs out at all.)


Most of those photos, taken at my dealer's while it was still in NFA jail, were lost in a ransomware attack, but here's a potato pic of the other side:

Attached File


And this one shows the little paper tag that was stuck up inside the pistol grip. Since it wears black paint and almost no wear, I had already assumed it was a police rifle, but I don't know yet which department LPD might be.

I did get around to filing a FOIA request more than a year ago. Got one reply asking be to fill out and sign a certificate of identitiy, which I returned on 8/3/2021.  I've heard nothing since. (I suppose I should bump that to see if anything is actually being done.)

Attached File

Thanks for the replies and acknowledgement.

I think ive found a couple rifles i have yet to post and i will look at the video above and get some more photos in here.

RIA has a couple pics of 0594 here; https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/86/1499/coltarmalite-model-01-ar15-class-iiinfa-cr-machine-gun

Info, pictures and video added on #594 and #759. @PGT_0673 thank you for the lead; VERY nice rifle. If anyone wants to buy it, it is up for auction TODAY!

Also note the high number of black-furnitured LE rifles between #594 and #7??. Must have had quite a few LE contracts in that early 1963 timeframe.

@OlGunner you're going to be happy (or creeped out???) that your post made me realize that I didn't post all of the photos I had for your rifle. See all photos under your SN! Thanks for the info as well.

Also just added a rifle #1?? at the back of the 100s. It is not #106, #112, #115, #143 and does not appear to be as worn as #125. It must be one of the first 100 though, and does not appear to have been already covered in this thread.

I got curious as to who Cooper MacDonald was as they we listed in the above historical letter.

https://casetext.com/case/cooper-macdonald-inc-v-united-states

One entity that was hired to market the AR. Bobby MacDonald owned #4 and used that as his demo gun.

ASD, you've done a fantastic job on this thread. A monumental job and full of incredible info and pics. Figured I'd add my "crate" as you posted the SPAR info of 3 of the 4 rifles that were shipped to SA museum back in 1966 in this crate. This crate was used to ship 4 model 601s from Aberdeen to SA museum. The SA data sheets show they were received (at SA) on 3 March, 1966.
Found by a Buddy of mine in Mass. who does mil vehicle shows, militaria shows, gun shows, flea market shows etc . He added the hinged lid and used this crate to transport all sorts of demilled parts to shows.  By all appearances, the original lid was 1 solid piece and was nailed down all around the 4 sides. I've enjoyed using this for living history displays and such, but it's time to move it on to someone else who will appreciate it..

Attached File


Attached File

Attached File

Attached File

Love that piece of history, thanks! Ill add it above when i get time.

Not sure if this is the right place, but in some pics they look black and in some, they look grey.  My question in, before they were all worn out or oiled, or "de-oiled" for that matter, were all the small pieces like the selector lever, mag catch, take down pins, forward assist, trigger, rear sight components, and maybe the barrel and front sight "A" frame parked grey to match, or black?  Or somewhere in between on these very first editions?

Typically gray or grayish-black. You’re going to see variation though because its a chemical process, not paint.

Added the crate from @m1sniper to the original post. 3/4 rifles shipped in the crate are in the original post. I do not see that I have pictures for serial number 010488.

Additionally, added pictures of serial 010453.