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Posted: 3/18/2009 11:52:01 PM EDT
Hello everyone, I am so happy to have discovered this forum. I was bit by the AR bug earlier this year and I decided to build one a few months ago. I was always really interested in the design of the rifle.. particularly the older ones. As soon as I started looking around at rifles I was discouraged by the all the tactical upgrades and rail mount stuff I see on the AR platform and the overall appearance of the newer models... I felt that the heavy handguards and gizmos somewhat defeat the original purpose of a lightweight, managable rifle. At first I had no idea of the obvious differences between A1s and A2s etc... I just knew that I liked the ones with non-removable carry handles, grayer flat finishes,no pic rails, no wacky swirly muzzle brakes that look like ornate chess pieces, and shiny black plastic furniture. It wasn't until recently that I have actually started studying (obsessing  ) over the retro models. Being as I had no real clue of the differences between A1s and A2s, I purchased a used A2 upper at a gunshow and a used A2 lower on GB  Now that I have become somewhat crazy over retro rifles, I am kicking myself... but whats been done has been done and I built the rifle the way it is. I do plan on getting myself (as soon as I can find one) a lightweight A1 carbine upper to replace the one I got. So I've basically ended up building this rifle that is a frankenstein variant of a civilian CAR-15. It's got the not-so retro receivers mixed with various retro looking components and is not at all accurate to any specific time period or model that was ever mass produced. While it most certainly isn't "retro" it deffinately doesnt scream "MODERN" either. Anyway, now that I've been infected with the retro virus this deffinately isn't gonna be my only AR build, and the next one is gonna be accurate. There is apparently a wealth of information on this website pertaining to the older rifles... I've been browsing for hours. Again, I'm excited to have found this forum and I will be visiting frequently  .
Heres my rifle that I built.... [http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6969/dsc01628u.jpg[/URL] |
Looks good to me, nice simple and clean as a carbine should be  As far as being bit by the retro bug it is not a curable disease, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are screwed.... There is definately a lot of people on this forum that know a wealth of information. They are a great group of guys and we all for the most part try to keep the retro forum a nice friendly place without the ass-hattery that unfortunately infects some of the other forums. Don't be afraid to ask any questions around here, the guys love to share their knowledge on these rifles and you can learn a lot really quick hanging around here for a few months. The best advice for a fresh victim....errrr...I mean retro enthusiast is to hide all your credit cards and cancel your Pay-pal account immediately, also get used to never having any spare cash laying around. It also helps to develop a liking of ramen noodles and canned corn.......... Welcome aboard!
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Excellent first post RM71860!!!
Welcome aboard. Have you seen this yet? More Info |
Hi,and welcome to this site. Yes,the guys on this site and particularly the retro forum will not only offer their info free to anyone who wants to listen,,they will actually cheer you on as you complete a project like a parent cheers on a child,,a REALLY great bunch of guys..And they do love to help...And for real,there are NO dumb questions except the one not asked..No-one will bust chops here,ya might receive some light hearted ribbing,but you WILL get the real deal info..That's a great lookin carbine!!! Best wishes and again,,welcome.. ....PS,we love pics on this forum!!!!!!!
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Welcome to the board! You'll find things are a little different here: instead of flaming guys for asking a question or posting an opinion, like on certain other forums here at arfcom, the guys who hang here are more likely to just send you a free part just to help you out. No acrimony or contention here, although we have some good discussions, it's usually a good-natured give and take and often over some obscure model difference that most people wouldn't even see, or a historical detail. You'll find people here are very supportive and good-hearted. I for one have been blown away by the helpfulness and generosity of members here - I've tried to 'pay it forward' some myself, and it's easy to do in a place like this where everyone helps each other out.
That's a sweet KISS carbine you have there - it may be an A2, but at least it's grey!  What are you planning on building? Any favorites? BTW, if you haven't already checked out retroblackrifle.com , you should. Lots of good, basic info on various models.
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Hey guys, thanks for all the kind responses! I feel at home already to asnwer a few of your questions... yea, I've been browsing retroblackrifle.com for a lil while now... its like my new favorite website. And the stock on my rifle is plastic... I wish I could get an aluminum one, I had gone to SARCO and they had a few in their display case for like 200 bucks, but they weren't the vinly coated ones so I passed em up. Anyhow, I'm glad to see how friendly everyone is here... For my next build(s) I plan on making a replica of an M16A1 (semi auto of course)... I'm thinking nodak is gonna be the way to go, I also wanna build an sp1 looking carbine, so I'm gonna go with the 601 lower and try to find a complete sp1 carbine upper (are these two compatible?). I can feel the retro disease progressing quickly (my bank account is feeling it too)
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Quoted:
Hey guys, thanks for all the kind responses! I feel at home already to asnwer a few of your questions... yea, I've been browsing retroblackrifle.com for a lil while now... its like my new favorite website. And the stock on my rifle is plastic... I wish I could get an aluminum one, I had gone to SARCO and they had a few in their display case for like 200 bucks, but they weren't the vinly coated ones so I passed em up. Anyhow, I'm glad to see how friendly everyone is here... For my next build(s) I plan on making a replica of an M16A1 (semi auto of course)... I'm thinking nodak is gonna be the way to go, I also wanna build an sp1 looking carbine, so I'm gonna go with the 601 lower and try to find a complete sp1 carbine upper (are these two compatible?). I can feel the retro disease progressing quickly (my bank account is feeling it too)LOL... trust me, you will FIND a way!
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| A couple of weeks ago (2 maybe 3) I was at SARCO... I've browsed through some of the posts here and people had said SARCO was out of stock on the aluminum CAR stocks, well they still had some last time I went there (it was more recent than the post saying they were out of em), there were a few in the display case in the showroom, they were not vinyl coated, they were the powder coated looking ones and they wanted over 200 bucks for em. |
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RM71860, nice looking gun. It's been discussed numerous times weather A2s are retro or not and generally they are not considered retro. BUT there are exceptions, let me be the first to say that you have the beginning of a pretty good "Black Hawk Down" clone there. Because of the historical significance of that battle and the fact that exact details of these weapons are a little sketchy they have been welcomed here openly. A barrel change, a mounted flashlight, and an early Aimpoint and you'd pretty much be set. Your plastic buttstock would even be acceptable.
Welcome to the disease. Now get busy with your research on the "Black Hawk Down" weapons and feel free to ask for help here whenever you get stumped. Doc
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thanks for the comment DocMike  ... I know the rifle isnt really retro, I assembled it before I knew any of the specifics regarding the older guns. Personally, I'm not crazy about the black hawk down guns, I dont really like the barrel with the cutouts for the grenade launcher and I cant stand flashlights and aimpoints mounted on AR rifles, even that is too modern looking for me, the A2 upper is bad enough  . Personally I'd rather have a somewhat retro, bare bones 1980s looking civilian carbine (kinda what I have here) than one of the black hawk down guns (colt 7??) but thanks for the input! The un-retroness of this rifle is really gonna be hard to correct but I do plan on just slapping an A1 lightweight carbine upper on it as soon as one comes around. I had refinished the plastic buttstock to try to make it look like the older aluminum vinyl coated ones because I cannot afford a real one ($300+ for a buttstock body is way over my budget )
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thanks for the comment DocMike ... I know the rifle isn't really retro, I assembled it before I knew any of the specifics regarding the older guns. Personally, I'm not crazy about the black hawk down guns, I don't really like the barrel with the cut outs for the grenade launcher and I cant stand flashlights and aimpoints mounted on AR rifles, even that is too modern looking for me, the A2 upper is bad enough . Personally I'd rather have a somewhat retro, bare bones 1980s looking civilian carbine (kinda what I have here) than one of the black hawk down guns (colt 7??) but thanks for the input! The un-retroness of this rifle is really gonna be hard to correct but I do plan on just slapping an A1 lightweight carbine upper on it as soon as one comes around. I had refinished the plastic buttstock to try to make it look like the older aluminum vinyl coated ones because I cannot afford a real one ($300+ for a buttstock body is way over my budget )When I started getting into AR15s a few years back I started with a DPMS A2 H-bar because I really liked the old "CAR-15" (and because I got a deal on it when a buddy was in need of cash fast). The more I learned about correct retro builds the more I disliked the A2 H-bar ( I still have it but, it's now configured as a modern disippator style with railed hand guards, optics and a light). We all have to start somewhere with this disease. I guess what I was getting at is that your current gun is close to BHD era weapons and with a few modifications it would be even closer. That's the nice thing about this disease, it progresses. You can start with a fairly modern gun and through parts replacement, when you are done you have a completely different gun and the wife doesn't even have to know. ......"no dear, this is the same gun I bought last year, well, it has the same .....buffer spring." Doc |
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http://www.essentialarms.com/STOCKS.html fyi I know about this... but after trying to call the place about 10 times over the span of a week, I've given up. I also read somewhere on here that they are no longer making the aluminum stock bodies or do not stock them, can anyone verify this?? and how in the world am I supposed to get in touch with them to order one? they apparently do not like taking orders by telephone since they never answer their calls |
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