I am considering one of these and thought I should ask for some comments on the gun first.  Good & Bad.

I only know of one...it's probably 90-95% but the dealer wants $950.00
What should these guns sell for?  The one I spoted has one 20 or 30 rnd magazine and is made in Japan by Howa.

Thanks so much.
Bob

Sounds like a good deal to me. I have heard that the ones made in England were better than those made in Japan, but I would expect prices exceeding $2k.

Magazines may be hard to get . . .

The people who like the AR-180 prefer its gas system over that of the AR-15. It doesn't blow residue, etc., into the receiver, like the AR-15 gas system does. And the 180 uses stamped steel construction.

You could wait & see what the new Armalite clone will be like.  It should be affordable & the rifle uses standard AR15 magazines.

Original Terminator utilized one of those.

Sturmgewehr.com just listed a Howa-built 97% specimen for $1500.  I imagine you could hack a couple bucks off that.  I think it was listed as having a scope mount and other items as well.

DonS, it's interesting that you had heard that the Sterling guns were the better manufactured compared to the Costa Mesa and Howa items.  I seem to remember that Gary Johnston thought that the Howa was the best of the three.  

Maybe it boils down to the particular rifle.  

Von Fatman, unless you gotta have one for collector/sentimental value, for that kind of money, you are not that far from the Robinson armaments M96 or a Polytech National Match AK.  

And you'd be paying at least $300 more than the new AR-180 from Armalite, or the M17S bullpup, both which use similar op systems to the Howa AR-180.  

An embarassment of riches!  :)

I agree that the Howa and the Costa Mesa were better quality, but the Sterling is no slouch.  My Howa and my Costa Mesa sit it the back of the safe and the Sterling gets fired a lot.  Also remember that there were only 3900 Howas EVER MADE, only 4000 Costa Mesas, and 12,000 Sterlings.  While the Howas and Costa Mesas are EXTREMELY rare, the Sterling is quite rare also.  While the 180 is coming back out, it is a postban, and those numbers represent the total number of original, preban AR180's ever made, period.  No more.  However, I have ordered a new 180 to keep the 3 originals company.

The Robinson is a postban and a lot of people say it is too heavy and the sights suck, while the 180 is a preban with flash hider,a  folding stock, bayo lug, lightweight, and accurate.  Every bit as utilitarian as the Robinson, a lot lighter, and is a collector's item as well.  

For $950 VonFatman, get it.  Then you can order a new 180B for $590.  It is postban, but you will need it to go along with the original.

I'm still waiting for my AR-180B. Hopefully another month or so an I'll have it. Maybe I should call Armalite and ask them when it will ship. Has anyone heard if they have shipped any?
I know what they say on their site but has anyone seen one for sale recently?

$950 for a decent Howa is a good but not great deal.  Whoever says the Sterlings are better than the Howas and Costas is on drugs.  With all due respect of course.  Howas and Costas are the good handle with care guns, Sterlings are the knockabout blastalot guns.

If you have the spare bucks I'd buy it.

Exactly!  Buy it.  Clairborne, I'm with you on the Sterling being the blastalot and the other 2 sitting in the safe.  I let Monica (of ArmaLite) and an LEO fire my Sterling at an ArmaLite shoot back in April/May (can't remember for sure) and they both loved it.

Thanks for the input everyone.  I appreciate it.  I'm real close to biting the bullet and forking over the cash...
How much more are the 20-30 round magazines than those for my Bushmasters and Colt?
Thanks
Bob

Don't know about the cost but there has to be someone out there who will convert M-16 mags to work. As far as I know they are identical except for the location of the hole that locks them in the mag well. AR-180's are on the left side of the box.

There is a guy who specializes in this work, I think his name is Pete, you can find his contact info on the AR18/180 web page, email me if you can't find the URL yourself.  I think Pete charges $12 per mag to do the alteration.

The mags are more different than you'd think.  The 18/180 mag has a slightly different follower to operate the bolt hold-open.  Also, the raised part near the mag catch square on the 15 mags needs to be flattened to work right with the 18/180.  And, of course, there is the slot on the right side as opposed to the square on the left.

I tried to alter some AR15 mags to make them work with a Dremel with mixed results.  I'd rather pay someone else who knows what they are doing to do this.