I wanted something a little different and this is it. Its part of Brownells retro line and is an update of the Armalite AR-18 and the semi-auto AR-180, a successor to the AR-15 that never really caught on. Its a gas piston design and the action springs are in the upper receiver so the receiver extension isn’t necessary making a folding stock possible. The upper will fit a standard AR lower but I got Brownells retro lower with the rear 1913 rail and added the Sig MPX/MCX folding telescoping stock. The original took proprietary magazines but thankfully Brownells made their lower to take stanag magazines. The sight is a Sig Romeo 6H.
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thats pretty neat of a rifle there. i hadnt followed the ar 18/ar180s at all, so ive learned stuff from your post. it looks good, how well does it run?
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It runs very well and i really like the side charging lever.
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awesome. i too am a fan of Side chargers… i may have to look into a build for me of them soon.
I’m super curious how/if the BRN-180 and Jakl uppers and lowers mate together. Especially if PSA ever makes that Olcan bullpup lower, imagine having a BRN-180 bullpup option.
that’s an interesting suggestion.
does the brn fit on a standard ar15 mil spec lower that has not been altered? if so, then it will fit on a jakl and vice versa.
The BRN180 will fit any standard mil spec lower receiver just fine. I bought their 180 lower because I didn’t want that receiver extention on the rear. As far as side charging uppers, I don’t know what you know or think about Bear Creek Arsenal but I have a couple of their side charging uppers that I’m happy with and their prices are very fair,
Yes, the BRN upper will fit on any lower. However, Brownells sells a specific BRN lower with a picatinny rail right where the buffer would be a normal AR, so you can slap a brace or folding stock on it and call it a day. It’s about a hundred bucks, so it’s worth it to not have the unnecessary buffer hole there and have to mess with adapters.
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cool then it should fit just like any Jakl, cause they fit standar ar15 lowers too, there are just some small things, like a larger bolt catch and the buffer brace attachment for the jakl that makes it look better and what not and has the picitinny rail on it to mount stocks on it. much like the brownells special lower.
I hope someone here has all four and can mix and match and show pictures. It doesn’t really matter, since it would probably work fine however the parts of mixed and matched, but I’m still curious.
Curious if your BCA side charger is Gen1 or 2? I got sick of the Gen1 coming loose and jumped on their exchange program for the Gen2 (2 of them for $99 ea.) Currently l have only one now in 223 Wylde 18" spiral or " bear claw" heavy barrel. It’s just as heavy as my PA10.
What l see is Gen1
Ok thanks. Something I need to look into.
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Move your scope back to be completely on the reciever and get a proper cantilever mount for it.
I bought one of Brownell’s BRN180/AR-180-lookalike lowers, with the intention of piecemeal-construction of the complete rifle, as I did for the BRN-10 and am now doing with a Colt-Armalite 601 and XM177E1 - but Brownell has not made more than a few of the key parts available - namely stripped uppers and BCG assemblies.
So, eventually I will probably purchase one of their complete uppers…
Heck, just mounting the scope going the right direction would be a huge improvement IMHO. That appears to be mounted backwards.
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Thats true.