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Thread: Why a Retro?

  1. #1
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    Why a Retro?

    With all the good stuff- free float forearms, electronic sights, improved collapsing stocks, flat top receivers and so on, with which to build a modern and improved AR, what is the attraction of a retro? What is their charm? I don't ask to argue why a modern or retro is better than the other, I ask for insight as to which retro folks like and why? What is it about a retro that you find so appealing?
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    Why do people restore muscle cars from the 1960s? The cars of today are much better and more advanced. Why restore WW2 aircraft? Why do people collect stamps?

    Gun ownership is not all about tactical applications. Some folks collect vintage ARs and there is nothing wrong with that. I fancy WW2 rifles.

    Once upon a time, the AR was a simple, lightweight system. I carried a M16A1 and a CAR 15 in the Army. I still have my first AR 15 I bought in 1976 in its original configuration. I still have a bunch of CAR parts from my old unit and someday I intend to build me one... like I used to carry.
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    While it's not my bag, some people are collectors and enjoy replicas and such. I don't get it, I find it sometimes creepy, but so long as they don't try to beat me over the head with some kind of KISS-is-better nonsense it's no sweat off my balls.

    FWIW, these are the same kinds of people that will obsess over building replicas of current issue guns as well. Hence all the "what pistol grip is correct for a RECCE?" or "what scope reticule do I need for a DMR replica?"

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    Quote Originally Posted by Iraq Ninja View Post
    Why do people restore muscle cars from the 1960s? The cars of today are much better and more advanced. Why restore WW2 aircraft? Why do people collect stamps?

    Gun ownership is not all about tactical applications. Some folks collect vintage ARs and there is nothing wrong with that. I fancy WW2 rifles.

    Once upon a time, the AR was a simple, lightweight system. I carried a M16A1 and a CAR 15 in the Army. I still have my first AR 15 I bought in 1976 in its original configuration. I still have a bunch of CAR parts from my old unit and someday I intend to build me one... like I used to carry.
    I get the collector and restoration thing. I love original Garands, although I am no "Correctness Nazi". P-51D Mustangs don't just fly, they own the skies. There is something about seeing an old Willys Jeep on the trail that warms my heart. So it makes sense to me there are folks who feel the same about retros. I'd just like to hear why
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    One of my childhood occupations was restoring old aircraft as an apprentice to my father and for several years a Cadet in the Confederate Air Force. People devote lifetimes and fortunes to it. I have been pals with men who owned and flew warbirds, a colossally expensive and time consuming hobby. It gets in your blood. I love my M1 rifles and '03 Springfields. They are the only exceptions to my rule "never love something that can't love you back." Can't be explained.
    Last edited by Suwannee Tim; 05-28-11 at 19:50.

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    I went through the retro phase a few years ago. I like building rifles. My hobby isn't so much shooting, but tinkering. I guess it's just like restoring old cars, I like building/customizing guns.

    I don't currently have a retro AR, but have been considering an M16 A2 clone or something similiar to what I was issued in the Army (M16 A1 w/round handguards).
    Last edited by Dump1567; 05-28-11 at 20:18.

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    Let's take a look at this picture of a few of my ARs:



    On the right is my M-4gery. SOPMOD stock, Colt upper, KAS rail system, M-68 and Matech BUIS are a few features on this one. If I sold this rifle today, I could order up every piece again tomorrow and put another one together just like it. No big deal.
    On the left is my 601 made out of original parts with the exception of the lower, FCG, buffer, magazine and trigger guard. Everything else came off an original 601 made in the early 60's. If I sold that rifle today, where would I find an original 1:14" twist barrel or an upper that didn't have the directional arrows on the rear sight windage knob? Loosing that rifle is loosing a piece of history that can not be easily replaced if at all. Retro rifles are a part of the history of the M-16 design and it's the appreciation of that history is what drives on a lot of our desires to save that history for future generations. Sorry if you can't appreciate that.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Suwannee Tim View Post
    One of my childhood occupations was restoring old aircraft as an apprentice to my father and for several years a Cadet in the Confederate Air Force...
    Damn lucky to grow up like that. I love old WWII aircraft. That's why I got into aviation

    Quote Originally Posted by USAFCATM View Post
    ...Sorry if you can't appreciate that.
    Hold on now, it isn't that I can't appreciate it. My favorite AR was the A2 flat top and I'm still getting used to the idea it's considered a retro. I guess they would call it the A4 these days. Like I said earlier, I get collecting & restoring. I'm just trying to get folks to tell their stories about their retros and why they chose them.

    Nice ARS!
    Last edited by MistWolf; 05-28-11 at 22:04.
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    Good question, Mr Wolf.

    I'm going down the Retro Road sometime in the near future, and it'll be an A1-style AR.

    Why?

    I got into the black rifle world when A1's were common as dirt and A2's were just coming on the market. A2's were the latest and greatest, what with the new sights and semi-heavy barrel and round CAR-like handguards. I ended up with a good A2, and sold my A1.
    Next for me came the A2 carbine, then the M4-style flattop, then rails, then BUIS, optics, new furniture, etc etc etc. Now the A2 configuration is old-hat just like the A1 was back ~1990.
    I absolutely love my M4 carbine. It is perfect for my needs and I cannot think of anything that needs to be changed or added to it.

    But nowadays, when I pick up an SP-1, feel the triangles and how light the gun is, its balance, just the gun's feel... well, I miss it, and that's why I want another.

    I have a set of triangle handguards new-in-wrapper and a few 20-rounder mags grouped together....... it won't be long before it grows into a complete rifle


    ETA: I know how you feel about A2's being considered Retro - it's like hearing '80s music on Oldies stations......
    Last edited by The Cat; 05-29-11 at 02:25.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Cat View Post
    ...I know how you feel about A2's being considered Retro - it's like hearing '80s music on Oldies stations...
    Ya had to go there, didn't you...?
    Last edited by MistWolf; 05-29-11 at 03:06.
    The number of folks on my Full Of Shit list grows everyday

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