View Full Version : From the "old" Bushmaster archives...
Bought this probably five or six years ago and it kind of went to the back of the bus and I've never fired it. Catalog # 90827 which was one of their lesser known models. 16 inch mid-length barrel with a heavy profile, marked "BFI 5.56 NATO 1/9". Magpul furniture and rear sight. Not a lot of 16 inch HBAR's around. A reminder of Bushmaster's former glory :D
https://i.imgur.com/WunSvwwl.jpg
OutofBatt3ry
10-29-22, 18:43
My first Bush was a 16", A2 upper/fixed stocked. Gave it to my pops.
Also have a factory 14.5" P/W with the YHM flash hider that's my "stays out of the safe gun." I had it all M4forged out, but took all the larp stuff off and slapped the factory carry handle on it, just as it came from the factory..it's just so light and handy. Actually, I removed the sling it came with and installed a standard sling without all the extra adjustments. Groups excellent, shot it out to 300 when I had an RDS on it and was boringly easy to ring a gong at that distance.
https://i.imgur.com/NIGXzyc.jpeg
I was a busy guy during the downfall and not even following firearms news. Ended up snagging a branded M4 butt stock of all things so at least I’d have something for the original A-B-C collection.
Cool rifle to see - bet it shoots just fine!
Pretty sure I go back about 20 years with this one. 11.5" BM Entry (factory) SBR.
https://i.imgur.com/F1NXadl.jpg
Evil Black Rifle
10-30-22, 10:58
XM15 E2S Shorty, Windham, ME vintage 1995. 14.5" barrel with pinned and welded AK muzzle break and no evil bayonet lug.
After the AWB expired, I swapped out the neutered barrel and sold it to somebody in Kaliforniastan. I also sent him the 30 rnd magazine that was sawed in half and riveted back together to make it a 10 rounder.
I have a BM 1/9 twist mid-length HBar upper and a Colt's HBar with 1/9 twist upper.
.
https://i.ibb.co/F4GQf6b/Bushmaster-XM15-E2-S-AK-Shorty.jpg (https://ibb.co/tpy0NBM)
Bought this probably five or six years ago and it kind of went to the back of the bus and I've never fired it. Catalog # 90827 which was one of their lesser known models. 16 inch mid-length barrel with a heavy profile, marked "BFI 5.56 NATO 1/9". Magpul furniture and rear sight. Not a lot of 16 inch HBAR's around. A reminder of Bushmaster's former glory :D
https://i.imgur.com/WunSvwwl.jpg
Did that come with the Magpul furniture or did you add that?
Would love to see a picture of the barrel profile so I can see how they did theirs as compared to my 6721. (Have same stock on my 6721 but had to add it myself)
Have several 16" HBARs. Not as uncommon as you may think... Would not be surprised if my local GS still has a NIB 6721 or two laying around somewhere if i wanted another. :)
https://i.imgur.com/Mj2WCvE.jpg
from left to right: Bull, Bull, HBAR, SOCOM, Mid-weight
https://i.imgur.com/Gi6qTRm.jpg
from left to right: HBAR, Colt 6721 HBAR, Colt Mid-weight
Skinny barrels are for girls. :o
The OP gun is all Magpul from the factory.
XM15 E2S Shorty, Windom, ME vintage 1995. 14.5" barrel with pinned and welded AK muzzle break and no evil bayonet lug.
After the AWB expired, I swapped out the neutered barrel and sold it to somebody in Kaliforniastan. I also sent him the 30 rnd magazine that was sawed in half and riveted back together to make it a 10 rounder.
I have a BM 1/9 twist mid-length HBar upper and a Colt's HBar with 1/9 twist upper.
.
https://i.ibb.co/F4GQf6b/Bushmaster-XM15-E2-S-AK-Shorty.jpg (https://ibb.co/tpy0NBM)
Ahhhhh the Clinton rifle.
That 74 brake was the most horrible thing ever inflicted upon an AR, gave it a bark worse than most .308s with a 20" barrel. God forbid it was an indoor range.
But THAT rifle was "good" (according to the Clinton ban) and one that didn't give you severe hearing loss was bad. That non collapsible buttstock also prevented thousands of shootings. Hard to believe that law was only in effect for 10 years, felt like a lifetime.
titsonritz
10-30-22, 23:33
My first AR was Bushmaster XM15 E2S Dissipator.
OutofBatt3ry
10-30-22, 23:37
Did that come with the Magpul furniture or did you add that?
Would love to see a picture of the barrel profile so I can see how they did theirs as compared to my 6721. (Have same stock on my 6721 but had to add it myself)
Have several 16" HBARs. Not as uncommon as you may think... Would not be surprised if my local GS still has a NIB 6721 or two laying around somewhere if i wanted another. :)
https://i.imgur.com/Mj2WCvE.jpg
from left to right: Bull, Bull, HBAR, SOCOM, Mid-weight
https://i.imgur.com/Gi6qTRm.jpg
from left to right: HBAR, Colt 6721 HBAR, Colt Mid-weight
Skinny barrels are for girls. :o
hbars were Thicc; ridiculously girthy.
Girth is more important than length.
So are old Bushmasters somehow good guns now?
So are old Bushmasters somehow good guns now?
Nope. They weren't good to start with and don't age well, unlike a fine Cabernet.
So are old Bushmasters somehow good guns now?
Bushmaster seems to have had more QC up and down cycles than most. Also these were made in different factories depending on the timeframe. The example in the OP is marked "Huntsville". Over the years I've heard generally favorable comments on their barrels, but I don't know who made those.
Bushies weren't the worst thing. Really if "we" had BRT gas tubes to tune them down, they'd have been very usable guns. I shot a 14.5 govt bushmaster upper for years. It was over gassed a bit and the rear sight didn't dial up straight, but I beat that thing to death.
Haven't heard any feedback on the "new" Bushmaster, but presumably they're an assembly house of subcontracted parts. And they really should update their snake logo.
titsonritz
10-31-22, 12:02
So are old Bushmasters somehow good guns now?
I thought mine sucked, sold it and got into AKs for about 6-7 years before buying a Colt 6920.
Bushies weren't the worst thing. Really if "we" had BRT gas tubes to tune them down, they'd have been very usable guns. I shot a 14.5 govt bushmaster upper for years. It was over gassed a bit and the rear sight didn't dial up straight, but I beat that thing to death.
I was real lucky with the two I had over the years. Had a pre Clinton A2 and it ran issue free, sold it sometime during the middle of the ban as I had so many 20" A2 rifles and prices were getting insane.
Bushmaster seems to have had more QC up and down cycles than most. Also these were made in different factories depending on the timeframe. The example in the OP is marked "Huntsville". Over the years I've heard generally favorable comments on their barrels, but I don't know who made those.
Still waiting on pictures of the barrel profile. Help a brother out dude!
When are you planning to shoot it and test it out for yourself?
My BM A4 never offered the precision that I had hoped for. Sold it and bought a Colt A4. For a machine gun barrel, the Colt meets my precision Standards. However, the BM was my first taste of the AR world. It always worked, had all of the features that it should have had when Colt was not participating, but I don't miss the HB 1:9 barrel that ignored my handloading expertise.
My old bushy didn't treat me too badly as I was learning about modern ARs. A couple initial hiccups mostly related to the old Guatemalan 55gr ammo that was around then but otherwise was fine. Changed some springs, a few stakes here and there. It even had M4 cuts on the barrel and upper that I was told wouldn't be there. Did need an extra tall post to zero the irons though
It was not parked under front sight base, so it's time on earth was limited at best, obviously lol
Sent from my BE2028 using Tapatalk
Still waiting on pictures of the barrel profile. Help a brother out dude!
When are you planning to shoot it and test it out for yourself?
Ordinarily not a problem but my stepdaughter has my camera at present, so it might be a while. May not get to shoot it for a while.
It was not parked under front sight base, so it's time on earth was limited at best, obviously lol
Same here. Mine had surface rust under the FSB. No biggie. The beauty of owning a Bushy back then was you had a guilt free beater gun.
m1a_scoutguy
11-01-22, 15:37
Here is a pic of my old Bushy,,I bought it in the late 90s maybe early 2000s! It was a 16inch with carbine gas with a pinned & welded MB along with the stock being pinned,,good ole NY. It was my 1st AR and I basically ran the hell out of it and really had 0 issues. I used it when I 1st started competing and just in general shooting/training with my buddies. I put thousands of rds down her tube and it was a good rife, I ended up selling it to a good buddy and he ran it for years also. Lots of fun and good memories with my old Bushy. No making fun of my Burris SpeedDot and my Tier1 Para P-12,,LOL :o
https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/v59/m1ascoutguy/.highres/AR1P12.jpg?width=180&height=180&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/v59/m1ascoutguy/.highres/AR1P12.jpg?width=180&height=180&fit=bounds)
Same here. Mine had surface rust under the FSB. No biggie. The beauty of owning a Bushy back then was you had a guilt free beater gun.
I think that was a stab at "the chart."
I think that was a stab at "the chart."
For sure. But I did get my gun wet in the rain a bit and there was some surface rust. There's some value to finishing the barrel and FSB separately. More so if your gun would be in salt water though.
Cant be that old if it came with Magpul furniture.
Cant be that old if it came with Magpul furniture.
If you're referring to the gun in the OP, it's five or six years old. Fairly young, but out of production.
Evil Black Rifle
11-01-22, 18:39
The Windham Bushmaster were/are OK. I shot mine for years with zero issues, until one day I found the newly created "chart" and learned that raw metal under the front sight made your rifle turn into junk. Since I don't jump into the ocean from helicopters there is no rust to be found.
Back then, A, B or C were the only choices. A was nowhere to be found, and C was entirely too expensive.
WillieThom
11-01-22, 19:35
There was a Bushmaster that I lusted after when I first started getting into the AR platform in ‘08 or ‘09. It came in either Flat Dark Earth or OD Green and it had some really neat sounding name like Urban Tactical something-something, but I never got it. I ended up going with a 6920 and later bought a BCM upper, thanks to M4C. (been here since about 2009 just under a different username. I really miss those days… the olden days…)
ETA:
Urban Interdiction Rifle. Isn’t that AWESOME sounding!? F-YEAH!!
ETA2:
I’m down the rabbit hole now… I’m not in this thread, but I imagine I probably ran across it back then. (I really miss the olden days…)
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?28478-Bushmaster-quot-Custom-Shop-quot-Rifle-initial-impressions
First ar was a windham factory Bushmaster xm15, 14.5 pinned, probably the loudest firearm I own. My neighbor used to say "What's the gun I hear you shooting that sounds like a cannon"? Still have it. Seem to recall criticism because "chart". Kind of like the criticism I got when I bought my first plastic semi auto, an XD, because "not a glock".
Took a windham factory made acr in on trade, still have it also.
And a .450 bushmaster upper which I have found is of no use to me.
Get the same hits on steel with the bushys as I get with my daniel defense rifles or my sig. As far as longevity I doubt I ever find out, maybe the next generation will.
Also get the same hits with my xd's as I do my glocks.
I shoot my spikes 5.45 more than any of the rest.
Ordinarily not a problem but my stepdaughter has my camera at present, so it might be a while. May not get to shoot it for a while.
Awesome.
Curious to see how they did it. Thanks. :)
First ar was a windham factory Bushmaster xm15, 14.5 pinned, probably the loudest firearm I own.
Probably a brake rather than a flash. From around the same time DSA was using a three hole brake on most of their FAL rifles that was also a serious cannon.
The old Bushy's used 3 brakes back in the day, AK, mini y comp and the y comp. All three were effective, loud-oh yes. I had the first two, AK on a carbine and the mini y on a dissy.
Yeah the old dreaded crap Bushmaster with no feed ramps, 1n9 barrel, etc. I logged over 23k through the AK one, never changed a part. Only sold as is once the crime bill had sunset and found a Colt upper that fell off a tuna truck and beat that to death for many years.
I always had good service from the 2 or 3 Windham Bushmasters that I had in the 90s.
My first Bushie was a 20” HBar 1/9 that regularly printed MOA with my .223 52gr Black Hills Match ammo.
I wish I never sold that upper, but a friend in Maryland couldn’t get a HBar & it was a good cause, anyway.
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