I have to say that I'm mildly surprised by the popularity of retro rifles these days. I'll be 59 in June, and I wonder if a majority of the buyers are in my age range and are nostalgic about these older models?
On a somewhat related note, I ordered one of these for my Brownell's Retro that I have on order. Not sure if OD Green or Black (or both?) would be period correct:
I use these on my retros.
https://whatacountry.com/m14-nylon-sling.aspx
Here are my M16A1 clones with the M14 nylon OD sling.
"A Bad Day At The Range Is Better Than A Great Day Working"
USMC Force Recon 1978-1984
US Air Force Res. 1995-2004 (Air Transportation)
M16/AR15 shooter since 1978, gun collector and AR builder since 2004
" Nil desperandum - Never Despair. That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it. "
- Samuel Adams -
I'm 38 and have never been anywhere near military service. I think the appeal of Retro ARs for me is the Atompunk looks and overall sleek lines of the older guns, coupled with their light weight, and the fact that a pencil-barreled 20" AR really does handle and shoot well.
While I really like the old Prototype-thru-M16A1 guns, my actual favorite Retro ARs are probably the 700-series carbines (Model 723, 727, 733) though, so some 80's and 90's nostalgia probably is part of the equation for me I think.
Last edited by Circle_10; 03-30-19 at 20:17.
I think old vets, who haven't followed black rifles in general, may be a deal of the market. I know when I first put my M16A1 clone together, and held it in my hands, I realized I had been a much younger man the last time I held such thing. It does bring you up short. Wow.
Moon
While there are a lot of guys in the 50-70 year old range getting into retro ARs, I have found a number of younger people (20s-early 40s) getting into them. I do believe that the main market is guys over 50 as they are returning to what they used in the military back in the late 1960s and 1970s. There are some that used older M16s up into the 1980s and early 1990s. The thing about the retro ARs is that they appeal to a number of different people for a number of different reasons. For me, I fell in love with the platform when I was issued my first M16A1 back in 1978.
"A Bad Day At The Range Is Better Than A Great Day Working"
USMC Force Recon 1978-1984
US Air Force Res. 1995-2004 (Air Transportation)
M16/AR15 shooter since 1978, gun collector and AR builder since 2004
The M16 got a lot of publicity in the old "S.W.A.T." TV series back in 1974-75. It's kind of hard for me to tell, but these don't appear to have the forward assist and seem to have three-prong flash suppressors:
Hard to tell exactly which model they represent. If the lower is a slabside and it does not have a screw-type pivot pin, then it is a clone of the Model 602. If it has a partial-fence lower, it is a clone of the earlier Model 604 (M16). If it does have the screw-type pivot pin, it could be a very early 1960s SP1. Again, it is hard for me to tell from that picture.
"A Bad Day At The Range Is Better Than A Great Day Working"
USMC Force Recon 1978-1984
US Air Force Res. 1995-2004 (Air Transportation)
M16/AR15 shooter since 1978, gun collector and AR builder since 2004
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