First time firing an Armalite..

michael minarik

Today, for the very first time in my life I fired the Armalite in 308 calibler. My first concern was the hear-say reports of 'recoil'in this rifle. Since I did not have a lot of time the most I could fire were 10-rounds. I was wearing a t-shirt, had my ear plugs in fired the first 5...in the blink of an eye...all the time waiting, and waiting. Fired the next 5 rounds expecting it to happen, waiting for it to happen and it never did...THERE AIN'T NO RECOIL....the only thing I don't like is when the round is ejected it hits the protrusion on the receiver just behind the chamber...can anyone tell me why? It seems to me over time that area will wear down to base metal over time after getting wacked with ejected rounds and for this reason alone I may not get another Armalite...and I would love to get the AR10-T model...but now it does not seem likely....so far the M1A ejection system seems superior to the Armalite for the simple fact that the case's don't come back and slam into the receiver! In my non-professional opinion this sucks...I mean really sucks. Can you imagine what damage this will do to the Armalites receiver should I keep this rifle a number of years?
Those of you with far more knowledge about this, your feedback would surely be invaluable!

DarkStar11

As far as I know (and I may be wrong) all AR-type rifles have a protrusion that the spent casing hits -- called a shell deflector, to keep the shell from hitting the shooter in the face. I've never heard of shell deflectors on any AR type rifle wearing out. The parkerizing does get worn off, though.

If you want a 7.62x51 MBR, I don't see why you wouldn't choose a M1A or FAL over the AR-10.

Just my opinion . . .





DarkStar11
"...But Mona Lisa musta had the highway bluesYou can tell by the way she smiles..."

kimberkid

michael,
That "protrusion" is the brass deflector, its sole purpose is for the brass to inpact on when ejected and deflect it to protect left handed shooters from getting wacked in the eye with a spent shell caseing ... if you haven't noticed, all except the very early AR-15's also have the brass deflector ... in 20 some years, I haven't seen one wear through yet.

=================================
I used to know everything, then I grew up!...(kinda)

kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com

offeror

That's true. The early prototype of Stoner's gun didn't have this nub, and it was designed in there, whether by Stoner or one of the further developers of the M16 I don't know, precisely for that reason. Being a left hander, I appreciate it. I have heard that one of the low-cost clones has left this feature off, and if it's true I think it was a dumb idea because left handers won't buy that one.

- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

JudgeColt

All AR-style rifles handle the brass in a similar manner. So what if it hits the receiver? (The case deflector was added well into production on Colt AR-15 rifles, I believe beginning with the AR-15A2, but have not verified that recollection.) That is how it is designed. I cannot imagine that one feature causing a switch to one of the other .308 clones of main battle rifles. As others have stated, there really is no major damage from the cases hitting the deflector, but if there were, so what? Using firearms makes them show wear. The MBR clones were designed for combat, not beauty contests. Buy a Remington or Browning BAR if you want pretty.

I have never heard any reports that the AR-10 is a heavy-recoiling rifle. As you discovered, that obviously is not true. On the contrary, it is soft-shooting compared to some other MBRs, such as the H-K M91, etc..

As much of an ArmaLite fan as I am, I would rank them FN-FAL, AR-10 and then M1A. A big factor in favor of the FN for me is the availability of inexpensive 20-round magazines. I think the FN is ths softest recoiling of the three, but it is also heavier than the AR-10, which helps to a degree to reduce felt recoil.

michael minarik

So far, the feed back has me re-examining my fallible logic on this Armalite and it's shell deflector... Az for recoil I am not much bothered by it...I also shoot my 338 Win mag with a t-shirt on!

sodbuster

Michael,,I've got a 10-T with a 24 inch barrel. Man,,lugging that brute around sure is good exersize. As a battle rifle I somewhat agree that the M1-A might have been a better choice. But I have grown fond of all the AR's and I just use my 10-T at the bench shootin' distance. The rifle has functioned flawlessly, the spent brass usually lands in one small area which makes picking 'em up for reloading easier and they are not "boogered" up. Only one small concern, twice the bolt didn't go all the way foreward when charged with a fully loaded clip. At that time it would be nice to have a foreward assist. Yea,,I know,,you M1-A guys are thinking the M1-A don't need no stinkin' foreward assist, and I agree with you.

"Just my opinion."