Brownells Reintroduced the Legendary BRN-180 - Long-Term Test

Brownells Reintroduced the Legendary BRN-180 - Long-Term Test

When Dean, the President at PWS, was explaining to me the concept of his short stroke piston AR-180 redesign, in cooperation with Brownells back in 2018 dubbed the BRN-180, I frankly really didn’t get it, but shared his enthusiasm. I was vaguely remembering the AR-180/AR-18 as a rather rough looking piston driven stamped steel version of the AR and was not sure it was going to be the splash that Dean was expecting. Then I tested the BRN-180 and wondered why this did not become the standard instead of the AR15 direct impingement format.

Check out there BRN180 Here on Brownells

BRN180 Models

WHY THE AR18/AR180?

From a reliability perspective, if you consider the AR-15 platform prefers to be cleaned every 1500 rounds or so before starting to have reliability issues, consider the pistol based BRN-180 can shoot for about 6000+ rounds before a cleaning is required… at least according to my total neglect and testing of the BRN-180 pistol upper. This puts the BRN-180 into interesting company with uber-reliable AKs and all the advantages of a non-operable buffer tubed receiver that can host a lighter and more compact non-operable fixed or folding buttstock or brace similar to Sig MPX and MCX designs.

The original AR-180 is sort of like an AK and an AR hooked up and had some type of weird love child that fused all the ultra-reliable awesomeness of AK DNA with the trim ergonomics of the AR. On the outside, from a distance the original AR-180 looked a lot like an AR with similar ergonomics down to a very similar handguard front sight...etc. Up close, it was apparent that nearly every part of the original design was based on stamped steel construction similar to the AK but to a level far more detailed and complex than the simplicity of an AK.

Though the AR-180 starts with AR the original design was not cross compatible with the AR15 platform. Some parts were carried over into a cost effective likeness based on steel stamping dies however the use of stamped construction was extensive including nearly every firing and operational control of the AR-180 gun. The AR-180 also had proprietary magazines and receiver designs. According to many historical experts, the non-adoption of the AR-180 was in part due to it being yet another new form factor to support vs carrying over direct AR-15 magazine and lower compatibility. You start to see where the Brownells, PWS, and FM collaborative team saw some potential even just making the AR-180 design cross compatible and upscale the production to modern CNC machining based design.

GET SHORT & COMPACT

The AR-180 platform also had the ability to get really short with a folding stock like an AK thanks to the dual captured internal springs and rod set nestled inside the upper receiver and the obvious omission of a buffer spring. Internally, there was also a very short and light bolt carrier with a recricating right handed charging handle, again, like an AK. One of the extolling features was an exceptional buttery smooth operation of the mini-carrier sliding on the dual spring and rod configuration. The AR-180 bolt is an AR15 style bolt and barrel lockup design, but the overall AR-180 or BRN-180 design does not permit barrel swaps. The AR-180 was also incredibly simple to operate with a large easy to find right handed reciprocating bolt handle similar to an AK.

INTUITIVE FUNCTION

One of the less discussed advantages of the AK format is it’s intuitive function where nearly anyone could pick up an AK and figure out quickly how it works all thanks to the single reciprocating charging handle. Unlike the AR, there is no charging handle thingy and bolt release thingy to contend with, just one handle to focus on. This is the same with the AR180 and BRN180 design which makes it really super simple and easy to use. What I really love about the BRN-180 is that I can hand it to anyone and within a few seconds, it is obvious how to charge and operate the gun. I also like that the BRN-180 is absolutely an AK-gunners paradise in an AR platform with over or under bolt operation that mimics the AK function.

SHORT STROKE RELIABILITY

The AR-180 was also one of the first short stroke piston driven AR-style platforms and it was famous for literally running forever without maintenance. With zero debris blowing back into the action, the gun stayed clean and could run perfectly between very long extended cleaning intervals. Allegedly, there are still some original AR-180s that have never been cleaned and run perfectly. In essence, the AR-180 was the Americans stamped steel receiver set equivalent to the AK but with a short stroke piston system vs the AK’s long-stroke piston system. Today the AR-180 are prized collector items with only around 22K actually manufactured and many future guns based their design on the short stroke piston system including HK G36, ACR, and HK416 rifles and continues to influence many modern rifle designs including some aspects of very futuristic guns like the Tavor.

Have your BRN and take it with you A Hazard 4 PlanB Makes a Great pack for the very compact BRN180P 5.56 With MI Folding Brace

AN UPDATED LEGEND

The original AR-180 gun was budget focused, not super sexy and had the stamped, folded and welded quality of an intricate, but very average AK. At that time, the vast majority of manufacturing was based on old stamping and folding machines that offered cheap production. At the same point in time, the milling required for the AR-15 format was quite expensive. Today that cost equation has flipped due to the old stamping tooling technology becoming discontinued and the greatly reduced cost efficiencies of current production CNC milling. The reality of the original budget friendly AR-180 was it was a bit crude with proprietary firearm parts and magazines, but it worked flawlessly. 

Brownells, PWS and FM delivered an updated AR15 compatible upper which carries through the functionality and DNA of the AR-180 in a complete and premium quality BRN-180 upper. The BRN-180 features modern billet machining, design, finish, quality, and accuracy all in a AR15 lower compatible format which represents a giant leap in quality and compatibility over the old AR-180 design. The AR-180 was circa 1960s industrial looking where the BRN-180 is definitively one of the most modern looking AR-15 uppers on the market. This is a premium-tier upper that is extremely reliable, long-running and cross compatible with any AR15 lower you have in your safe. Even your standard AR-15 firing pins can be used if something does break. The BRN-180 design is something that the market has been asking for… a 5.56 AK upper for your AR.

If you were going to redesign a piston powered rifle such as the AR-180, the market leading Primary Weapons System would be the clear choice. Dean Sylvester is widely regarded as the industry expert in AR format piston systems including developing their own PWS long stroke piston rifles famed for incredible reliability and elite tier quality. From my perspective, Brownells make the best choice of who to partner with wide distribution and retail sales footprint. Foxtrot Mike is well regarded as designing the most reliable 9mm AR15 PCC format on the market - mine will deliver 1” 100-yard groups so he obviously understands a thing or two about design.

The biggest departures from the original design is that the BRN-180 is only a complete upper and not a complete gun and a design based on modernized AR15 compatibility.  That modernization includes a free-float handguard, 5.56/.223 compatible match grade .223 Wylde chambered barrel, adjustable gas block, and of course the precision fit of modern machining.

DISASSEMBLY

MAJORPANDEMIC.COM BRN-180 BUILD