1957 AR15 Prototype Complete! (Phase One)

In the 1950s, the Army convened the SCHV (Small Caliber High Velocity) rifle trials. It gave us the winchester Light rifle (basically an M1 carbine design in .224 Winchester) and the Armalite AR-15, designed by Eugene Stoner's team at Armalite division of Fairchild Aircraft.


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The Armalite version was basically a scaled down AR10 7.62x51, and initial prototypes had the charging handle inside the carry handle. It looked like a second trigger. Ever since I saw a picture of the prototypes in a Popular Mechanics as a kid in the 50s, I wanted one.

Now mine is done, using a Nodak Spud Prototype lower and U15 prototype upper. Beside the trigger charging handle, the lower is absolutely slick side, with no boss for the mag catch, bolt hold open, or channel inside the mag well, and smooth side on the right. The non-captive pivot pin goes in from the left side, instead of the right like the later 601 and 602 Models.

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This summer, I am having Ident engrave it with the Armalite Pegasus logo, and have John Thomas of Retro Arms Works rework the barrel and mount a prototype front sight base I located.

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Here how I did my furniture for the prototype build, refinished in Rustoleum "Kona Brown 2X" with primer mixed in it already.

The handguards are the AR10B handguards that Mike and Harlan sell (along with the round handguard cap) at Nodak Spud. The stock was a real BTDT, BFPU Type D stock that looked like the surface of the moon. I prepped it with light weight auto body filler from Auto Zone, the kind with the red hardener.

First I cleaned it with alcohol, used the filler, rough sanded with medium steel wool in about 30 minutes, then let it cure over night. Final sanding was done with a medium grit foam sanding block. Cleaned it a second time with alcohol, then painted in two light coats.

First coat:

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Rough sanded:
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Finished product:

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You have built-up a really nice early AR-15 example. Tom in NJ has one of the very early port covers (very difficult to find). I post some photos of handguards and stocks to show the original military issue color of the early rifles.

I thought there was a 25 round magazine with the very, very early AR-15 ?

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Originally Posted by RCS

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You have built-up a really nice early AR-15 example. Tom in NJ has one of the very early port covers (very difficult to find). I post some photos of handguards and stocks to show the original military issue color of the early rifles.

I thought there was a 25 round magazine with the very, very early AR-15 ?

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Thanks. Yes, the prototypes were sent around with a 25 round magazine . That is the rarest of the AR15 magazines. I handled one at a gunshow one time in the 80s. I always wondered if an early FAMAS 25 round magazine could be made to work.

This summer, I am having John Thomas of Retro Arms Works mount a prototype front sight base, and re-work the barrel to the .5" or so of the prototypes. I am sending it to Ident to have the magazine well engraved with the ArmaLite Pegasus logo shown in the above picture of Ser# 00001. I think I will have mine be serial number #00026.

Someone on the retro board at ARFCOM took an original brown bakelite AR10 handguard and had it reworked for his proto. This NDS proto lower and upper are identical to the originals, though they use a better retention spring for the trigger charging handle.

The Kona Brown furniture was a trade off. John Thomas can reproduce the mottled brown furniture, but that is fairly fragile. This is a shooter, and I want to be able to just touch it up.

Went to the local indoor range today. The good news is they have 25 and 50 rifle shooting, with no ammo restrictions. The bad news is you only have a choice of a sled or free standing. What I would give for an honest to God shooting position with a sandbag rest!

The sled is impossible for me to get a consistent sight picture with the A1 style sights, and 1" at 25 yards was the best I could do from the sled. So I tried just leaning on the table with my elbows, holding the weapon in my hands. That gave me about a tad more than a 1/3" (but less than 1/2") group at 25 yards with Lake City 2013 M193. YES THAT IS THREE SHOTS IN THE PICTURE. IF YOU LOOK AT IT FROM THE BACK, YOU CAN BETTER SEE TWO THROUGH THE SAME HOLE! Not to bad for a 20" CMMG, 1/7" twist, chrome lined, A1 "Pencil barrel"

I fired about 100 rounds of Federal 100 pack 55 grain 223, Lake City 55 grain M193, and my 5.56 reloads with a 55 grain FMJ BT and 24.5 grains of IMR4065. Zero malfunctions, and all had approximately the same POA/POI.

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I have an early 5,56mm chambered barrel from the early 60's still with the 1 in 14 twist that I may build-up, also an original steel gas tube and early square front sight base.

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It will look even better after I get one of these Braceman prototype front sight bases, and have it mounted by John Thomas with athe barrel reworked, it will look even better.

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This is a promotional film for the Armalite AR-10. It features field-stripping, the belt-fed version, and Eugene Stoner running onto a beach firing from the hip.

The Armalite AR-10 - YouTube

Oh great now I need one of those.
Outstanding build!

While I was sure that I first saw the Armalite AR15 in a Popular Mechanics magazine around 1959 or 1960. I am still sure I did, but I also was such a gun fanatic that when I was 8-10 years old, I asked for gun books and magazines. Here is two pages on Armalite from my 1960 Small Arms of the World. It shows the top "trigger" charging handle prototype. It also lists the weight as 6.0 pounds with a 20 round magazine. probably the slimmer stock and thinner diameter barrel.

My dad was a WW2 vet, who fought on Iwo Jima. He carried an M1 Carbine, and only said "It never let me down!" (He was in the main compound the night of the big Bonsai charge). I remember as an outgrowth of that, were were having a conversation about rifles, and he talked about the new round they were testing that "was like a 30-30 necked down to 22." I think that was when I got, or shortly after I got the magazine with the prototype article. I think it must have been about 1962, when I was 10, that I got my first "Small Arms of the World" from my uncle. He was the gun guy in the family, and he taught me to shoot.

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