My 1962 Vietnam 601 (almost) PIC heavy!

Well, I have been talking about it, hinting at it, and even a sneak preview cell phone pic that sucked. He it is: It started as a 603, then changed to a 602, but finally got it to be "The Poor man's 601": (Pardon the Kalifornicating bullet button) It still needs a NDS triangle charging handle and dimpled takedown pin and safety, but those will have to wait until finances improve. This is as done as it is going to get for the some timet, so here goes..

NDS 601 lower
Colt SP1 LPK
Colt lower receiver extension and buffer
Colt early 604 upper with late 60s vintage CMP C 1/12" barrel and slip ring. It is a forged FSB, but it is an early smoothed one, so it looks close to a cast FSB
Colt Charging handle
Colt early 603 Chrome BCG
Type D stock, early mottled grip and no drain hand guards painted with Testor's Master Modeler "Dark Green FS34079"
Early duckbill 3 prong from John Thomas
original 601 front and rear swivels
Colt .223 marked early 20 round magazine with aluminum follower
60s vintage web gear, bayonet, and bipod.
Correct (I think) early cotton web OD green M14 sling
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/601a-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/6011-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/601b-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/601c-1.jpg

Nice looking rifle, your green color is very close to the original green. Years ago, I found a complete set of green and put it on a Colt SP1 in the four digit serial number range. Next time I take some photos, I will include some of this SP1 with the green plastic for comparision. RCS

THANKS, I'd love to see your rifle.

One of the retro building gurus on the AR15.com retro board found the color. He has several original sets, also, and said it was the closest "out of the can" match he found. I had a really good 95% original set in the late 80s that I gave to a friend for a build (he was going to replace them -NOT). I gave him an original duckbill, too. Turns out the build was not for himself like he said, but he sold it high dollar. I never got anything back from him. This color seems close to what I remember, too.

It can shoot, too! Went up off Waggoner Creek Rd in the Siskiyous south of Tanlent, OR with my son-in-law and Grandson, Will. Rough sighted the 601 and GAU5-A/A in at 25 yards to 1.25" below POA. Fired about 200-300 rounds per weapon. With barrels hot, got the below pictured group kneeling on the ground using a bar stool and couch pillow as a rest. Most groups were like the one pictured, though when it was just warm after about 10 rounds, got one 3 shot group 1/4" center to center, with two of the shots through almost the same hole from the 601. Not bad for a surplus, 45 year old M16 barrel of untold round count. If you look in the picture of me shooting the 601, you can see the bolt is to rear part way, and the muzzle blast in front. The GAU-5A/A shorty in the other picture has an ER Shaw lightweight barrel and actually shot tighter than the 601 did. Several 1/2" 25 yard groups. One pic shows my armory I have with me on the trip, including the Kel-Tec SU-16CA, which actually shoots better than either AR! You can also see my 5 year-old Grandson with his Red Ryder BB gun, a future AR shooter! Next time we will do some distance shooting. I did hit some stuff offhand at about 100 yards, reminding me why I like the 5.56x45 round and the AR 20" retro platform.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...7/Stable-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../601open-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/GAU5-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...7/target-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...7/willBB-1.jpg

Attachment 24634Attachment 24633Attachment 24635Attachment 24636Rifle is a four digit Colt SP1 (2xxx I do not remember the entire serial) with original green plastic and an original triangle charging handle with waffle magazine.

Sunlight photos of the green color Robert

That was sort of how mine looked and that was how I discovered my fibrite brown furniture. Mine was black over the green over the brown...

Interesting that some of the red/brown handguards were painted the green color while others were painted the black color.Attachment 24637Attachment 24638Attachment 24639Attachment 24640

We had a discussion on the ARFCOM Retro Forum a while back about the black over green over brown furniture and the best information to be had was that some of the early 601s that were to be sold to Law Enforcement Agencies were painted black. The first 100 601s were brown and the next 8500 or so were painted green over the brown, after that the standard black furniture was used about when the 601 was changed to the 602 and all the rest of the models after that. This 601 that I have is all original 601 with the exception of the lower(NDS 601)and the barrel which is MP marked. The right side handguard is as far as we can tell one of the first 100, it was never painted green. The left side handguard was off of one of the Police models, it was black over green over brown. I stripped it to match the original one. The inards and dimpled pins and such are all original.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...11/00172-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...11/00441-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...11/00936-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...11/00265-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...07/00839-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...07/01230-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...07/01325-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...07/01425-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...07/01032-1.jpg
The original green over brown furniture and especially the original brown only furniture is extremely rare and spendy. A set of handguards recently brought right at $1500. An original 601 upper without the barrel will easily bring $500. A true 601 1/14 twist barreled upper without handguards will bring $2500 with out a problem. OP your rifle is about as nice as it gets without spending thousands of dollars for the original pieces.

Attachment 24676Attachment 24675Attachment 24674Attachment 24677Here is my not too authentic 601. NDS 601 lower, Colt 603 upper, with the sight arrows removed. The green is G.I. O.D. cammo polished with steel wool.... No bayonet lug or duck billed flash hider allowed in N.J... That's a welded on compensator on the barrel to hide the threads. It now sports a NDS waffle magazine permanently blocked to 10 rounds to comply with the 15 round capacity magazine requirements. The mag in the photos is an old Colt mag, marked ".223". U.S. Air Force unit decal was done on the computer, my son's old outfit, 5th MOB. from Robins AFB, GA.

NIce job, Tom. I WANT YOUR BAYONET! Seriously, where did you get it? Mine has a bullet button and 10 round mag for Kalifornistan.

Guts, I recognize your sweet 601 from the retro forum! Neat. Mine is about as done as it will be. I am trading my XM16E1 chrome BCG for a 601 BCG and NDS triangle charging handle. It shoots like a dream... I am in love, but don't tell my wife, she'll be jealous if I pet the 601 instead of her!

Thanks , I had almost forgotten what the early ( much less the super early ) a1's looked like.

Is NDS the only reciever to use?

I think Nodak Spud is the only one making slab side, partial fence, and full fence A1 style lowers. There was another small outfit I think a few years back, but i don't recall the name. Mike at NDS is a prince of a guy. Great uppers. He even does tru A1 603 and 604 uppers with no case deflector.

Nodak Spud lowers are the finest there is. The attention to detail and the craftsmanship is outstanding. I've used their lowers on all three of my Retro builds, the 601 in the pictures in this thread, a 607 and an XM16E1(with an original H&R upper).
Here is the 607:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...11/00163-1.jpg
And the XM16E1:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../07/0161-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1082115a-1.jpg

Thanks for the tip.
Mike and his products have earned a great reputation in the AK community . A couple of companies made some nice recievers , but you don't hear much about them anymore . Nodak Spud took the US AK reciever to a completely new level.

one fine looking rifle sir , congrats and thanks for posting it

FLASH! Update. Thanks to Retrohead (and all around great guy) 'snipertewg", I traded my early 603 Chrome BCG for a mint 601 BCG with narrow band bolt and full round gas key. He also helped me out with a triangular NDS charging handle, and NDS waffle mag! She looks even more like a 601 with the 601 carrier, the waffle mag, and triangle charging handle! Eventually I will get a set of heatnbeat pins and safety, but that will be down the road. I am on the road headed back to Mississippi (no work in Cali) so it will be a bit until I post updated pics. I used a spring and aluminum follower from a Colt .223 marked on the waffle mag.
Here's a pic of bolt carrier, charging handle and 20 round waffle magazine in the 601.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...01update-1.jpg

Here are the latest upgrades to make it a more "correct" Model 601: Heatnbeat dimpled selector and takedown pin, and a correct type horizontal line 601 mag button cut with Heatnbeat's cutter. Now the triangle charging handle and 601 full round carrier are more at home! This is probably as far as I am going. Maybe an Edgewater if I can find one for $75 (hahahahaha!)https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...e_biggif-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...upgrades-1.jpg

Nice looking 601, on the NDS waffle magazines, they are just the magazine body ? without any markings ? are they steel or aluminum. Another question, the full round gas key is considered early ot the first type ?

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Originally Posted by RCS

Nice looking 601, on the NDS waffle magazines, they are just the magazine body ? without any markings ? are they steel or aluminum. Another question, the full round gas key is considered early ot the first type ?

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The NDS magazines have a small "N" on the body (back edge) and light markings on the mag base so no one will sell them as originals. They are steel, like the originals. Full round gas keys are the earliest and found only on 601 chrome BCG. It has the early, narrow band bolt, also.

These early Colt SP1 semi auto bolt carriers have the round gas key ?

Bottom one has a full round key. When they went to parked carries, they initially used chrome bolts like the bottom on. I notice the early rear bottom of the lower bolt, also. Do you have the SP1 to go with it? Does it have an Edgewater buffer?

Some photos of an early three digit Colt SP1, doubt it was ever fired since it left the factory. The early bolt carrier with the chrome bolt came from this three digit

Also the magazine with the small CAL..223 came with this SP1. Difficult to find these magazines with the small letters&numbers but have seen photos of the cartridge counter magazines also with the small letters&numbers

Nice Looking

Saw an interesting photo of a 5.56mm cartridge case that was fired in a Colt AR-15 chambered for the 7,62x39, of course this was done by mistake and did not look like any damage was done to either the shooter or Colt. Almost looked like a 30 cal Whisper with a few splits

very nice , i like it ............and i keep coming back to look at all these great photos posted to this thread , thanks everyone ,