Jager ap74

[mannparks]

does any one have any info in this m16 .22 rf knock off , [Jager ap74]

it realy looks like a vintage m16.---charles

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[jmoore]

Had one until today. Was OK, but swapped it towards a S&W Model 544. Used it's own peculiar mags. Several minor variations, apparently.

[boristhepig]

Hi
I did have one of these with black plastic furniture, cheap monkey metal and painted finish its very much more a Mattel toy than a real M16 but looks the part from a distance. Mine was very fussy on its ammo diet and tended to go click as often as bang but you may get lucky an find get one that functions very well.

[sniper3]

I had similar one to the photos and had same problem with ammo jams. I then swapped it for Erma EMG1 in .22mag. Shame they didn't do the AP74 in .22 mag. As fullbore semi-autos are banned in UK .22mag is the nearest thing to f/b.

[browningautorifle]

I had one and of all we saw around here they either worked or they didn't. Mine didn't. I got fed up one day and finally unloaded it, threw it down range, and chopped it up with and FN. THAT worked...

[breakeyp]

I had one that had a tendency to go full auto. I fiddled with it but could never figure out what part had failed. Finally broke it up and sold it as parts.

[bearrowland]

I haven't seen one in decades, but they were sure a neat rifle!

[crsoll]

I haven't seen one in decades, but they were sure a neat rifle!

Attachment 53486
Attachment 53490
I continue my rescue of obsolete small calibre copies of military Carbines with the purchase of one of these Armi Jager AP74s. My first impression was what a load of rubbish, but the idea was good, and the bones workable.

I wrecken'd we needed to do something irreversible yet practical, and was up for the challenge.

The Portuguese AR10 seemed something we could manage without destroying a true bit of military history getting there.

The worst thing about these AP 74s was the integrated cast magazine housing to hold the 22 LR magazine. And the whole rifle was just uncomfortable to handle with too many sharp corners on the receiver and unbalanced in appearance.

So out with the hacksaw, and the first thing to come off was the magazine extension. To fit a new 223 mag in the same space took some careful thought, as the dimensions were a little undersized on the casting, but there was still about 2mm all round to play with. The magazine release also was an issue so decided to make that part of the mag itself, as there were too many internal parts to navigate around otherwise. As it was we had to cut two channels for the interrupter spring to sit in, as they came down into the old magazine casting. We also machined the old cast trigger bottom plate out to fit a steel one, that also becomes part of the magazine release catch.

The front half of the rifle took a lot of work. The original AR10 ventilated forend was pressed steel and the handguard was split around it. To keep the Armi Jager look we retained the wood work and machined it down to about the right dimensions. The rest, the eliptical housings, and the ventilated tube are all machined from steel, and fettled to give the pressed appearance. This assembly is all brazed together, and then secured to the wood work with glue to give one integrated fitting. It is interesting to note that the reason for the offset (2mm only) is for the passage of the gas tube (which the AP74 doesn't have).

The receiver had a lot fettling done to round out the sharp corners, and the carry handle in particular needed a lot of work to take it back to milspec.

Painted French Green to simulate a parkerised finish you see on some Colt receivers and ageing to the metal and wood seemed appropriate.

The finished gun now feels and handles like a real AR10, with a little extra weight in the right places for balance. Something we can shoot back home on the farm. The bunnies will love it.

[Bill Hollinger]

crsoll, amazing! Thank you for sharing that.