
This solid stock has a hard rubber buttpad, a sling swivel instead of a fixed loop, and no provision for storing a cleaning kit. The fixed stock appears to be the same as seen on later variants, but it’s still different. The rear sights are only adjustable for windage. Gone are the forward assist and shell deflector making this a slick side upper receiver.

Outwardly, the rifle looks like most AR-15s, but as one comes closer the differences are apparent. In the handsĪlthough this is an AR-15 rifle, it is a bit different from what most shooters are familiar with these days. Though it may sound strange, the AR-15 was not once the universally accepted rifle that is today. Armalite also offered it’s AR-180 as an alternative. Additionally gun buyers were more than content to purchase new or surplus M1 Carbines or Bill Ruger’s newly introduced Mini-14 instead. I told him if he truly wanted to know he would need to contact Colt. It also appears that this may be a franken-build as the pivot pin is not correct for a SP1 Sporter or Carbine.
Colt sp1 serial numbers serial number#
Others were more familiar with the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine and the AR’s appearance turned off many shooters - the rifle was simply too different and ugly to add it to their collection. Serial number SP189161 is an early-1980s production. colt sp1 s dates serial figures shown usgi serial number data base ( serial figures shown in chronological instead then statistical order): 101-14,484 1959-1963 people surroundings forceproject agileseal problem colts ar-15 design 601, roll runs armalite. Yet many still remembered the rifle’s poor initial showing and shunned the AR-15. The markings also indicate the upper was forged for Colt by Kaiser Aluminum. Yet many collectors want the real thing - and will pony up the cash for a genuine example of the original “black” rifle. Perhaps they already have a tactical carbine? Perhaps simplicity appeals to them? Or perhaps they’re simply driven by nostalgia they find their answer in the past.įor these folks it’s not uncommon to build a replica of an early generation AR-15 out of a variety of new and/or surplus parts. Today we have a dizzying array of “black rifles” to choose from and still, there are shooters who shout (sometimes angrily) that people should “just build their own AR.” This underlines a point - a discerning group of shooters have decided that this current crop of AR rifles simply aren’t for them. Forty-one years later and this Colt is now considered a collector’s piece. Jimmy Carter was elected president and my Colt SP1 AR-15 left the factory in Hartford, Connecticut. The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Red Army at the Spectrum.

Apple Computers was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. In 1976 the United States celebrated its bicentennial. “I’m still in a dream, Snake Eater!” (Photo: Francis Borek)
