Stopped in my local range/gunshop to look around after the gym. I have never bought anything here but they do have a nice range. I fondled a used Aero going for $625 which I though was a good deal. The Bushmaster XM 15 was $525, open it up and took the BCG out, I noticed the gas key loose. I touched it and it fell off. Looks like the previous owner possibly overtightened the gas key screws and staked the heck out of it. Didn't see any other problems. Hoping I can get what remains of the screws in bolt carrier, I'm thinking this joker put loctitie on it as well

Anyway I used the gas key situation as a negotiating tool. After we agreed on price for the Bushmaster and filled out the 4473 I started thinking about the Aero as well. I asked her if we could do $1000 otd, she said she could knock off $50. DONE. $1086 with tax for both


They are dirty and I need to order a gas key with screws if I can get the old ones out.

After some brief research it looks like the Bushy with the 11.5" is a pre ban setup they sold for a while

Pics

curious how is the barrel marked on the Bushmaster?

That is awesome. Love me some bushy Congrats. Nice score.

That's a cool pickup with the Bushmaster. Six hole slim handguards, no less. I like. I'm guessing a faux moderator of sorts? The Lakewood rollmark on the Aero puts it post Covid, so it's pretty new.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
That's a cool pickup with the Bushmaster. Six hole slim handguards, no less. I like. I'm guessing a faux moderator of sorts?

Yes, it's a welded faux moderator, used to mimic the Vietnam-era XM177E2 carbine (aka Colt Model 629) fielded by some special operations units.

The original XM177E2 had a 11.5" barrel with a 4.3" long moderator threaded on, but clones like these use a slightly longer 5" flash hider pinned and welded to take the 11.5" barrel out just past 16" so it's not a SBR. This particular faux moderator is also missing the grenade ring at the base.





While a collapsible stock was more typical on the actual XM177E2s, you do occasionally see photos of E2s with fixed stocks like this Bushmaster XM15 has installed. The railed upper receiver and removable carry handle is a modern anachronism, though.

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
curious how is the barrel marked on the Bushmaster?

I'll check when I can, they are in(the Mrs. don't know yet) quarantine currently.

Was able to get them downstairs for a good cleaning and inspection

The Aero is in great shape inside and out. The Bushy is suspect. No markings anywhere on the upper except for "5.56" on the top of the barrel between the front sight and flash hider, not even "T" marks on flat top rail. The BCG is fucked. The gas key falling off, it's even staked on the inside too. Bolt cam pin, firing pin and firing pin retaining pin are scarred and mangled. The upper Bolt carrier in pics is the trash one. Anyone recognize it?

Pic of staked gas key screw from the inside

interesting on the barrel,

older SGW/Oly barrels, and Eagle Arms (pre Armalite) were marked with Caliber, and if STainless, SS in that location

not sure if they were sourced from the same place then or not, but they were mostly 1:9, button rifled, and honestly, pretty accurate

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Yes, it's a welded faux moderator, used to mimic the Vietnam-era XM177E2 carbine (aka Colt Model 629) fielded by some special operations units.

Thought so. With the recent changes, I wonder if we'll start seeing actual functional repros being made since they're not in such a weird in-between place in terms legality and functionality. Could be cool.

Off-topic semi-quasi-related tangent: Look for a GAU-5A thread from me sometime in the next week or two.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
After some brief research it looks like the Bushy with the 11.5" is a pre ban setup they sold for a while

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
The Bushy is suspect.

The AI results I got that sifted through a bunch of places including the Arfcom retro boards say that the early 90's ('92-'94) railed uppers from Colt and Bushmaster didn't have T marks because those years predate military adoption and T marks are a government spec thing. Also says a Bushmaster from that era would have definitely had a semi auto carrier. "Multiple owners of 90s-era Bushmasters confirmed their uppers came with semi-auto BCGs — the carrier with the undercut under the firing pin and the tail relieved to SP1 spec (the half-moon cutout instead of the full-auto profile). One user specifically noted their 1995 16" flat top had exactly that. The reason is straightforward: full-auto M16-style carriers were not legal for civilian use, and the ATF didn't clarify that they were permissible in AR-15s until roughly 2007–2008. So every civilian AR-15 manufacturer, including Bushmaster, used semi-auto carriers throughout the 90s and into the mid-2000s. One outlier mentioned a very early Bushmaster that came with a standard M16 bolt carrier and firing pin, but that was the exception, not the rule."

It also said that for a while, Bushmaster was sourcing those upper forgings from FN. Does it have any forge codes on it? Would be on the right side, above the forward assist.

I dunno, could be original to the gun based on the T marks and carrier thing. I have had exactly one used upper come through my collection that had a semi auto carrier and it had all kinds of little funky details on it that looked different from three or four other auto carriers I pulled to compare to it.

Replace the bolt carrier.

I have an old semiauto Bushy BC if you want it. I'll never use it, just stick your guts in it.

quote:

Does it have any forge codes on it?

Nothing at all, I even pulled the heat shields


Mars, that would be awesome, we'll work out a trade

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Mars, that would be awesome, we'll work out a trade

If yer still in the Atlanta area, just let me take you to lunch.

Bushmaster was pretty well known for gas key issues back in the 2000s. Weak staking would lead to screws loosening.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
they are in(the Mrs. don't know yet) quarantine currently.

"What new gun, Pumpkin?"