How to Build a Bare-Bones Vietnam AR Using Brownells Retro Parts

By Frank Jardim

There’s never been a better time to indulge your retro AR nostalgia. I decided to build up my own retro AR based on Colt’s Model 601, the first production model to see military service and the sleekest of the ARs. It had no forward assist or protective raised gate around the magazine release, giving its receiver a slab-sided look you’ll find on vintage civilian Colt SP1 rifles. It also had a distinctive triangular-head charging handle, a three-prong “duckbill” flash suppressor and green furniture instead of the familiar black that came later. A little over 14,000 were made before production ceased in 1963. The Air Force got 8,500, the Army took 1,000 to field test in Vietnam, and Navy SEALs took a few for their operations.

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