By Joe W Gorman
Foreword: The company, Armalite, was formed in the 1950s with Eugene Stoner as chief engineer/designer. Originating as the light firearms division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, Armalite operated until the 1980s when it was sold to a foreign interest. In the ‘90s Mark Westrom purchased the company and its designs and got back to producing weapons. In 2013, the company changed hands again when Strategic Armory Company purchased it.
The A in AR is for ARMALITE
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov when discussing modern military and sporting rifles. In a sweeping oversimplification, Stoner, father of the AR-10/AR-15 rifles supplied the United States and many of her allies with an advanced rifle design. Conceived in the 50s, and put into service in the 60s, the AR-15/M-16 remains in service, in several variations, to this day. Kalashnikov, of course, in the finest Soviet traditions, designed a robust rifle in 1947 that could be produced in a cave, requiring only steel rods, a hydraulic stamping machine, springs and soup cans. That MAY be a bit of an exaggeration. What it lacks in accuracy it makes up for with its ability to keep running under harsh conditions. His rifle has supplied Communist countries and rebels throughout the world for 70 years. The symbolism, of the space age, light-weight American rifle vs the wood and stamped-steel Soviet rifle equivalent of a T-34 tank, represents the approach both countries take to solving problems. (Of course, the classic illustration of the differences in how the US and USSR set about solving problems, is the United States spending millions to develop a pressurized ink pen for use in the weightlessness of space and the Soviets turning to a pencil for use in their space program.)
The Armalite Lion Logo is expertly displayed on the lower of the AR-10TAC18. That Lion sure looks frisky.
Suffice it to say, both these designs, in slightly improved forms, still serve in combat zones, civilians’ hands and training camps across the globe. Stoner’s revolutionary, direct impingement AR-10, chambered in 7.62×51 NATO is a 70-year-old design. I’ll let that sink in for a second. The AR-10A I reviewed incorporates a few improvements to be sure, but the heart of the design is the same. Remarkable.
The AR-10TAC18 is the first Armalite-brand product I have reviewed. I knew that the modern Armalite products were held in positive regard amongst fans of AR-10 designs. I own several of Ruger’s SFAR rifles in .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor and I have had great luck with them. My son owns a Seekins SP10 in 6.5 Creedmoor and he too has had good luck with his rifle.
The Rifle
The AR-10TAC18 is scaled more closely to the Ruger SFAR than to the Seekins SP10. It’s a bit larger than an standard AR-15 frame but not by much. The AR-10TAC18 tips the scale at a reasonable 8.6 pounds (my 20” 308 SFAR is 7.3 pounds) The AR-10TAC18 accepts Magpul PMAGs and is fitted with a Magpul STR stock, pistol grip and flip up sights. The AR-10TAC18 features and ambi-safety, a free-float handguard with M-LOK points, an adjustable gas block (that I never needed to touch during testing) a black nitride coated 18” 416R stainless-steel barrel with 5R rifling and an Armalite tactical muzzle brake. Also, Armalite fitted a Radian Raptor charging handle for easy ambidextrous charging. The endplate features dual sling loops, and the castle nut is staked in two places.
The AR-18TAC18 checks every single box for “how to properly make an AR”
The Armalite website declares this rifle arrives “range ready” and I must concur. I removed it from its tactical case and separated the upper and lower receivers to run a patch through the barrel and to remove the bolt carrier group so that I could apply some CLP just because.
After reassembling the AR-10TAC18, I noted the strengthened rear of the lower receiver along with the heft and solidity of the rifle. I looked closely at the mating of the upper and lower receiver and noted that I was able to see just a sliver of daylight through the upper/lower seam. The balance point seems well suited for patrol and tactical missions. I pronounce this rifle “good to go” out of the box.
The AR-10 bolt carrier group is supersized compared to a standard AR-15 bcg
Testing and Evaluation
It just so happened that Vortex sent along a Viper PST II 3-15×44 with the EBR-7C (MRAD) for use in my evaluation of the Armalite. I have been impressed with all the recent Vortex glass I have seen, and I was very impressed with the Viper PST II. The Viper PST II features very low dispersion glass for high resolution, sharp images. Vortex also uses multi-coated lenses for maximum light transmission, and I noticed at dusk, I could still pick out dark gray steel targets against the slightly darker dirt around the target. I noted the light pipe on top of the elevation turret to help shooters pre-flight their shot by indicating turret position.
Well-played Vortex.
The Vortex glass is an excellent fit for the Armalite AR-10TAC18 as the Vortex is a rugged, one-piece tube and features a MIL referenced, FFP, Illuminated, Christmas-tree reticle. The Viper PST II features large, knurled MIL-referenced turrets with a zero-stop elevation turret. The 3-15 power Viper offers the capability to engage varmints to 600 yards easily while being able to dial back to close-quarters 3x magnification. With the Viper PST mounted in a rugged cantilever mount, I was ready to hit the range. I could read notes I’d made on targets with a sharpie from 200 yards out. Scanning further out in the corn fields next to my range I could clearly see birds feeding out at 500 yards and read highway signs at a mile away 😊. That’s clear glass.
Just for fun, I also ran the AR-10TAC18 with a 4x TA01 ACOG. That glass worked well too. The ACOG is extremely capable for any tactical job, but it can also be used to make some precise shots as odd as that sounds when talking about a 4x scope. The tightest group I shot, surprisingly, was shot at 200 yards with the ACOG. I cannot explain that but there you have it.
I even mounted a 4x ACOG on the AR-10TAC18 just because no one is the boss of me
The manual of arms for the Armalite AR-10TAC18FFP is familiar to any AR shooter so I discovered no surprises there. I started by zeroing my scope with M.E.N.147gr 7.62×51 NATO surplus MIL Ball at 100 yards. I noted the rifle had a very tolerable recoil and seemed to throw the spent brass right at 3:00. I shot a 1.7” group at 100 yards from the bench with the M.E.N ball. My evaluation was starting out well. I noted the stock trigger felt fairly crisp and when measured broke right at 4.5 pounds. I’m a sucker for competition triggers but this is a tactical rifle, and the stock trigger is certainly up to the task.
I shot over 400 rounds through the AR-10TAC18 with zero malfunctions. Accurate and well built, the Armalite rifle is purposely built to take care of dangerous business.
Moving on to hunting ammunition, I shot several groups at 100 and 200 yards with Hornady’s 150gr soft point American Whitetail and the groups were typical for OG hunting ammunition. I scored several 200-yard groups with the American Whitetail that were sub-3”, which is minute of deer accurate any day of the week. With a 1-5x scope this rifle would be a white tail harvester extraordinaire. I’d take a shot at a whitetail at 300 yards if I could get prone and dope the wind.
I then wanted to see how the AR-10TAC18 did at precision work. I had a variety of match ammo on hand from Hornady for this. With the Hornady Black168gr AMAX, the Hornady Match 168g BTHP and Hornady Match 178gr BTHP I could keep my 100-yard groups right at or just a hair over MOA. The Hornady Black 168gr AMAX turned in a 200-yard group I was unable to duplicate measuring .78” center to center. The Hornady Match ammunition did very well too. I should also mention that my range has recently shrunk from 300 to 200 yards, and it will be a while before I’m able to go to South Dakota to shoot out to 1000 yards to really test any match ammo. I would bet as the range increased the match ammo would really shine due to much higher ballistic coefficients.
I mounted a 4x ACOG and proceeded to shoot a .65” 3-shot group at 200 yards. I could never match that group again. But I did it once!
Moving on to the Hornady American Gunner 155gr target/varmint ammunition, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. This ammunition is in a sweet spot as it turned in some tight groups at 100 and 200 yards and is a lower price per round than the match offerings. I shot several sub-MOA groups at 200 yards with the Hornady American Gunner 155 gr.
The AR-10TAC18 liked Hornady’s 155gr BTHP American Gunner too. I shot a number of groups that were right around 2” at 300 yards!
Over the course of my testing, I fired just over 400 rounds and experienced zero malfunctions.
This is a 1” group shot at 100 yards with Hornady Black 168gr AMAX and an ACOG. This was a common group size for this ammo at this range. Yes, I realize I out shot this 100-yard group at 300 yards. I still can’t explain that.
Conclusion
The Armalite AR-10TAC18 is designed to fill a tactical role and it does that well. It is a sturdy rifle made of quality parts, properly assembled and it will no doubt provide a shooter with a lifetime of reliability. I believe the AR-10TAC18 could be used as a club to kill an enemy combatant and function perfectly afterwards. The AR-10TAC18 is a lean, accurate and graceful weapon. If I were required to go out into the darkness to investigate something suspicious at the ranch, I would be reassured if it were with me. I would say, this rifle, with ammunition it likes, is right at or just over 1 MOA, all day, every day. I have chosen to throw out the best and worst groups at 100 yards and average all the groups I’ve shot. The results are printed below.
The Hornady Match 168gr and 178 gr turned in good groups too
The clarity and color fidelity of the Vortex Viper PST II 3-15×44 took me a bit by surprise. I would say it’s right at home on the Armalite! The ACOG was also a good fit for the AR-18TAC18, just mind your shoulder pressure as there is less eye relief. Pick the glass you’ll need for your mission.
Range Results
| Ammunition | Average Muzzle Velocity (feet per second) | Average 100-yard groups (inches)Measured center to center |
| Hornady American Gunner 155 BTHP | 2674 | .9 |
| Hornady Match 168gr BTHP | 2597 | 1.1 |
| Hornady Match 178gr BTHP | 2510 | 1.3 |
| Hornady Black 168gr AMAX | 2620 | 1.0 |
| Hornady American Whitetail 150gr SP | 2760 | 1.5 |
Note: the best and worst groups were thrown out and all others were averaged and rounded to the nearest 1/10th for this table. During the compressed schedule for testing the AR-10TAC18 I encountered the phenomenon of printing sub-MOA at 200/300 yards and right or just over MOA for 100 yards. Oy Vey. Look, this is an accurate rifle, I’d drop a match trigger in it, spend more time with set up and I bet she shoots tighter. Make of this what you will. I mostly blame the guy behind the trigger.
Armalite AR-10TAC18 Specs
Vortex Viper PST II 3-15×44 MRAD Specs
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