American 180
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| American-180 Specifications | |
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| Country of origin: | United States manufactured in Austria |
| Operation: | Selective fire |
| Action: | blowback, open bolt |
| Cartridge: | .22 LR or .22 Short Magnum rimfire |
| Rate of Fire: | 1200 rounds per minute with .22 LR ammo 1500 rounds per minute with .22 Short Magnum ammo |
| Length: | 900 mm (35 ½ in) |
| Height: | unknown |
| Width: | unknown |
| Weight (Empty): | 2.6 kg |
| Weight (177 round magazine): |
4.5 kg |
| Barrel: | 470 mm (18 ½ in) standard; 229 mm (9 in) short |
| Magazine capacity: | 165, 177, 220 or 275 rounds |
| Magazine type: | flat pan magazine |
The American-180 is a submachinegun developed in the 1960s which fires .22 LR cartridges from a high capacity magazine. The high capacity concept began with the Casull Model 290, which was the first weapon to use this flat pan magazine. Only 80 Casull M290s were created, and the weapon was very expensive to produce. Then the idea of the flat pan, high capacity magazine was re-introduced in the American-180 submachinegun. Weapons were mostly sold to police departments and jails, particularly for riot control.
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[edit] Operation
This submachinegun is a conventional blowback weapon. It uses an open bolt with a flat pan high capacity magazine. The cartridges are pushed down into a chamber using springs and coils, then the bullet is fired with a fixed firing pin, launching out of the barrel. The gun is typically only effective within a 100 meter range, so it is not suitable for long range shooting.
[edit] Advantages
- very high firing rate
- little recoil
- lightweight
- high magazine capacity
- high effective range for a submachinegun
- low probability of ricochets
- no over-penetration
[edit] Disadvantages
- low stopping power of individual 22 caliber bullets
- length of time required for magazine changes
- reliability problems
[edit] External links
- World Guns for specifications
