POTD: A Complete 180 – The Ross Rudd AR-180 Prototype
Sam.S 11.07.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Born in Canada, Ross Rudd developed a lifelong fascination with firearms. After his family moved to Massachusetts, Rudd worked at Savage in the 1940s manufacturing Enfields and Thompsons for WWII. In the 1970s, he started his own company to produce a delayed blowback pistol built around an angled locking wedge. He also adapted this mechanism into a rifle prototype on an AR-180 platform. The wedge slows the bolt carrier’s opening by wedging against the receiver until pressure safely drops – similar in concept to H&K’s roller locking. Rudd’s elegant design appeared to function well in testing. However, unable to secure financial backing, neither the rifle nor pistol reached production. This unique AR-180 prototype represents Rudd’s ambitious effort to implement his locking system in a rifle.
Experimental rifle by the late Ross Rudd. Appears to be the rifle pictured in 1994’s Gun Digest in an article about Rudd. Missing the forearm and charging handle.”
Lot 5208: Ross Rudd Experimental Semi-Automatic Rifle. (n.d.-bd). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved November 6, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1034/5208/ross-rudd-experimental-semi-automatic-rifle.
