Harrington & Richardson 723 Style Carbine Review

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The growing popularity of retro guns is best described as a hazy sentimentality.

I use the word “hazy” because our remembrances aren’t often perfectly accurate. Our minds sometimes round off sharp corners when enough time has elapsed.

It seems logical that this is part of the driving force behind this trend. Guns we’ve moved away from in favor of newer and improved options still hold some allure.

Bearing that in mind, is the 723 Style Carbine from Harrington & Richardson worth your time? We took one to the range to find out for ourselves.

We’ll share the results with you below, so read on!

Why You Should Trust Us

Sean Curtis has been shooting since childhood but really began to delve into guns more during his law enforcement career of over two decades. He received continued training for his roles in SWAT and as a POST-certified handgun instructor.

He began writing in 2014 for Police1.com, covering many topics, including firearms reviews. From there, his works spread to Guns.com, American Survival Guide, Gun World Magazine, and the Glock Annual.

Sean wrote freelance reviews for Pew Pew Tactical since 2018, then came on board full-time in 2021 where he soon began focusing on videos.

Harrington & Richardson 723 Style Carbine Specs & Features

Specs

• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Action: Semi-auto
• Length: 32″
• Height: 8.75″
• Barrel Length: 14.7 pinned and welded
• Weight: 5 lbs.9oz.
• Capacity: 30+1 (or by magazine)
• Comes with: Cardboard box, manual, lock, 30-round magazine

Features

• M16A1 upper
• A2 birdcage
• Carry handle
• M16A2 lower

Specification Source: Palmetto State Armory

Background

The original AR-15 was a scaled-down version of Eugene Stoner’s AR-10, developed by Armalite in the 1950s. Colt bought the rights to the rifle in 1959 and began producing them for the military.

Several versions evolved over the decades that followed. I won’t get into the specifics for time’s sake, but suffice it to say the Model 723 M16A2 originated in the 1980s before the advent of the M4 and even served in Delta Force.

The H&R 723 Style Carbine has an H&R M16A1 upper, and M16A2 lower. Other components like the carry handle,  front sight base, and short handguard give visual cues as to the period this rifle hails from.

Who Is It For?

Retro rifles are popular with a lot of shooters, and so are clones. They are generally defined as newly made, older versions of the AR-10/AR-15 family, while clones are replicas of specific rifles, often military-issued, but can encompass any era.

Keep in mind these definitions are loose and can change over time. Regardless, the 723 Style Carbine touches both categories and offers value to both customers.

Folks who want a retro rifle can purchase this and be content with having a period piece that is fully functional and authentic to the time. Those more interested in clones can use this rifle as a base and dive down the rabbit hole of finding accurate parts and accessories for their build.

Fit & Feel

Many moons ago, I was issued an A1 rifle, and the fit and feel of the 723 Style Carbine had me nostalgic for those days. The A2 grip is the very one I change out on any other rifle.

The fore-end is short, ribbed, and just good enough for what you need, as there is no Keymod or MLOK present. This rifle even predates Picatinny, so mounting accessories will be challenging.

But this brings up an interesting point, too, because the AR-15 has suffered some mission creep over the years. The adaptations have allowed shooters to mount all kinds of accessories, and with the good, comes bad.

Weight is sometimes a factor with newer rifles but not this one. The website says lists the 723 Style Carbine at 6 lbs. but my scale placed it a 5 lbs. 9 oz.   

There is a mile of barrel sticking out the front; it’s funny to see just how much AR-15s have evolved over the years. The front sight base stands prominently in front of the handguard.

Interestingly, the rear sight on the carry handle has a dual diopter, but I could not tell a difference in size. I’m used to a larger one and a smaller one for more accurate work.

The trigger is mil-spec, as one would expect. I detected a tiny amount of creep before it broke at an average of 5 lbs. 13 oz. on a Lyman Digital Gauge.

Reset was very tactile and audible. It may be mil-spec single-stage trigger, but it felt a lot better than the ones I used in the past.

Placing the stock on my chest, I quickly remembered the minimalistic carbine stylings of old. There is a flat, plastic, plate with dimpling for grip—no cushy ride here.

To fuel the 723 Style Carbine, H&R sent along an aluminum 30-round magazine. I had some old aluminum Colt magazines I brought along to try, but they didn’t feed properly, and I isolated this problem to the magazines.

I tried a few other brands of more modern magazines along with the one H&R sent, and they all fed, locked back, and dropped cleanly when I pushed the button.

Overall the fit and finish are fine, what you would expect from most AR-15s. The receiver is forged 7075-T6, and the barrel is chrome-lined, pencil-profiled, 14.7-inch made from 4150 chrome moly vanadium.

How Does It Shoot?

In so many ways, shooting the 723 Style Carbine is a treat. It’s like driving an older vehicle without all the modern amenities.

The controls are simple, and basic. There are no lights, extra switches, batteries, or cables to contend with.

Comparably, it is incredibly light. I imagined how much easier it would have been to use this rifle during a recent training I attended, as opposed to the Geissele Super Duty I lugged around.

The A2 birdcage muzzle device and buffer provided the predictable, soft, recoil impulse I remembered from the days of old. Follow up shots were a breeze.

For accuracy, we tested the 723 Style Carbine as Eugene Stoner intended, lying on the ground with no optic. Some efforts were spent using the CTK Precision P3 Ultimate Shooting Rest, though a couple of factors impacted our results.

First, without a magnified optic, I was forced to go back to irons, and that neural pathway is nothing if not rusty. Second, with both diopters of the rear sight being apparently the same, I didn’t have the benefit of the smaller size.

Accordingly, my groups averaged between five and six inches at 100 yards. I wasn’t unhappy with these results, given the entirely analog experience.

We used 55-grain AAC ammo, which has grouped as small as sub-MOA with other rifles, as well as some Remington Match ammo. Minute of Man ruled the day.

As far as reliability is concerned, we ran a variety of ammo totaling nearly 500 rounds through the gun, using multiple magazines, and the 723 Style Carbine functioned perfectly. While I did experience some hiccups with some old Colt magazines I had, the magazines themselves turned out to be the source of the problem.

What Sets it Apart?

The 723 Style Carbine is old-school cool. First and foremost, it is a lightweight, no-frills, functional rifle that reliably delivers relatively accurate fire. Second, it has 80s drip for days and can scratch that nostalgic itch, or help you launch a really cool clone build.

Final Verdict

Testing the 723 Style Carbine from Harrington & Richardson was like stepping into a time machine.

Because I’d used a similar rifle some 30 years ago, I had kinesthetic memories triggered when I shouldered and fired the weapon.

I dig the overall aesthetic and appreciate the amount of authenticity used to create the weapon. It’s a blast from the past that also makes me appreciate how far the AR-15 has come.

Will you be picking up a 723 Style Carbine? Let us know in the comments below. For more retro rifles, check out the Best Retro ARs.