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Ruger AR 556

2K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  Al the Infidel 
#1 ·
LGS has these on sale for 499$ w/3 boxes of bullets. Does anyone have comments pro or con on these rifles. I know this is Ruger's low line AR but never owned one and it makes me itch (or it could be from something else). Thanks for all responses.
 
#2 · (Edited)
i bought one a while back thinking they were too good a bargain to pass up at $540.

They have a 1/8 twist which a lot of people will tell you is ideal.

They are the only AR I've come across with such a good single stage trigger that there's no point in replacing it. Until I pulled that one I didn't think it was even possible to have a decent single stage trigger in an AR. Apparently Daniels defense had to recall theirs. There are issues with the trigger geometry that Ruger must have worked out.

The fit and finish is excellent just like you'd expect from Ruger.

The reviews I've read say it's not a sub-MOA rifle. I haven't shot mine but I find that hard to believe. Worse case it's just got to be broken in. I've heard from a gunsmith that owns one of piston driven SR 7.62's that it's just as accurate as an equivalent AR 10 so I can't believe the AR's are any different.

If you run some Final Finish bullets through it it will save you some break in time. You can order them from David Tubb.

Where they get proprietary is in the handguard attachment. The hanguard is a little thin and the retaining nut screws on. Also they don't ship with the quick detach front sling swivel. I'd try to make the LGS give you one.

If you look on gunbroker you may find them a little cheaper.

I thinks it's an excellent AR. Having the right twist and Not having to replace the trigger is what makes it a bargain. I think a 1/7 bushmaster is superior but you have to put a $150 Giesselle in them.
 
#3 ·
i have had a single stage trigger in one of my ar's for over 15 years. working single stage triggers are not new when bought from quality sources.

twist rate is based on the bullet you plan to shoot which dictates the distance you can shoot. case size tends to limit things.

when you shoot several moa 100 yard targets come back and show us. std 16" ar's are NOT target rifles.
 
#4 ·
I have the Ruger AR556. I think its a good entry level rifle. Mine had an awful trigger, gritty, creepy and heavy. i replaced it immediately with a Timney #3 competition drop in trigger. Apparently its hit or miss what trigger you get, but mine was a miss.

It has a barrel that has no coating on the bore. its simply a standard steel barrel. This theoretically gives it better accuracy than a chrome lined barrel but also means it wont last as long. How long will it last? who knows. Im sure much longer than I will ever care about. It also has an unshrouded firing pin. This may, or may not be an issue after many thousands of rounds. I also will never shoot enough rounds through mine to have it be an issue. The best thing about the Ruger AR556 is Rugers commitment to their customers. IF you would ever have a problem with the rifle, Ruger will quickly and cheerfully fix it, no questions asked, and pay shipping both ways.

$499 is a good price. I have seen them online for a few dollars less. I paid $600 for mine a couple years ago, and have been happy with it. I have close to 1,000 rounds through mine, it shows no signs of wear, and has been 100% reliable, and is certainly combat rifle accurate.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Save your money to save your money.
Save a bit more and get one already built the way you want it or build one from scratch the way you want it.

Not that there is anything wrong with that one.

Experience tells me you will go changing things and that will end up probably costing more than buying it already set up the way you want.

AR's are easy to assemble/build.


Piston or gas operated is a very personal decision and both have their merits and I offer no suggestions there except I don't have to clean mine as often as my best friend does.

The rest is up to you to get the most bang for your buck.

"The biggest communication problem is we don't listen to understand, we listen to reply"
 
#7 ·
I'd totally ignored ARs until recently but have caught the bug and now plan to build a couple (.204 Ruger and 6.5 Grendel).

You can buy the Ruger lower (with their Elite 452 trigger) for about $210 when the trigger itself is $100. (It's like the BX for the 10/22.)
You can get an upper for $250, a magazine for $10 and build a gun (with the better trigger) for less than $500.
It's great that you can buy each piece separately; it's like building a 10/22 from scratch but cheaper and easier!
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have to agree with Mike that the normal 16" barrel AR is not a target rifle. The only 16" AR I own is a factory CMMG model and the only one I own that is factory. With handloads it is quite accurate but my choice of a 3X optic limits my ability to shoot small groups.

Still, I've shot many factory ARs with 16 inch barrels and watched friends shoot theirs on paper so my opinion is based on more than a single rifle.

All my other ARs have 18 or 20 inch barrels. Calibers include .223, .25-45 Sharps and 7.62x39. They are my builds and with handloads they are MOA rifles. (The 7.62x39 upper was purchased assembled and I built the lower for it.)

My most accurate AR has a 1:8 Wilson Combat barrel but I also have 1:7 & 1:9 barrels that are plenty accurate with the right bullet. The targets below were shot with the Wilson barrel. The 3 target set was the day I initially sighted it in at 100 meters... not yards. I've posted these targets before. The second target at 350 yards was shot with 69 grain Nosler bullets. I can't do that well every time but I will always be under MOA (3.5") unless the wind gets me.

I'm the limiting factor for all of my ARs as I'm an old phart and long past my prime.



 
#11 ·
20" heavy stainless "Super Sniper" with a Wylde chamber.

Another very accurate barrel I have is a 20" Yankee Hill Diamond Fluted carbon steel barrel chambered for 5.56 NATO and 1:7 twist. Not nearly as heavy as the Wilson but impressive accuracy.

I have a Vortex Viper 6 ~ 24X50 on the Wilson rifle and a 6.5 ~ 20X50 Viper on the YH. The YH Vortex scope has a fine crosshair with target dot. As I understand it, Vortex made a one time run of those scopes and I was lucky enough to get one.
 
#14 ·
You really can build this yourself. Brownells and Midway both have videos (and bunches of videos on youtube) showing you everything you need to know and do. Parts identification, assembly, tools etc.

I search the web for parts and prices and will build mine myself. There is a transfer fee for the lower receiver (with S/N) but nothing else.
If you didn't want to buy the couple of special tools you could pay a gunsmith to assemble it. But I'll buy the tools.
 
#15 ·
Another point is that you can build these things in many calibers.
5.56/.223 is an excellent choice, ammo is super-cheap and it's relatively versatile.

But I want a better varmint rifle with the .204 Ruger. Super-accurate 24" barrel, super high velocity and not too expensive if you reload (about a quarter a round).

And for a pig gun I thought of the .300 blackout or 7.62x39 but then learned of the 6.5 Grendel. It fires the same weight bullet as the other 2 but is 400fps faster than the .300 and 200fps faster than the 7.62, and amazing at long range.
 
#17 ·
I've got an AR556, the trigger is one of the finest factory triggers I've ever pulled!
It shoots as good or a little better than I expected, I agree that AR-15's are not target rifles, I often wonder if people that claim they are have actually shot a really accurate rifle?
The only issue I had with mine was the gallon of oil that I had to wipe off of it when I took it out of the box.:rolleyes:
 
#18 ·
I've also got one of the AR556s. I haven't shot any mach grade ammo in it but I have found 3 types of hunting ammo that will shoot in the neighborhood of 1.25", and several more that are in the 1.5" area. In fact, most any decent ammo is under 2". Also I haven't had a single malfunction in over 500 rounds. Bought it primarily as a plinker but it ahs become my go-to coyote gun. Put a Leupold VX-R 2-7 on it and any yote within 300 yards is in serious trouble. Local shop had for about $500 recently and I was sorely tempted to pick up another one.
 
#22 ·
Thanks. I can't take credit for the build however that accolade belongs to DMJR1 and The Watering Hole gang. Its a Faxon fire fluted barrel hidden by the hand guard. A shorter guard would show off the barrel more but I like the look as is. The barrel is air gauged and I'm quite happy with it as I am the RRA 2 stage trigger. :bthumb:

Lots of good, great, deals on ARs out there these days compared to a year and more ago.
 
#21 ·
Questions like this? The answer depends on what you want in an AR.

For me, I wanted a good quality basic AR that came with iron sights. I wanted it from a company that would likely be around for the long haul, and a company that had good customer service. The Ruger fit the bill exactly.

I bought mine about two years ago when $599 was a good deal. It's been worth every penny I paid. It's accurate, and has been 100% reliable from Day 1. I can't say that about any other semi-auto gun I've owned. It has been fed a mix of whatever is the cheapest 55 grain ammo at the store, both brass and cheap Russian steel. Not one single hiccup.

The trigger on mine is gritty, and works like a two stage. But it's consistent, and I can shoot it well, so I won't be fixing something that's not broke.

For someone else? The AR-556 may or may not be for you. If you know you're going to want a lot of upgrades, why buy everything twice? Build what you want, or order a rifle that's equipped like you want it.

But Ruger makes an excellent basic AR-15, they sell it at an excellent price, and, in the unlikely event something goes wrong, you can rest assured that they will repair or replace it.
 
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