Ruger SR-556? Thoughts, Opinions, Reviews....

[tackdriva308]

i was in the market for an ar and looked heavily and almost purchased the SSR but i have bigger hands and thought the grip and lower was a little slim for my likings and the guy i was talkin to about them said they are an excellent shootin AR but it cramped his hand shootin it.

 

[kx500]

Just bought one on Gunbroker.com. Can't wait to take it out.

 

[Tim_the_Bald]

There is a good write up on why the addition of a operating rod to an AR15 is a bad idea. It would take a redesign of most of the rifle to really do it right.

Highlights:

"In order to understand why such a conversion isn’t the best option for a standard AR-15, you need to know how an AR-15 works. I’ll try to distill it to one paragraph.

Gases from the fired case (which expands, by the way) travel back through the gas tube, for a specific amount of time based on the distance between the gas port and the muzzle – we refer to this as dwell time. Does this gas simply “push” the bolt back? Not exactly. Gas travels inside the gas key of the bolt carrier and expands rearward, forcing the carrier back, while it also pushes the bolt forward. As the carrier pulls back, the cam pin moves in its slot in the carrier, causing the bolt to rotate and unlock. At the same time, the gas that’s still in the barrel is keeping the case expanded to fill the chamber. Once that gas is vented out the front of the barrel, the case shrinks, allowing the entire assembly to pull back while the extractor continues to grip the rim of the case.

Now, the piston conversion. Some of these items vary based on the exact conversion, but this is a general overview.

As soon as the bullet passes the gas port, gas enters the gas block and pushes against whatever components the individual manufacturer has decided to place in the way. The effect is that the operating rod pushes against the top of the bolt carrier – and instead of having the gas enter the carrier and exert pressure parallel to the bore fore and aft, the rod hits the carrier key – or modified one piece carrier – which has the effect of causing the bolt carrier to move at a tail-down angle. There isn’t any gas pushing the bolt forward while the carrier unlocks, so the carrier just pulls the bolt back and forces it to unlock from the locking lugs of the barrel. The piston/op-rod assembly, which is under spring pressure, starts to move forward to its “at rest” position, however, in some cases it will slam forward with enough force to shear any pins holding the spigot in place – that’s why you won’t see many standard FSBs on piston conversions any more."

Well, OK, FT, but the article seems to refer to conversion "kits," not a rifle designed from scratch as a piston action.

 

[fuzzyfrog]

Welcome Home;
I own a Ruger 556 and have no problems with it so far, I bought it just a few weeks ago.
I am sure the gentleman having problems with the weapon has tried this but if not for him and all of you that don't own the weapon.
It has a cool regulator tube located under the barrel at the front. The adjustment is supposed to be in the #2 selection, for all around use.
You can change the selection for ammo that is underpowered, like Wolfe...
or even change it to operate as a single shot, where you load each road....
Finally you can use the adjusting lever to adjust where your spent rounds are sent..
IF you want it sent to the front or the rear, this adjustment in the manuel even gives you suggestions on when and why you should change these settings.
I hope this helps someone.
Fuzzyfrog

 

[kx500]

Don't care what anyone says, the ruger 556 is bad ***. Shot over 300 rounds last weekend, took it home and cleaned the gas regulator and wiped the bolt clean. Very smooth shooting rifle.

 

[AMProducts]

I think tangofox hit the nail on the head...

In california, the SR-15 is something of an exotic, since I deal with a lot of law enforcement, I have had a chance to handle and shoot this rifle. At Cops-West last year we were the ammo vendor for a booth featuring the SR-15 in a competition for the attendees. The ammunition we provided is a down-loaded .223 round shooting a 55gr Frangible bullet at about 2500FPS. This round would not operate the SR-15 reliably. At first we thought it was an issue with the ammunition, but after firing a few mags full auto through an M4 we decided it was the rifle.

I don't mean to call anyone's baby ugly, but in my opinion ruger is notorious for making unreliable or inaccurate semi-automatics. The Mini-14 while great for spraying at bad guys from the back of your A-team painted van makes a marginally accurate truck gun, and I still curse myself constantly every time I take my Mk2 to the range and it malfunctions constantly (Frankly, I think it's the stainless guns, all of the blued ones are great). However I have a ruger super-redhawk in .44 mag, and it is an absolute work of art. I couldn't ask for a nicer gun.

The question I have... bill ruger despite being a firearms designer, did not seem to have the same aspirations for the expression of the second amendment most of us here would. Part of the reason factory 20rd magazines for the Mini-14 were not made availible until after his death. I am glad the company is turning over a new leaf in terms of giving the customer what he wants (black rifles and hi-cap magazines) but it seems the SR-15 was likely rushed into production from off the shelf parts, other than slapping their name on it, this is something you can expect from a garage-gunsmith without the attractive price.

 

[TheFNG]

I have had my SR556 for right at one year now.

Mods.

Eotech 557 Sight
Bravo Company Machine Charging Handle
Wilson Combat Tactical Trigger Unit
Magpul Foward Angle Grip
Magpul Slim Rail Covers
Magpul UBR Butt Stock
Primary Weapon Systems Muzzle Brake
Magpul Enhanced Trigger Guard

2300+ rounds to date from several Manufacturers
Seems to really like 60Gr TAP

I can take it out a consistantly hit 3in steel at 300m.

No carrier tilt or other mechanical issues and only one FTF.
This was at the 600 round mark on the first range day I had with it.

Great rifle. Doesn't shoot as accurately as my 16in Larue but it is different and costs a lot less than my 10.3 in barrel HK 416.

BTW, do not run a Hydrolic Buffer in a piston gun unless it is built for it. Read Knights Amament. The piston systems are not built to take the extra load. Run a Spykes Tactical buffer if you want an upgrade. Dead Quit, very smooth and a little recoil reduction.

Just my Opinion her guys. Hope all enjoy shooting your rifles.

 

[m14ebr]

Donno, didn't see any Armalites in Nam in the 60's when we got the first Colt AR's that replaced our M-14's...Maybe I missed something. My message was for the other guy thinking about spending 1500.00 on a untested rifle. Colt's been there, done that.

Armalites were also known as Stoners. Armalites were generally used by the Navy Seals in 1962 so not many military personnel got to see the Armalite rifles.

 

[jdubl]

Armalites were also known as Stoners. Armalites were generally used by the Navy Seals in 1962 so not many military personnel got to see the Armalite rifles.

As far as i understand it from reading, Stoner and a few others at Armalite developed the AR15, but couldn't produce enough of them, so colt produced a lot of them and eventually Armalite sold the rights for the AR15 comletely to colt, along with the AR10. 1959 and 1962 come up as dates for either licensing or transfer of rights. This was all way before my time, so some of you folks with first hand experience might know better.