Ruger SR556 FB Rifle, AR-15 16", 223/5.56

I have owned a Ruger SR-556 in both 556 and 6.8 since 2012. Done a lot of shooting with them and seen these rifles get eclipsed and the gas piston fad fizzle away. The good, Rugers are not the nicest guns out there, but they are built like tanks. Sometimes you buy something that is expensive and does not seem to give you a lot for the money, yet it takes a beating and keeps on licking. With Ruger you don't get the nice grips, triggers, sights or hardware. What you get are top quality metals that don't rust, a solidly reliable operating mechanism that will continue to run even with spotty maintenance of through very harsh field conditions. The gas piston makes it very easy to clean as the action really doesn't get dirty at all and the gas piston takes a moment to swab out. The bad is that this gun is obsolete, very heavy, not up to standard any more and the gas piston was never really necessary, sort of. First off the weight on account of the rails and gas piston is excessive and decreases the joy of shooting this gun. Secondly the overall setup is not that nice. For far less money you can get a far better gun with all the nicer, lighter and more ergonomic features. Gas pistons have proven to decrease accuracy by introducing significant barrel interference (the opposite of free float) and beat the snot out of the upper receiver shorterning its lifespan. All this strain and stress is put on a system of more complex moving parts that is proprietary and cannot be sourced or fixed yourself. You have to send it back to Ruger and pay big bucks to fix this thing thankfully it's so well built that I haven't needed any repairs. The idea was interesting 10 years ago but the classic direct impingment system has proven superior as if properly assembled with the correct gas port size and length, used with reasonable quality ammunition (no steel case junk but even cheap milsurp brass will do) it's just fine. DI components last longer as they are not under heavy strain of the piston, are more simple and easy to repair or find and DIY if needed. The gun is easier to shoot on account of a more pleasant recoil impulse and while it takes a little longer to clean, isn't really any more maintenance intensive. In fact, you could probably go longer without cleaning a DI than you can getting the gas pistol and port all fouled up. It was a nice idea at the time but gas piston sporting rifles, in the AR class anyway are unecessary. They decrease all the things you want (simplicity, accuracy, longevity) and bring about all the things you don't want (weight, cost & complexity). There are far better guns now that cost less, shoot better and have more of everything you want and need. I enjoyed my SR-556's but the last couple years they have just been sitting there, too old to be worth much, not nearly as good as far less expensive modern alternatives or builds taking their place.

received this weapon in about a week. i'm very happy with impact guns. I will be a return customer.

I bought my sr 556 about a year and a half ago from impact guns and the service was great. I couldn't be happier with this gun. I have shot every make of ammo I could find and never had any problems with it. Put a Acog on the gun and a bipod. This gun is easy to clean and is also very accurate. Real happy with this purchase. Thanks Impact.

Got a new SR556FB in October 2011. It came with the newer, reworked bolt carrier. Carrier tilt is not an issue on this gun. This rifle is by far the best AR I've ever had. It is also my first piston gun. I've heard all of the arguments both pro and con about piston guns vs. DI guns. I've now owned both and I'm sticking with the gas piston setup. These guns run cleaner and cooler. That by itself is enough reason to switch to a piston rifle. DI ARs get filthy very quickly. At least mine always did. I'm not a huge fan of the Ruger trigger on this gun. I know is is a mil-spec part, but I still think Ruger could have done better. The pull is a little too long and a little too heavy. You get used to it though. I hear that Gissele makes great AR trigger sets and I may go that way someday, but Ruger gets about $1500 for these guns (before Sandy Hook), so I would have expected a premium trigger on the rifle. Same with the M4 butt stock. This is a standard part on almost all ARs, but the Magpul units are quite a bit better. I agree with an earlier poster that Ruger should have sat down and done a deal with Magpul. Heck you already get 3 nice Magpul Pmags with the gun anyway, so a nifty Magpul stock seems like a good fit with the Ruger. Despite all that, I love this rifle. Amazingly accurate right out of the box. All the right surfaces are hard chromed. Everything is up to snuff.

This was my first AR and I just cant imagine anything better! I bought it a few years back not long after they came out. I've put 1000's of rounds through her and she has yet to let me down. I love that it comes loaded with iron sights, full rail, hand guards,ajustable stock, dust cover,forward assist and so on. Its also easy to clean and take apart. You also dont need to play with adjusting the piston very much either. Once you have it in the right spot leave it alone. I would get another one in the 7.2 if they come out with it.

Impact Guns did a great job getting the gun delivered within a week. Great case, the 3 mags were a bonus too! Very high quality AR. Important note...these sr556's have the new rounded bolt carrier to decrease carrier tilt. I'm not worried about it, but thought you may like to know. No play at all between the upper and lower assembly, super tight fit. Heard a lot of people don't like the trigger. It's fine. Not as gritty as a few other ar's I've tried. The only gripe I have is the buttstock is not that great compared to a magpul. C'mon ruger, you cut a deal with Troy for the sites and rails, can't you cut a deal with magpul too? Just saying. Before shooting I gave mine a good cleaning to get all the grease and other gunk from the factory out of it. Took it to the range today. Ran about a 100 rounds through it with no failures shooting m855 62gr rounds. At 25yds was getting dime size groupings. Haven't had a chance to see how it does at a 100yds yet but very pleased with the operation and accuracy thus far. I had originally ordered a Rock River but the wait was almost 4 months(at least) so I cancelled it. Someday I'll pick up a rock river upper when their wait period is less to have a DI gun too. No regrets at all though. This thing is great. Happy buying!

I ordered this rifle and had it delivered to a local Gun store where I picked it up. I was pleased to see that it came with three 30-round PMAG magazines, even though ImpactGuns says it only ships with one (mine was shipped to NV, not CA). Pictures do not do this rifle justice. It is beautiful! It has a good, solid feel to it as well. I disassembled it and everything looked well oiled right out of the box (no cosmoline or grease). I took it out with my sister and we had a blast shooting it. Recoil is not punishing, but it is still thrilling to shoot. For fun, quite a few times we would quickly pop off 30 rounds and it never jammed once. We went through about 200-300 rounds with brass federal ammo and had no issues whatsoever. When I brought it home, I disassembled it again for cleaning. The insides did not get as dirty as I would've expected. It still looked pretty clean. I also did not see any signs of carrier tilt. I gave it a good cleaning and packed it away for next time, where I'll take my wife out shooting (also, my new EOTECH red dot sight arrives!).

I've had my SR556 for 2yrs and rarely clean the the bolt, gas block, or piston. Converted my flash suppressor to one of Gemtech's adaptors last summer and run an HVT 308 on my SR with a Timney trgr. OMG..You should find Black Hills 69gr blue bx reloaded as incredibly accurate - 0.5" - when running a better than stock trigger & gd glass. Fiocchi 50grVmxs are xclnt too. Weakest link in the SR is that grinding trigger! It sucks. This rifle flat out impresses and turns in groups anyone would envy. I'd swear it was police sniper grade, but just a bit heavy for patrol work.

Best AR I have owned and one of the best overall I have ever shot. Gas piston set on 0 firing single shot with an AAC Suppressor is something to be a awe of. Throwing the Upper onto a select fire POF and running full auto gives you results as good if not better than the POF or HK Piston uppers. Throw the upper back onto the Ruger Lower, pull the piston, wipe it off and away you go. Ready to shoot shotgun hulls at 100 yards all over again.