Ruger's AR 556

I get the idea that some people like the idea of a $599 Ruger AR but would prefer it have the attributes of a $1,200 AR.

I agree!

I was one of many who was ticked to see that Ruger's new release was an AR, but after thinking about this, it's actually a pretty sharp move. The market is awash with cheap carbines that are pretty much identical, but the only real big-name manufacturer in that game is Smith & Wesson. Ruger has earned a reputation for well-made lower end guns, and offers a lifetime warranty from a company that's going to stay around. Even if they are just putting their name on yet another AR, that means a lot.

I am not an AR guy at all. If I was shopping for an entry level carbine and saw two similarly priced guns- one from Del-Ton or Windham or Core Tac or whatever, and one from Ruger, I'm buying the Ruger. And I'm sure there's a lot of people like me. Even though the AR market is hyper-competitive, I bet Ruger will sell plenty of these.

Ruger has earned a reputation for well-made lower end guns, and offers a lifetime warranty from a company that's going to stay around.

Click to expand...

Ruger actually has no warranty.

From their FAQ page:

Q. Why No Warranty Card Has Been Packed With Your New Ruger Firearm?

The Magnuson-Moss Act (Public Law 93-637) does not require any seller or manufacturer of a consumer product to give a written warranty. It does provide that if a written warranty is given, it must be designated as "limited" or as "full" and sets minimum standards for a "full" warranty. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has elected not to provide any written warranty, either "limited" or "full", rather than to attempt to comply with the provisions of the Magnuson-Moss Act and the regulations issued thereunder. There are certain implied warranties under state law with respect to sales of consumer goods. As the extent and interpretation of these implied warranties varies from state to state, you should refer to your state statutes. Sturm, Ruger & Company wishes to assure its customers of its continued interest in providing service to owners of Ruger firearms.

Click to expand...

Ref - http://www.ruger.com/service/FAQs.html#Q121

They generally provide good service, but you have no legal protection should they refuse to service a firearm.

There is a distinct difference that sets this rifle apart for persons like me new to the ar market. It says Ruger on it.
I'n not a fan boy but I have a familiar dealing with Ruger. My interest in Ars have been limited as I have a higher interest in target shooting with pistols. Everytime I near a buy on an AR I end up finding another pistol I'd rather have.
As a newby to ARs, the choices are mind boggling. I can read all the forums in the world for opinions but the fact of the matter is that I must determine my own specific taste in these ARs through use and experiance. So I'm not out to find the highest end rifle with the most frills, I'm out to find a basic , reliable rifle that I can become familiar with, and from there determine what furniture , optics, grips, exe, serves my specific interest. But at the same time I don't want to buy a turd.
My experiance with Ruger has been that for a good value, I can buy a reliable firearm with a rock solid backing. They have given me a solid springboard to determine my specific taste and have lead me to a solid idea of what specifics I like in a firearm. That way when I throw down extra $$$ for a higher end performer, I know which features I would like and which ones I can live without.
Ruger does not make the best, but I firmly believe in my opinion they are the best at what they do. And that is split the difference between a bottom end cheapo, and a higher end custom. I have always been met with a higher level of value per $$ amount out of my Rugers than I tend to get from other makers. There has also been times when issues I clearly should have paid for, were repaired and sent back to me free of charge in a weeks time on a firearm that was over 6 years old.
As a newby in the AR realm, the AR-556 is a godsend. A maker I am familiar with with a confirmed reputation at an entry level price. After some intimate range time I will undoubtedly move toward a level of custom fit and will most likely lead to another maker at a higher cost for a more finely tuned machine fitted to my specifics, but I have to start somewhere and Ruger just gave me confidence in my starting point.

^^^ +1 ^^^
Very well said. I chose My AR556 for the same reasons.

Well said JRWhit,

I think you are the market that Ruger is looking for exactly the reasons you stated. If I wanted/needed another AR I would likely buy a Ruger for the same reasons.

im not a "AR guy" im a "AK guy", and a "Ruger Fanboy" , now im pretty darn sure when i get into the "AR game", my AR will say Ruger AR556 on the side.

Ar 556

I looked at one at a local shop. I didn't need another AR since I have a Colt A2 Sporter that I like a lot but Ruger's new gun looked okay to me.

I went back a week later (regular visit, you know) and they had sold all five AR 556s they had in stock.

So someone must like them!

Hey Smithman, Can I ask what the price in the store was? I went to my LGS and asked about them and the kid behind the counter says "oh the cheap 750.00 model they just came out with. Nope! " I just kind of looked at him and wondered if that was going to be their price or if he was just pulling numbers out of thin air. I was done talking at that point. Just moved along. Nothing to see here folks. Just move along. .

AR 556 price

Seems to me it was about $650. But this shop is a little high on most of their prices.

Thank you!

Hey Smithman, Can I ask what the price in the store was?

Click to expand...

I picked one up last Friday for $639.00

Saw a couple online for $599 but spent the extra to support a ne shop in town that looks pretty promissing

StingRayRay said:

Hey Smithman, Can I ask what the price in the store was? I went to my LGS and asked about them and the kid behind the counter says "oh the cheap 750.00 model they just came out with. Nope! " I just kind of looked at him and wondered if that was going to be their price or if he was just pulling numbers out of thin air..

Click to expand...

$750 is Ruger's MSRP. If the shop hadn't gotten any in, then I am sure there was no way for him to know how they were going to price them.

Shop around - word is the street price should be $599, which is what our local "low cost" dealer is asking. Another new local shop (who doesn't have as many distributor connections) looked it up and stated "Yeah, I could sell those things at $599 all day long"!

I don't really need another AR, but do like what I'm seeing / reading about the Ruger. Since I don't really need another one, I'm waiting for the newness to wear off - some folks say they expect the street price to drop another $40 to $50 when it does.

First time I walk in the dealer and it's dropped from $599 to around $550, one's probably coming home with me.

BTW - our local dealer has a Bushmaster Optics Ready Carbine for $549 with a $50 rebate. Not that I'm a Bushmaster fan, but $499? That's just crazy!

They are $599 in my neck of the woods.

Thanks guys! That info keeps others from paying too much. My dad was looking to get his first AR and we will check it out when we find one locally.

New Direct-Impingement R…: http://youtu.be/UTw3-zIwndQ

You nailed it. Ruger's move illustrates their realization that AR's are commodity products. That means that price and cost are areas for innovation rather than features and function. They have nailed it and I respect them for it.
Further, this really puts pressure on S&W. Earlier in this thread, someone cited that the Ruger is not competing with the M&P Sport because of their significantly different listed price. Couldn't be further from the truth. These are direct competitors, and it will put enormous pressure on S&W to lower their prices and their costs. Given the anachronistic manufacturing processes at S&W, this may not be possible without them swallowing all or part of their margin or modernizing their facilities. I'm sure this is no surprise to Ruger. An aggressive move to impact a competitor. It's also a take out move to companies like Del-Ton and Windham.
Finally this may even be a nod to counter some of the anti's and anti black gun sentiment in parts of the U.S. Fill up every home, barn, closet, cabin with an AR, sell at a commodity run rate in the millions and soon it will be even harder to impact their ownership as too many voter-buyers will reject the idea and lawmakers realize that retroactive actions are not crowd pleasers.
Brilliant move.
B

HoosierQ said:

For what probably 80% of AR owners want, I suspect this fits the bill nicely. The other 20% are folks that make the AR such an interesting platform. These folks are the AR-15 hobbyists! This is no dig. What a great hobby! More power to you all. Simply put, Ruger made this rifle for the more generic AR-15 buyer, quite frankly the guy like me, who wants one for a good price, that will shoot well at the range and in the field, and who may from time to time upgrade a component or two. I fulfilled my purchase desire with the S&W M&P15 Sport. This offers two additional features: The dust cover and the forward assist. I wish S&W had split the difference and put a dust cover on just like the first generation of M-16. I am, however, no less happy with my purchase and won't be getting one of these. My next AR, if there is one, will be a rifle of more interest to the hobbyist.

Click to expand...

TarDevil said:

Well, what do you think?

Click to expand...

I like Rugers in general. But if I was in the market for an AR right now (I'm not) I think I'd hold off on this one. I just don't like being an unpaid beta tester for new products. Let's check back in 2-3 years and see how it's doing.

I like Rugers in general. But if I was in the market for an AR right now (I'm not) I think I'd hold off on this one. I just don't like being an unpaid beta tester for new products. Let's check back in 2-3 years and see how it's doing.

Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying, but I don't see how they could really screw up a commodity AR.

Honestly, I love Rugers, but if I want an AR I'm probably going to buy from someone who does AR's all day every day.

The AR556 looks like it has some proprietary parts on it - like the FSB. The beauty of an AR is that very little needs to be proprietary. You don't make me buy a rifle that will only use your parts if you want to be successful in the AR market; you make parts that will fit my rifle.

So I love Rugers and I'll own a few more, but I'm not going to fall over myself to buy one of their AR556's.

I do knock Ruger for using proprietary parts. But I imagine most people shopping for a budget AR as a first-time buy or as a range beater won't be bothered by these few parts. And anyone wanting to change out the plastic handguards to a free float rail or whatever will have to pull the barrel nut and front sight block off a Colt 6920 or entry-level S&W or whatever so that's a wash there.

What you will get with the Ruger is an inexpensive gun built with many parts made inhouse. This should keep costs down and help with tolerances and quality control. You will also get a firearm from a company with a long track record of good customer service.

I would have preferred standard parts across the board but the gun is what it is. And Ruger's initial sales sure seem to back up their decision to use some different stuff. I'm told Ruger has already sold a year's worth of product in just a few months.

I'm hoping we'll see some spin-offs. I would love to see an AR556 chambered in 300BLK.

Does the gun world really need yet another AR?

Click to expand...

Who cares? It's a lower cost AR-15 that has some features typically not present at that price. If the gun is reliable and shoots 4 MOA out of the box--it'll be good enough. The reason I tend to avoid buying lower cost guns is support and shortcuts: Ruger and S&W have good service, but S&W removed a few things from their "sport" line.

tomrkba said:

Who cares? It's a lower cost AR-15 that has some features typically not present at that price. If the gun is reliable and shoots 4 MOA out of the box--it'll be good enough. The reason I tend to avoid buying lower cost guns is support and shortcuts: Ruger and S&W have good service, but S&W removed a few things from their "sport" line.

Click to expand...

Well, time will reveal how well it does in a market that can only be accurately described as hyper-saturated.