Ruger AR-556 Accuracy

[mm6mm6]

I took my Ruger AR-556 out to the range over the weekend to try shooting it at 100 yards. I was very pleasantly surprised! My older eyes have a difficult time with iron sights, so I topped the AR-556 with a Leupold 3-9x40 scope in a Burris PEPR lever mount.

With somewhat inexpensive PMC Bronze 55-grain FMJ ammo, I fired this 5/8" group. With American Eagle 55-grain and Federal 62-grain, the groups were 1 1/2" at 100 yards. But the Ruger sure liked the PMC Bronze ammo!



Sub-MOA with a reliable $600 AR sure works for me! I've put over 300 rounds through it with five different types of ammo without any problems of any kind.



Another winner from Ruger!

 

[groberts]

Not bad at all. Too bad it's so dang ugly. Sorry, I have a thing about ARs. I just like good ole wood rifles but will accept the plastic ones that at least look like the wood ones.

 

[45flattop]

Sounds as if like many rifles, the new AR556 is on the touchy side where the
ammunition it prefers. Not that surprising really since every one I've ever
owned did the same thing from .22LR to .358 Winchester to 6.5X55 MM
Mark II M77s. Now all I have to do is locate just ONE for sale in my area,
so far the hunt has been an exercise in utter futility but the search continues.
Hope as they say springs eternal.

 

[dakota1911]

I am still playing with iron sights and looking at what scope to get. I wish the iron sights were as nice as what Ruger puts on the SR-762. Now the 308 has impressed me out to 250 yards which is as far as the public range I have been to goes. I want to try it at 1000 yards. I am lining up several different brands and bullet types to play with in the AR-556 once I get a scope on it. Time for a picture.

 

[HIP SHOT]

I saw another report on the web with groups shot at 100 yards by a "reviewer". The best group he shot was about 1.3". Not impressive considering the competition.

Hip Shot

 

[twobisquit]

I have tried quite a few reloads for mine and have gotten 1" to 2.5" groups with a Nikon 2x7 scope. The trigger is heavy and gritty. Does anyone know if dry firing will smooth them out?

 

[45flattop]

I saw another report on the web with groups shot at 100 yards by a "reviewer". The best group he shot was about 1.3". Not impressive considering the competition.

Hip Shot

If you saw the Gunblast review that Jeff Quinn did, his groups were shot
offhand somewhat from a bench without support such as a rest or sandbags
so that might account for a wider spread than you'd expect. Once some of
the better names in the gun magazine world get around to reviewing the
rifle we may see different results, especially if an optic is mounted, the
review I saw was with the OEM irons.

 

[45flattop]

I have tried quite a few reloads for mine and have gotten 1" to 2.5" groups with a Nikon 2x7 scope. The trigger is heavy and gritty. Does anyone know if dry firing will smooth them out?

I would expect the trigger to smooth out somewhat over time with usage but
perhaps not as good as you might want but an aftermarket drop in trigger is
an easy fix, just try to not attempt honing on the engagement surfaces on the
factory trigger since those are usually very thin case hardened and it would be
easy to eat through that and then you WOULD need to either replace the
parts with factory stuff or need an aftermarket trigger in a hurry to be sure
the rifle is safe to use overall. There are a plethora of good aftermarket
products out there, but the easiest one to install is the Timney I imagine.