Ruger AR-556?

[Armybrat]

Is $499.99 + tax & shipping a good price?

https://grabagun.com/ruger-ar-556-b...title)&utm_campaign=Blast+-+Behavioral+Banner
I already have two low end Palmetto State Armory ARs, but was wondering if the Ruger is on the same level with them quality-wise.
Am not knowledgeable about ARs, but do know they are fun to shoot and from what I've read it is easiy to accumulate a few of them.
Eventually these will wind up being Christmas and birthday gifts to family members.
My PSAs:

 

[hittman]

Yes.

 

[RC44Mag]

I’ll venture to say a couple steps up from Palmetto.

 

[Yaworski]

I have two PSA "blems" and I find them to be of decent quality. I'm not sure what goes into a "high quality" AR. Unless I was looking for a gun for actual shooting matches, I'd go for the name brand with the lowest price.

 

[WendyZXZ]

The one we have here is a fine little firearm!

 

[s4s4u]

I'll venture to say a couple steps up from Palmetto.

Meh, same parts, different label.

 

[peachhead]

Yep

 

[moparclan]

I have had both, Ruger's bolt was machined a little different, but everything worked fine. Even bought a stripped Ruger lower and built one with a Palmetto upper.
All my others are of Colt manufacture and just won a Colt HBAR upper to add to the collection.

 

[RC44Mag]

Meh, same parts, different label.

Nope, it’s common knowledge that palmetto AR’s are low rung on the quality ladder. For starters they don’t use a cold hammer forged barrels when all the better makers do. There are other differences also. You get what you pay for.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ar-15-match-which-best-here-10-top-ar-15-rifles-86211

 

[Mobuck]

A lot depends on individual expectations. I have several PSA 'uppers' and haven't noticed any glaring problems with them. Maybe they're not competition grade but the ones I've actually test fired did fine.
Is the Ruger version better? I dunno. Ruger hasn't sent me a test rifle to compare.

 

[KS25-06]

I have bought a lot of AR's over the years and built quite a few. You can spend a lot of money on high dollar AR's or parts for them. You can buy el cheapo's and cheap parts. They will all go bang, and I have never had any fails with any of them. Can not see spending several thousand on one when you can get very good ones for much less. The very best one was a DPMS I had them custom build for me when I had a dealership with them. Had a 24" heavy barrel and carbon fiber forearm. Installed a 2lb. trigger. It would shoot 5 shot groups at 100yds you could easily cover with a dime. My cost was a little under $1000.00 The one problem with almost all of them is the trigger. 99.9% of them feel like dragging a log chain thru a knot hole. $100.00 or so will buy a very nice 3-3&1/2 lb. trigger.

 

[jyo]

Regarding the Ruger AC-556---I spent many years in the retail/wholesale firearms industry---when I first started, Mini 14s were very nicely priced and readily available---AR-15s of any type were not common at all, and quite pricey if you did find one... The gun store I managed at the time was also a Class 3 FFL in a major West Coast city, and I mixed it up with several Federal and local LEO groups. This led to invitations to hang with lots of great people shooting full-auto weapons... This was where I encountered the first of several Ruger AC-556 rifles I got to shoot---both short barreled and standard length barrels. I found them to be great fun to shoot, completely reliable and pretty easy to control. Even better, I was not paying for the ammo! A fine version of the Mini 14 in my book...
I'm retired now, and couldn't afford to feed one if I had one...!

 

[pisgah]

I love how it is so "well known" how lousy PSA rifles are. Having read dozens, and participated in several, shoot-to-destruction tests on AR's, I can tell you that ALL of them can be shot to death, and the PSA works at least as well, and as long, as any of the others...

As already stated, virtually all AR's in the country now are assembled from parts made by a handful of companies. Differences are mostly those of marking, finish and care in assembly. Yeah, you can get a premium barrel, trigger, what-not, but the basic rifle has become essentially generic.

 

[arfmel]

I’ve had AR pattern carbines from several different manufacturers, including PSA and the “name brand” high dollar ones, like Colt.

Palmetto State Armory’s reasonably priced AR15s are largely responsible for the popularity of that type of rifle.

The Ruger and the PSA are both good enough for an old duffer like me to shoot coyotes and other nuisance critters with. I don’t anticipate having to fight my way out of Mogadishu or Atlanta and am not sure the brand of rifle I have would make any effective difference if I did.

 

[Mobuck]

I'm actually a fan of 'DelTon' AR uppers. Based on a single sample, I couldn't be happier with the performance regardless of cost. Carried that carbine a lot in all sorts of weather conditions. It never failed to function and was considerably more accurate than most users are capable of. Would a $2K AR be 'better'? I don't see how.