For some reason I keep coming back to this rifle. I'm not necessarily a piston lover...has its perks and downfalls (namely, easy to clean and not able to free float). All of the "reviews" I've seen are just internet goobers that talk about all the crap the rifle comes with (read: Troy sights and Pmags...not crap) and don't really talk about reliability with different types of ammo like Hornady Steel Match, accuracy, maintenance and things that matter. I'm not going to try to bang steel at 6 or 700m, I'm most interested to hear from 3 gunners, especially those who have used piston guns before. Let me know what you think!
What do you guys think of the Ruger SR556 (or other piston AR's) for 3 gun?
- Thread starter DasJager
- Start date
boss351cleveland
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Down by the river
In my opinion most all piston ARs are gimmicky , DI rifles run just fine and are more accurate, they will keep going even with a very quick wipedown of the BCG every 1000 rounds , what more do you need. Also many piston ARs tend to have issues with steel cased ammo too. Just buy a Colt , get the hand guard and sights you want and your good to go.
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If you're going to drop the coin on a piston AR, do some research and look into grabbing one from a company that's been doing a lot of work in the field. Ruger is not one of those companies in my opinion.
I'd recommend looking at Primary Weapon Systems myself. I have used them professionally and liked the platform so much that I bought one myself. They had no trouble eating steel/lacquered cased rounds, they are very accurate and the barrels have a very long service life. One LEO/Instructor in the US saw 18,000rds pushed through the barrel on his Mk114 Mod0 in one year and when he sent it back to PWS just to see how it was holding up before SHOT Show, the folks who scoped the bore said it showed no appreciable wear. I have personally used my Mk112 Mod0 to make good hits out to 500m without magnification. There are a few folks who figured out the SBRs were capable of 1.5MOA or better. I don't get all crazy precise, but when I run this rifle, POA=POI, if you know what I mean... The rifle is very consistent and has the best recoil of any AR I have used. As well, they are almost as light as the DI systems out there and when you take a peek inside you'll see an operating system that resembles an AKMs.
-S.
I'd recommend looking at Primary Weapon Systems myself. I have used them professionally and liked the platform so much that I bought one myself. They had no trouble eating steel/lacquered cased rounds, they are very accurate and the barrels have a very long service life. One LEO/Instructor in the US saw 18,000rds pushed through the barrel on his Mk114 Mod0 in one year and when he sent it back to PWS just to see how it was holding up before SHOT Show, the folks who scoped the bore said it showed no appreciable wear. I have personally used my Mk112 Mod0 to make good hits out to 500m without magnification. There are a few folks who figured out the SBRs were capable of 1.5MOA or better. I don't get all crazy precise, but when I run this rifle, POA=POI, if you know what I mean... The rifle is very consistent and has the best recoil of any AR I have used. As well, they are almost as light as the DI systems out there and when you take a peek inside you'll see an operating system that resembles an AKMs.
-S.
If you want a piston AR and free float, the only one I know of is the ADCOR B.E.A.R Elite. I have only but great things to say about it.
Can't comment on its use in 3-gun matches/comps however - it would be a rare bird as the quadrail isn't exactly best suited for that type of shooting (they are however now offering a new rail assembly).
Can't comment on its use in 3-gun matches/comps however - it would be a rare bird as the quadrail isn't exactly best suited for that type of shooting (they are however now offering a new rail assembly).
I notice no one who has this rifle has made a comment, only people without hands on experience trying to sell you on a different product.
I have one and love it. I don't shoot 3 gun or any other competition with it so I can't comment on that. I've shoot several types of ammo through it with zero issues. Speaking of issues, I've had none of any kind with this rifle.
Maintenance and cleaning are a breeze. The piston takes the brunt of the fouling, bcg stays virtually clean, a quick wipe every 1000+ rounds and it keeps going forever. If you left the piston without cleaning you could just change to a higher gas setting hypothetically if it was having problems running.
The only downside versus a DI and may impact you in competition is its heavy.
I have one and love it. I don't shoot 3 gun or any other competition with it so I can't comment on that. I've shoot several types of ammo through it with zero issues. Speaking of issues, I've had none of any kind with this rifle.
Maintenance and cleaning are a breeze. The piston takes the brunt of the fouling, bcg stays virtually clean, a quick wipe every 1000+ rounds and it keeps going forever. If you left the piston without cleaning you could just change to a higher gas setting hypothetically if it was having problems running.
The only downside versus a DI and may impact you in competition is its heavy.
Heavy, expensive, additional parts/complexity and difficult to support. Most notably is that its not needed. DI guns run just fine contrary the hype of piston guns. Save some cash and put it towards optics, ammo and training and buy a DI.
Tdc
Tdc
I have a Ruger SR-556E, its shoots extremely accurate and never had a reliability issue. The only thing I don’t like is the trigger pull is too heavy. My trigger pull gauge goes up to 8lbs and it exceeds the gauge. Another downside to the gun is you can’t change the hand guards; they are a complete unit that houses the piston assembly. The Ruger hand guards are aluminum not plastic; this adds to the guns weight compared to economy DI AR’s with plastic hand guards. The barrel is also beefier then other economy AR barrels that I have seen; that’s another factor of why it weighs more then others. The few extra ounces this gun weights has never bother me, if I wanted a lighter AR, I would buy one with a 12 inch barrel. I bought mine from Jo-Brooks when they were running a $200 off special, I would defiantly buy it again.
the_klenzer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver, BC
I'd just buy a rifle made for 3 gun like the Stag 3G. It's cheaper just to spend the money up front than to buy the Ruger, then mod mod mod. I'd say trigger and compensator are more important than piston/free float for what you're going to be shooting, at least if you want to be competitive.
I owned this briefly. Major upside is the cleaning. The bcg is exceptionally clean and just needs a wipe after a couple of hundred norc rounds. The gasses are out at the front so no fouling the upper or lower either. It is slightly heavy in front but got used to it just like anything else.
On sale now at Frontiers.
On sale now at Frontiers.
Most people I have seen cannot shoot to the limits of the rifle itself. Top 10% of competitors are the people that tend to benefit from the micro seconds saved from changing from one thing to another. What I mean by this is if you are competing for fun and not the "trophy" or accolade, get what ever system puts the biggest smile on your face and makes you happy. No matter what your choice is, your screwed cause your going to end up buying multiples anyway when you get hooked on it 
Only true requirement is that it goes "Boom" and not "Click"
Like normal, I am just throwing this in as devils advocate and a different perspective on things.
Only true requirement is that it goes "Boom" and not "Click"
Like normal, I am just throwing this in as devils advocate and a different perspective on things.
Or, some of us have been using DI AR's professionally for years and even decades now and know better than to fall for a marketing ploy like piston AR's. Adding unnecessary parts to a design that works already is not an upgrade.
I think the piston ARs are getting pretty good. The only obvious improvement would be to find a way to relocate the piston from the front of the gun to the rear, maybe utilizing the receiver extension to house a spring and weight system. Not sure how you'd transmit the force from the exhaust gases, though. Possibly a tube could be run through the handguard and interface with the bolt carrier somehow but I'd really have to sit down and think about it to come up with a good method. I'm thinking maybe the spot on the carrier that acts as the receiver for the actuating rod on piston systems could be reshaped to take a gas impulse and blow the excess out the ejection port?
Somebody who knows more about gun design could probably fill in the details.
Somebody who knows more about gun design could probably fill in the details.
Thanks for all the great replys guys. I was already leaning one way, think I just needed to hear someone else tell me. I already built a DI AR, and it works fine but I guess I wanna try one (a piston AR) just to see for myself. That being said if I do I think I'll actually save a bit longer and try the long stroke of the PWS rifles. Looks like the best setup. Honestly I just don't want to build another rifle, I'd far rather just buy one this time...such a pain in the but sourcing and ordering all the parts...
It is marketed as a 3 gun setup based on one person/companies idea of what a 3 gun rifle should be. There is no holy grail setup.
Tdc
