Keep in mind my rifle is a sample of "one".....that said....the primers on fired cases from my rifle looked virtually identical to those fired in my buddy's Tikka T3 Varmint in .223. I did tinker with mine because of Ruger's recall (see below) but otherwise have no serious issues with my rifle (600 rds and counting as of this post.) I can't stress enough that I am only a sample of one so look one over before plunking the cash on the counter and ask whoever is selling it what the return / warranty policy is if you have primer issues...
I think the 5.56 model was discontinued for any possible combination of reasons:
- accuracy issues wherein the the 5.56 chamber got blamed or the factory hammer forged barrel was blamed
ie someone shoots "one" or only "a few" brands / weights / types of factory ammo and only gets 2-3 MOA accuracy. Other complaints include short throat for handloading with heavy bullets like the 80gr SMK and thus reduced case capacity, the barrel length is too short for pushing .223 at long distances, Ruger should have made a 24" barrel, BLAH BLAH BLAH. A lot of complaints are coming from people wanting to push .223 in this gun to make it capable for PRS production class / F-Class Production class. I bought mine to see if I could do the same for jokes and giggles knowing the odds were against me but worked up some handloads that make this rifle quite a capable surprise.
- not compatible with AR mags
Some people compared this rifle with the mossberg MVP despite both rifles serving different markets. One is a $500-$1000 rifle that takes AR mags that can be hit or miss for reliability, has a laminate stock with plastic bottom metal albeit there are higher priced chassis models, and has a 24" button rifled barrel with 1-9" twist. The other is literally a $1300-$1800 Ruger Precision rifle with a different barrel / bolt / muzzle brake. Otherwise the chassis / barrel nut / AR handguard / AI - SR25 hybrid magwell / folding adjustable buttstock are identical across all models. The AI mags allow for longer OAL for handloaders that want to run heavy bullets; despite hearing complaints about the throat being short, I managed to get 80gr Hornadys to shoot with enough velocity that at 1000m my .223 handloads shot sightly flatter than my buddy's .308 handloads with 178gr BTHPs in his Savage 10 TR. The ruger's barrel is hammer forged so it should last a good while of plinking, especially in a bolt gun. The 1-7" twist is great for heavier bullets if ringing steel at decent distances is your thing. I can't comment on accuracy with appropriate hunting bullets / factory ammo geared towards such but wanna test some bullets in anticipation of my hunter safety card coming in the mail from NB DNR. It may seem like I'm bashing the MVP; I've talked with a few owners of them at my club and even got to shoot one out to 600m on steel and they can be deadly accurate for the money. With some tinkering or testing of mags, feeding could be sorted out and just fine. I still think that the rifles being unfairly compared to each other but I digress.
- primer cratering / blanking with factory ammo and warm handloads
This one also carries rumours where Ruger "fixed" the issue by shortening the firing pin because they figured it was over protruding and piercing primers. Some people on Snipers Hide Forums reported misfires / failures to fire after getting their rifles repaired. Again, hard to tell what is truth on the interwebs these days....
- Ruger's recall of RPRs that had tight / poorly fitted bolt shrouds
Rifle fails to fire because cocking piece binds in bolt shroud but then could accidentally fire when the bolt handle was touched to run the bolt / check the round. Quite a few 5.56 models were within the serial number range. I fixed mine by relieving some material in the bolt shroud and with eze lap diamond sticks and working the bolt with the rifle unloaded while watching TV. As a WPNS Tech, I was comfortable doing this....even then, I shot mine before fixing it and didn't have this issue but YMMV.
I know this muddies up the waters a bit with answering your question but hope it helps you make a well-informed decision.
