dig4gold

A little about me and what I'd need it to do. Been hunting big game for a long time. Rocky Mountain hunting. I'm a reloader. Favorite cal: .308. I'm confident shooting out to 500 yards (and ethical). I'm no slouch at the range, recently earned the NRA distinguished expert. I believe an inaccurate gun is a door stop.
Now, I want an AR but know little about them. So I am looking at getting into one for a lot less than you could spend! I will hunt deer, antelope, yotes, various varmints with it.
Given your understanding of the specs on these two AR's (RUGER AR-556 or S&W M&P15 SPORT), which one would you recommend and why? I see the price point is close on both of them.

Sheridan

AR-10 for big game.

AR-15 for the smaller stuff.

If you have never owned a AR I would recommend a AR-15.

Both you are looking at are very good for the money.

Barrel, trigger & "shooter" make all the difference..............................

dig4gold

"cold hammer-forged" on the Ruger and "4140 Steel" on the S&W. ?????
Trigger I can work on. Shooter is familiar with me.

super_hunt54

I would personally suggest a 6.5 grendal in the AR 15 or if you wanted to go with "more power" then step up to an AR-LR and chamber it in either 7mm-08 or many of the other .308 cartridge based offerings out there. If it's quality at an extremely reasonable price then you could go with a build rather than the other things you are thinking of. The Rugers are OKAY for what you are paying but for a little more, around 200, you could have a very nice rifle with a much better barrel. You couldn't pay me to own one of those S&W paper weights. Since you will be deer and lope hunting and more than likely wanting some range ability I again would suggest 6.5 gren as being a better option than the .223 for those 2 animals. A good bit more down range energy with it than you will have with a .223. Not to mention the fantastic BC bullet options you get with a 6.5.

dig4gold

You've missed my point/subject matter. I'm getting an AR-15 in .223/5.56. These are two guns I'm thinking about getting as my "entry level" AR.
I've done a lot of searching and I think I'm going with the Ruger. Favorable twist rate: 1:8, has forward assist, port cover, Ruger's CS.

Sheridan

As I said; Either are fine entry level AR's. I like the Ruger also (.223/5.56), but not to hunt deer with !!!

d80hunter

I would recommend rethinking an AR-15 for hunting if you are on a budget. You will have to buy another upper receiver chambered in something adequate for what you want, 5.56 OK for varmits, not so much for deer or antelopes. Switching from the standard caliber will cost you more. Since .308 is your favorite caliber it is good news that .308 chambered AR-10's are stocked on most gun store at reasonable prices.

Of course if you have the money the sky is the limit with building the perfect AR for you. Being on a budget is OK, you can always make the changes later.

d80hunter

You got it right. I liked the feel of the Ruger 5.56 too.

Nomercy448

Flip a coin. I've worked on both (and many others), they're both on par with a hundred other Mil-spec "entry level" AR's on the market these days. No real differences to speak of for form or function.

I prefer to have an FA and port cover, some guys like slick walls though.

The only substantive - possibly - difference between the two is the front sight/gas block mounting system for the Ruger, which only matters if you want to replace the front sight/gas block. They use dual over-bore taper pins, which is unique to the AR556. It's not really a problem, it just means that 1) your armorer's block won't have pin ports in the right spots to drive them out, and 2) you'll have to locate the alignment dimple and score the pin recesses for your any other type of block.

I will also comment, however, that while I have no issue hunting deer with 223rem/5.56, nor any issue with 0-500yrd and beyond coyote killing with one, I wouldn't recommend it for 0-500yrd deer and antelope. Buy a 6x6.8 barrel for $300 and a Ruger AR556 and you'd have what you're after. The Grendel or the 6.8spc are fine as well, but the 6x6.8 is a really fun option for a reloader, with a little better BC.

A 16" AR isn't always the best platform for deer hunting either - I give up a heck of a lot of speed in my carbines compared to my rifles. Just more food for thought.

Alternatively, if you're talking about 0-500yrd coyote hunting and 0-200 deer hunting, load up some Nosler 60grn partitions and be happy.

For 500yrd shooting in an AR, I'd also HIGHLY recommend you plan on replacing the trigger (or modifying at least with a $12.38 trigger job), and free float the barrel. The factory triggers in either will be terribly heavy with pretty substantial creep, not great for 500yrd shooting. Light carbine barrels and forend pressure can mean really scattered groups, especially when using improvised field supports, even true with an Hbar carbine.

I personally would buy the Ruger of the two. I like what Ruger has been doing for the shooting industry, not as much what S&W has done - so when the products are equal, I get to pass favor on politics and vote with my wallet.

super_hunt54

Heres a build sheet that may just give you a good idea about pricing and quality.

http://aeroprecisionusa.com/ar15-m4e...-receiver.html

http://aeroprecisionusa.com/ar15-b5-...wer-black.html

http://aeroprecisionusa.com/ar15-enh...andguards.html

http://www.shop.blackholeweaponry.co...15-6x68-18.htm

Add whatever gas block your heart desires or use a different hand guard (cheaper aint always better) but with that setup there you would have a better rifle IMHO and that cartridge Mercy put up there would be a dang fine one for an all around rifle. The Black Hole Weaponry barrels are new to me but Mercy has been using them for a while now and recommended them to me. I have one in .338FED and it is a dang fine shooter at a VERY reasonable price. Those 2 you are looking at are okay for entry level but IMHO for less than 200 bucks more you will have a better rig that is right for the multi service you are asking of it.