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Ruger 556 MPR: Thoughts?

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Ruger 556 MPR: Thoughts?

Old 12-03-2017, 03:17 PM
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Default Ruger 556 MPR: Thoughts?

Anyone bought one of these and care to share their experience?

The features look excellent for the price point; I'm thinking of getting one after the Christmas rush wears off and supply starts to outpace demand (until the Christmas rush, these were selling for around $600 on average).

18" 1:8 twist rate chrome-moly barrel
Rifle-length, low-profile gas system
Free-floating M-LOK handguard
Two-stage Trigger
6.8lb

http://www.ruger.com/products/ar556M...eets/8514.html


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Old 12-03-2017, 04:52 PM
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I don't know a whole lot about Ruger AR's other then they're usually considered a entry level AR.


The AR market is over saturated right now. There are a lot of good deals to be had out there on service grade AR's such as Colt, BCM, DD, Sionic's ect (4150CMV barrel's, HPT & MPT barrels & bolts, Carp 158 bolt carriers, gas keys staked, correct gas port diameter).


Colt Trooper's were going for not much more if anymore then the Ruger you mentioned and it's similar to it. Colt 6920's are going for really good prices now too. Look around, you can get a really good AR at a really good price right now.


Good luck, NYH1.
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Old 12-03-2017, 05:21 PM
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Whose 18" free-float model would you recommend most for around $600? I'm attached to that barrel length; maybe I shouldn't be. Mostly I'd be using it for hunting and target applications.

That said, I'm debating whether it's better to build (in order to, say, splurge on a melonite barrel and nice trigger) or go with a ready-made setup. Since my dad ordered a 6.8SPC upper assembly from Hardened Arms a couple weeks ago, the build process has piqued my interest.
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Old 12-03-2017, 05:44 PM
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The Colt Trooper is close to the Ruger model you posted. It has a 16.1" barrel, M-LOK rail w/free float barrel. All the Mil-Spec's that the M4 has. You could probably get on close to $600. You'd have to look around.


The thing with Colt is they hold their value. Like I said, the AR market is over saturated right now. It's a buyers market. Be patient and the deals are out there.


You might want to go over to m4carbine.net A lot of info over there. Do some searching around and reading. Some serious end users on that site with a lot of experience.


Good luck, NYH1.
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Old 12-03-2017, 05:53 PM
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Forgot to mention. Building AR's is a lot of fun and a great way to build them exactly how you want them to be. We've built a bunch.


I would recommend buying a complete rifle/carbine as your first one. Learn the ins and outs out the platform them build as many as you can.


Another way to go is to buy a complete lower (from a good company) and then buy a complete upper (from a good company). If you go this way you'll save about 11% on the overall price because you don't have to pay the 11% federal complete gun excise tax. However, some manufactures don't have warranties on non-complete guns so you'll have to check into that.


Good luck, NYH1.
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Old 12-03-2017, 06:01 PM
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'Preciate it!
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Old 12-04-2017, 10:34 AM
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Younggun308, I have a few AR's as well as the ones the old man left me. Pretty much the best one out of all 8 is the one he built in .338fed. It's even a better shooter than my Wilson Combat. I'm not exactly sure where he got all the parts but I know the barrel was from Black Hole Weaponry and I believe the receiver and bcg was from Aero Precision. That build was probably twice what you are looking to spend but I think the person on here you would want to throw a PM to would be nomercy. He helped the old man on several decision points and would probably have a ton of information and ideas where you could proceed with a really nice build for a quality rifle that could more than likely come in close to your price point without sacrificing quality. The problem with quite a few of these cheap AR's on the market today is quality. They are okay but they aren't performance machines to say the least. As far as AR triggers go, they are in a whole different world when it comes to feel than typical rifle triggers. They take some getting used to. Even the high quality Timney triggers just have a different feel. If you are used to target triggers with crisp clean feels then no matter how good the AR trigger is, it will feel like crap.
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Old 12-09-2017, 09:36 AM
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As a guy who paid bills by building AR's for quite some time, I tend to recommend folks work with someone like me to build a custom rifle, but for guys looking for a turnkey option, this is a great rifle.

I have 3 Ruger AR-556's which I bought for use as loaners during "get to know your AR" training courses/classes I offer, and I've also used a few Ruger AR-556 receivers and their Elite 452 triggers in a couple rifles now. Their parts are on par with any thing else on the market, and typically slightly better at their price point. I do, however, wish I'd waited to order my AR-556's from Ruger, as I would have preferred to have MPR's with float tubes, rather than the clamshells, so I'll likely be selling off this year and upgrading now that these are on the market.

The Ruger AR-556, and now the MPR, are fine rifles for their price point. Mil-Spec Mall Ninja's get all up in arms about any AR model which isn't 100% mil-spec through and through, but there's a simple reality in our market - many of the hoops to jump through to be able to tout those 7 little letters, "mil-spec," really don't mean much for the civilian user, and frankly, might even mean you're passing on an even better option.

The Ruger 2 stage trigger is one of the better factory options on the market, and their barrels are proven to be some of the more accurate-for-the-money products as well. For their price, a guy can hardly justify building his own. Getting that rifle for $600 is a steal. A similar M-lok handguard from Midwest Industries runs something on the order of $150-180, the trigger itself is $140, a comparable trigger would be the Geiselle G2S-E priced at $175ish, as the Ruger is slightly better than the Rock River Arms 2 Stage Varminter or National Match trigger (slightly cheaper, something like $120?). Building that rifle for any appreciable amount less than the $650-675 street price would be a challenge - it could be built cheaper, but not much cheaper, and by the time you buy tools and pay shipping, you'd be more likely to spend a few hundred bucks MORE instead of saving $50-100.

Personally, I don't care for the MOE buttstock, so I'd replace the buttstock with a Magpul CTR, or better still, a UBR, then replace the buffer with an H2, and I'd shoot that Ruger until the cows come home.

If you change your mind and are interested in building your own, shoot me a PM.
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Old 12-09-2017, 02:08 PM
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Thanks, NoMercy, for the thorough feedback!

I just bought placed my order last night from GrabAGun.com. I got it for $569.00 + $7.99 shipping.
Can't wait...just trying to decide what optic to top it off with.
You'll hate my cheapskate budget, but I'm between the Bushnell AR-223 3x12 scope or spending $20 more for a Vortex Crossfire BDC or Nikon BDC.

For one-piece elevated mounts, I am between the no-name version of the Vortex mount (it's a full $50 cheaper than the Vortex and has excellent reviews as being the exact same product), Monstrum Tactical, and CCOP. The Nikon P-Series is also a 2-piece option, but I've heard people complain that it doesn't mix well with the Bushnell's power adjustment ring. I'm also biased toward a one-piece mount for ease of installation.
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Old 12-09-2017, 02:11 PM
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As for the gun, my plan is to shoot it until the BCG---and later, barrel---need replacement with something real nice.
The dream would be, several years from now in my case, to get a barrel with an intermediate length gas system. Those are only made by Noveske, Odin Works, Rainier, and irregularly (I hear) by White Oak. But that won't be something to worry about for awhile.
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