I'm not sure about most ARs but the 1 in 8 will stabilize heavier bullets better than a 1 in 9.
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Ruger Ar 15??
- Thread starter Monofletch
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I'm not sure about most ARs but the 1 in 8 will stabilize heavier bullets better than a 1 in 9.
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I'm wondering if the OP meant the new entry level Ruger AR556?
The Ruger SR556 has a gas piston, but there is also the Ruger AR556 that is an entry level DI rifle that is also good quality in case you aren't dead set on a piston AR, OP. I've heard good things about the AR556 and it has a great price too.
My friend had the piston SR556 in 6.8spc years ago. It was a nice rifle for sure. I believe with the piston ARs though you need to watch out for carrier tilt that causes premature wear of certain parts of the rifle. The pressures sent back to the BCG to cycle the rifle are applied kind of off axis with a piston system which cause the carrier to tilt and wear out the inside of the buffer tube or chamber. I know this was an issue early on I am not sure if it has been fixed yet or not. The SR556 has been around for a while though so I would look into it.
1/7, 1/8, 1/9 are all very available. I think the military rifles use 1/8 twist but don't quote me on that. Most of the higher quality rifles come with 1/7 twist and it is usually the most sought after. Your mid range pre built rifles from the likes of Bushmaster, stag, windham, etc etc etc often come with 1/8 or 1/9. The Ruger AR556 has a 1/8 twist. The SR has a 1/9 twist. The Colt 6920 I believe has a 1/7 twist. I think most BCM/Daniel Defense/upper tier rifles have 1/7 twists but you can probably choose. My PSA mid length has a mil spec FN barrel with a 1/7 twist. I usually just shoot M193 or M855 and have no issues.
If you want an entry level AR15 that is already put together, the Ruger AR556 is a great choice. I don't think you need the SR556... it is a rifle for people who want a piston system. For what you need the rifle for it is totally unnecessary. Around $600 for the AR556 and has your standard features. Dust cover and forward assist too. There is also the MP Sport 2 which is a similarly built rifle. Personally I would go for the Ruger though. My rifle is a PSA upper/PSA lower then I assembled with a nickel boron BCG and some magpul furniture and it has been great, those are also very affordable.
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M67
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People WAY overthink twist rates on their ARs when using them as a weekend shooter or carbine. I have 1:7 and 1:8 twist rifles, I use nothing but 55gr FMJ and for what I use it for it works great and accuracy at 100 yards is still very good. It's not like your rifle is going to kaboom magically when a 55gr FMJ touches the magical faster twist rate of the barrel.
Personally, I would have went with the Smith. Nitride barrel would last much longer (at the same time, most ARs out there will never see 1000 rounds shot through them by the first owner)
Another thing about the AR556 is the delta ring. It's a great idea because it unscrews and releases the pressure instead of pushing the ring and spring down; but I've read several reports of them breaking and things that usually can unscrew, do
MVF
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I have the Ruger SR 762 and love it. If I saw correctly that you plan on putting 500 rd mags through it, I, personally would go for the piston rifle. My last DI AR was when I was in the Army, and I'll never go back. I got a CMMG gas piston AR years ago when they first started coming out and it worked fine. I'm much more impressed by the Ruger (my information is the 762 is just an upsized version of the 556). I just got mine a couple of months ago and they have definitely addressed the trigger issue, and I've read that the carrier tilt issue has also been taken care of.
I'm sure either rifle will serve you well, but you'll be spending about 10 times as much time cleaning the DI gun. If you're used to a DI gun, there's nothing cooler than getting home after putting a couple of hundred rounds through an AR, pulling the bolt carrier, looking it over and just putting it back in the rifle!
Of course, you still need to clean the bore and the gas piston, but that's nothing compared to cleaning a bolt assembly.
As always, IMO and YMMV
I'm sure either rifle will serve you well, but you'll be spending about 10 times as much time cleaning the DI gun. If you're used to a DI gun, there's nothing cooler than getting home after putting a couple of hundred rounds through an AR, pulling the bolt carrier, looking it over and just putting it back in the rifle!
Of course, you still need to clean the bore and the gas piston, but that's nothing compared to cleaning a bolt assembly.As always, IMO and YMMV
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I have the Ruger SR 762 and love it. If I saw correctly that you plan on putting 500 rd mags through it, I, personally would go for the piston rifle. My last DI AR was when I was in the Army, and I'll never go back. I got a CMMG gas piston AR years ago when they first started coming out and it worked fine. I'm much more impressed by the Ruger (my information is the 762 is just an upsized version of the 556). I just got mine a couple of months ago and they have definitely addressed the trigger issue, and I've read that the carrier tilt issue has also been taken care of.
I'm sure either rifle will serve you well, but you'll be spending about 10 times as much time cleaning the DI gun. If you're used to a DI gun, there's nothing cooler than getting home after putting a couple of hundred rounds through an AR, pulling the bolt carrier, looking it over and just putting it back in the rifle!
As always, IMO and YMMV
That is very true. Cleaning DI can be a pain in the ass. The entire BCG gets damn filthy as hell! With that said, the piston rifle will still get dirty... just most of it will be at the piston and gas tubes, less so much in the chamber and the BCG. That is basically the main benefit of the piston system.
Tula is probably the dirtiest ammo on the market from what I've heard. But the DI system doesn't seem to mind it.
M67
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ARs run fine dirty, people bad mouth the design but baby it at the same time. ARs can run thousands or rounds without cleaning, suppressed or unsuppressed, they just need lube.
Piston guns run clean, until you put a suppressor on it. After 700 rounds unsuppressed my POF P415 looked pretty damn clean, stuck a can on it, blowback coming from the barrel and gets surface dirty pretty quick. But, couple more drops of lube, they run fine
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For recreational plinking with the cheapest ammo you can find, 1:8 or 1:9 twist really doesn't matter. I have a first-gen S&W M&P 15 Sport (1:8 "5R" barrel) that wouldn't consistently cycle Tula 55gr .223 FMJ and did once get a live round of old lacquered Wolf or Bear stuck in the chamber. That aside, it has been otherwise excellent through 1500+ rounds. Likewise, a Mossberg MMR Hunter (1:9), PSA/gun show build (1:7) and now a Huldra/ATI build (1:8) have all run fine with virtually any kind of ammo. However, I specifically wanted 1:7 twist on the PSA build for a defensive build, even though I wouldn't generally use an AR for that in my situation. I'll shoot cheap ammo through it all day long, but wanted to know it would play nice with the 69, 75 and 77gr ammo varieties.
tl;dr - Being that the current rendition of the M&P 15 Sport has 1:9 twist vs. 1:8 on the Ruger AR556, and features are otherwise comparable, I guess I'd pick the Ruger, even if it's a trivial matter for a range gun. The more ammo I can reliably and accurately run, the better.
tl;dr - Being that the current rendition of the M&P 15 Sport has 1:9 twist vs. 1:8 on the Ruger AR556, and features are otherwise comparable, I guess I'd pick the Ruger, even if it's a trivial matter for a range gun. The more ammo I can reliably and accurately run, the better.
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Yep, they definitely will. They get very dirty but will continue to run with lubrication when needed. My rifle is a DI. Personally I wouldn't spend the extra money on a piston rifle, DI is absolutely fine in my opinion. DI rifles are wayyyy more reliable then the Internet gives them credit for.
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MVF
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I've got no beef with DI guns being reliable (I believe it's safe to say the results are in ; ) My "DIs" (Drill Instructors) were just real picky about what clean meant, and for me, a DI gun is just too much work to get that way, so if I have a choice I vote piston. I guess that early training just stayed with me.
