Ruger SR-556 Takedown

from Survival Blog:

I’m a fan of the AR-15 type of rifles. I always have been. So, when some gun makers started coming out with AR-15s that had a gas piston, instead of the direct gas impingement system, I tested several of them. I think we could have a debate all week long as to the merits of the gas piston system versus the direct gas impingement system and we couldn’t change one another’s minds. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the direct gas impingement system, other than your AR really gets dirty, in short order. Yes, I’m aware there were problems with the first M-16s (military select-fire versions of the semiauto AR-15) when they were first shipped to Vietnam. However, there was stupid thinking on the part of someone who said the guns didn’t need to be cleaned very often and no cleaning kits were even supplied. Plus, there was a problem with the gun powder used in the ammo of the first M-16s. Once these problems were corrected, the M-16 ran fine, so long as you kept them halfway cleaned and lubed, just like any other gun.

A couple of years ago, Ruger came out with their first version of a gas piston AR type of rifle, called the Ruger SR-556, and it was an immediate hit with gun owners. I did an article on the SR-556 for SurvivalBlog.com and was very favorably impressed with my sample. Ruger had a hard time keeping up with demand. The Ruger gas piston system is proprietary to their guns. You can’t interchange parts with any other gas piston AR, and this seems to be typical of gas piston ARs, no matter who makes them.

I do like the way the SR-556 gas piston adjustments can be made with a simple .223/5.56 round. Simply slide the bullet end into the adjustment knob and turn it from one setting to another. Ruger ships their SR-556 rifles with the setting on the “2” position. Quite honestly, the gun ran fine, no matter what ammo I ran through it or how dirty it got. Still, I played around with the different adjustments from the “0” position to the “3” position. You can find all this information in my previous SR-556 article on SurvivalBlog.com

Today, we’re taking a close look at the Ruger SR-556 Takedown version. Ruger did a bang-up job on it. A few specs are in order first. The SR-556 comes with a newer style butt stock that is still adjustable, but I like the shape and feel of the new butt stock a lot better than the older version. There’s nothing wrong with the older version, but the newer one is better in my opinion; it’s stronger, to be sure. The SR-556 Takedown has folding “iron” sights in the front and rear. They are actually made of steel not iron, but for whatever reason we always call them “iron” sights. Go figure. Plus, the sights are readily adjustable without any problems. The barrel is 16.1 inches long, just like the original with a 1:9 right hand twist. The finish is manganese phosphate/hard coat anodized, and the gun weighs in at 7.6 lbs. You can read all the specs on the Ruger website. I hate boring our readers with too many specs when they can read about it themselves.

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