Del-Ton Sport or Ruger AR-556

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Mosin Bubba

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I'm not a big AR fan, but prices are low right now and I don't like the way the political winds are shifting. Now's the time to get an AR if there ever was one.

Right now, I can buy a Del-Ton Sport for $480 plus a transfer, or a Ruger AR-556 for $650 plus a transfer. This rifle would just be a plinker. The Del-Ton would need a rear sight or a cheap red dot. If I got it, I doubt I'd spend more than $50 on that.

Any thoughts on these two guns? I like the Del-Ton's lightweight barrel, and the price point is hard to ignore. But I've heard nothing but good things about the Ruger, and they have an outstanding warranty if anything was to go wrong.
 
For the price difference, I'd go with the Del-Ton, you don't sound like your going to shoot 3000 rounds/year out of it. This rifle should serve you fine.

FWIW, I broke an S&W sport at 2000 rounds. Its at S&W now for warranty service.
 
I'd go with the Del Ton. The Ruger is a decent rifle, but I don't think it's worth the price difference unless there's something about it you really can't live without.
 
The Ruger was built and sold to the dealers at a $500 price point. You are getting ripped at $650. Get the DelTon if you feel you need one right now.

It's just my thought, if you are ambivalent about getting an AR why not just sit back and look at a number of them before you buy. I have several DelTon uppers but no lowers. The uppers are good to go. I can't tell you about the lowers. The Colts with no furniture are really great buys. Just add the furniture you want and it will serve you for a lifetime.

And, spend a little more money and get a good quality handle/sight with the DelTon. The sight on the Ruger is a backup sight. It was never designed to be the primary sight so in the future you would probably upgrade anyway. That's part of the $500 price point. There are other issues that make it a $500 gun.

Here is a good place to start while doing your search. http://www.brownells.com/

kwg
 
Also look at Palmetto State Armory, I just built a nice AR during their Memorial Day Sale for $470 out the door.

I bought the lower, upper and BCG as components.
 
I feel that the Del-tons are quite underrated. Most (maybe all?) have M4 feed ramps. I'm not sure about the Ruger. I would personally choose the Del-ton over the Ruger 556, but that's me. I also like the idea of the light barrel and the far better trigger on it.
 
The Ruger is a good gun, but I don't like the fact that some parts are proprietary. Two being the delta ring and the front sight. Also the front sight tower pins are on the top of the barrel.
I have built many ARs for under the $500 mark.
I a few friends that have built ARs with Del-Ton parts and they have yet to have problems.
I have used Del-Ton barrels on three of my builds.
 
As far as PSA, I looked at them. The Memorial Day sale looks good, complete 16" uppers for $300 I think? But the cheapest complete lower I saw was around $150, add $20 shipping and you're right there with the Del-Ton.

I'm not a big AR guy, there may be a way to save more money by kit-building it or what not. But for the same price, I'd rather have a factory gun with a warranty. I don't know anything about PSA's products (is PTAC any good?) but I wouldn't consider them unless you could get a higher-quality product for the same money as a complete AR.

The Ruger was built and sold to the dealers at a $500 price point. You are getting ripped at $650. Get the DelTon if you feel you need one right now.

It's just my thought, if you are ambivalent about getting an AR why not just sit back and look at a number of them before you buy. I have several DelTon uppers but no lowers. The uppers are good to go. I can't tell you about the lowers. The Colts with no furniture are really great buys. Just add the furniture you want and it will serve you for a lifetime.

And, spend a little more money and get a good quality handle/sight with the DelTon. The sight on the Ruger is a backup sight. It was never designed to be the primary sight so in the future you would probably upgrade anyway. That's part of the $500 price point. There are other issues that make it a $500 gun.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt that the Ruger is a budget gun, but I'd be curious to know what other issues it has.

And if it's a $500 rifle, then what does that make a Del-ton retailing less than Ruger's dealer price? I keep hearing that an AR's an AR and all, but buying a gun at the very bottom price point for factory rifles does raise an eyebrow. Me being cheap though, I'm still interested.
 
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"PTAC products are ready for duty, and are meant to be used. As such the finish may have some cosmetic irregularities which include, but are not limited to, scuffs, scratches, and dings or dents in the forgings that do not affect function. "
The PTAC uppers are built with blem parts. I have used them on a number of builds and they run great. Out of 4 PACT rifle kits and 6 complete uppers. Only two of them had scratches I could see and they were very small.
 
I bought one of the "freedom" melonite uppers, which was $189 on sale and the standard PSA Blem lower for $139.

The BCG with charging handle added another $104.
 
ColoradoShooter77 said:
For the price difference, I'd go with the Del-Ton, you don't sound like your going to shoot 3000 rounds/year out of it. This rifle should serve you fine.

FWIW, I broke an S&W sport at 2000 rounds. Its at S&W now for warranty service.
Click to expand...
May I ask what broke on your S&W Sport 15 ? Shooting Times's Dick Metcalf claims 5000 rds through 3 different Sport 15's sans issues and a fella on S&W's site claims over 10 K.

Thanks
 
To the OP

I was in the same boat as you are about 8 months ago. I had no AR experience ( I am a blued steel and walnut sort of guy;) ) However I decided to take the plunge on an entry level AR since prices were low and I don't really trust the political climate to not turn bad. :uhoh:

I had narrowed it down to either a Ruger AR 556 or a S&W M&P sport. It just so happened that week my local gun shop got in two Rugers . After taxes and the background check I walked out the door with it for $ 608 plus change.

I am about 800ish rounds into it now and no hiccups. I am really surprised by the accuracy with plain Federal Lake City ammo. I have yet to try anything else yet. I think it would be even more accurate if I scoped it. ( My eyes are old and bad :( ) For now it is just a plinker/ range gun.

Again I am an AR newbie , but I am very pleased with my Ruger. I have also heard lots of good things about the M&P sport.

Tentwing
 
Not sure what the problem is with my Sport, it became a single shot weekend before last. I tried different magazines to no avail, BCG, chamber and barrel all look fine.

S&W will be recieving it tomorrow, I'll be interested to hear what the problem is.

Transit time from Colorado to Mass is 4 days, plus the Holiday, took 5 days to get there.
 
Not sure what the problem is with my Sport, it became a single shot weekend before last.
Click to expand...

I'll bet it has something to do with the gas tube or gas key on the bolt. I am interested to hear what they say if they tell you.
 
Gas block or loose gas key are probably obvious culprits. If Smith had done it right, the gas key should never come loose. Maybe mine was built on a Friday, lol.
 
I have seen gas blocks that were slightly off top dead center on Smith rifles, four to be exact. When I removed the gas blocks I found that they were also drilled off center. It didn't look good but they still worked. If you saw any carbon build up around the gas block to barrel interface then you definitely had a gas leak in that area.
 
I've pushed ~3,000 rounds through my DelTon middy kit (built on an Anvil Arms lower) and it's always run 100%.

The DelTon upper isn't as nicely finished as the lower (which is perfect), but it was inexpensive and was intended as a shooter, and not a show gun.

If you're buying a 16" barrel, I highly recommend getting a middy and not a carbine with the welded on bird cage.

OBTW, it does not have M4 feed ramps, and has never shown any signs of needing them.
 
I have 4 DelTon uppers on 5 lowers I have built. I have had good luck with all the uppers. The Ruger has proprietary parts that can be replaced if you have the money and the know how. This ups the over all cost of the rifle. Yes, the cost of the DelTon rifles tends to be less but at $650 your dealer is cashing in on the "demand"(?) for the rifle. I think the DelTons are as good if not better than the Rugers. I would take a good hard look at the S&W's if I felt I needed another AR.
 
just a quick shout out for Windham Weaponry (formerly Bushmaster before Remington bought them).

Same plant, same original owner, same people and much of the same machinery.

My brother has one and has had zero problem with it.
 
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