Ruger's AR 556

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Kynoch said:
I agree that it was a very sound business move and it's a move that Ruger knows quite well.

Ruger has always been a second stringer when it comes to say bolt-action rifles with their M77 brand. The standards were long Winchester and then Remington and if you wanted to spend a bit less or were an accuracy purist you went with a Savage.

When Ruger introduced the low-priced American (with a Savage-inspired accuetrigger) I think they were sort of conceding the higher priced bolt market. They are doing very well with their American, it offers a great deal of bang for the buck (pun intended) and it's putting pressure on their aforementioned competitors to offer more for less.

Ruger is now doing the same thing with their new AR. I think they have concluded that the SR (like the M77) is sort of an also-ran and that other peoples' ARs are eating away at their Mini franchise so now they are jumping into the market.

I'm sure a Ruger American in .223 costs nearly the same to build and market as an AR-556. Bud's currently has Ruger Americans for $342.00. I hope that means we're headed for $349.00 or even $299.00 AR-556s...
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I wonder if over time they'll phase out their pricier offerings like the 77 and the No. 1.

I've read a good deal of complaints, here and elsewhere, concerning the quality of the American series.
 
Jason_W said:
I wonder if over time they'll phase out their pricier offerings like the 77 and the No. 1.

Good question. With the No. 1 they are one of the few games in town and they have been pretty aggressive about raising the price of it, so it will last as a low volume, high margin product.
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I'm not sure about the M77. When I said "M77" earlier I should have said "M77/Hawkeye." Both are certainly more vulnerable than the No. 1. I'm not sure what that would do to Ruger's reputation if they pulled the plug on what has historically been such an important market?

Jason_W said:
I've read a good deal of complaints, here and elsewhere, concerning the quality of the American series.
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I own a Ruger American in 30-06 and it's a remarkable rifle. Built for the hunter who grinds their way up and down trails -- not a country club rifle.
 
They picked the perfect twist for the barrel and it comes with sights. I'm thinking it's a good offering.
I didn't see where they said what the barrel was made from.
 
It's nice to see ruger doing what it needs to do to stay current, but would be much nicer to see them do something more innovative. The need to put out the LCP in 22tcm, a super Blackhawk in .223, and make an LCR 6 shot 32acp. They then need to get their name on another new, good cartridge for medium game. They have .204 now, but something in the .338 bore size straight walled, long, and strong would be really nice for folks in states allowing only straight walled cases for deer hunters. NEXT would be the American rifle with a smoke pole barrel. That gun is a hit in centerfire and rimfire, make it a muzzle loader and change the game with it. Put a .209 primer in the bolt and let that seat directly into the breech.

This AR though which we all know is the same parts assembled as those making other guns such as spikes or dpms. Whoopty-friggin-doo. They should have gone American AK and cornered the market.
 
Jason W - thank you for clearly stating what is really going on. A lot of people talk about wanting innovation and the second they get it they complain about another product coming to market that is unnecessary and that a current model can do the same thing for less.

Manufactures respond to consumer wants and needs. That is all Ruger is doing - making smart business decisions that improve the bottom line through increased revenue.

Having said that - I would love it if Ruger brought back a competively priced lever in 30-30 as well as 38/357 and 45.
 
Ruger made a good move for them and the consumer. It gives us a new choice for a quality low price AR backed by a warrantee and not put together from mismatched parts.
They produced the high priced piston gun because they read forums too. They thought that the few that think pistons are superior spoke for many and made them. By and large the piston is just a needless weight and moving part with problems of it's own. It is all about sales and money. Not about making fickle buyers happy.
 
The need to put out the LCP in 22tcm, a super Blackhawk in .223, and make an LCR 6 shot 32acp. They then need to get their name on another new, good cartridge for medium game. They have .204 now, but something in the .338 bore size straight walled, long, and strong would be really nice for folks in states allowing only straight walled cases for deer hunters.
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-The .22 TCM is way too long and too high pressure for a mouse gun like the LCP.

-Bottleneck rifle cartridges have been tried in revolvers many times, with rather unfavorable results-especially the higher pressure rounds like .223.

-LCR in .32 ACP makes no sense, especially when they already offer it in .22 WMR, which performs about the same from a short barrel and costs considerably less to practice with.

-You mean like the .338 RCM that was introduced 6 years ago? Or the long-ago wildcatted .223-.338 straight that is unlikely to ever be picked up by a commercial manufacturer because rounds like the .357 and .44 mag in a carbine just make more sense?

Not trying to be mean, but the first three are quirky personal wants of yours that are not likely shared by many others, which means a marketing failure. The last item you want already exists.
 
As disappointing as yet another AR is, I'll be the devil's advocate here: Manufacturers produce boring because the gun buying public buys boring. Doing something new and innovative is a huge risk for a company, especially given how resistant gun buyers actually are when it comes to new products.

In some ways, it's a no win situation for a manufacturer. If a manufacturer comes up with a new round or platform, the gun buying public bellyaches that said new product does nothing that existing products X, Y, and Z already do and that the new product is just a marketing gimmick to boost sales. On the other hand, if they go the boring route, doing nothing really new, we'll whine about how boring it is, but we will buy those boring products as long as we can get the, for a few dollars cheaper than the same product made by their competitors.
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THIS!

A company comes out with another AR, or another 1911, or another polymer, striker-fired pistol, and immediately appears a legion of naysayers moaning "do we really need another X?" or complaining that their just the latest in a long line of ripoff artists, etc.

And if a company introduces something new and different (e.g. Boberg XR-9, Remington R51, et al.) along comes a legion of naysayers (sometimes some of the same individuals!) saying "it doesn't do anything my Glock/1911/AR/whatever doesn't do better," or to call the new offering "a solution in search of a problem," or "an answer to a question no one asked" (some variant of those quotes is virtually guaranteed to appear in any thread about a new and innovative design).

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. There's just no making some people happy. Give them a chest full of gold, and they'd just complain of the weight they'd have to carry.
 
WestKentucky said:
It's nice to see ruger doing what it needs to do to stay current, but would be much nicer to see them do something more innovative. The need to put out the LCP in 22tcm, a super Blackhawk in .223, and make an LCR 6 shot 32acp. They then need to get their name on another new, good cartridge for medium game. They have .204 now, but something in the .338 bore size straight walled, long, and strong would be really nice for folks in states allowing only straight walled cases for deer hunters. NEXT would be the American rifle with a smoke pole barrel. That gun is a hit in centerfire and rimfire, make it a muzzle loader and change the game with it. Put a .209 primer in the bolt and let that seat directly into the breech.

This AR though which we all know is the same parts assembled as those making other guns such as spikes or dpms. Whoopty-friggin-doo. They should have gone American AK and cornered the market.
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I am still amazed that Ruger has not knocked-off the AK-74. That's right up their alley and now that AK prices have risen, they could make a buck at it.
 
Kynoch said:
I am still amazed that Ruger has not knocked-off the AK-74. That's right up their alley and now that AK prices have risen, they could make a buck at it.
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and they could have a hammer forged barrel which all the AK purist complain American made AKs don't have.

If Ruger could make an AK which sold for ~$800, that would be great
 
HOOfan_1 said:
It is cold hammer forged I see, which makes sense, since Ruger has the machines.

I would guess the black oxide finish indicates it is nitrocarburized.
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I dunno, If it is nitrocarburized, why wouldn't they say so as a selling point instead of saying black oxide? It's a completely different ( superior) process.
 
It's not news except for the price. And if it holds up to consumer testing, it will make some waves.
 
ok ok ok....


When I said :

danez71 said:
I long for the day that non-pistol gripped, center fire semi autos are made again............... :(
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I didn't mean it so literal.

I don't want to derail the thread but what I meant was more in the sense of " What new non-pistol gripped, center fire semi autos have come out recently? "
 
danez71 said:
ok ok ok....


When I said :




I didn't mean it so literal.

I don't want to derail the thread but what I meant was more in the sense of " What new non-pistol gripped, center fire semi autos have come out recently? "
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Benelli R1 came out in 2004
 
To list the household names in the AR game we have Remington, Smith & Wesson, Colt, Mossberg, Ruger....maybe more I'm not thinking of at the moment.

To list the household names in the AK game we have.... :confused:
 
To list the household names in the AR game we have Remington, Smith & Wesson, Colt, Mossberg, Ruger....maybe more I'm not thinking of at the moment.

To list the household names in the AK game we have....
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Century. It's not a household name, but it pretty much says it all. :barf:

There should be some kind of middle ground in the AK market between Century's $500 drunk-monkey specials, and Arsenal's $1200 tacticool guns. If a domestic manufacturer made an AK, or something very close to it, at a reasonable price, it would probably sell like hot cakes. It wouldn't be too difficult - the AK was pretty much designed for ease of manufacture. And there's clearly a market for $600-$800 military style rifles.

Like Kynoch and Hoofan were saying, Ruger seems like the ideal company for that job. They aren't known for their finely finished or highly accurate arms, but they tend to manufacture durable guns for not a whole lot of money.
 
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If Ruger and SW and Colt and Remington put one in EVERY gun owners home no one can claim they are "unusual" or "rare".

Small boutique assembly houses don't have the political clout of those MFGs, nor the warranty service.

I applaud Ruger. Again, this is the rifle they SHOULD have joined the market with.
 
Where do I even start?

Sooooo many complaints here....

Ruger makes quality products, at a great price, in AMERICA, with a great warranty and customer service, which are known for rugged and reliable operation. What is there to hate? Every company except Armalite is technically ripping off Stoner's design for the AR15. Almost every hammer fired gun rips off JMB's design. Every gun designed to shoot with gunpowder rips of the Chinese because they invented it!!!

Is there enough room for another AR15? Well I am sure the highly educated people at Ruger did there homework... or unless they all secretly read THR to get all their business and engineering advice from Joe Flipperhead. Maybe there would be more different designs if every traditionalist afraid of change didn't look down on people for buying something else. How many threads ask "what should my first semi rifle be?" and everyone yells "AR15"?

I agree with the Ruger AK... but of course, that would be "copying" wahhhhh

The only innovative firearm companies right now are KelTec and HiPoint, and we all know how much love there is for them on these snobby gun forums. They do business and manufacturing their way, and they get alot of flak. It seems everyone wants their cake and to eat it too...
 
If Ruger and SW and Colt and Remington put one in EVERY gun owners home no one can claim they are "unusual" or "rare".

Excellent observation, especially as the design must certanly be the highest volume single model of design sold in the USA. It's a political debate point that we should not fail to use. If I ran Ruger I would sell them at a break-even cost *Simply to place them in every gun owners house in the USA*. It's harder to legislate take away things when everyone has them.


As far at the original topic... "yawn"... was my first responce, but at second look? It's good for Ruger and I'm sure they will sell a ton to folks who simply buy on name recognition and who have never heard of PSA, etc.


Willie

.
 
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