Sport II or Ruger AR-556

If you had the chance to buy either of these at the exact same price, which would you buy and why?

I already have a M&P 15. This would essentially be a spare/parts rifle that I would likely test till I trusted it 100% and put it away for safe keeping.

I faced the same choice a couple months ago, I decided on the S&W Sport II. Part of that decision was based previous experience with the M&P line as I has an early version of the MOE. Great rifle, but I traded it for a Patriot Ordinance 'Puritan' piston. That too is a great rifle.
While checking around, I found a shop that had both the Sport II and a Ruger. The price was pretty close so it came down personal preference. I really feel the Sport II is a better buy. I think the trigger is slightly better, the finish is better and I just felt the overall quality was better.
Ruger has had some trouble with their Delta ring, I is different from most AR style rifles, but it believe it is replaceable with the more common spring style. I really like Ruger SA revolvers, but the AR I looked at came in second to the Smith. I am not sure how much of the Ruger is mil- spec, if the matters ar all, I do know that the barrels on both are not 4150 but 4140 which only matters if you plan on a LOT of shooting.
I bought my Sport as a backup to POF and the first thing I did was replace the furniture with Magpul FDE and put in a WMD Nc BCG.
Both are fine starter rifles, in fact, they are just fine rifles period. I just happened to go with the Smith.

Had both at my local Cabela's ..
Liked the feel of each, salesman was a Ruger owner but he still preferred the MP15 over the 556 ...
I went with the Sport 2 due to the better warranty...
I have not regretted my choice...

Ruger = CMV barrel (no chrome or melonite). They also have that funky proprietary forend with the twist pseudo delta ring.

S&W = Melonite treated barrel. Standard delta ring which means you can use whatever two piece forend you want.

Go S&W. You get a little more bang for the buck.

I too was in the same boat back in January. For several of the reasons already mentioned I went with the Sport II. I have no regrets and if I had to do it over again I'd make the same decision. I've only put 200 rounds through it so far and it's a great shooter. Not one problem. I'm a big fan of Ruger firearms but I really love the Sport II. I think it's just a better rifle with a more proven track record. Look at the Ruger Forum and read about the issues with the 556 and decide which fits your needs best. Good Luck !!!

There's nothing wrong with the AR-556 per se, but I prefer the Sport. Some of the reasons I went with the Sport were already mentioned. I much preferred the nitriding treatment of the Sport barrel to the matte bluing of the AR-556 barrel.

There have been a number of issues with the screw on delta ring of the AR-556. I think it's a nice concept that's not well executed. If you read the Ruger forums a number of people have had a difficult time just getting it loose from the factory. Once loosened, I have read reports of it "welding" itself tight again from shooting the rifle. Anti seizing compound has been highly recommended. The delta ring has also cracked on people.

The BCG of the AR-556 has an exposed firing pin. That seems... odd... in this day and age when everyone else uses a BCG with a shrouded firing pin.

The front sight is pinned above the barrel instead of underneath it. I will admit, I don't know if that will be an issue if you wanted to change the gas block. For all I know, this is just getting nitpicky.

If you watch Hickock45's video of the AR-556, he says the trigger feels like a gritty two-stage trigger. Other YouTube videos also say the trigger isn't that good. I have also read that the trigger isn't that great. I haven't shot an AR-556, so I don't know what it's like. All I know is the Sport trigger feels very nice to me. It's got a clean break and doesn't feel heavy to me.

The barrel also uses a nonstandard nut. That needs to be taken into consideration if you ever have to take the barrel off.

Some of these things do seem kind of nitpicky, like I said. All those things can also be changed with standard parts if you felt like changing them. The AR-556 isn't a bad gun. I just wanted the Sport more. The forward assist and dust cover meant nothing to me. I felt the Sport was a better rifle, even without those. That's why I bought the Sport. 1/8 twist vs. 1/9 also meant very little to me.

I got my Sport, at the beginning of October, a couple weeks before the Sport II was announced. A little over a month ago I gave the Sport to my friend so he could have an AR, especially in this political climate. He scoped it and wanted to use it coyote hunting. I got my Sport II a week ago. I couldn't be without an AR and I still believe the Sport is a great one. If I didn't I wouldn't have bought it twice.

Now I'm gonna throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing. I just said why I prefer the Sport over the AR-556. Now that I have my Sport II, if I could afford it, I wouldn't mind having the AR-556 too. It might have a few "flaws," but it's still a decent gun.

The Sport II is an awesome rifle, and I would recommend it to anyone (as well as the original Sport). However, since you already have an M&P15, I would say to check out the AR-556 if you feel like diversifying your collection. Otherwise, the Sport II is a great addition so you can keep your AR's in the same family.

I just knew everyone on a Smith & Wesson forum was going to say to get the Ruger, boy was I wrong!

I mean seriously The Ruger has a cold hammer forged barrel, a semi auto BCG where as the Sport II has the full auto BCG (you'll be set when you modify the sport II for full auto!) Seems to still be a myth floating around about the hand guard usage, the Ruger will accept any Carbine drop in hand guard. The threaded delta ring is actually kinda cool, except it's plastic and you can over tighten it easily by hand making it a bear to loosen. Fit and finish on my Ruger is as good as any I own. You couldn't go wrong with either, I didn't, along with all the others I have as well.

crracer_712 said:

I just knew everyone on a Smith & Wesson forum was going to say to get the Ruger, boy was I wrong!

I mean seriously The Ruger has a cold hammer forged barrel, a semi auto BCG where as the Sport II has the full auto BCG (you'll be set when you modify the sport II for full auto!) Seems to still be a myth floating around about the hand guard usage, the Ruger will accept any Carbine drop in hand guard. The threaded delta ring is actually kinda cool, except it's plastic and you can over tighten it easily by hand making it a bear to loosen. Fit and finish on my Ruger is as good as any I own. You couldn't go wrong with either, I didn't, along with all the others I have as well.

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The Sport also has a semi auto carrier... but it is the enhanced version that shrouds the firing pin vs. the political correct version that Colt made to work with a notched hammer to stop slam fires and any conversion efforts.

Also, the Ruger will not accept every carbine drop in hand guard... especially ones that have the FSB cutout and extend past the FSB.

And the threaded delta ring... why? My bet is that it is cheaper to make than the standard delta ring... why reinvent the wheel?

The barrel does interest me though. I have a Ruger American Rimfire rifle with the CHF barrel, and it is very accurate with run of the mill, bulk ammo. At 50 yards, I can keep 9 out of 10 inside a 1" square with Remington Golden Bullets... am curious if Ruger's other CHF barrels are the same. Bought my son an American Rifle in .308, but we have not shot it yet.

cyphertext said:

Also, the Ruger will not accept every carbine drop in hand guard... especially ones that have the FSB cutout and extend past the FSB.

And the threaded delta ring... why? My bet is that it is cheaper to make than the standard delta ring... why reinvent the wheel?

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RE the hand guard that goes beyond the FSB, if you are referring to those extended quad rails that go in front of the FSB, true, but then again, why would a person want one of those...

I do like the FSB's design, the angled part really does disappear with it's 'anti-glare' feature, it's neither something that would or wouldn't say me from getting it though.

RE the delta ring, so many things on the AR have been reinvented, well, everything, so why not? Billet vs forged, barrel profiles, stocks, buffer weights, triggers, trigger guards etc.... I like the concept, but it should have been made from aluminum instead of plastic, I think that would have solved the initial, OMG this thing is tight!. I've hand tightened mine and thought I'd not be able to loosen it, and I didn't really tighten it in the first place. I've tried all the magpul guards, a couple of different quad tail drop ins, sure fire and multiple M4 hand guards, they all fit.

I'm not trying to sway the opinion away from the Sport II, just stating the Ruger is a fine rifle and I haven't run across anything that doesn't interchange with it and any of my other OEM rifles or the one's I've built.

As for the Hammer forged barrel, it's my understanding is that is all that Ruger uses on all their rifles. Whether its better or not, I wouldn't have a clue, I'm sure all my guns are more accurate than I am, as long as I hit what I'm aiming at, I'm happy!

If the OP is looking for a cheap rifle, I can't imagine he could find a better price on the Ruger than the Sport II. I have yet to see anyone sell the Ruger for under 600, and I've seen multiple places sell the sport II under 600 (I posted a link to a place that had almost 40 in stock at 539 at time of my posting!) That's a hell of a no brainer buying price!

And with a parting dig, I'm glad S&W decided to make the Sport in to a real AR! aka sport II (yes, I like to stir the pot)

crracer_712 said:

RE the hand guard that goes beyond the FSB, if you are referring to those extended quad rails that go in front of the FSB, true, but then again, why would a person want one of those...

I do like the FSB's design, the angled part really does disappear with it's 'anti-glare' feature, it's neither something that would or wouldn't say me from getting it though.

RE the delta ring, so many things on the AR have been reinvented, well, everything, so why not? Billet vs forged, barrel profiles, stocks, buffer weights, triggers, trigger guards etc.... I like the concept, but it should have been made from aluminum instead of plastic, I think that would have solved the initial, OMG this thing is tight!. I've hand tightened mine and thought I'd not be able to loosen it, and I didn't really tighten it in the first place. I've tried all the magpul guards, a couple of different quad tail drop ins, sure fire and multiple M4 hand guards, they all fit.

I'm not trying to sway the opinion away from the Sport II, just stating the Ruger is a fine rifle and I haven't run across anything that doesn't interchange with it and any of my other OEM rifles or the one's I've built.

As for the Hammer forged barrel, it's my understanding is that is all that Ruger uses on all their rifles. Whether its better or not, I wouldn't have a clue, I'm sure all my guns are more accurate than I am, as long as I hit what I'm aiming at, I'm happy!

If the OP is looking for a cheap rifle, I can't imagine he could find a better price on the Ruger than the Sport II. I have yet to see anyone sell the Ruger for under 600, and I've seen multiple places sell the sport II under 600 (I posted a link to a place that had almost 40 in stock at 539 at time of my posting!) That's a hell of a no brainer buying price!

And with a parting dig, I'm glad S&W decided to make the Sport in to a real AR! aka sport II (yes, I like to stir the pot)

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Many folks like for the handguard to extend past the gas block on a carbine length rifle... some of those folks also like to have a fixed front sight base. Allows for different techniques of holding the rifle.

And I'm perfectly happy with my first generation sport... you know, the one with the good barrel...

At a gun show last weekend, one of the usual dealers had several of the sport II for 619, thought that was a pretty good buy.

I saw one dealer that had one of the original sports, 799.... about 150 higher than he had the Sport II. I failed to examine his original sport, wished I had after I'd already left just to see if it was the original sport with the 1:8 5R rifling or the Sport 1.5