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Posted: 7/3/2007 8:09:19 PM EDT
| I was looking at the Ruger FA. Any opinions would be great. Most importantly is durability and parts availability. I'm not sure if either apply but let me hear your opinions. Thanks. |
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The only writeup I've ever seen was , I think, in the old Machinegun News. The part that stuck in my head was the "fact" that there's a weight under the barrel that reciprocates w/ the action and will rub excessively on the barrel in FA. I haven't had my mini apart in so long I can't remember if they're similar. Anybody else? |
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What's with all the RUger haters over here!!??? It's a great platform for the price. It's a medium priced full auto rifle. If you want a rifle, and want to spend less than 10K, it's the perfect solution. Since there are few AC556 owners here on arfcom, your not going to find much. Your going to find that the M16 owners here are snobby when it comes to the ac556. I love these guys to death but they just have to try to justify to themselves that their $14K was worth it when they could have had an ac556 for $5K. Just smile and let them be. They are good folks. ateamrob has a good thread going right now in the C3firearms forum or if you look at my sig line, you can find another good source of info. You will also find some vids of the ac556 there as well. Free site but you will have to join because of all the damn spammers I have to delete everyday! |
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I owned an AC556K and recently sold it. Put 60 rounds through it and it would get hotter than hell. Since its all steel, it takes nearly forever to cool down. The folding stock pounds you like a 12 gauge double and it climbs like a Thompson. If you want a pro-AC556 forum check out http://www.firebugfab.com/ac-556/index.php. Not a lot of traffic, but worth a surf. The pluses? - It's cheap - It's cheap - It's cheap If you want a 5.56MG and only have $6K to spend, it's the only game in town. |
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They're a lot of fun to shoot, very durable, have factory support (at least for now), and are half the cost of an M16. Downsides: There aren't as accurate or controllable as an M16, you can't swap uppers, decent mags are much more expensive, and the aftermarket options don't even come close to the AR/M16 platform. Oh, and they're the A-team gun. Preferring the AR/M16 platform to the Mini/AC556 platform has nothing to do with cost and everything to do with performance. I have a mini-14 and I'll never get rid of it -- but I've hardly shot it since I bought my first AR. I'm not an AC556 hater. I'm just an AR lover. |
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There is nothing wrong with the the AC556 as an entry level rifle caliber machineguns. I personally own an AC556K (13" blued folder) and it is a fine firearm, shoots well, and is extremely reliable. Sure, the AC is not in the top of its class in terms of ergonomics, controllability, and thermal capacity and my personal AC doesn't get shot very much but that is due to the other 5.56 competition in the safe (Two M16s, HK33, & a FNC) That said, there are alot of other things to consider when purchasing a machinegun other than it's inherent ability to put lead downrange. The obvious first consideration is cost and the AC556 wins that competition hands down by a margin of $1000 or more over the second place entry the FNC. The AC556 can be had for as little as $6000 where an M16 starts at about $10,000. Is the M16 worth $4000 more than the AC556? I personally beleive it is, but not due to it's better "shootability". A stock 5.56 caliber M16 shoots better than an AC556 but in my opinion does not shoot $4000 better. The extra $4000 premium placed on the M16 in my opinion is the M16's modular and caliber changing capacity to become a 20" rifle one minute and a suppressed 9MM subgun the next, with many variations in between. The AC556 is just not capable this morphing feat. If I had to choose between owning a M16 or a (AC556 plus a M11/9) set I would take the M16 for the same cost as the two other machineguns combined. Parts availablity is another prime concern, especially if this is your only machinegun and you are going to be putting alot of rounds through it. You are going to break or wear something out if you shoot it alot, it is just a matter of time. In terms of parts availability the M16 is the best of the lot. There is nothing that cannot be fixed/replaced by the end user going to bushmaster.com and placing a parts order and fixing the M16 on their kitchen table with little to no specialized tools. I would rate the AC556 second in the parts availability category as there are alot of common parts shared between the AC556 and the Mini-14. In addition, while not ideal, you can send the gun to Ruger and they will repair it back to working order for a minimal fee. However, barrel changes and the like will require a trip to Ruger or a competent gunsmith as "home gunsmithing" on a AC556 is more limited vs an M16. The FNC is the worst of this group as *some* parts are available and other such as a barrel or carrier will most likely require the sacrifice of a semi auto host at a cost of $3000. If this is going to be your single rifle caliber machinegun I would not recommend the FNC due to this problem. (others will disagree with me on this point though as the FNC has taken on via internet lore, mythical durability characteristics) If you have the cash the M16 is a better overall machinegun than the AC556 but if $6000 is your budget limit than the AC556 is a good second choice. Good luck with your decision/purchase James Austin, Texas |
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IMHO, the main drawback to the AC556 is the heat issue -- it heats up to the damage point too quickly, and it takes way too long to cool down. If the design allowed QD barrels or uppers it would be easier, but .... So, you need to practice self-discipline when shooting it. This is fine if you have a bunch of other MGs, and still do-able if you only own one but are shooting alone. Where you run into trouble is when a coupla buddies see you at the range, and each starts begging to dump a mag or two through it. It is difficult to explain, in sign-language over range gunfire decibels, that you can only put three or four mags total through your new MG before a mandatory 45-minute cooldown. The last guy in line thinks you're snubbing him. So you let him dump a couple, too, and then next time you shoot, you discover it won't hold minute-of-barn due to a warped barrel or throat erosion.  I have owned (non-AC556) MGs like this. I take 'em to the range with a coupla hundred rounds in mags. My friends show up, beg to shoot 'em ... and between being a nice guy and the mandatory cooldowns, I go home at the end of the day, not having put a single round through my own MG. And all my mags are now empty, and I get to reaload them (plus clean the MG). Without having fired a shot. Now I take the '16. I have "designated loaner" uppers for my friends to heat up whenever I feel generous ... and I get to do all the shooting with "my" personal uppers. Of course, I still end up buying all the ammo myself. 
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jbntex and Tony-k are correct. I personally could not justify the $10-$14 k (depending on RDIAS, LL, RL, etc.) but I wanted a rifle. The FN is a fine weapon but there are no parts out there. There was an old SAR write up on the ac556 a number of years ago. It was a VERY well written article. I found it a while back while googling either "ac-556, or "ac556". Now, to clear up a few foggy issues I noticed. Although ac556 parts are not available, basically everything except the FCG is a mini 14 and as we all know, there are tons of mini 14 parts available. Notice I said "parts" not accessories. There are some accessories such as various stocks and all. I keep saying I'm going to get one of those little bullpup stocks. Some milling has to be done to aftermarket stocks to fit the FCG but it's no big deal. If you tear up parts on your M16, you just replace them. If you tear up parts on your ac556, you send your weapon back to Ruger and they fix it for a small fee. There is a guy on my site who just sent back a barreled receiver only and for $360 he is going to get back basically a brand new machinegun. Another guy on my site bought an ac556 and found that the barrel was shot out. I mean BAD! The pictures of the paper targets looked like you literally turned every round exactly sideways and pushed them through the paper. He is sending his back and will basically get a new gun back. THe only catch to the factory sevice is that the ac556 has to be in it's factory configuration. Meaning if you chop a few inches off your factory barrel or something like that, then your screwed. There are pros and cons to everything. (btw: the reply I made above to smallchange was because he thinks my ac556 is too loud for his delicate girly-man ears  ) |
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Be sure and check out the very last segment of this short video! It's Smallchange fondling, enjoying, envying, wanting, and shooting my AC556! Ha! Caught him on tape! See! He is wanting to trade me for his M16 but I just couldn't get rid of my Ruger! VIDEO |
Firebug, I've never met anyone who was so defensive about something that nobody was criticizing. I like your Ruger. Always have. If you want a machinegun for fun and don't want to spend a ton of money (relatively speaking) the Ruger is a good way to go. It is a lot of fun to shoot and has a lot of retro cool factor. But for the reasons listed in previous posts by myself, tony_k and others, there are better (but more expensive) choices if you're actually looking for a select-fire weapon system. I chose the M16, as have many others. If I had just wanted a machine gun, I would have probably bought an AC556, Mac, or Uzi long ago. But I WANTED an M16, and waited longer to get what I really wanted. My only regret is that I didn't just buy one (or two) of those cheapo DIAS's instead of spending the extra money on a more desireable RR. |
Yep. And I'm mad that you get to be hannibal and I have to be murdoch. Even though he was really always my favorite. Now where did I put that sock puppet? 
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I haven't thought of Murdock doing that in a long time...
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