Finally picked her up today.  

Initial impressions:

1) Very solid and well made.  Everything is very tight and well finished.  The finish is a dull, typical rough AR texture.  Upper/lower match perfectly.

2) I like the chrome plated bolt and carrier.  It literally wipes off clean.

3) Factory stock has to go. Typical M4 stock.  Will be replaced with a Magpul MOE or CTR.

4) I am so-so on the AC-556 hider.  It was not timed perfectly (not to 12:00, which I remedied) but I can't decide if I'd rather throw an A1 or Vortex on there.

5) The gun is a tad nose heavy, but nowhere near ungainly or off balance.  

6) Love the rail system.  Typical Troy quality - solid as a rock.  Same for the sights.  No complaints here.

7) Piston system is straight forward and easy to disassemble.  The gas regulator is VERY tight and you almost NEED a bullet tip to manipulate it.

Overall this is a well built rifle.  I have not shot it yet, but if it shoots well and gives me no problems I'll be sold.  Ruger covered a lot of bases with this one, and they MAY have pulled it off.
I'll update with a range report and more pics.
In short this rifle is much nicer than many of you might want to give it credit for being.

Forgive the uber crappy pic.

Nice! How does the Hogue grip feel?

If you don't mind, how much did it cost you?

Nice! Looking forward to the range report

As far as flash hiders go, I was introduced to the Vortex during a low-light carbine class. It's a great piece of gear and I run them on my HD carbines. I believe mine are threaded 1/2x28 but I can't remember for sure.

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300 glad you got it. Do you feel satisfied for now? You arent going to have to wait till this next weekend to get er out are you ?

My regulator is that tight as well... I MUST use a bullet or large allen wrench to turn it to get it out or change positions.  That's OK... can't see myself doing it too often....

What are you guys paying for this beauty...?

Anywhere from $1,500 to $1,700 is the going rate.

The Hogue grip actually feels good.  I thought I was going to buy an MOE grip right away but I may try this one for a while.

Deadduck - I will have to wait until at least Thursday.  

Your going to be daydreaming about it for 3 more days, hope you make it.

Sweet!

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Is it heavy under the barrel?  1/9 right?

Is what heavy under the barrel ? 1/9 is right.

Oops, I meant heavy under the handguards.  The barrel profile itself.

I got to fondle one at work, and it really seems to be a well made AR.

Congrats on the rifle.  Let us know how it shoots when you get a chance.

After all the years of Ruger's bs, they have, IMHO, they got this right.

I really like their approach, a lot.





Bill

Very nice !

Will the upper fit any standard AR lower ? If so I wonder if Ruger would sell the upper only. Given Rugers past policies  I doubt they would.

Medium/heavy

Yes, the upper will fit on any AR lower.