I would have not bought a ruger piston rifle as my first AR-15.
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I would have not bought a ruger piston rifle as my first AR-15.
I have an SR556 as well.
The carrier is showing no wear, that is where Ruger or whoever they hired to make the carrier machined off some of the carrier rails in an attempt to reduce "carrier tilt". There are two different versions of the Ruger carrier, with slight differences in where they removed some of the rails.
Pic #3 is cam pin drag, another artifact of putting a piston on an AR
Pic #4 looks like a little wear on the buffer, no biggie.
Well I was going to go the ole build your own route but honestly I was just not feeling up to that at my knowledge level before I purchased the ruger. I feel after owning an AR-15 for a few months now that I probably could build my own but at the time I really didn't want to get into it only to find out that "OH YOU CAN'T DO THIS OR THAT WITHOUT DOING SUCH AND SUCH THAT'S INCREDIBLY HARD". I've been burned many times starting projects that I had no comprehension before hand were going to turn into a nightmare. I just wanted a reliable gun out of the box that will hopefully last my life time. Also attractive to me about the SR-556 was that it already has after market features I would have bought anyway.
Ruger has decided that removing some of the contact between the bolt carrier and upper is one of the keys to stopping or reducing carrier tilt. I have a couple of their piston AR's and they also have the shortened carrier rails. The top one shows similar machine marks to the one you've got.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...C/DSCN0961.jpg
Ruger has some FAQ-type videos you can access of their website. Mark Gurney talks about carrier tilt in the "Tech Tips" section:
http://ruger.com/resources/videos.html#
Neither would I, but that's hardly the point - nor does it matter now, nor are comments like that necessary. Let's start a thread and remind everyone about every bad purchase they've made in their lives. Gives me the warm fuzzies....
Ruger is selling a lot of these rifles and I suspect a good number of them are to first-time home buyers. I see more and more of them showing up on the range in the hands of what appear to be satisfied shooters. In fact, my brother-in-law bought one on his own and yup - his first AR-type rifle. Had I been with him, I would have likely tried to steer him in another direction, but guess what? He's an adult and made what appears to be a good purchase. The Ruger is feature-packed, seems well made - albeit a bit nose heavy, runs smoothly and puts lead and copper right where you want it. I don't suspect he'll ever run this gun on a two-day fun festival, or roam the hills and valleys of Afghanistan with it, so for Jeff - he's a happy Ruger camper and so am I. I've been on his ass to get off his ass and buy a rifle, so he did. Not exactly what I would have purchased, but he is not me and I'm happy for him...
To the OP: Congratulations on your new rifle. Everyone I've seen with them seems to enjoy them. I also sell guns and have noticed a shift toward the positive with Ruger customer service. They also seem to be invested in putting out a quality gun and while I have not had experience with regards to their SR556, other issues I've dealt with for Ruger customers have been well-handled by corporate. My only suggestion to you is to shoot that rifle until you're giddy and welcome to M4C...
Just a note on the above info. Militec is good stuff, and shouldn't be the cause of your wear. I have used Rem oil, Slip, Mobil 1, and CLP, and they all do the job. As long as your rifle is well lubed, you have that possible cause covered.
Also, when talking about ammo, I hope you mean Remington Premier ammo. If you are talking about UMC in the green and white box, or the yellow bulk pack, that is some of the worst domestically produced ammo around. I've had FTFs and bullets recessed into the case in the couple boxes of UMC I shot prior to giving up on it.