Quickly and easily convert your Ruger SR556 Takedown rifle to .300 AAC Blackout with this barrel kit. The SR-556 Takedown maintains the best-of-class elements of the SR-556 and comes standard with a host of accessories that today's shooters demand. The quad rail handguard provides ample mounting area for accessories and provides a stiff and secure mount for the takedown mechanism.
The slider bar for removing the barrel is located on the bottom rail under the gas block and is out of the way of accessories. The upper receiver is complete with dust cover, forward assist, and metal flip-up windage adjustable rear sight. MSR shooters that desire a larger cartridge will be excited to find that a replaceable barrel kit chambered in 300 AAC Blackout is available on ShopRuger.com. The Ruger SR-556 was a welcomed addition to the AR-15 market in 2009. At the time the AR-15 market was on fire, with record sales, accessory development, and design innovations. The market became saturated with manufacturers offering the full range of quality and advanced features; as well as, gimmicks and eye candy.
Ruger's SR-556, however, delivered the time-honored craftsmanship expected of a Ruger firearm. Features included a piston driven gas system, chrome-lined barrel and bolt carrier, full quad rail, folding iron sights, and enhanced Ruger pistol grip. All the features were tailored for specific benefits to the shooter, without unnecessary frills to increase price. The hammer-forged, chrome-lined barrel measures 16.1 inches in length, and is threaded 1/2x28 TPI to accept standard muzzle brakes, flash suppressors, and sound suppressors.
The barrel is fitted with a shortened version of Ruger's standard birdcage flash suppressor. Like the others in the SR-556 family, the SR-556 Takedown has a chrome-plated two-stage piston system, along with an adjustable gas regulator, to assure function with any quality of ammunition. The rifle features a "two-stage" piston mechanism as opposed to the semi-direct impingement system of the AR-15. Several key parts, such as the short stroke gas piston, gas regulator, and bolt/carrier group are chrome plated. The bolt carrier features an integral lug in place of the AR-15's gas key. The flash suppressor is similar to Ruger's AC-556 and Mini-14GB.
As both cartridges utilize the same bolts, buffer springs and magazines, a 10-second barrel change effectively makes the SR-556 Takedown a dual-cartridge-capable rifle. To minimize the risk of shooters potentially trying to fire a .300 Blackout cartridge through the 5.56 NATO barrel, all components included in the kit are emblazoned with ".300 BLK" on the side. Precision-rifled, chrome-lined, cold hammer-forged Mil-Spec 41V45 chrome-moly-vanadium steel barrel ensures accuracy and longevity. A Ruger® flash suppressor is provided and the ½"-28 threaded barrel allows for standard muzzle accessories to be installed.
While the lower receiver is standard AR fare, the rifle's barrel can be removed from the upper with only a twist of the wrist. When assembled, eight lugs located on the outside surface of the barrel extension solidly engage the inner splines of the upper receiver's barrel nut to hold the two parts together. To remove the barrel, just lock the bolt back, depress the spring-loaded latch located at the front of the handguard and twist the barrel assembly an eighth of a turn counter-clockwise.
The barrel, gas block and front sight will now freely slide from the handguard. In addition to the rifle, Ruger shipped me a 300 Blackout conversion kit. The kit includes both a barrel assembly and two magazines marked as being for the larger caliber. When developed, the 300 Blackout was designed to work with standard 5.56mm NATO magazines. But having clearly marked, dedicated magazines can help a shooter avoid problems with trying to shoot the wrong ammuntion in the SR-556 Takedown.
Thankfully, the carrying case has room enough to carry the gun and both barrel assemblies in addition to the magazines in the front pockets. Black Hills sent me some of their .300 Whisper 125-gr Open Tip Match ammo. I actually received the ammo several weeks before I got the Takedown .300 AAC Blackout barrel conversion. Now, to be sure, you can shoot .300 Whisper through a rifle chambered in .300 AAC Blackout, however, the reverse isn't always true.
You really shouldn't shoot .300 AAC Blackout in a rifle chambered in .300 Whisper. They are "that" close to being the same ammo, but there is a silly millimeter difference in the specs of the rounds. I know some people don't have any problems shooting .300 AAC Blackout in a rifle chambered in .300 Whisper, so proceed with caution. The SR is a nice rifle but it needs to be for the price, and it had its own growing pains.
I had previously purchased two S&W ARs and they were as good or better than the Ruger rifles. I just bought a Ruger AR556 and while it looks and runs well, it was not without its problems. I have read reports of the front sight taper pins coming out and I checked mine when I got it home. One was so easily tapped out, I am sure it would have fallen out during firing. I found a taper pin while picking up my brass at the local range.
The range officer told me that guy was shooting his AR556 and the pin was walking out on him. They drove it back in, but he apparently failed to notice it came out completely when he continued shooting. My rifle was also incorrectly assembled from the factory, with the hammer spring installed backwards or upside down, depending on how you look at it.
It also looks like someone is afraid to finish driving the roll pins when they are assembling these. I had to drive my trigger guard roll pins deeper because they were still protruding from their holes. In addition to the standard SR-556 Take Down rifle in 5.56mm, Ruger has already produced a replacement barrel kit in the popular .300 AAC Blackout cartridge. The .300 BLK kit comes range-ready, with a head space that is already set at the factory for an installation as easy as described above.
The .300 BLK kit comes with its own flip-up front sight with elevation and windage adjustments, and also comes with 30-round magazines clearly marked "300 AAC BLACKOUT" to ensure magazines are easily differentiated. Ruger engineers really earned their pay on this design, as the process for removing the barrel from the upper receiver could not be any simpler, yet when attached, the barrel assembly is locked securely in place. To remove the barrel, pull the slider towards the breech, rotate the barrel, and slide forward. To reinstall the barrel, simply slide it into place and rotate.
The adjustable front sight removes with the barrel, and the 300 Blackout accessory barrel also has a front sight installed. There is no need for headspacing the barrel, is it is already set from the factory. The Ruger SR-556 Takedown has a .300 Blackout barrel assembly available from the factory.
The barrel is clearly marked ".300 BLK" in big letters on both sides of the gas block to discourage shooters from mistakenly putting the wrong ammunition in the wrong barrel. Putting .300 BLK ammo in a 5.56x45mm barrel can cause the rifle to have a catastrophic failure and lead to serious injuries. The Takedown's operating system—with energy from the piston acting on a transfer rod that in turn acts upon the bolt carrier—is ideally suited for life in a takedown model. The gun's gas block and piston are part of the barrel assembly, and the transfer rod is a part of the upper, with the interface between these two components providing the perfect location for barrel separation. The SR-556 takedown barrel is designed to be removed from the upper receiver without any tools – just like the 10/22 takedown.
By simply moving the slider bar towards the breech, and rotating the barrel, the shooter is able to pull the barrel off the receiver. Installation is even easier in design, simply requiring the shooter to slide the barrel into the upper and twist until it locks into place. Ruger has designed the takedown mechanism to provide a repeatable point of impact, so shooters do not have to worry about re-zeroing their rifle after disassembly.
Modeled after the original SR-556 in 5.56mm NATO, the new gun adds the ability to twist and remove the barrel in just a few seconds. When matched with a 300 Blackout kit, the owner can literally change the gun from 5.56mm to 300 BLK in about 30 seconds. To take the barrel off, simply lock the bolt to the rear, pull down on two tabs along the rails under the front sight assembly and twist the barrel about an eighth of a turn.
The upper assembly is a single unit, and while the author tested a quad-rail model, a KeyMod handguard is now available. The barrel assembly includes the front sight to ensure accuracy after being disassembled. The SR-556 Takedown has a standard lower receiver with a Magpul MOE SL buttstock. Also, the Ruger is a complete package as is the conversion system.
The rifle and the conversion kit include sights, barrels, etc. The Ruger SR-556 Takedown is an excellent rifle, and really different from anything else on the market. The value of getting the rifle disassembled into such a small package for transport or storage will vary with the user.
However, even if compact storage is not of primary importance, the ability to switch calibers without changing the entire upper is a great idea. The barrel locks in securely, and loses nothing in accuracy. The Ruger SR-556 takedown comes with rail covers, three thirty-round P-MAG magazines, instructions, lock, and padded case. Like all Ruger firearms, the SR-556 Takedown is built in the USA.
The takedown feature on this gun provides repeatable accuracy. I removed both barrels several times, numerous times for that matter, and the bullet point of impact didn't change at all. Of course, when you change from one caliber to another, the point of impact changes; the .300 Blackout shoots heavier .30 caliber bullets. For my testing, I didn't change the sight adjustments at all. I was testing for accuracy, not setting up the sights for different points of impact. New to Ruger's line of SR-556 rifles, is the new Ruger SR-556 Takedown AR15 rifle.
We feel that this new "takedown" rifle may be a unique option for hunters who travel into the back country to hunt game. Weighing in at 7.6 pounds, without optics, this AR15 is a bit on the heavy side. But, having the ability to break it down and store it in a backpack, or small case for transport, makes this rifle a strong contender for those who like compact and portable. For those looking to hunt big game, while on the move in the back country, this may be a great choice. However, with the suggested retail price at $2049.00, it may be a tough price to swallow for your average hunter.
There is also a .300 AAC Blackout barrel kit available to quickly change calibers. Standard features include metal flip-up sights, a dust cover, a forward assist and a flash hider. Our evaluation gun featured a quad-rail handguard, however, Ruger has introduced a new model furnished instead with a KeyMod-compatible handguard. The guns ship disassembled in a nondescript, easily toteable, 24″ nylon case, with three, 30-round Magpul PMAGs and three rail covers.
A semi-automatic rifle chambered in 5.56×45 mm NATO, the gun utilizes a four-position gas regulator. Both the upper and lower receivers are forged from 7071-T6 aluminum then hardcoat anodized.The 16.1″, cold-hammer-forged, chrome-lined barrel is made of 41V45 chrome-moly-vanadium steel. All components of the operating system are chrome plated for greater wear and corrosion resistance, as well as increased lubricity.
As I mentioned earlier in this article, Ruger designed the front sight to allow for windage and elevation adjustments so that the zero would be maintained when swapping barrels. I sighted the rifle in with the 5.56mm NATO barrel then swapped out to the 300 BLK barrel. After sighting in the 300 BLK, I then returned to the 5.56mm NATO and shot a new group. As Ruger promised, the rounds were hitting where I intended. Swapping out once again to the 300 Blackout barrel assembly, I found those rounds struck paper right where they were supposed to.
I don't claim that this is a comprehensive test, but it is certainly enough to suggest the gun does indeed hold its zero when taken down and then reassembled. After more dead ends, I spoke to a Ruger N.C. CSR Replacement Specialist who asked me to send her a copy of a letter I'd written and gave me a direct way to communicate with her, and she'd take it to management. A couple of weeks later, she sent an email saying a package is being shipped the next day.
Inside was a SR556 TD 5.56 bbl assembly complete with front sight and gas block assemblies! I feel this was a "one off/unique" situation, but I'll take it. It has been more than six years now since Rugerentered the already-crowded AR-15 market with their SR-556 gas piston rifle.
Since then, there have been other variations to follow, as well as their successful and affordable AR-556 gas impingement rifle. Now, Ruger has made things really interesting with this latest version of the SR-556; the SR-556 Takedown. Once the .300 AAC Blackout barrel was installed on the SR-556 Takedown, I ran out to the range and used the Black Hills .300 Whisper, 125-gr Open Tip Match ammo. Once again, my shooting was done only at 50 yards because of weather conditions– extreme fire danger. I had zero problems keeping all those rounds under one inch.
Then again, I expect nothing less from Black Hills Ammunition. I was more than a little impressed with the .300 Whisper ammo in the Takedown. I have since begged Jeff Hoffman, who co-owns Black Hills Ammunition with his lovely wife, Kristi, for some more of their .300 Whisper ammo, just for killing rocks and paper. A couple of years ago, Ruger came out with their first version of a gas piston AR type of rifle, called the Ruger SR-556, and it was an immediate hit with gun owners.
I did an article on the SR-556 for SurvivalBlog.com and was very favorably impressed with my sample. You can't interchange parts with any other gas piston AR, and this seems to be typical of gas piston ARs, no matter who makes them. So, when some gun makers started coming out with AR-15s that had a gas piston, instead of the direct gas impingement system, I tested several of them. I think we could have a debate all week long as to the merits of the gas piston system versus the direct gas impingement system and we couldn't change one another's minds. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the direct gas impingement system, other than your AR really gets dirty, in short order.
