Actually I shot an M16A1 thirty years ago in the Marines, but today I bought my first AR.
I wanted a piston operated gun, I looked at the SIG 556, CMMG, POF and finally settled on the Ruger SR556. I only sent 50 rounds downrange today but I’m happy. The Ruger has an excellent fit and finish, I had no malfunctions of any kind (only 50 rounds fired though) and seems to be very well built. I don’t think Ruger makes much of the gun other than the barrel, bolt and piston assembly. The upper and lower are made by Schneider, the mags are Magpul, the sights and handguards are Troy and the grip is Hogue. I can’t wait to shoot it some more - need to find a good source of 5.56mm ammo.
welcome to M4C, and congrats on the purchase. ARs are a hell of a lot of fun, especially when you can do whatever you want with it (vs issued guns you can’t even shoot unless told to). lubrication and maintainence doctrine has changed a bit in the last 30 years- i’d recommend reading up, if you haven’t already.
this is true- most manufactures don’t actually manufacture most of the gun. the good ones turn their own barrels, and machine their own forgings, but the rest is generally purchased from parts manfers that specialize in forging and extruding.