Ruger SR-762

Ruger has just announced a variant of their SR-556 design, now built around and chambered for the NATO 7.62/.308 cartridge.

Ruger SR-762

http://ruger.com/products/sr762/features.html

I’m kind of excited, and here is why…

When the SR-556 came out. I really liked it. I liked the lines and configuration and the piston action (always debatable).  There was one draw back, it’s not a standard AR. And one of the biggest selling points of the AR is that it is universal, replacement parts are available from hundreds of manufacturers.  Perhaps why it is the proverbial SHTF rifle, along with the Glock being the proverbial SHTF pistol. They are just so ubiquitous. So while I really liked it. I decided it probably makes more sense for me to first purchase a base AR15.

That said, I long thought that the SR-556 had an interesting potential not realized. The originall SR-556 could be set to a single-shot, non-reloading state. In order to hunt deer in PA, the rifle must be both of a significant cartridge and a single-shot action. I had long thought that were they to offer a replacement “hunting” piston that only allowed the action to be a single non-reloading shot, and were to offer it in a larger cartridge such as the .308 then Ruger’s AR system would make for a superb AR based hunting rifle platform.

Ruger has resolved one aspect of that idea, and the second one I wager would be fairly easy to do.