Ruger SR-556VT Review
Part 2 - What's In The Box
May 26, 2013

The Ruger SR-556VT Rifle comes boxed as shown below.

 

Figure 1

The end of the box had a label with all the critical information for this rifle such as:

• Model: 05914
• Catalog No: SR-556VT
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Finish: Black Anodized Aluminum
• Serial Number

Figure 2

The contents of the box were packed as shown below.  Having studied the features of the rifle at the Ruger website, I immediately knew something wasn't right.  The Ruger website stated the rifle comes with a soft case and three magazines, but clearly, there was no room for a case in the box and there were only two magazines in the box.  After taking a close look at the rifle, it was clear that this rifle had already seen some action as either a demo rifle or returned review rifle.  This would easily explain why they third magazine may have not been returned with the rifle.  Since beggars can't be choosers, I'm not complaining about getting a slightly used rifle for review, especially under these market conditions.

Figure 3

The photo below shows everything that was inside the box which includes the following:

• SR-556VT Rifle
• Two 5-round magazines (should have been three)
• Three rail covers along with 12 mounting screws
• Two rail segments along with 4 mounting screws
• Chamber flag
• Gun Lock
• Instruction Manual
• Other misc. literature items

Figure 4

These next photos document the "as-received" condition of the rifle.  You can click on these photos, or any others in the review, to bring up a high resolution photo allowing you to see more detail.  As I mentioned earlier, the rifle I received had already seen some rounds.  Other than needing a cleaning, there was some of the anodized finish rubbed off the rail on the upper receiver.  Most likely, when they removed the scope, they kept the rings attached to the scope body and tried sliding the assembly rearward off the upper receiver.  Speaking first hand, I know you can rub an anodized finish off aluminum rail to produce similar marks because I have done so myself.

Figure 5

There were also a few marks on the case deflector, but other than these items, the rifle looked in great condition.

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

 

First Impressions

I was a little disappointed in getting a used rifle for the review because I like to show photos representing the quality of a rifle directly from the factory.  After quickly getting over that, I thought the rifle had a good feel and the trigger was clearly better than your typical AR.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 

• Ruger SR-556VT Review: Part 1 - Introduction, Specifications and Summary
• Ruger SR-556VT Review: Part 2 - What's in the Box (this page)
• Ruger SR-556VT Review: Part 3 - External and Operational Features
• Ruger SR-556VT Review: Part 4 - Disassembly
• Ruger SR-556VT Review: Part 5 - Internal Features
• Ruger SR-556VT Review: Part 6 - Range Test

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