Sig Sauer Mosquito

[7th Cavalry]

Does anybody have any recent information about the Sig Sauer Mosquito? I was interested in the gun but I've heard some less-than-positive things about its reliability.

Thanks!

 

[45Badger]

My son shoots one in a steel challenge league. He loves it, and does well.

It can be finicky with ammo. Loves CCI MiniMags in HP and RN, and Remington Thunderbolts. Hates just about everything else.

 

[chris in va]

You can do better. My CZ Kadet has been flawless. Absolutely love it.

 

[rockstar.esq]

I handled one at the gun store and appreciated the larger size of the grip (compared to standard .22LR pistols).
I thought it's fit and finish was pretty good, however the zinc alloy slide didn't bespeak quality to me. All in all I think the cost is close enough to a Browning Buckmark that I'd probably go with the Browning because they're good shooters. If however you're looking for something better yet not olympic quality I found the Beretta 87 Target to be about as close to perfect as any .22LR I've ever held. Sadly the price is considerably higher than the Mosquito.

 

[nwilliams]

I had one for a short time before selling it to the girlfriend of someone I know. I enjoyed shooting it, and she loves it. Like any .22 pistol its fun to go plinking with, I just wish they would make to hold more rounds

Personally I think they are a pretty decent little gun for the money but don't expect the performance you get from say a Ruger MK pistol. I wouldn't say the Mosquito is useful for anything more than just having fun.

 

[MartinBrody]

You can do better. My CZ Kadet has been flawless. Absolutely love it.

I really like 22 autos that look like "real guns". Everyone talks about how great the CZ kadet is, so why have I never seen one for sale?

 

[Sir Aardvark]

The Mosquito had serious reliabilty issues when it was first introduced.

Try checking out the SIG forum to see what people have to say about it now.

http://www.sigforum.com/

 

[Standing Wolf]

We have one for rent where I work. It's a tail-wagger.

 

[glennv]

I run a ton of rounds through mine. Yeah it jams from time to time but it's a plinker. Who cares. It's one of the few .22s that feels like a real gun. Every other .22 i have looks like Princess Lea's pistol in Starwars. Buy it, they're only like $360-380.

 

[robctwo]

Here's one for sale: http://www.gunsamerica.com/classifieds/none/_976814987.aspx
I run mine on my CZ75BD and my P-01. Both frames take the Kadet Kit and shoot well.

Last time I saw a Mosquito on the range was at steel plate shoot. It was jam-o-matic. The guy said it was his second one, factory replaced the first, and he was not very well pleased. It seemed to be ammo sensitive even with his preferred ammo.

 

[Anon]

.....Every other .22 i have looks like Princess Lea's pistol in Starwars......

Hahahahaha SO TRUE! I have a reliable and accurate MKII, but it (like all Ruger guns from the factory) is UGLY.

I was attracted to the Mosquito for it's looks, feel, and controls.

I did research on several forums. Here's links, if you want to see the info:
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168995
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236708
http://sigforum.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&f=430601935&m=483106137


Here's my review:

I bought my Mosquito used from Gander Mountain for $320. It came with 3 magazines, and the Sig scope mount and Sig branded red dot scope.

The red dot and mount came off as soon as I got it home.

Range report:

Temp, about 20*, a couple of feet of snow on the ground. I did no shooting for accuracy. Today was all about function testing.

I lubed the Mosquito before going out (using the oil that comes with the gun from Sig), and ran a dry patch through the barrel. All shots were fired using the white-marked recoil spring.

The ammo list is not in order of the firing I did. I did not distinguish between which (of three) magazines I used. But I used all three. Mags are 10 rounds.

Most shooting was done pulling the trigger as fast as I could, because I'm here for function testing.

Abbreviations used: FTE = Failure to Extract. FTF = Failure to FEED (not FIRE). There were no light-hits/failure-to-fire.

First, the good news:

Winchester Super X - 100 rounds, no failures of any kind.
CCI Blazer - 100 rounds, no failures of any kind.

Now the bad news:

Remington Thunderbolt - First two mags went well, then on the 3rd mag, FTF, two shots, then FTE FTE.

Winchester Wildcat (which have a Super-X stamp on the case) - FTE on almost every shot. I didn't try more than 10 rounds of this.

PMC Scoremaster - 3 of 10 rounds FTE.

Remington Target - 30 good shots, on fourth mag, 1 FTE. 5th mag was fine.


Why did I pick these brands? Because that's what I had lying around before I headed out.

All my other 22 autos (which all cost much less) will cycle ANY of these rounds ANY time, ANY temp (even my sub $100 Llama)

Shooting Impressions: (this is the personal opinion section)

Most of my pistol shooting has been done with 1911's (with my strong hand thumb on top of the safety while firing), so I had a hard time figuring out what to do with my thumbs on the Mosquito. I've read reports of people inadvertantly letting their thumb touch the slide, causing FTE. I tried to avoid this.

The double-action/single action trigger pull sucks, compared to a SA 1911, but that is to be expected.

I have long fingers, so I had a complaint about the way I had to handle the trigger. I shoot best (and fastest) using the tip of my finger. Not the pad, but the TIP of my finger (because my long finger has to be curled back so far to reach the trigger).

BUT, I can't make the heavy DA pull from the tip of the pad, so the transition to SA felt a little strange. As I fired, I could speed up a few shots into the magazine, as my trigger finger found a happier spot. Once this is out of warranty, I may do some trimming on the trigger.

Rapid fire from 7 and 15 yards, all shots stay clumped together well on the target, as you would expect with any decent 22 auto.

Peeve: 3 dot sights. If you line up the dots, the sight picture is not lined up (front sight too high). If you line up a proper sight picture, the front sight dot is cut off by the rear notch.

This is not a criticism of just the Mosquito. My favorite carry gun (1911 Lightweight Officer's) is the same way. Maybe 3 dots were designed for people with short arms.

Summary:

This is a FUN gun. I can live with the ammo-sensitivity, because it likes cheap ammo.

Is it worth paying full retail for? Only if you really like the Sig look and feel (I do). There are plenty of less expensive choices that are higher quality, and more reliable.

If you are looking for a VERY reliable 22 autoloader, that will function with whatever ammo is on sale, look elsewhere.

Am I glad I bought it at this price? YES.

I think one of the biggest problems with this gun, is also one of the biggest reasons I was drawn to it. It had to be design to look, feel, and operate like a centerfire Sig handgun. The designers didn't get to start with a clean slate, to build a great gun. They had to start with all the external appearance, and the location and feel of the operating controls, THEN they had to make it function as a 22 rimfire.

If you just get to design with the idea of reliable, accurate 22 pistol, you get a Ruger MKII, or a Browning Buckmark. Quality, but ugly.


I've spent some time at home dry-firing since range day. I really like this gun. Maybe someday, I'll even learn to deal with the DA trigger pull!


Next up... a trip to the store for more ammo choices, then accuracy testing using the ones that are 100% reliable.


Here's a partial ammo-compatibilty list someone has made:
http://home.neb.rr.com/malkore/firearms.html#ammo_table


{How's that, for a first post?!}

 

[1carlson]

The Mosquito is a very fun plinker. It is like a little brother for my p226.
It is not as relaible as a .22 rifle or .22 wheel gun, but is fairly close to my SW s22 in feeding and firing.
CCI Minimags(1260 fps 36 grain) 100 rounds, no flaws of any sort 100% reliable
Remington Golden Bullet (1280 fps 36 grain) >100 <500 about 60% functional, Fail to feed, fail to fire, fail to eject, you name it only redeeming feature is with DA trigger you can hit them again for good luck if they don't go off
Federal Champions (1280 FPS 36 grain) around 200 rounds less than 10% errors, mostly fail to eject
I will be trying other ammo later, but for now CCI is it.
For comparison the Feds are better than 95% in the S&W and the "golden bullet" aka POS, is about as useless in the SW as it is in the Sig.
The Remingtons even had a few FTFs in the rifle we were shooting. Not impressive.