What of the new Sig 556 rifle

[jimsmith80]

You know as much as I hate to do I I just have to tell about what has happned with my sig 556. First let me start of saying that I am a BIG Sig Sauer fan, needless to say I was very amped to see their rifle. So to start the dam thing just won't get under 5 MOA! now for a rifle that costs that much this is unacceptable! Next most of their "standard" 1913 rails are not standard, their to big! So I got the Quad rail system to try to fix that. So the rails are now standard but because of the desighn you have to take the gun apart (with 2 flathead screwdriversno less) to utlize the top or botton rails. Having sights is nice, if they worked! and get this you can't remove them or put differant ones on! The gun looks sexy as hell, and I will say I can't make it jamb! however for this rifle to come from a company like Sigarms is sad. There are so many little things that they just did not look at. There are other things that you have to wonder if the guy who thought it up ever used one! I mean you have to hold 2 flathead screwdriver and turn them in oppisit directions to remove the upper from lower. Now what the hell is that? And why not make it a hex screw so the damn thing would at least stay put! well thats what has happened to me and there are other things but I can't think of it all, but hey it never jambs!

 

[Eric F]

Wow! As much as I hate to see a monoply on the market, If you want affordable and parts available 223 auto loader in the U.S. then it has to be an AR of some sort. Others although greater or lesser are either too expensive in comparison or you cant get parts.

Sell it and buy an AR

 

[gcrookston]

Sorry to hear you've had such a time with yours. I bought mine last fall. I didn't care much for the furniture it came with -- "chinsy" might best describe it. Although I do think the fins on the forestock are a good idea (the 550's can get very hot -- but look better).

The "emergency rear sight" on mine would indicate by it's construction it would have to be one heck of an emergency and would probably be way too little and way too late. I've never used them. The front sight is fine by me.
I dumped the cheesy little chinese holo sight that came with it without ever using it.

I opted for a magpul stock for mine. No problem with the A.R.M.S. adaptor for the Harris bi-pod on the front rail mount.

The A.R.M.S. #22 mounts locked up the IOR scope perfectly tight.

Using 855 62gr USGI LC99, I'm getting groups in the 1 MOA range. With M193 2 to 3 MOA groups are the norm. I would expect this sort of accuracy out of a light contoured barrel with standard ammo and I've not been disappointed. The 1:7 twist rate likes a heavier bullet.

I have had no reason to separate the upper from lower, but using two flathead screwdrivers is not unknown to me. My first half dozen AR's back in the 80's were Colt Sporters and SP1's and two screw drivers is how you dismount the eccentric pivot screw on those rifles.

My verdict on the rifle is 7.5 out of 10. The detractors for me come from an apparent design process where Sig started from the inside and worked out, trying to hit a target price. Internally, the weapon is excellent, but they obviously cut corners on the stocks, sights and fine details you'd expect out of a $1,000 rifle (basically I believe they took a $2,000 rifle and dumbed/cheapened it).

 

[Rokman]

Sorry to hear about your accuracy issues. I looked at that rifle many times, but I just never could bring myself to purchase one. At least it won't jamb

 

[chris in va]

Those suckers are HEAVY for what it is. I'd rather have a Saiga in 223 than lug that thing around.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Sorry to hear that. I considered one, but passed on it, and obviously am now glad that I did. Personally, I passed due to four things:

--The safety switch was not ergo - couldn't reach it with my thumb without adjusting my grip to the left awkwardly
--Chinsy/cheesy looking plastic furniture
--It came with NO sights, and I thought the price was too high for it to have no sights. Couldn't see paying $1,500 for a gun with no sights, let alone some good irons.
--Seemed a bit heavy too.

I did like the nice trigger, 1 in 7 twist, adjustable gas system, and it's *reputation* for accuracy and reliability.

As it stands, the holy grail for me personally is the XCR (Masada close 2nd place). I will be getting one by December, if everything goes as planned, so that I'm ready with or without an Obama-nation. What's killing me is 5.56x45....no, 6.5 grendel.....no, 5.56....no, 6.5...no, 5.56. Currently I'm on 5.56x45 with a planned extra barrel later on in 6.5 gr, since I already have a small buttload of STANAG mags.

I hope your rifle's accuracy "straightens out". Have you tried any heavy Black Hills (68-75 grains)?

 

[Wes Janson]

So to start the dam thing just won't get under 5 MOA! now for a rifle that costs that much this is unacceptable!

5 MOA with a SIG indicates that either something is seriously wrong with the rifle (and it should be sent back to the factory, where they will fix it for you), or else the culprit is improper ammunition, bad optic, or the shooter's fault.

So the rails are now standard but because of the desighn you have to take the gun apart (with 2 flathead screwdriversno less) to utlize the top or botton rails.

SIG's recommendation is to use two quarters for disassembly. My recommendation is to order one of the several aftermarket push-pins for $20, such as KNS's pin: http://www.knsprecisioninc.com/Sig556.html

Having sights is nice, if they worked! and get this you can't remove them or put differant ones on!

The front sight is removable, and can be replaced with several aftermarket options. The rear sight could be removed along with the rail, but realistically the simple solution is to fold it down and mount your BUIS straight onto the rear of the rail. MFI will be offering a replacement rear rail with a built-in diopter sight later this year, if you want to completely change it.

 

[Girodin]

I looked at the 556 and was fairly interested in it but was very put of by the crap sights on a $1500 gun. $1500 spent in another way can get you more gun IMO.

 

[Jackal]

For $1500, you can build an AR with all the fixin's.

 

[George Hill]

Those suckers are HEAVY for what it is. I'd rather have a Saiga in 223 than lug that thing around.

Push-ups help.

 

[Tarvis]

Wes, Jackal and George answered all of your questions/comments.

 

[dscottw88]

I just always figured, why fix whats not broken? I'll stick with my ARs.

 

[goldie]

my main gripe is that ar type telescoping stock. its being bolted to everything that moves, & i;m tired of seeing it.. its not the greatest stock in the world,& sig should have stuck with the original 550 type stock with the triangular cutout on the inside.it would have been much better to stick closer to the original design.

 

[ny32182]

I used to be a big Sig fan; still got 3 of their handguns (two of which are classics that will never leave me). This is not a commentary on just their rifle in particular, but my thought is that they started to go the wrong direction some time back. Taking an existing, fine handgun like the 229, and slapping on a bunch of cosmetic crap/different paint job/grips/slide serrations/and then adding some super cool name and introducing it as the next great weapon doesn't impress me.

Their existing product line was fine. If they want to introduce something new, *innovate*. Don't repackage the exact same pistol, jack up the price $500 and try to say that you've just introduced the next wonder gun. To me that is just a poor attempt to make a quick buck on a well established name without any real effort.

I will qualify the above by stating that I have not tried the DAK, but would like to. I have heard good things.

And the 556 isn't too far off that path. When I learned that Sig was releasing a rifle, I wanted one. What came out at first was unnacceptable, and today is just ho-hum to me. Nothing that is likely to get $1500 from me, anyway. The trigger is very nice, but thats about where the allure ends for me.

 

[kcmarine]

I agree with Jackal... $1500 will get you a very nice AR with all the Mil-Spec parts and much nicer irons. Though not everyone loves the platform, the AR is still the undisputed king of the 5.56 class in EBR city, and probably will be for a very, very long time.

Of course, not everyone loves the AR, so it's good that SiG is making such a product. Market forces are going to have to make them wake up if they want to keep selling the 556 at a profit.

 

[gcrookston]

I paid much less than $1500 for mine and I thought the price was fair for the quality rifle I received. I thought the SWAT version was $1500? MSRP on the one I got was more like $1200 and a dickered a couple hundred off that price. Now I hear they've come out with a version with original 550 style furniture... That would have been nice to start with.

I fixed the things I didn't like and I am satisfied. I would at some point like to put a 20" heavy contour barrel on it, a'la the 550 sniper version seen in Europe. But I suspect with the right load (62 or 68 gr match), this would perform sub-moa in it's present state. I just haven't got around to trying out that idea yet.

I initually missed the above complaint about them being heavy... I'll take that under consideration just as I take other posts about the heavy recoil of the 5.56 and 7.62 Nato...

As for Sig throwing in for their share of the 5.56 market, you have to remember their first try was rather ill timed, with only a few hundred 550's coming in just months before the AWB. They were $1,900 a pop then -- in 1992 dollars. I had ordered one after shooting a friends and was in line when Sig closed the window and said they couldn't bring in any more.

If you can find one of those 550's today, it will run you close to $5k.

The basic design of the 556 has been around for over 30 years and the 556 doesn't deviate from the time-proven 550 significantly.

I feel mechanically they are superior to the AR. What allows the AR to equal or even surpass it in some instances is the availability of 44 years of tinkering in the aftermarket.

Ya, you can get a lot of AR for $1,500.00. But I'd rather spend it on good optics.

 

[krolden]

I got my Sig 556 for $1300. Its not a bad rifle, and with the right optic or descent iron sights, more accurate than a AR15. However removing the grips is just asinine. Why would they require TWO flat head screws, I probably scratched it up more removing the grips than anything else. The gun is picky on ammo, I wouldn't use 55gr on it as the accuracy is unacceptable. It shines with 75grain, 72 grain maybe 69 grain.

If I wanted a gun that shot 5.56 in a disaster situation. This would be it, I have put rounds through mine for months on end without a cleaning and no problem.

I would quicker put the Sig 556 in the AK family than the AR. In all honesty, I don't think a civilian who goes to the range would be happy with it at all.

 

[Wes Janson]

Those suckers are HEAVY for what it is. I'd rather have a Saiga in 223 than lug that thing around.

Buy the 551 handguards and remove that abomination SIG calls a handguard. That right there will shave about half a pound off of the rifle, and make it balance far better.

I used to be a big Sig fan; still got 3 of their handguns (two of which are classics that will never leave me). This is not a commentary on just their rifle in particular, but my thought is that they started to go the wrong direction some time back. Taking an existing, fine handgun like the 229, and slapping on a bunch of cosmetic crap/different paint job/grips/slide serrations/and then adding some super cool name and introducing it as the next great weapon doesn't impress me.

Their existing product line was fine. If they want to introduce something new, *innovate*. Don't repackage the exact same pistol, jack up the price $500 and try to say that you've just introduced the next wonder gun. To me that is just a poor attempt to make a quick buck on a well established name without any real effort.

SIG makes an outstanding firearm. However, whoever they have in charge of marketing and design needs to be publicly flogged for some of the asinine things they've done as of late, in the name of profit.

Basically, everything that's not the base firearm (receivers, slides, barrels, fire control groups, etc) tends to suck. "Optics", such as they are, suck. Lights, lasers, and tacti-crap all appear to be just slightly better than Chinese-grade knockoff trash. Put bluntly, this appears to just be an attempt by SIG to keep manufacturing costs down, but it's hurting their reputation in the process. While I don't pretend to have price/demand data on SIG's market, I'm going to speculate based on anecdotal data that people who are spending $1,000 for a top-quality duty or concealed carry pistol, aren't going to balk at spending $50 or $100 more so that the entire weapon is made of highest-quality components.

If you can find one of those 550's today, it will run you close to $5k.

If only! These days you'd be doing pretty well to find one anywhere below $10k. A new 550 or 551, in those places that allow them, will cost you to the tune of about $3,000 USD.

 

[paratroop23]

I've changed the front and rear sights on my 556! Troy Rear and Samson Front BUIS. I'm still trying to find the 551 hand guards at a decent price. If you shop around you can find the SIG 556 for cheaper than $1500! Much cheaper actually....I've seen the optics ready version for $999. CDNN had a ton of them at decent prices also.

So far I'm happy with mine! Your results may vary.

 

[marktx]

Paid $1100 (including tax) in January for my Sig556 which seemed like a very reasonable price compared to other rifles on the market. Best prices I have seen recently for Bushmaster/Armalite/S&W AR flat top rifles is around $900 which doesn't include tax. The Robinson XCR seems like a lot more comparable rifle (gas piston) and though I haven't checked on prices lately I think they are in the $1400 range.

 

[Wesson Smith]

Wow, I really like my 556 a lot! After some tinkerin' it's one of my go-to's.
I replaced the stock with a Mag, wrestled on some quality irons, with a peep in the rear, slapped on a 3-point sling and added a forend grip and ended with an Eotech on the toprail. I'm not a first-class marksman by any means, but not even what I considered my fliers were out to 5 MOA. Got about 600 rounds through it with one clean&lube, and it's performed like a champ. Yeah, it's a tad front-heavy, but the foregrip is nice for prologed shooting. And it carries real comfortably with the 3-point in the right configuration. I really dig my Sig.

 

[SaMx]

the SIG 550 series seems really neat, but I was kind of disappointed with the 556. It would be nice if they just made it a 550 that uses AR-15 mags, or at least kept the standard folding stock. instead it seems like they tried to make it look more like an ar-15.

oh well, it's not like I would b buying one anytime soon anyway.

 

[ny32182]

Paid $1100 (including tax) in January for my Sig556 which seemed like a very reasonable price compared to other rifles on the market. Best prices I have seen recently for Bushmaster/Armalite/S&W AR flat top rifles is around $900 which doesn't include tax. The Robinson XCR seems like a lot more comparable rifle (gas piston) and though I haven't checked on prices lately I think they are in the $1400 range.

The 556 and the XCR both have a gas piston and came out at around the same time, and thats about where the similarity ends. They are not similar rifles in terms of mechanics or intended use/capabilities, and comparing them doesn't really make much sense.

Competition for the 556, in my mind, is the top end/custom AK market. Arsenal, Krebs, etc. Those are similar.

XCR currently has no competition. Similar rifles include the Bushy ACR, FN SCAR, and LMT piston MRP. Hopefully all these will make an appearance, but no dice yet.

 

[SP Shop Foreman]

If it was actually a Swiss rifle it would not have all of these issues.

Allen
SP

 

[Pilot]

If it was actually a Swiss rifle it would not have all of these issues.

X2. But it would also be twice the price, or more, especially with the current exchange rate.