Tuesday, February 14, 2006

SIG 556 Rifle!








This is my pick for the hit of the Show!

You had to fight your way through the crowds at the SIG booth to even handle the things, and I heard very good responses from some of my LEO friends who were at the Show shopping. There has been a large pent-up demand for a Swiss semiauto/civilian legal rifle, largely because of the almost legendary reputations of the 550 and 552 series true "assault" — i.e., select fire — rifles.

I've shot the 550/552 SIG rifles, and they are absolutely awesome — comfortable (even in the full-auto snubby guise), much more accurate than me and designed with the ergonomics the Swiss are famous for.

The 556 semi has a two position gas piston operating rod system mated with a 1-in-9 twist barrel and a two-stage trigger that felt excellent in the versions they had at the booth. The little beast acepts standard AR magazines. Aside from all the attachment points, there's also a quick change-barrel feature.

MSRP is looking like $1299, which puts it right smack in the middle of the premium AR fun-and-games (the new S&W AR, for example, is in the $1700 vicinity).

SEE THE VIDEO ON DRTV

I'll have a chance to wring this guy out the next time I'm at SIG, which is first week of May!

36 comments:

Tyler said...

That thing is sweet.

Anonymous said...

OH HELL YEAH! Now that's what I'm talking about. Who needs a Stag Arms rifle with the S&W logo lasered on when you can get a SIG 556. These guys invented bad ass. Thanks for the pics. Now tell me where to find one.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I like Sig rifles. They are accurate, reliable like a rock.

But... at this point, I raise several points to go over.

First, Sig 556 is reletively new, so almost no one outside of the Sig manufacture has shot the thing long enough to find out the pros and cons of the new weapon.

Second, it looks like to me that Sig 556 is using once again, the long stroke(or short stroke?) gas piston operation. While this gives superior reliability over the M16s, it tends to raise the manufacturing price and make the rifle heavy and thick(to accomodate the gas piston's activity inside the rifle). At the same time, by adopting the gas piston system, when the rifle is fired, the gun vigorusly shakes because of the moving gas piston.

For those who like the M16s' reletivelly smooth, shaking-free direct gas flow (with the M16's slim shape), this can be an issue (aside from the reliability issues).

If the price is $1,200 range, then the raise of the price issue is bit solved.

It looks like to me that Sig 556 is an affordable version of the other sig rifles (sig 550 serises).

But if this gun is accurate, reliable, easy to aim with being light weigt -let's hope so-, then this weapon could be a big storm for the firearms market of 2006.

Well, we will see how it is evaluated in real like.

what do you think?

Anonymous said...

Oh, by the way, if this gun is turned out to be a star, then I think Sig 556 could be a possible replacement for the current M16s of the U.S. military.

And I wish it happen.

Anonymous said...

$1,300? Wow, that's reasonable. I might have to take a look at it down the road. Is the FN2000 still expected to sell for over $2,000 then?

Anonymous said...

It's June, have you had a chance to shoot the 556? If so, how does it compare to the 55X series?

Anonymous said...

If the Sig 556 is supposed to be available in the late summer 06, how come no one has printed any articles on its accuracy or ergonomics? Me thinks it must fall short of the Sig 55X series and no one wants to say the king has no clothes?

Anonymous said...

I cannot wait til everyone start complaining about cleaning a SIG!! Think of M249 gas system and a receiver with rails-jigsaw. The horror of scraping carbon off every single part in the gas system. I like shooting it but hate carrying it and cleaning it.

Anonymous said...

The Sig is sweet, but the future is The Tavor 221.
Shorter barrell's for LEO and Military.

Anonymous said...

The Sig is sweet, but the future is The Tavor 221.
Shorter barrell's for LEO and Military.

Don't get me wrong, I'm getting one anyway !

Anonymous said...

Be nice if one of the available options was the original folding stock

Anonymous said...

hello there, im from switzerland. I wanna warn and promise you that, there is no SIG 556 constructed by us. These 4 models are aviable; SIG 550 (normal swiss army rifle, got 1 @home), SIG 551, SIG 552 Commando and the SIG 550 Sniper.
believe, there are no such weapons.

check out the "official" link from sig arms:
http://swissarms2.ath.cx/index.php?id=27&L=0

what you have seen was a modified AR-15. believe me or ask SIG Arms.

Anonymous said...

The SIG 556 is made in the United States. It has a solid design and the gas piston implementation eliminates hot gases from reaching the bolt; as a result cleaning is less critical, and component longevity is greatly enhanced. This is particularly true when the rifle is used in a suppressed configuration. Suppressors greatly increase the need for cleaning in a gas operated system like the AR platforms. They also tend to increase the cyclic rate and armorers are often required to adjust the gas system and/or buffers in order to have the weapon function reliably. All of these shortcomings are mitigated with a gas piston design.
The only objection that I have with the SIG 556 is the selection of a 1:9 rifling. The better choice would have been a 1:8 or 1:7 so that heavier projectiles can be stabilized.
Short of that, the SIG 556 is worthy of a place in your collection.

Best Regards...

Anonymous said...

What are the technical difference between the 556 and the 550 and its varients?

I shoot a 550 regularly and it is possibly the best assault rifle built to date. Accurate, easy to clean, and well built.

I swear by Swiss watches and guns. I question the build quality since this is an American built weapon.

Sorry, its the old story of european and domestic cars. But just like cars, european guns cost big bucks... so if the 556 does the job at $1300 I am interested.

Look forward to trying one... that is the ultimate test anyways.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

I have a SIG556 on order through my local dealer in Clearwater Fl. We talked to the factory rep earlier this week and the delivery date on the 556 is around Thanksgiving 06. I am looking forward to taking this honey to the range.

Anonymous said...

OK, its 2007 now and some lucky people have their own Sig 556 rifles. What I still haven't heard is how the Sig 556 compares to the Sig 550, 551 etc. Somebody that's lucky enough (rich enough?)has got to let us know.

Anonymous said...

I am very interested in this gun and would like to hear some reviews. I'm actually interested in a AR-15 and came across this. I want to know how they stack up. Any opinions would be great to here.

Anonymous said...

Hold on guys, I got one, had so many problems with it, it had to go back. I was told by a Law Enforcement Rep that it would all be taken care of.. Well it was, kind of, after many days, trying to get email returned, (Edward.Kokoski@Sigarms.com) to find out what was fixed, if I could get the sights for it and when it would be returned.. Sig just could care less after the sell is made!! Nice weapon, but Sig Stinks. Tom Lukis

Unknown said...

I agree with the last comment, Sig customer service is the worst. They LOST a Sig pistol I sent in to them for repair even though I followed all due processes. After looking a while they finally had it tucked away on some back shelf. Besides that, they were rude and clueless on the phone.

Anonymous said...

The site says 1/7 twist you are saying 1/9?? Whats the deal there?

Anonymous said...

It is not likely that the sig 556 will be excepted by an military organizations be cause it is dificult to clean and is not a bulpup.

Anonymous said...

I JUST GOT MY SIG 556 IN! hOWEVER, IT DOESN'T COME WITH ANY IRON SIGHTS. WHEN I CALLED THE FACTORY (THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL SAYS THAT THEY ARE AVAILABLE AS AN ACCESSORY), THEY STATED THAT I WOULD HAVE TO CONTACT A PRIVATE VENDOR - SAMSON MANUFACTURING TO OBTAIN A SIGHT. THEY DIDN'T SELL THEM. THEY SEEMED QUITE RUDE AND UNCARING, STATING "OH, YOU MUST HAVE GOTTEN AN OLDER ONE." THEY REALLY DIDN'T CARE, ONCE I HAD PURCHASED IT. OH YEAH, THE FRONT SIGHT COSTS $125. LOOKS LIKE I SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO A PRODUCT WITH DECENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. MAYBE IT WILL WORK, ANYWAY.

Anonymous said...

Sig Sig Sig.....When will you realize that customer service is key! Ok the worst service on the planet aside. Ive been shooting AR's and other tactical rifles for many years now. I'm curious to know how accurate the 556 is with a lighter 55 grain bullet compared to the heavier rounds that they are using because of the 1:7 twist....let me also say to some people on here this is not an AR so quit trying to compare. And also get your facts straight before you start trashing this product.

Anonymous said...

This definately is no AR i purchaced one and was impressed my first trip out. heaveier than my AR's but ran 52 grain varmit loads, hunting some jack rabbits it was dead on never let me down does not shoot like an ar or feel like one . Great Gun...
I like my AR's this weapon is different.... in a great way..

Anonymous said...

Thank you SIG SAUER. I was fortunate to own a 556 two weeks ago and already shot approx. 500 rounds thru it without any malfunction (yet). Just like the HK416 that uses the gas piston method, after a succession of rounds, I was curious if the bolt carrier was hot and to my amusement, IT'S NOT.
The chamber is also clean with almost no traces of carbon fouling unlike a direct gas system that always get dirty even if you uses a receiver rug for your ar. Accuracy was at par with high end ar's out there with a groupings of about 1 inch apart at 50 yards using different ammo types from different manufacturers coupled with the use of EOTech 552. As what the people at sig said " No matter what type of ammo you use, if it can fit the magazine, the 556 will eat it". So far all I can say is that this rifle has exceeded my expectation. The only concern I have is the slight play between the 2 receivers. I thought that it was only my rifle, but upon inspection of the other two in my dealers arsenal, they have all the same play. If anybody wants to own a 556, invest on a really good detachable rear BUIS. When the shit hits the fan, you dont have enough time to pull up the rear sight especially if you use gloves. More power to SIG SAUER and to all shooters out there, "KEEP IT SAFE"

Anonymous said...

The Sig folks truly do have a very lousy attitude to the customers and at times they also tend to forget to reply.
In fact they blame the customer for any wrong doing instead of making one happy with their purchase.
Though I do own and enjoy their guns, the service they provide for simply put STINKS.
They need to realize that as their reputation tumbles their career may one day come to an end.

Anonymous said...

Yes I agree that the Sig Sauer 556 rifle has a play between the upper and the lower, and yes it could be a tight fit, but the Sig service advised me that this is how it was intended to be since loose is better than tight for higher & longer tolerances.
As far as their service, it truly does suck, the Sig people are rude and ignorant.
They do tend to clearly blame the buyer instead of standing by them and doing the right thing.
And they asked me to send them a 100.00 dollar security deposit to correct a problem on a newly purchased gun which did not fire.
How sad is that ???

Two Thumbs Down for SigSauer

Booooo.

Anonymous said...

Hey Michael

I just picked up my SIG 556 today! It came with the SIG holographic sight, which is very nice, but I'll stick with my EOTech because it's got the NV setting.

All I need now is a replacement buffer tube plate with a one-point mounting ring on it.

We should get together and run it in sometime. I'm headed to DC with Wayne next week, but drop me an email when you've got some time.

Scott W

Boulder

Anonymous said...

I just bought a 556, and there were 2 things that struck me immediately - I dumped round #1 into the ejection port, like I've done hundreds of times with an AR, and the 556 bolt closed around it. There is a lot of space to the side of the bolt on it. I had to break the gun down to get the round out of it. The other thing is that the 556 puts a pretty good gash into the brass either as the bolt closes or as the bolt opens. Every piece of the 60 rounds I fired so far had a little brass curl on the rim of the fired case. This decreases the number of times you could reload, and also is pretty darned sharp. Has anyone else had problems like these?

Patrick said...

A. the sig 550 series are modified cleaned up AK-47's.

2. To the swiss guy who says "there is no 556 model by sig" It's a 550 series marketed to America to handle more like a m-16.


Also, that cool gas system? my co-worker bought a "swat" model 556, the orifice on the piston (that lets gas from the barrel move the op-rod) was clocked wrong when machined, so it's a damn single shot! You can see a burn spot on the side of the gas piston where the hole should have been. Nice QC sig...

Anonymous said...

I had the same problem with the mouth of the casing being flattened upon hitting the side of the reciever upon ejection. It did scar the reciever a bit when the casings hit.

other then that, it shoots much better then my ar's. little felt recoil and no muzzle rise.

it's a proven design because it comes from the 550 military model. and it's easier to clean then my ar's because the tube comes out for cleaning and thanks to the piston the receiver doesn't get near as dirty inside.

bang for buck you can't beat it.

Patrick said...

Bang for your buck?

Armalite AR-180b, 900 bucks, gas piston 5.56 semi auto

A 35 year precursor to the sig 556.

Anonymous said...

I bought one of these puppies in Jan 09. It was 1700.00! It has yet to shoot two rounds from the mag in a row. I have changed ammo, mags including Brownells enhanced, AR Mil Spec, MagPul, and Sig Sauer. The bolt will not pick up the next round when shooting, but will cycle manual. The bolt will not stay open on the last round. The piston is burned in an odd pattern and the gas adjustment makes no difference in any position.
The washer that is between the flash suppressor and barrel end is off center aprox. 1/4" and has nothing to do with function I am aware of. Just looks awful sloppy.
Sig service is non existent. Even my dealer won't deal with them. I bought it now it's a 1700.00 single shot, not counting the 600.00 in accessories I bought for the rotten POS. Never again will I invest in a Sig product. For those that function, I wish you the best of luck. I have not had any response from e-mails or telephone calls since I started complaining around Feb. 09. I kept thinking it had to be something I was doing wrong and tried repeatedly to remedy what can't be fixed by the consumer.
The best I may be able to do at this point is modify the bolt assembly and barrel myself, or try to have a gunsmith order Sig 556 parts for me from some other source. I will never trust my life to this weapon or anything else these folks make.
DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE AMERICAN MADE RIFLES!!!

Anonymous said...

That is the exact one that I purchased last week. I love this rifle. Thank god you bought the one without the blatantly homosexual folding stock, that thing has to be the most ignorant design I have ever heard of. Oh and for anyone comparing this to the AR or m16----"ah the AR-15 allowing white trash and police officers to pretend they're in the military since 1959," author unknown.

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