The Gun Blogs

New Sig 556 rifle review
AHH.
I brought home a new baby. A brand new Sig 556 rifle. Forward grip, stream light tactical light, HALO sight. What a wonderful piece of engineering! I have as of yet not done any formal accuracy testing, but during the basic sight in session, the rifle was easy to shoot, minimal recoil, very steady, and shot well. At 25yds it was easy to shoot overlapping groups from offhanded. With its thin barrel the rifle does heat up, however unlike an AR-15 none of the heat is felt by the user because of the well vented large handguard‘s. This first sight-in session was at night and I was very impressed about the lack of an overwhelming muzzle flash. the basic M-16 flash suppresser works very well indeed.
I suppose the last time I fired an M-16 style flash hider at night, I was in a small house in Mosul, with other things on my mind! Overall the I am very impressed by the weapon, if I was to compare the Sig 556 to anything I would have to say that it handles like an M249 SAW. The pistol grip even feels close! The piston system does an excellent job of reducing recoil, and to me it is more comfortable to shoot than my AR-15.
As for reliability testing I was again impressed. Normally when I had acquired semi-automatic rifles they might hick-up in the first few rounds. Not the Sig; Insert Magazine, rack bolt, pull trigger, repeat as needed. Of the 7 mags I used in the first shoot (30 rounders) not a single problem. Simply pull trigger, and repeat as necessary. That is what a tactical rifle is suppose to do.
Since that first play time I have exercised the rifle at 200 yards and I was having little difficulty hitting paper plates at that distance. Another 500 rounds and still not one malfunction. Playing with the rifle more I believe that it is slightly heavier than I would normally choose, but not to the point of being unmanageable. I am also calculating the weight based on end-user, IE what shooters actually put on these types of weapons.
I don’t think that I will stop using my AR-15, but I do think that this is a better rifle. I also don’t think that it will become as popular as the ar, if only because of the price. There is always room in the gun cabinet for new types of weapons, and cool new gadgets. The Sig will not supplant the AR in the regular sense of the word but I do believe that the gas-piston system will become a prominent feature in future combat rifles.