What has happened to Sig?

Growing up I've been a Sig Sauer fan.  One of my very first high capacity 9mm handguns back in the early 1990's was a P226.  I've always been something of a geek at heart, so back in the day I was such a fan of Sig firearms I used the handle "Sig" on my local dial-up BBS systems.

That was when Sig products were made in Germany and were known to be of the highest quality.

My Sig GSR 1911

Jump forward to the mid 2000's and things started to change, at least in my experience.  I bought a P220 from my local dealer in 2005 and the gun had functioning issues.  It failed to feed, failed to eject and exhibited pretty poor fit between the slide and frame.  I was shocked, but I also figured it might just be a fluke.  This particular pistol was made by Sig USA.

A few years later, I was excited to see Sig USA making a 1911.  I raced to my dealer with money in hand for my very own GSR 1911 (seen to the right).  This gun, much like the P220 I had several years earlier had all sorts of functional issues, including going full-auto.  I immediately returned the pistol to my dealer after talking to Sig customer service and being treated poorly.

My Sig 556R

Wow, what happened?  The company I once thought was the pinnacle of quality and customer service had failed me twice.  Bad luck perhaps?

Jump forward to 2011 and the new Sig 556R 7.62x39 rifle introduced at SHOT Show 2011.  Again, I couldn't wait to see this rifle.  It promised to be everything I wanted in a carbine.  Small, light, .30 caliber, uses AK mags which are cheap and plentiful, fires cheap Russian ammo, Sig quality... SIGN ME UP!

My dealer orders two rifles in.  I get the call to come pick up my rifle.  Once I get there, I pop the box open and see the 556R for the first time.  It looked pretty nice at a glance.  I picked it up and that's where things took a turn for the worse.  I first noticed a large amount of play between the upper and lower receiver.  I'm not talking about a little wiggle, I'm talking about being able to move the upper in circles while shouldering the rifle.  It felt broken.

Next I noticed the rifle had blemishes all over it.  The finish was missing in some areas and there were rough handling marks on it, like the rifle had been dropped several times at the factory.  I told my dealer I didn't want this rifle and asked to see the other one.  When he brought it out, it too had the same problems.  I was floored.

My dealer contacted his distributor and got an RMA to return the 556R's that were defective.  He said he would have two more in a few days.

I returned a few days later and inspected the two rifles.  Both had a better fit (one more so than the other) between the upper and lower receivers but one had those rough handling marks all over it again.  I counted 7 dings in the finish that were through the finish and into the metal.  So I took the rifle that had the fewest blemishes and headed to the range.

I won't try to explain what happened, I'll let the video speak for itself.

 

I was shocked at my findings.  I posted this video on the boards leaving out most of the clips showing the endless malfunctions I was having.  I didn't want to hammer on Sig too badly, I thought my initial video conveyed my thoughts without showing 15 minutes of failure after failure using current production Wolf ball ammo.

But several people on the gun boards questioned my comments about having multiple failures besides the soft primer strikes.  So I pulled together some of the left out footage and created another video showing the severity of the failures I was having with my Sig 556R.

Ultimately, the rifles quality and unreliability were so bad that I decided not to bother with trying to get it fixed by Sig and simply returned it to my dealer for an exchange.  Several reasons prompted this decision.

• Sig's past treatment of me on the phone was so bad and left such a sour taste in my mouth that I didn't want to deal with them again.
• The rifle exhibited serious lapses in quality, things like the stock was horribly cheap and didn't function properly, the red dot sight was cheap, and the lower alloy receiver wasn't compatible with steel magazines or military surplus polymer magazines that used steel reinforcements (see image below)
• Sig is now telling people (customer service reps named Scott and Josh) that the Sig 556R is not designed to be used with steel cased ammo.
• I discovered the rifle does not have a chrome lined bore and it's not nitrite treated.  Sig claims on their website the barrel is "military grade" yet it lacks these basic military features.

From Sigs' website

How can a rifle designed for "special forces" according to Sig not use steel cased ammo?  The vast majority of the ammo in use throughout the world in 7.62x39 is steel cased ammo.

Erosion caused by use of steel mags

That also brings me back to the magazine issue I mentioned above.  Every magazine I have in my collection with the exception of perhaps 5 are steel mags.  I prefer steel mags.  But the alloy lower receiver of the 556R does not have steel reinforcements where the magazine locks into the receiver and thus, with minimal use you begin to see severe erosion like you see in the image to the left.  It's also worth mention that many military surplus polymer magazines also use steel reinforcements for the locking lip and magazine lips.  It stands to reason these polymer surplus mags may cause excessive wear as well.

So in the end I'm left wondering, "what happened to Sig"?  I expect so much more from Sig that I find my recent dealings with them to be disheartening and troublesome.  I can only hope that Sig hears the frustrations and complaints of its former fans and loyalists and moves to quickly remedy the quality issues many of us see.

Update 3/30/11

A poster, Tim_McBride, on AR15.com has been doing some testing of his own with his Sig 556R.  The results of his tests are quite interesting.

Steel Case Ammo report;
I fired 20rd of each of the following boxes of Ammo. I also fired a few mags of Yugo with no issues.
Brown Bear SP No Issues
Brown Bear HP No Issues
Brown Bear FMJ No Issues
Golden Bear FMJ 2 FTE(Fail To Eject)
Golden Bear HP 1 FTE
Seller & Belliot FMJ No Issues
Silver Bear FMJ No Issues
Silver Bear HP No Issues
Silver Bear SP 4 FTE
Tula 122 FMJ 2 FTI(Fail to Ignite) All rounds fired on second strike, all that failed first strike had very deep set primers
Tula 124 FMJ 3 FTI, All rounds fired on second strike, all that failed first strike had very deep set primers
Tula 124 SP No Issues (Lucky I guess)
UCW 122 FMJ No Issues
Wolf SP No Issues
Wolf FMJ (Black Box) 2 FTI All rounds fired on second strike, all that failed first strike had very deep set primers
Wolf FMJ (Camo Box) 3 FTI All rounds fired on second strike, all that failed first strike had very deep set primers
Golden Tiger 2 FTI (I saved one, the other fired on second strike  

It would seem that the light primer strikes and failures to extract/feed aren't unique to my rifle.  Of the various ammo he tested, roughly half of the types tested failed to either ignite or feed.  I've never seen such failure rates before using 7.62x39 in any rifle chambered for it I've owned.

It's also worth mentioning that since posting my videos and blog entry I've had several owners contact me saying they've experienced the same issues with their new Sig 556R rifles.

The problems with the Sig 556R are wide spread and apparently fairly common.  Hopefully Sig listens to these reports and corrects the issues the rifle has with popular brands of 7.62x39 ammo for future owners.

Bullpup Kits and 12ga Shotguns

I'm not typically a big fan of bullpup kits that convert a standard rifle into a bullpup rifle.  It always seems kind of cheesy to me.

Every once in a while a product comes along that changes the way I think about things.  The Kushnapup is one such product.  The rifle they convert?  Well, it's not really a rifle, it's a shotgun.  The Saiga 12ga. to be exact.

You can see the bullpup kit in the picture to the right.  It looks very modern, and draws its inspiration from the Steyr AUG it would seem.

Most bullpup kits look rather gaudy to me, but this kit seems well thought out, at least from the pictures I've seen.  It almost looks "right" to me.  The addition of the top rail and EOTech sight clinches the deal for me, I want one.  Now all I have to do is go buy a Saiga 12ga shotgun, a gun I'm really not all that interested in.

The stock is in the "pre-order" phase so apparently you can't get your hands on one just yet.  Once they're shipping I might have to run out and pick up both the stock and a shotgun to put it on for a review.

Here's a video from the manufacturer showing it in use.

Misinformation about Wolf Ammo

Wolf .223 Ammo

One of the most maligned products I've seen in the firearms community is Wolf ammunition.  Wolf ammunition is made in Russia and is sold under the Wolf Performance brand name here in the United States.

Much of the misinformation surrounding Wolf ammo comes from the fact it uses steel cases.  From this fact several myths have arose over the years and have been spread across the internet via the various discussion boards.

Here are a few of the myths.

1. Steel cases damage your chamber
2. Steel cases damage your extractor
3. Ammo is lacquer coated and it causes malfunctions

I address some of these myths on my YouTube Channel with a recent video.  Here's the video:



The myths become out of control when you have bloggers like TacticalYellowVisor giving outright bad advice.  I stumbled across their blog this morning and was amazed at how bad the advice it offered was.

They instruct the reader to modify their rifle for the sake of improving reliability when in fact they will make the rifle less reliable with Wolf if they follow TacticalYellowVisors advice.  Here's a quote from their blog:

-make sure you have a 5.56 chamber. if you can't be sure of the chamber then have it reamed to be sure.

Wolf .223 is, well, .223 and not 5.56mm NATO.  Looking at the image above, you can clearly see that the box is marked ".223".  What this blogger is telling people to do will potentially make the rifle LESS reliable.

Wolf ammo can cause problems because of carbon build up in the chamber caused by the steel case not sealing completely against the chamber walls.  By reaming a .223 barrel to 5.56mm NATO you will increase the leade (throat) which in turn will allow even more carbon past the steel case allowing it to deposit in the chamber.  By following this bloggers advice, you will increase the likely hood of causing malfunctions, not reduce them.

Extractor mark on Wolf case.

The best advice someone can give you about running Wolf ammo is to do the following.  Buy a couple of boxes, take it to the range and shoot it.  Look for tell-tale signs of problems like the image to the right shows.  If you see damage like this on the spent cases, your rifle is out of time and will not be reliable.  If you don't see extractor marks such as this on your rifle, you're good to go and Wolf should run fine in your gun.

You may have problems with your rifle not cycling Wolf .223 as it's typically loaded to lower pressures than standard NATO 5.56mm and even much of the commercial .223 currently produced.  If you have an adjustable gas rifle like a Bushmaster ACR, FN SCAR, or even one of the gas piston AR conversions, simply add a little more gas until it cycles.  Generally speaking this shouldn't be necessary for most people using Wolf ammo.   I run Wolf in an assortment of 5.56mm and .223 rifles every week without issue.

In my experience Wolf ammo runs just fine in most modern rifles.  You will need to clean your rifle to maintain reliability, but firing 500-1000 rounds between cleanings isn't unheard of.  Wolf doesn't damage your rifle any more than brass cased ammunition does, so don't worry about firing it if everything checks out.

Swiss to lose their rifles?

Swiss family enjoying their Sig 550

A news report posted Feb 9th, 2011 tells us that the Swiss are set to vote on a referendum that will outlaw ownership of military rifles (select fire), and pump action rifles, by Swiss citizens.   The Swiss have over 500,000 Sig 550 variants in private citizens hands alone, which is their standard military rifle.

The Swiss approach national security differently than most other 1st world nations, especially those in Europe.  Their standing army is relatively small and all men are required to serve in the militia.  Men from 18 to 34 years of age must obtain military training and then return home, as a member of the Swiss militia, with their rifles.  Only 5% of the Swiss army are professional (full-time) soldiers, the rest are conscripts in the militia.

The Swiss have a long history of firearms ownership and their country is often cited as an example of how private citizens owning military firearms doesn't necessarily increase crime.  Swiss crime has always been low, even for Europe, despite having millions of gun owners in a nation of only 8 million people.  Gun related murders totaled just 24 in 2009.

Why are the Swiss entertaining this legislation then?  The leftists behind the referendum claim it's to reduce the number of firearms related suicides.  Switzerland has the highest rate of suicide in Europe it's reported.

Here in the United States, we're all too familiar with these leftist anti-gun tactics.  We have our rights threatened every year by those on the left who claim they want to "save the children" or, more recently, to prevent violence against politicians.  All it takes is one shooting which gets national attention, and the proposed legislation begins to fly around the hall of Congress.  It seems the Swiss suffer from a similar phenomena in their small Alpine country.  Anti-gunners are the same all over.

I hope the Swiss are able to defeat this referendum and maintain their rights, not to mention keep their militia and thus national defense strong.  It seems the gun grabbers never worry about things like national security or personal safety in their never ending quest to grab guns.

I'll leave you with this video about Switzerland and their time honored tradition of firearms ownership.

UPDATE:
The Swiss voted to keep their firearms.  News can be found here.

New Beretta ARX160 Rifle

Beretta ARX 160

Beretta is set to introduce a new 5.56mm military select fire assault rifle, they're calling it the ARX 160.

The ARX 160 is a polymer rifle that is similar in concept to the Bushmaster ACR.  When I say "similar" that's about as far as I would go in comparing the ARX 160 to anything else currently on the market.  But like the ACR it's mostly crafted from polymer as both the upper and lower assemblies are based on this modern material.

Here are a few of the impressive features of the ARX 160.

• Polymer construction
• Ambi-mag release
• Ambi bolt release
• Ambi ejection port (configurable)
• Quick change barrel
• Folding stock
• Adjustable stock length
• Ceramic heat shield
• Pin-free disassembly
• Full length top rail

Let's dig into some of the more interesting specifics.

First, the rifle is fully ambidextrous.  You can easily hit all of the controls from either side of the rifle.  You can also quickly change the location of the charging handle without actually disassembling the rifle.  You can also quickly change the ejection side from either left or right, again without disassembly.

Button for changing ejection side

Let's talk about how to change which side the rifle ejects from as I find this to be the most interesting new feature.  All that's required to change which side the rifle ejects from is a bullet tip.  Simply insert the tip of the bullet into the hole located just in front of the stock and push until it clicks. 

Once you do this, the rifle immediately starts ejecting from the opposite side of the rifle.  No other action is required.

Next, a nifty feature is the ability to quickly change which side the charging handle is on.  To accomplish this, simply lock the bolt to the rear and push the charging handle through the ejection port with your finger until it locks on the opposite side of the rifle.  The rifle has ejection ports on both sides of the receiver.  It's amazingly simple.  Again, no disassembly is required.

While rifles like the ACR and SCAR boast user changable barrels, Beretta takes simplicity to a new level.  The ARX 160 has a lever just in front of the magazine well that is similar in design to a Glock disassembly lever.   To remove the barrel, lock the bolt carrier to the rear, pull down on the lever (like a Glock) and pull the barrel free of the rifle.  That's it.

One of the biggest concerns regarding polymer rifles with polymer uppers (where the barrel mates to the rifle) is heat.  Rifles like the G36 have struggled with this issue since their introduction.  I've personally seen G36's damaged by heat.  With the ARX 160, a ceramic heat shield protects the rifle from damage and from what Beretta says, you'll melt the rifle barrel before you damage the polymer.

The good news is that Beretta plans to sell a semi-auto version of this rifle to the American public.  There's no release date as of SHOT Show 2011, but the rep at the show tells us that it will take place in "months not years".  Let's hope it makes it to market before any new gun laws are passed.  The Beretta rep at SHOT Show also told us that it will be "well below $2,000". 

At first I wasn't excited about this rifle based upon only seeing pictures of it. Now that I've learned the details, I can honestly say this looks like one very exciting rifle.

Army kicks off new carbine tests

Colt M4A1 with M203

The US Army has announced that it will be conducting new tests to select a new carbine for general issue.  The current generation M4 will be included in the tests of course, but it will face some stiff competition from the SCAR, ACR, XCR, Colt CM901, and a few others. 

Remington now owns Bushmaster and of course their ACR will be their primary entry but Remington isn't stopping there.  They have a couple of M4A1's with various improvements that will also likely show up in the competition.

XM8 Rifle

This isn't the first time the Army has considered a new rifle.  We all remember the defunct XM8.  There was so much excitement over that rifle that the internet was awash in rumors and discussions and even game manufacturers included it in their wares, assuming it was sure to be adopted.

But it wasn't.

The SCAR Mk16 (5.56mm) and Mk17 (7.62x51) won the SOCOM contract.  But due to cost considerations the Mk16 was dropped but the Mk17 continues on to be issued to our nations Special Operators.

There are not many details as to the requirements for the new rifles.  The Army plans to host an "industry day" in March or April of this year, which is just around the corner.  They will then announce the specifications and answer questions the various vendors may have.

The Army plans to conduct an extensive test period that will span 3 years and several millions of rounds fired.  They plan to conduct a new test, one previously not conducted, which will run the rifles to failure and measure their accuracy throughout their life cycle.

It will be interesting to see what the submissions are and how well each of them fare in the testing.

Production stopped at Izhmash

Rather shocking news is being reported in the Russian media today that all production at the Russian military arms plant "Izhmash" has stopped.  Izhmash produces over 70 different types of weapons including the AK-47, AK-74 and SVD rifles.

The company claims that unlicensed copies of Russian military arms by countries such a Bulgaria, China and others has lead to the current financial crisis.  Izhmash has found itself embattled in endless lawsuits trying to enforce patents on its designs.

It's kind of ironic, in a sad way, that historically the Russians and former Soviet Union ignored patents held by companies outside of Russia.  Now, in a strange twist of fate, we see an iconic Russian arms company falling prey to pirating of its own intellectual property.

I hope that someone else steps in to bail the company out and production resumes.  If not, Russian made AK's on the U.S. market are destine to jump in price as supplies dry up.

UPDATE (12/27/10):
The Russian media is reporting that financial aid has been given to Izhmash and that the risk of bankruptcy is now not an issue.  Let's hope their financial troubles improve and they're able to continue operations.