SIG/556

16 July 08

SIG 556 workout!

I used my SIG/556 at an Urban Rifle Course in OK earlier this week. As expected, it performed well indeed!

Ultimately, I set up my new SIG Rifle with LaRue BUIS, front and rear. The iron sights that come on the rifle, thought compact as previously noted, are slow to deploy. And, the rear sight, once deployed, is fragile and flimsy.

Between the front and rear BUIS, and well forward on the full-length top rail, I have a Micro-Aimpoint, mounted on a LaRue Quick-Release Base. Now, I can quickly deploy and use my LaRue BUIS through the Aimpoint optic, or I can speedily remove the optic when necessary. The rail-mounted sights, both optic and BUIS, hold zero well.

With regard to the ambidextrous safety, I had my gunsmith simply grind off the paddle on the right side, leaving only a stud. Now, it doesn't interfere with my registered (right-hand) trigger-finger.

The SIG's gas-piston system is reliable and smooth. Unlike the pressurized-receiver/Stoner System, the 556 tolerates dirt and grit well, and, as with the excellent DSA/FAL and RA/XCR, gas pressure is adjustable and can be ramped-up when the weapon gets excessively dirty.

Accuracy is excellent, maybe even too good! When a rifle is this accurate, I worry about it being too tight, and ultimately temperamental. However, my copy, though now dirty, continues to run and run, with a wide mixture of ammunition!

I'm using Fusil 30-round magazines. I like them, because they are made of spring steel and thus don't dent, and they come with a powder coating which makes them slick, corrosion resistant, and extremely reliable.

My Safariland Rapid Light, which goes so quickly on, and off, rail-equipped pistols, also slides on the 556's right rail, making it an excellent bedroom-gun!

I'm now traveling, via air, with my 556, broken down, locked in a hard, plastic case inside my checked Columbia duffle. I've checked various rifles through on hundreds of domestic flights this way, and the SIG is no exception. It is flying with me!

SIG's 556 is a relatively heavy rifle, for the caliber. After carrying my copy all day, I can definitely tell the difference between it and, for example, my SabreTech M-4. However, there is not much else not to like about the 556. Like the XCR, it is a serious rifle. No doubt!

/John