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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

I Got A New Sig 556 Classic - Finally !


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I got off work early Friday afternoon the 13th, drove to my local neighborhood gunshop, and paid the last $229.93, did the 4473 Form and was approved in minutes, and am now the owner of a new Sif 556 Classic with Siiss style buttstock. According to one of the stickers on the end of the plastic hard case, my rifle was born on February 29, 2012. I'd been paying since March and now have it. Hurrah ! It's been a long time since I had a rifle for all the legitimate legal and practical reasons a man would own and shoot a 5.56 mm NATO caliber semi automatic rifle. After the hurt and shock of the theft of my old Ar-15 Sporter SP-1/M4A3 carbine, it's been a long 15 months. But it's over now.

 

My first impression is that it is muzzle heavy compared to an AR, and also a bit heavier. It is short and compact however, and I got the Swiss style folding buttstock too, and the rotary diopter rear sight. It came with one Aluminum AR style magazine, the three plastic picatinny rails that screw onto the front of the forend, and a black case, instruction manual, warranty card, charging handle installation sheet, and a Allen wrench to adjust the sights.

 

First thing I did was to strip it down, spray it down with degreaser to get all the factory gunk out of the action, then wiped it off, lubed the areas where metal contacts metal on the bolt carrier, bolt, hammer, and used gun grease there,then lubed everywhere else with a drop of lube (Break Free) and cleaned the barrel and chamber. Then put it back together, did a function check which went as expected, and wiped any excess lube off the outside of the receivers. Then manually cucled the action 30 to 40 times till I got about 600 forward and back strokes of the bolt and carrier, and hopefully this will smooth out any rough edges, tool marks, and nigh spots, so the action will feed, fire, and eject normally when I do shoot it for the first time.

 

I then loaded six thirty round magazines with HSM brand M 193 ball ammunition and found some targets to use to adjust the sights.

I also found my 15 yer old Trijicon Reflex II optical sight, and the triangular aiming point is visible in sunlight, but somewhat darker in poor light, so the tritium might have decayed away so I must have the ampule replaced, but at least in strong light, the sight works.

 

I will take it to a local underground rifle range not very far from my old neighborhood, and pay the $22.00, and test fire it, set the front and rear sights for 25 meters, using some old AR targets made for that purpose, and then fire at some squirrel and coyote targets at 25 to 100 meters, and see how she does. I'm psyched, still kinda stunned and shocked at finally getting this rifle, and soon I (and other interested perosonages on this and a few other firearm sites online) will see how she shoots. More later.

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I'm rather curious how it performs on paper, especially compared to the AR-15/M4.

 

One thing I've always liked about the AR rifles is the "balance" you get with stock, military-grade variants. They're very comfortable at the range in the classic 3 positions (prone, kneeling, and standing). I'm wondering how heavy the rifle feels compared to its competitors.

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You're a lucky guy!! I'd love to have the new Sig. Friend of mine has a 22RF Sig. I'm begging for a chance to shoot it but seems like out plans go south every time we plan a get-together. I still have my 1970's SP-1 and I'd be literally heartbroken if it were to take a walk.

 

I wish Uncle Same would get off of his rear end and decide on the new caliber. There seems to be much attention given to the 6.8 which I believe rounds out to about 270. The current crop of M-16 type rifles could be easily converted to the 6.8 but I guess our Uncle is also looking at new rifle designs. We saw the US military adopt an overseas design for a pistol so there may be a good possibility the US may adopt the new Sigs or another foreign design for their new battle rifle. There is a company here in Phx that has been submitting designs to the US military. The rifle company has put allot of emphasis in their design to shoot hundreds if not thousands of rounds without needing cleaning. I asked the local rep what the goal is before their rifle needs cleaning and he was tight lipped claiming it is propriety. The rep did share some frustration on the military's indecisiveness on the next caliber and a new rifle seems to be off and on again. He claimed they have developed a 556, 6.8 and a larger model for the 7.62. He showed up with the 762 version at my gun club and it looked an awfully allot alike the Sig. I've also read about a FN 5.7 pistol caliber carbine version being considered for support troops serving the same role as the M-1 Carbine.

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