The Firearm Blog

Sig are offering the Sig 556 rifle in a pistol configuration called the P556. It has proved very popular at SHOT Show and looks like a really fun gun!

Sig P556

Apart from the 10″ barrel and lack of a stock, it has all the same features of the SIG 556 rifle: Flash suppressor, picatinny rails, two stage trigger, weather resistant Nitron finish. It also comes with a Sig branded mini red dot sight.

Specs:

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO
Overall Length: 21.5”
Barrel Length: 10”
Rifling: 1 in 7”
Weight (w/o Magazine): 6 lbs 7 oz
Magazine: 30 Round STANAH (AR-15)

The MSRP is $1875.

It also comes in a SWAT variant which has a alloy quad rail in place of the standard handguard. No word on pricing for this model.

P556 SWAT model

Rumors of the Sig P238 have been floating around the ‘net for a while now. They have turned out to be true. Sig Sauer P238 is a remake of the single action Colt Mustang which was discontinued just over a decade ago.

Sig Sauer P238 .380 ACP. Two tone. Click to expand image.


Colt Mustang .380 ACP. Photo by HiVelSword.

It is a single action pistol with an aluminum frame and a steel slide. From the press release:

With an overall length of just 5.5 inches a height of 3.96 inches, and weighing just under a pound, the SIG SAUER P238 is the ultimate firepower in an all metal frame concealed pistol. The P238 is built on an anodized alloy beavertail style frame with fluted aluminum grips for comfort and a secure hold during rapid-fire usage. The stainless steel slide features the popular SIG SAUER slide serrations and improves overall performance and accuracy.

It will come in two finishes, Black Nitron and Two Tone. Two sights will be available: contrast sights or SIGLITE Sights. This makes a total of four models. Pricing is below:

238-380-B MSRP $ 515.00
Black Nitron finish, Contrast Sights

238-380-BSS MSRP $ 558.00
Black Nitron finish, SIGLITE Sights

238-380-T MSRP $ 529.00
Two Tone, Contrast Sights

238-380-TSS MSRP $ 572.00
Two Tone, SIGLITE Sights

1200773 – Extra 6 round magazines MSRP $ 44.00

This should really appeal to 1911 fans, especially Colt Mustang fans. Time will tell if it is enough to compete with the plethora of sub-compact .380 pistols out there.

I will update this post as more information becomes available.

UPDATE: High quality photo from Ken.

Photo Copyright Ken Lunde. Used with permission.

UPDATE: The specs from the press release:

Frame Material: Aluminum
Frame Finish: Black Hard Coat Anodize
Slide Material: Stainless Steel
Slide Finish: Nitron or Natural Stainless
Length Overall: 5.5”
Height Overall: 3.9”
Width Overall: 1.1”
Barrel Length: 2.7”
Sights: Post & Dot Contrast, SIGLIGHT Night Sights
Sight Radius: 3.8”
Weight w/out mag: 15.2 oz.
Mag capacity: 6 rounds.

Reacting to many requests from the marketplace for a subcompact SIG SAUER pistol, engineers designed the new P238 as a smart looking, small handgun built with the same accuracy and reliability as large frame SIG SAUER pistols. With an overall length of just 5.5 inches a height of 3.96 inches, and weighing just under a pound, the SIG SAUER P238 is the ultimate firepower in an all metal frame concealed pistol. The P238 is built on an anodized alloy beavertail style frame with fluted aluminum grips for comfort and a secure hold during rapid-fire usage. The stainless steel slide features the popular SIG SAUER slide serrations and improves overall performance and accuracy. Additionally, the contrast or SIGLITE® Night Sights are removable and adjustable for windage. The sear and trigger return spring are redesigned to prevent spring over-ride of the ejector during assembly. Two finishes are available; Two-tone and corrosion resistant Nitron®. The new SIG SAUER P238 is shipped in a lockable hard case with one 6 round magazine at an MSRP starting at $515.00 for the Nitron® with contrasting sights. For more information, log on to www.sigsauer.com.

Press release photo

Hat Tip: 1911Forum, SigForum and GHG

There photos are of a Sig Sauer Pro that was left in an electric oven at 210°c / 400°f for 20 minutes by a French police officer. After cleaning it he put it in to dry but was distracted by a phone call.

I propose this as a candidate Xavier’s Ugly Gun Sunday.

Hat Tip: Galileo @ MP.net

Ammoland has the info:

The Desert Digital Special Edition is a matched set featuring the SIG556 ER folding stock rifle and P226 pistol in 9mm. Both rifle and pistol share unique matching serial numbers and ship in a custom tactical hard carry case by Pelican.

The set includes (1) double 30 round magazine set for the rifle and (3) 15 round magazines for the pistol. A certificate of authenticity is included. This collectors edition is limited to 1500 units total.

Pretty cool. No word on price.

More info at Ammoland.

In 2006 Sauer, a 257 year old German company, produced their first semi-automatic rifle the S 303

(Sauer should not be confused with Sig Sauer, which is the American arm of the European conglomerate that owns J. P. Sauer & Sohn).

In the January 2009 issue of Guns Magazine they review the S303 and call it a “new” rifle. I think they mean “new in the USA”.

Sauer S 303 Elegance model with scope.

The rifle is a high-end elegant rifle (in other words: a non-evil non-black rifle) designed for European drive hunts. In drive hunts game is flushed out towards hunters and quick shots are needed as they run past; at least that is my understanding of drive hunts, never having seen one.

The S 303 includes some interesting features. It has a feature called the Silent Cocking System (SCS) which Guns magazine describes:

With the magazine in place if the cocking lever is pulled back and allowed to go forward the firearm is cocked and ready to go. However, if you allow the lever to go forward slowly, it stops about 1″ shy of actually closing and then can be pushed into place silently.

I can’t quire figure out what this mean in practice. Walking around with the bolt open 1″ with a round not quite chambered seems to me like asking for a jam but I am sure there is more to it than that.

The cocking/decocking lever can be seem at “1″.Click to expand.

The S 303 also features a innovative detachable mounting system called isiMount. The scope can be move into two different positions, depending on desired eye relief, without effecting point of impact.

isiMount bottom diagram. Smart Tube gas system top diagram.

The under barrel gas system, Smart Tube, has been designed with accuracy in mind.

Specs:

Models: Classic (least expensive), Elegance, Individual (most expensive)
Barrel length: 510 / 560 mm – 20″ / 22”
Total length: 1065 / 1115 mm – 41.9″ / 43.9”
Weight: 3.25 / 3.35 kg (7.16 / 7.38 lbs)
Calibres: 7×64mm, .30-06, 8×57mm IS, 9.3×62mm, .300 Win. Mag.
Magazine: 2 rounds (optional 5 round magazine available)

Guns Magazine says that the price will be $3999 (presumably for the least expensive Classic model).

The top end Individual model. Look at that wood!

With its elegant non-threatening appearance I think Sauer have a winner on their hands. While the rifle is expensive, it is not when compared with the double rifles it is competing with. It also has many advantages compared too double rifles such as decreased recoil (semi-auto action) and increase accuracy (one barrel).

It is available in 9.3×62mm which is the minimum African dangerous game caliber so it should be more than sufficient for any animal found in Europe or North America. Due to import restrictions on semi-automatic rifles it is unlikely that many (if any at all) will end up hunting the Big 5.

More info available at Sauer and Guns Magazine (Jan 2009 issue).

(Photos and diagrams from Sauer-Waffen.de)

Earlier this month SIG announced an the new SIG 556 Classic. The design is modeled on the SIG 550. From what I can see the primary difference is the swiss style folding stock and polymer handguard.

SIG 556 Classic

SIG 550 (Photo from Wikipedia)

I am surprised they did not duplicate the “classic” 550 handguard exactly since the main selling point of this rifle is the look. It does not include the 550 integral bipod.

Specs:

Caliber: 5.56mm NATO
Overall Length: 37.1”
With stock collapsed: 34.3”
With stock folded: 28.1”
Barrel Length: 17”
Rifling: 1 in 7”
Weight (w/o magazine): 8 lbs. 2 oz.
MSRP: $1998.00

I like the lines on the Classic. Very sleek looking, at a price.

Hat Tip: Police One

Over the past 10 years the Swiss conscript army have had 4300 firearms lost or stolen from their homes (the army issues firearms to citizens to keep at home). Although it should be pointed out that an estimated 1.5 million army firearms are in circulation.

In that year 82 rifles were stolen from an army depot in Marly in French-speaking Switzerland, bringing the 2006 total to 84 rifles plus 15 pistols.

Endrich told the Swiss news agency that the army did not keep statistics that made a distinction between lost or stolen weapons. Those that simply disappear are categorised as lost, he said.

Under Swiss law, all able-bodied men aged 20-30 are conscripted for about three months and are issued with a rifle. They are required to do up to four weeks of army service a year until they have served 260 days or are aged 34.

Throughout this time they keep the rifles – but no ammunition – at home. According to some estimates there could be as many as 1.5 million army weapons in circulation.

SIG SG 550: Swiss standard service rifle

More here.

According to gunsholstersandgear.com:

The .22LR Rimfire Conversion Kit is available for the SIG SAUER P220, P226, and P229 models and feature a black hard coat anodized slide, machined from solid aluminum billet. Offered as a complete replacement assembly, the Rimfire Conversion Kit installs as easily as field stripping the pistol. Simply remove the standard slide assembly, install the “new” .22 slide and barrel assembly, and add the included .22LR magazine and you’re ready for the range.

Links to the GunPundit SHOT Show 2008 coverage.

Taurus 5mm Rem. Mag. Tracker Revolver

Arsenal Milled AK

TDI KRISS

SIG 556 SWAT

5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum

Wilson Combat CQB Elite 1911

Defense Review have written an article about the new SIG 556 SWAT Rifle/Carbine/Subcarbine

SIG 556 rifles/carbines at SHOT Show 2006 (photos accompanying this article), and found them interesting. We’ve always been fans of the SIG 550-series weapons, particularly after we test-fired a Gemtech-supressed (sound-suppressed) SIG 552 SBR/Subcarbine at SWAT Round-Up 2002. The SIG 550-series assault rifles / tactical rifles utilize an AKM / Kalashnikov-type gas-piston/op-rod system for operation, and you can’t really go wrong with that with regard to weapon reliability.

While the SIG 556 series weapons are currently only availale in 5.56mm NATO, 6.8×43mm SPC (a.k.a. 6.8mm SPC a.k.a. 6.8 SPC), 7.62×39mm, and possibly even 7.62×39mm NATO (7.62mm NATO)/.308 Win. (unconfirmed/unverified) versions are on the way. DefenseReview doesn’t know at present whether the select-fire variant of the SIG 556 SWAT is available in true semi-auto/full-auto configuration, or only in semi-auto/three-round burst config, or semi-auto/3-round burst/full-auto config. Unfortunately, Mr. Poole’s article does not make that clear. Defense Review prefers a straight semi-auto/full-auto selector switch. We like our trigger finger to determine how many rounds we put down range on full-auto, not an artificial limiter. In any case, the SIG 556’s trigger action in the 3-round-burst-capable variant appears from what Mr. Poole wrote to be superior to the Colt M4 Carbine trigger with regard to smoothness and consistency.

I like their caliber offering. It looks like they will be competing with the Magpul Masada.

More here.

SIG have just launched the new SIG SAUER P250 pistol. What makes this pistol interesting is its ability to change calibers!

The frame and fire control groups are available for calibers 9mm, .45, .40 S&W and .357SIG can be changed into three different families of grips: Subcompact, Compact and Full (each available in three sizes). Two types of triggers, standard and short. Very cool!

Overall there are (including left/right hand configuration) 144 different combinations, not bad straight out of the factory.

From SIGSAUER.com

The P250, a modular pistol that allows the shooter to change caliber and size at will.

The SIG SAUER P250 was designed specifically to address the future needs of the military, law enforcement, and civilian shooters around the world. The P250 will be available in the most popular calibers;(9mm, .357SIG, .40S&W and .45ACP). The P250’s innovative design enables the shooter to quickly remove the functional mechanism and place it into the polymer grip of his choice. This allows an immediate change in caliber and size;(subcompact, compact and full). And after any change the pistol delivers both outstanding accuracy and reliable functionality.

It’s modularity not only provides incredible ease of maintenance, but also provides a solution for accommodating different hand sizes – there are 6 different ergonomic combinations for each size, accomplished by changes in grip circumference and trigger style. Now you can own the world’s only modular shooting system globally engineered to deliver the “to hell and back” reliability you’ve come to expect from Sig Sauer.

Caliber 9mm
Trigger Pull DAO 5.5 – 6.5 lbs
Overall Length 7.20″
Overall Height w/ Mag 5.12″
Overall Width 1.3″ (Std. Grip)
Sight Radius 5.79″
Sights SIGLITE® Night Sights
Weight w/ Mag 24.60oz
Magazine Capacity 9mm 16 Rounds
Grips Interchangeable Polymer
Finish Nitron®
MSRP $699.00
CA Compliant No
MA Compliant No

Here is a video about the pistol

Hat Tip: Real Gun Guys

Blackwater sure are pushing their brand. I am sure they will have Blackwater action-figures ready for Christmas.

The SIG SAUER® P226 Blackwater Special Edition was designed in cooperation with some of the world’s best known experts in tactical operations – Blackwater Training Center. When personal protection of world leaders in high-risk environments is your job then you only want the best equipment. You want a SIG SAUER® pistol because it’s engineered to perform and built to protect.

The Blackwater Special Edition P226 is a full-sized 9mm featuring a stainless steel slide with rugged, wear-resistant Nitron® finish, front cocking serrations and SIGLITE® contrasting red front and green rear night sights. The frame is black hard anodized light weight alloy with integral Picatinny rail and is accented with the famous Blackwater logo on the top of the slide and Blackwater Custom Wood grips.

The pistol comes with an extra set of durable SIG SAUER® factory grips and five (5) 15 round magazines so it’s ready to see action. The SIG SAUER® P226 Blackwater Special Edition pistol is backed by SIG SAUER® with a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

From sigsauer.com
The Specs:

Caliber 9mm
Trigger Pull DA/SA 10.0 lbs/ 4.5 lbs
Overall Length 7.70”
Overall Height 5.50”
Overall Width 1.50”
Barrel Length 4.40”
Sight Radius 6.30”
Sights SIGLITE® Night Sights
Weight w/ Mag 34.0 oz
Mag Capacity 15 Rounds, 10 Rnds in certain states
Grips Blackwater Custom Wood
MSRP $1,100.00
CA Compliant Yes
MA Compliant No

Photos:

Hat Tip: Danger Room

Stevedcross @ The Gun Blogs has just posted a review on his new Sig 556 rifle

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.

More here.

More info on the Sig 556 can be found at the Sig Sauer website

The SIG 556 features the same high-performance two position adjustable gas piston operating rod system engineered by SIG’s sister company Swiss Arms and marries it to a trigger housing that not only cuts the rifle’s weight by a pound but is designed to accept standard AR magazines. The SIG 556 features a 16″ military grade cold hammer forged barrel, chambered in 5.56mm NATO, with a twist rate of 1 in 7″. The flash suppressor uses a standard .5 x 28 TPI thread pattern, ensuring compatibility with after-market accessories. The forearm housing the gas operating system is a vented non-slip polymer featuring the SIG TriRail design with three integrated Picatinny rails for mounting accessories. The optional flip up front combat sight is adjustable for windage and elevation.

More here.