I decided to review the SIG556PC on a separate thread in case a person is primarily interested in one vs the other.
I bought both these carbines at the same time to have a direct comparison.I'll mostly be giving my opinions,likes and dislikes concentrating on the SIG556.
This semiauto is chambered in 5.56NATO and has a gas piston operating system.Please go to http://www.sigsauer.com/ for details.
First impressions
This Sig556PC I bought new.I like the fact that it came in a blue plastic foam lined gun case vs a cardboard box.It also came with a nice set of HK style iron sites as well as a back up secondary flip up rear sight installed in the picatinny rail.A very smart touch!,30rnd Sig mag,good instructions,etc.
It has a nice light compact pointable feel to it when you throw it up to the shoulder and I like the look of it
.I haven't handled the regular version with the standard length gas system but from what I've read they are a little front heavy.This patrol carbine version weighs 7.5 lbs and is 36.1"s long.
The upper receiver is made of steel and has a picattiny rail fastened across the length of the top.The lower is aluminum which sports a nicely beveled mag well.It has 2 pins holding the upper and lower together like an AR-15.It has another sling attachment point on it at the back left side and on the left front of barrel/gas block area.
I like the folding stock system better on the Sig as compared to the RA XCR.It can be adjusted for length like an AR-15 M4 buttstock and when folded can be snapped into place onto the side of the front stock.There's no play where the folding stock joint is but a little bit where it adjusts for length.Barely noticeable though.It also has a place to put an HK style sling clip on the stock itself or maybe it will work as a flush cup,not sure on that???
The grip has a good feel to it and is shorter in length than grips on other brands.The grip has a latch and compartment to store ammo or batteries,etc.
The safety is ambidextrous but sits a little farther away than AR's or the XCR.My stubby fingers can't reach it without changing my grip.It's the standard up for safety...down for fire type.
The bolt carrier release is on the left side of the receiver and must be pushed up to activate the release.It's odd to me because I'm used to the opposite action like on a 1911 pistol.It must be pushed down on to lock the carrier back.
The charging handle is attached to the bolt carrier on the right hand side of the gun.It can be removed easily for field stripping and has a rubber sleeve on it and has a soft feel to it.
The mag release is positioned a little farther forward than I'd like also.I have to change my grip to reach it and it's the standard AR-15 type.
Trigger "was" probably the worst trigger I've ever felt.Lots of take up,heavy 7-8lbs and mushy as can be with lots of overtravel.<span style="font-size: 11pt">I took the grip off and discovered it can be adjusted,YAY.It's still has the take up and overtravel but I set it to have a pretty decent trigger.It's maybe a pound lighter now.It was far worse than the RA XCR and now it's better.</span>
The interesting thing about the Sig to me is the gas system.The charging handle goes though the other side of the carrier into a slot on the gas operating rod and the mainspring/recoilspring is over the gas operating rod.It's a little more complicated than the RA XCR as far as taking the gas system apart but really more so only the very first time you take it apart.The gas system has two positions of adjustment.It worked fine at the #1 setting so I never tried the #2 setting.Sig states in the manual to only use the #2 setting if the gun is real dirty or for some reason won't function right.
The front grip/barrel shroud is hard plastic and is in 2 halves that snap into and under their counterpart on the gas block.If I had to do it all over again I'd probably pay the extra $ and get the SWAT patrol carbine with the picattiny rails on the fore end.No biggy though.I don't use lights and lasers.
The impression I get about the Sig compared to the RA XCR is that it feels like it's "slightly" better built.Like it has a higher quality to it.Honestly the 2 are so close it's a really tough call.The Sig has that little flip up back up sight,a nice trigger now,a softer recoil impulse and a storage compartment in the grip.All these things make it very appealing.
Observances
The Sig throws the brass farther and bangs the brass up some.When I reloaded the brass later I had to throw some away but most of the cases were OK.
There's a good half inch jump that a round has to take going from the mag to the chamber.
However the Sig has run perfectly with 4 different mags and ammo's,ZERO malfunctions.
It has the same accuracy as the RA XCR.1.5-2 MOA.That was before I adjusted the trigger.I might be able to shoot it much better now !....... I never shot groups again for accuracy but did seem to shoot better on my steel at distance and was way easier to shoot.
In conclusion.
Now that I've shot the SIG556 with 250 rounds of 6 different type ammos,including reloads,with iron sights,red dot and scoped in rapid fire and slow fire on steel out to 300Y in all positions....I say it's a great gun and I have to give it a thumbs up,especially for it's intended purpose!!! The best thing I like about the gun is it's offhand point-ability.2cnd is the iron sights that came with it,excellent,innovatively designed,fully adjustable sights.
I forgot to comment on one thing I noticed.The recoil impulse of the Sig556 is very smooth and forgiving!!!There's a little more hop in the XCR which upsets your recovery time more.
Steve
I bought both these carbines at the same time to have a direct comparison.I'll mostly be giving my opinions,likes and dislikes concentrating on the SIG556.
This semiauto is chambered in 5.56NATO and has a gas piston operating system.Please go to http://www.sigsauer.com/ for details.
First impressions
This Sig556PC I bought new.I like the fact that it came in a blue plastic foam lined gun case vs a cardboard box.It also came with a nice set of HK style iron sites as well as a back up secondary flip up rear sight installed in the picatinny rail.A very smart touch!,30rnd Sig mag,good instructions,etc.
It has a nice light compact pointable feel to it when you throw it up to the shoulder and I like the look of it
The upper receiver is made of steel and has a picattiny rail fastened across the length of the top.The lower is aluminum which sports a nicely beveled mag well.It has 2 pins holding the upper and lower together like an AR-15.It has another sling attachment point on it at the back left side and on the left front of barrel/gas block area.
I like the folding stock system better on the Sig as compared to the RA XCR.It can be adjusted for length like an AR-15 M4 buttstock and when folded can be snapped into place onto the side of the front stock.There's no play where the folding stock joint is but a little bit where it adjusts for length.Barely noticeable though.It also has a place to put an HK style sling clip on the stock itself or maybe it will work as a flush cup,not sure on that???
The grip has a good feel to it and is shorter in length than grips on other brands.The grip has a latch and compartment to store ammo or batteries,etc.
The safety is ambidextrous but sits a little farther away than AR's or the XCR.My stubby fingers can't reach it without changing my grip.It's the standard up for safety...down for fire type.
The bolt carrier release is on the left side of the receiver and must be pushed up to activate the release.It's odd to me because I'm used to the opposite action like on a 1911 pistol.It must be pushed down on to lock the carrier back.
The charging handle is attached to the bolt carrier on the right hand side of the gun.It can be removed easily for field stripping and has a rubber sleeve on it and has a soft feel to it.
The mag release is positioned a little farther forward than I'd like also.I have to change my grip to reach it and it's the standard AR-15 type.
Trigger "was" probably the worst trigger I've ever felt.Lots of take up,heavy 7-8lbs and mushy as can be with lots of overtravel.<span style="font-size: 11pt">I took the grip off and discovered it can be adjusted,YAY.It's still has the take up and overtravel but I set it to have a pretty decent trigger.It's maybe a pound lighter now.It was far worse than the RA XCR and now it's better.</span>
The interesting thing about the Sig to me is the gas system.The charging handle goes though the other side of the carrier into a slot on the gas operating rod and the mainspring/recoilspring is over the gas operating rod.It's a little more complicated than the RA XCR as far as taking the gas system apart but really more so only the very first time you take it apart.The gas system has two positions of adjustment.It worked fine at the #1 setting so I never tried the #2 setting.Sig states in the manual to only use the #2 setting if the gun is real dirty or for some reason won't function right.
The front grip/barrel shroud is hard plastic and is in 2 halves that snap into and under their counterpart on the gas block.If I had to do it all over again I'd probably pay the extra $ and get the SWAT patrol carbine with the picattiny rails on the fore end.No biggy though.I don't use lights and lasers.
The impression I get about the Sig compared to the RA XCR is that it feels like it's "slightly" better built.Like it has a higher quality to it.Honestly the 2 are so close it's a really tough call.The Sig has that little flip up back up sight,a nice trigger now,a softer recoil impulse and a storage compartment in the grip.All these things make it very appealing.
Observances
The Sig throws the brass farther and bangs the brass up some.When I reloaded the brass later I had to throw some away but most of the cases were OK.
There's a good half inch jump that a round has to take going from the mag to the chamber.
However the Sig has run perfectly with 4 different mags and ammo's,ZERO malfunctions.
It has the same accuracy as the RA XCR.1.5-2 MOA.That was before I adjusted the trigger.I might be able to shoot it much better now !....... I never shot groups again for accuracy but did seem to shoot better on my steel at distance and was way easier to shoot.
In conclusion.
Now that I've shot the SIG556 with 250 rounds of 6 different type ammos,including reloads,with iron sights,red dot and scoped in rapid fire and slow fire on steel out to 300Y in all positions....I say it's a great gun and I have to give it a thumbs up,especially for it's intended purpose!!! The best thing I like about the gun is it's offhand point-ability.2cnd is the iron sights that came with it,excellent,innovatively designed,fully adjustable sights.
I forgot to comment on one thing I noticed.The recoil impulse of the Sig556 is very smooth and forgiving!!!There's a little more hop in the XCR which upsets your recovery time more.
Steve
