sig 516 patrol

Sig 516 Patrol - Key points: Sig Sauer appears to have left the rifle in the dark, endorsing the new SIG MCX in marketing and promotion.

When HK launched the HK416 in the early 2000s, it quickly became the elite weapon of military and law enforcement forces around the world. Backed by a shrewd marketing campaign and favorable (if debatable) test results from the US military, the HK416 represents the “better mousetrap” version of the AR rifle family to many users. While the advantages of the HK416 have been debated in modern years, with upgrades to traditional AR rifles increasing their reliability, Sig Sauer, Inc sought to craft their answer to the HK416 in late 2000. The result, released in 2010, was the SIG 516.

Sig 516 Patrol

While the Sig doesn't like to stress the connection, the SIG 516 is in many ways designed to be a direct counterpart to the HK416. According to the late Jim Schatz, a former H&K employee and H&K expert, one of the key people involved in the HK416 was the lead of the SIG 516 development team. The name “SIG 516” is most likely just a riff on the HK416.

Picked Up A New Sig 516 As My First Ar Today

In basic layout, the SIG 516 is also very similar to the HK416. Both rifles use a short-shot tappet system placed above the barrel, which activates a modified bolt carrier in the upper receiver. This allows the rifle to be easily compatible with most AR reductions without much modification.

However, Sig Sauer's design is considered to be relatively close to the existing piston AR, namely the LWRC IC-A5. This resulted in LWRC and Sig Sauer, Inc. was taken to court in 2016 in a patent claim over the original SIG 516 piston system design.

The 516's piston design has several advantages over the 416. The 516 has a 4-position gas regulator, which allows for reduced recoil and wear. The 416 piston is theoretically self-regulating, but in the default position it tends to increase recoil in an adjustable gas system. The HK416 will receive an adjustable regulator in the HK416A5 variant.

The 516 screwdriver group is also closer to the AR than the HK416. The HK416 Bolt Driver Group has a unique pin on the bolt which makes it more expensive to manufacture and safer, but limits it to working with the full height hammer of the lower fire control group. 516 this shortcoming, likely for reasons of cost and interoperability with all fire control groups.

Sig Sauer Sig516: The Ultimate Ar 15 Style Rifle For Reliability And Performance

Despite its theoretical advantages in cost and recoil, the SIG 516 has seen far less adoption by military and law enforcement units compared to the HK416. It is used by several SWAT units across the United States and was seen in the hands of the Turkish Special Police in 2017.

Sig Sauer appears to have let the rifle go into obscurity, endorsing the latest SIG MCX in marketing and promotions. The MCX has a more AR-18 style layout, which allows for a folding stock. (The SIG 516 and HK416 do not support conventional folding materials as they use the traditional AR-15 damper tube layout.)

Sig Sauer's tendency to promote a new rifle every few years is likely to confuse potential users. Prior to the SIG 516, Sig Sauer promoted the SIG 556xi, a version of the SG550 rifle adapted to use the STANAG aluminum magazine. However, as the rifle did not sell well, SIG quickly switched to the 516 and now the MCX. Comparatively, H&K simply repeats the existing 416 design.

Charlie Gao studied computer science and political science at Grinnell College and is a frequent commentator on defense and national security issues. This article first appeared earlier this year. Turkish security outlets on social media recently posted several photos of Turkish law enforcement special operatives PÖH armed with the Patrol Sig Sauer 516 rifle or its variants. At TFB, we slowly followed New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer to export rifles to various LE agencies and overseas militaries. Mainly with Pakistani Special Operations Forces with PDW SIG516 and Iraqi Special Operations Forces (not mentioned in the post) with M400s serving alongside the Rock River Arms carbine. At the moment, with the Turkish PÖH, it seems that the Sig is slowly taking over the issue of the 5.56x45 mm NATO service rifle and is becoming more widespread. The rifles released were either the Sig 516 Patrol piston-operated, gas-adjustable rifle or the Sig 516 Patrol gas impact rifle, both with a 14.5-inch barrel. We're also seeing third-party compensators installed on some rifles in addition to the A2 cage flashhider. We have a photo of the Sig 516 selected for burning, so it's more than likely the case with the others.

Sig 516 Patrol

This is the only example we have so far of a 7.62x51mm Sig 716 NATO rifle with a 20-round magazine, flanked by two Sig 516s. It seems that the PÖH, similar to the Army's Special Operations group, have a very low opinion of the MPT76...

Direct Impact Shotgun. It's possible this was part of a previous buy evaluating rifle so the decision was made to buy a piston operated rifle.

There's nothing about the M400 or the SIG 516 to make it significantly more reliable or accurate than the other select garden varieties on the market, even when compared to other piston-operated AR15s. What is more likely is that Sig Sauer knows how to legally and efficiently export selected firearms overseas, with the proper end user licenses, permits, and certificates, such as those required for Iraq, Turkey, and Pakistan. And of course, it knows how to negotiate this bureaucratic and political minefield out the other side at budgetary prices for these countries' security services.

These examples are Sig 516s with a Beta C battery charger, or at least a copy installed.

Gallery: Sig Sauer 516

Marine Infantry, based in the Midwest. Special interest in the history, development and use of small arms in the MENA region and Central Asia. To that end, I run the Silah Report, a website dedicated to analyzing small arms history and news from MENA and Central Asia.

Feel free to contact me about anything I could add to the post, mistakes I made, or if you just want to chat about guns. I can be contacted at [email protected]

Sig 516 patrol for sale, sig 516 accuracy, sig sauer 516 review, sig 516 fde, sig 516 patrol gen 2, buy sig 516 patrol, sig 516 sbr, sig 516 patrol price, 516 sig, sig sauer 516 patrol, sig 516 patrol review, sig 516 patrol accessories