Sig Sauer New "Pistol"

[TMan]

I'm just guessing, but I'd be willing to bet that it is of a higher quality than my Bushmaster 97.

Also, it is the 5.56 NATO vs. 223 REM, so I'm thinking not only will the quality be higher, but the price will be too. As I write this, sportingarms.com has it listed for $1410 with a red-dot scope on it.

I'm not wild about getting guns that already have any type of scope provided with them because the quality of the scopes have been lacking (in my experiences).

Now if H&K were to come out with something like this, I'd be interested.

[TA]

We had a few of them, but they sold out rather quickly. It appears to be well made, as is the 556 rifle line. The popular talk is to convert these to a Short Barrel Rifle with a stock and then trying to find the original 552 handguards.

Here is a link to ours. You can see a larger image by clicking below the "zoom in". www.topgunsupply.com/sig-sauer-556-223-556mm-nato_pistol-red-dot-sight.html

[TMan]

TA, thanks for the link. It has been awhile since I've been to your site, and I didn't know that you were listing handguns on it. In the future I'll reference your site if you have a listing for a gun vs. sportingarms.com

Do you know how the flash supressor is held onto the barrel? That is one complaint that I have about the Bushmaster. It has a spring-loaded connector much like the quick disconnects on air hoses. (Hmmm, I don't remember turing off the air compressor before leaving the house - hope I don't have any air leaks).

One time the flash suppressor just took off and went down range. When I called Bushmaster, he asked me if the indentations in the barrel were elongated. Apparently, a known problem.

I haven't heard anything about the 556, are you getting good reports about them? Oh, oh, I'm getting interested.

[TA]

TMan, I am not sure how the flash suppressor is retained. I was getting a lot of inquiries when they came in about how it was put together, but I really didn't want to mess with customer's pistols too much.

On SigForum, many of the guys are still complaining that the released product has the 556 handguards. The pre-release photo's that Sig provided us showed the pistol with 552 handguards. Sig does funny stuff like that.

I haven't heard very much feedback yet, but there really aren't too many of them out there yet. I am betting that it is a very good product. I am really interested to see how the red dot sights hold up. Sig is really pushing them, even as a stand alone product. It looked well made, much like the Aimpoint Micro, but should be quite a bit less expensive. If the Sig propaganda is factual, it should be a good optic.

[TMan]

TA, my problem with Sig Sauer is that I can't tell the source anymore. It used to be if it was Sig Sauer, it was German made and of very high quality. Then along came Sigarms in the US. It was still relatively simple. Now that Sigarms has dropped their name and adopted the Sig Sauer name - who knows where something is made and what the quality is.

"American Made" what does that mean anymore? If you can get by all the assine EPA and government regulations, it is cheaper to build something in the US than in Germany with all their union rules, regulations, and pay scales. Then what happens? Do they cut corners in the US in order to increase profits even more?

I used to buy nothing but Chryslers. I once had all of northern NY as my territory and then I had support for the entire north-east region. I drove a lot. One day I had a head-on collision in the Chrysler. It folded like an accordion in spite of being a 1978 and the last year they built on a frame.

Having had a bad experience at the dealership (we were ignored), we drove across the road to the VW dealership and I ended up buying a 1987 Jetta GLI, which I kept for 18 years. Compared to the Chryslers, it was wonderfully made.

Then I remarried and my wife had a 1987 BMW 325. Wow, it was made a lot better than my Jetta (I did all the maintenance and work on both cars). Then in 1999 I bought a BMW M3. After running into a road alligator and breaking a lot of plastic, I crawled under the car to replace the plastic pieces an was in awe of the way the car was built. Those Germans know how to build machinery.

Therefore, after getting into the handgun world (no longer living in NY), I quickly acquired a high respect for German made guns. (Except I still think the Swiss are better). H&K - I wouldn't bat an eyelash before buying one. With Sig Sauer, I'd really think long and hard about it. Sort of a shame.

[TA]

Sig is now moving production of the P232 to the U.S.. They are incorporating the American magazine catch as well as a little bit of blending on some of the usual sharp edges. I am interested to see how the U.S. version will stack up. These will be much easier pistols to compare, since the German versions are available for a side by side.