I went to the range this morning. Perfect shooting weather, 65 and sunny. I've wanted to get my "new" Sig Sauer 556 pistol to the range since I bought it in July. I also had a Magpul 40rd magazine I recently bought and wanted to test too.
I brought along Winchester and Federal (55gr) and Federal (62gr) 5.56 ammunition as well as three sizes of Magpul mags. I should have brought some GI mags to test with it but forgot them. It'll have to wait until next time.
I started out the session by zeroing the gun. It was shooting a couple inches to the left for me but it was an easy fix with the Sig Diopter sight. After that, I shot 30 rds thru the pistol WITHOUT using the brace. I wanted to get a feel for how it handled when you didn't use it. I spent the rest of the time firing from a standing position while shouldering the brace.
Most of my firing time was with a standard USPSA/IPSC target. All shooting was at 25 yards.
There were no great revelations this morning; everything was just as I assumed it would be. Firing unsupported my groups were easily 2.5 times what they were when I shouldered the brace. They looked like a shotgun pattern, all over the "A" and "C" zones. Rapid fire (with any kind of accuracy) was nearly impossible.
The groups tightened up considerably when I used the brace. I was easily able to keep my shots in the big "A" zone. With a lot of concentration I could even keep my shots in the small "A" and the "B" area. The Sig has a 2 stage trigger that is a little on the heavy side with a lot of takeup. It is not match quality but once you get used to the feel it is more than adequate.
The gun ran flawlessly. I fired 140 rounds thru three different magazines without a malfunction. This gun really throws the brass though, about 25 feet at the 2 O'clock position.
As you would expect, muzzle flash and recoil with the 10-Inch barrel was greater than a carbine length one. But it was controllable even in rapid fire. That short barrel heats up real fast though!
The only downside this morning was that after I finished shooting I noticed the flash hider (appears to be a standard AR-15/M16 type) had come loose. I not really sure it was on there right to begin with.
I think I can say with some certainty that this Sig pistol is a "keeper" - as it is. But if the laws were to ever change and you couldn't have the brace I don't think I would want it. The thing is just a monster without it.
