I did a search on ARFCOM and went through the first 10 pages of the AR variant forum.
I also did a google search  and did some reading

I'm looking for my first AR in 308 and want a piston system.
Does anyone have experience with the Sig 716 or knowledge about them?

I have one and it took 240 rounds to break it in so it could cycle lower powered 7.62x51 ammo:(

Im also looking for a 308 rifle and have read up on the sig716.  The reviews I've read seem pretty favorable but I wish I could shoot one personally.

PROS:Mine ate everything i have put in it so far. Brownbear, malaysian milsurp, XM80, Federal match, and some other crap
GTG out of the box.
Pmags work well but haven't tried any others yet.
Buddy of mine has one too his works as well

CONS:Trigger sucks will be replaced.
Recoil is heavy for such a heavy simiauto.

it seems like a heavy recoil from the youtube videos
did you try it with a MB?

I bought one a month before "the panic" and I dressed It up a bit with an Atlas Bipod, magpul enhanced buttpad and an ACOG 3.5x scope before taking it to the range. It was already a hefty rifle before the additions,  but after it was like a cinderblock with a trigger.

I only fired 100 rounds through it but I can tell you it functioned flawlessly (used PMAGs), recoiled heavy, and the trigger did indeed suck big time, but in spite of that I still managed 1" groups.

I sold it when people started going apeshit for AR's (and planned to buy one again when the market saturated). If I were to buy a factory .308 again, I wouldn't hesitate on the 716, just invest in a better trigger.

However, instead of buying another factory .308 after the panic died down I decided to spend a little more and assemble my own Mega Maten instead -which after taking to the range this weekend I can say is a superior rifle in every way to the 716 that I owned.

for those that say the 716 will cycle anything, please try some of the Winchester white box 7.62x51 ammo that Cabelas sells for $20.99. This stuff is low powered, much lower than 308 ammo. I promise you, I had to shoot 240 rounds down the pipe to get the 716 to be considered reliable enough to cycle even the lowest powered ammo.

For those having issues with low powered ammo, you do realize the 716 has an adjustable gas block for just such a situation?  Just open it up?
I wonder if some of the "heavy recoil" are people running on the wrong gas setting...   This thing can be adjusted between over gassed for low power ammo or dirty guns and shut off for single shot use.

I'm sorry to sound ignorant but what is MB?

Thanks

Josh

There have been several threads on various boards that a good detail cleaning before shooting will eliminate much of the cycling issues.  Apparently the grease that they ship with is fairly viscous.  I did not shoot mine until after I had done this and it hasn't missed a beat.  On the lower gas setting, cheap ammo, 7.62X51 ball, WWB, Hornaday Superformance, Hornaday TAP.  All have run fine.  Although in all fairness I have only fired 3-400 rds.    

I wouldn't worry about a break in period though.  Many new guns need a break in before reliability is up to snuff.  Just gives you more excuse to shoot them!!  

Oh yeah, trigger on mine is also pretty blah.  Probably going to upgrade to a RRA match trigger.

Doc

Muzzle brake

the only down side to it seems to be the kick and trigger
trigger can be changed and a MB should help with kick/recoil

The talk about the recoil really surprises me.  I have never noticed it.

Doc

I have one and think it is great. I also have 308s in LMT, LWRC, Armalite, Knights, DPMS and Bushmaster. Walmart sells for $2,000, not a bad price today. Mine shoots 175 gr. Sierra BTHP reloads into .85 inches all day if I do my part. Had to change out the trigger, only thing I did not like on the rifle. Had a 8 lb pull. Accuracy increased when I put on a 2 stage match trigger.

No I have not but it had crossed my mind. Local gunsmith really likes the flaming pig breaks an says they reduce recoil. They trigger is greater priority and I'll try turning the gas down. Then the MB. Too many irons in the fire right now. Gotta pay off my FNS 9mm first ;)

Josh

I could be wrong but the flaming pig is for SBRs with gas tubes (not pistons) and does nothing for kick. it increases blow back in SBRs

Had mine out today to zero it at 25m. Cleaned it thoroughly before taking it to the range. It did recoil harder than expected with Ultramax 168 grain ammo, but seemed to not be as bad with Federal 149 grain rounds.  With the Ultramax it actually seemed to kick harder than my Savage .308 bolt gun. Gas setting was on "normal"  setting.

The only thing  that disappointed me was having to move 13 clicks left windage from mechanical center on the rear sight in order to zero the gun. Had no problems with elevation adjustment.  The iron sights are Sig factory sights.

Would 13 clicks of adjustment be normal on this particular gun, or would that be an indication that the barrel or front sight gas block is not properly indexed to the receiver ?

you zero your 308 battle rifle at 25m?  I always thought 308s were to be sighted at 50 and 200m but I maybe wrong. My 223/556 ARs are sighted in at 25 and 300m.
Not sure if that means the front sight is canted. I also don't know if its zeroed at the factory.

I think you can resolve the recoil issue with a good MB and heavier buffer. But changing out the buffer may have an effect on the piston rod or buffer tube. I use heavier buffers (6.2) on my ARs and love the way it feels...much smoother!

Yeah I used 25m. I looked for zeroing info in the booklet that came with the 716 and it had a chart with click values for windage/elevation at 25m. I did not have time to push the target out to 50 or beyond due to the weather, but will do that next time.

The reason I asked if it was normal for 13 clicks of windage was I have seen that type problem get worse as you push target range further out.