I'm amazed at the people (few of them) who complain about the Sig 556 not being the Sig 551 or not having the cool sights like the real 551. But, The H&K 416 is almost teh real 416 and has all the same cool sights and grips and all. Butt it cost $2695.00.  The FN Scar 308 is another cool gun like its real cousin but it's also $2800.00.  Yes, Sig could build a Sig 556 to be a lot more like the real Sig 551 but how many of us would really pay $3,000 for one. The truth is H&K is not selling many 416's and FN sale of SCARs is minimal compared to the other weapons. How many of these have we seen come adn go due to lack of sales (FNC, AUG, Robinson M96......)  I like my 556 and they work well for me and at around $1,000 is affordable. have you noticed lately there have been no real complaints about teh quality of the 556 or 516.

One guy on here bithched forever about the early model 556 pistol grip and complained about Sigs customer service and that they would not sell him a new pistol grip or parts.  BS  the girp is listed on their websote for $19 and can be ordered directly from the website. I called Sig and ask if I could order an extra extractor and spring and they said yes, gave me the part number and cost and said I could order any part except for the receiver. They send me a parts list for the 556 to order by.

Some people opn here are just like my ex wife. They love to bitch and complain because it makes they happy.

I have
(2) Sig 556
(1) Sig 551
(3) SIg 516

And all are GTG and so are a number of friends that shoot at my local range. I've had bad cars from Chevy and Ford but I don't go around for a year bitching about they forever.

achem....  Amen  

For the last few years, no spare parts were available from the factory for the 556.   It was everyone's whining and complaining that finally got the factory to offer those parts for sale (Which only happened very recently).  Now hopefully they will also listen to all the complaints about their quality and their customer service department when it comes to returning the problem rifles for service.

My Sig556 is flawless.



I know some had trouble, there was a confirmed issue during the 09 production year, but the newer ones are GTG.



The 556R on the other hand, still needs a bit of improvement and QC.

I've been extremely happy with both of my 556s, as well as my daughter's 522. That said, I think my success is due in part to other owners being vocal about the issues they've had in the past with theirs, which has forced Sig to tighten things up.

Parabellum 9X19

What issues have you heard of on the 556R?  I'm wanting to buy one in 7.62X39 and I've heard they have fixed the shelf problem for AK steel mags.

Check out the Military Arms Channel on youtube and watch Sturm's review of the 556R.



Ejection problems, poor upper/lower fit, and light primer strikes on the deep set berdan primers.




and

The shelf issue, one member here had Sig retrofit a steel plate...but I don't know if the steel shelf is standard on all new 556Rs yet.
If this goes anything like the 556, they will get it all smoothed out eventually, but the gun is still pretty new, so personally, I'd give it another 6 months or so.
Just my $0.02, i think you still have a good chance of getting a good one, but for my money, I want a *great* chance of getting a good one.
 

Absolutely love my June 2011 vintage 556 swat classic. No complaints here.