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Posted: 4/29/2014 8:25:06 AM EDT
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Got some money for a new rifle, but the two rifles I'm interested in is almost impossible to get spareparts for due to my location(Denmark). So the rifle must be freaking durable, one breakage and I'm screwed!
KAC SR15 or SIG 551-2SP (The original Swiss one) |
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Whichever is going to allow you the easiest access to replacement / aftermarket and or standardized parts.
I ran an AK here in the USA for a while and tried jazzing it up with aftermarket parts and ran into nothing but issues due to the inconsistencies in AK variants and measurements and tolerances. It was a headache that was too much money for what it was in the end. I did the same thing with a PTR91 and used some military surplus goods. Found out quickly that HK = expensive. Do yourself a favor and get whichever is cheapest to run and maintain OR what you can afford to run and maintain. You will need new parts over time. Any belief that you won't is just false hope. I'm partial and most others will be towards KAC since there's some fan-boys, some great KAC guns and experiences out there, and some window lickers. |
| I agree with going with the rifle that will be easiest to get replacement parts for. As far as AR-15's go, KAC would probably be one of the best choices where you are. Here in the US, most folks prefer to use non-proprietary AR-15 parts even though the KAC E3 bolt/barrel/gas system is pretty much bombproof. Even still, Mr. Murphy can usually find a way to FUBAR your day. |
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Quoted:
Got some money for a new rifle, but the two rifles I'm interested in is almost impossible to get spareparts for due to my location(Denmark). So the rifle must be freaking durable, one breakage and I'm screwed! KAC SR15 or SIG 551-2SP (The original Swiss one) what are your other choices? got a link or list? |
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Quoted:
Got some money for a new rifle, but the two rifles I'm interested in is almost impossible to get spareparts for due to my location(Denmark). So the rifle must be freaking durable, one breakage and I'm screwed! KAC SR15 or SIG 551-2SP (The original Swiss one) Since the 551 is Swiss, I say get the SIG551.... buy it for everyone here in the US that cant afford one($8000+) or find one. There is no comparison between a Swiss made 550 series and an American made SIG rifle, Swiss ones are superb. In terms of durability, since we don't really have ANY Swiss made SIG rifles in US, I can't really tell you how durable it is, but I'm sure it is similar to an AK. For SR15's durability, there has not been one report of their E3 bolt breaking, and apparently Travis Haley has his SR15 with over 70000rds through it using original parts(excluding springs), still holding 2.5MOA, and Chris Costa has his SR15 with over 100k rounds on his 3rd barrel. With an AR system, the bolt might be the most common breakage for a major component, but the KAC E3 bolt fixes that, however, you should still expect to swap out some springs every 5-8000rds. Just FYI, the SR15 Mod1 I got about 3 weeks ago is my favorite rifle in my collection, and I have had wide variety of rifles in the past((AR(Colt, Spikes, PSA), AK(Preban & Arsenals), HK 91/93, AUG A3, FN FAL, Tavor, etc). However, I do believe the SIG 550 series of rifles are better than any AR rifles. From what I gathered, Swiss made SIG rifles have the durability/reliability of an AK and accuracy of an AR... how can you beat that? |
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Tough choice!
So E3 bolt is truely amazing I see! Anyone ever heard of a SIG's bolt breaking? I heard from an article that SIG rifles are engineered to last decades of full use without breakage. Of course all things man made will eventually break, but they should be pretty solid and well made. I can't find half as much trouble shooting and rifle reviews for SIG rifles that I can for AR15 so SIG info is limited. But from what I've heard so far the AR15 do have a list of "most common replacement parts". What I want to know if these "most common replacement parts" include the legendary KAC rifles? From what I know E3 bolt is the only significant duabilty enhancement compared to a regular AR15, any other details other than E3 bolt? As for the wishlist, I only have these two. BTW $8000 for a SIG?????? 
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Quoted:
Got some money for a new rifle, but the two rifles I'm interested in is almost impossible to get spareparts for due to my location(Denmark). So the rifle must be freaking durable, one breakage and I'm screwed! KAC SR15 or SIG 551-2SP (The original Swiss one) All things fail and wear out. It's a bad idea NOT to be able to get spare parts so I would have already talked myself out of your two choices. I have spare LPK's, bolts, bolt rebuild kits, springs etc, etc, for every two rifles I own. Shit happens be prepared. |
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When you order your rifle, order some of the small parts that might need replacing like springs, bolt, lower parts kit, field service kit or two, a bunch of spare mags. And buy quality stuff.
Small parts will not cost you that much, and you will be ahead of the game if something does break. I like your choices of rifles by the way. |
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Tough choice! So E3 bolt is truely amazing I see! Anyone ever heard of a SIG's bolt breaking? I heard from an article that SIG rifles are engineered to last decades of full use without breakage. Of course all things man made will eventually break, but they should be pretty solid and well made. I can't find half as much trouble shooting and rifle reviews for SIG rifles that I can for AR15 so SIG info is limited. But from what I've heard so far the AR15 do have a list of "most common replacement parts". What I want to know if these "most common replacement parts" include the legendary KAC rifles? From what I know E3 bolt is the only significant duabilty enhancement compared to a regular AR15, any other details other than E3 bolt? As for the wishlist, I only have these two. BTW $8000 for a SIG?????? SR15 has the following proprietary parts: E3 Bolt, Firing Pin, Extractor, Extractor Springs, Cam Pin, Barrel Extension, and Gas Tube(a bit longer than mid-length). (They also use a different type of castle nut for buffer tube) As you can see, basically all the components on the E3 bolt is unique. Other components such as the carrier, receivers, buffer tube are the same as any other mil-spec AR15. As for the parts breakage, the extractor, bolt, and firing pin are the most common 'bigger' parts that can break, although there are many AR15s with over 10k rounds through them without any breakage. From what I've seen on the internet, the extractor can break more often than the bolt, and the bolt can break more often than the FP. I personally wouldn't worry at all about these 3 parts breaking, but it sure would be a good idea to have at least one extra for back up. Like all other semi-auto rifles, all the springs should be replaced every so often(5k-8k rounds), and for AR rifles, you will need some gas rings, they only last about 3k-6k of rounds fired. SR15's E3 bolt probably will never break on you, so that is one less thing to worry about. KAC also changed the extractor pin location on the bolt, so to make the rifle more reliable when extracting the empty case, but I'm not sure if that will help to prolong the service life of the extractor. Firing pin is proprietary, but honestly I wouldn't worry about it, since don't usually break, but again, its a good idea to have an extra. I've broke an AK FP before, it was an Izhmash SGL31 in 5.45x39 with only 1800rds through it... Murphy Murphy Murphy.... Like I mentioned before, a true Swiss made SIG rifle is EXTREMELY rare in the US, they are all preban rifles after all. If you can locate one, they are usually $8000-12000.... 
I would say the ratio of AR rifles and Swiss made 550 series is probably 500000+ to 1. There's a reason you can't find any info on the SIG rifles. Also keep in mind US made SIG rifles are pretty bad compared to Swiss made, so don't rely on reviews of the US guns. How much is the SR15 and SIG551 in Denmark? Also, why can't you order spar parts from US? I would think they would allow small parts like springs and extractor, since those wouldn't be considered a firearm |
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Never seen a review of any 55x rifle that equaled an AR15 in accuracy. Probably wont. Going that route, more moving metal, means less accuracy. Probably a great gun though.
I would choose the KAC, because what kit i have of theirs is of the highest quality, i believe stoner was a genius and love the ar platform and what little fault you can find in the ar system, the kac has pretty much addressed and corrected. Its light, laser accurate and simple to work on. |
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Quoted:
Never seen a review of any 55x rifle that equaled an AR15 in accuracy. Probably wont. Going that route, more moving metal, means less accuracy. Probably a great gun though. I would choose the KAC, because what kit i have of theirs is of the highest quality, i believe stoner was a genius and love the ar platform and what little fault you can find in the ar system, the kac has pretty much addressed and corrected. Its light, laser accurate and simple to work on. Like I mentioned before, quality of a US made SIG rifle is not on par with the Swiss. With almost none existence availability of Swiss 550 series, you can not predict how it will perform. Most 16" AR15 rifles will have 1.5-2MOA accuracy shooting decent ammo, it is not a sub MOA gun unless it comes with match barrel, and most rifles won't get 1 MOA unless shooting a certain ammo that it likes. Again, FYI, I love my SR15 Mod1 to death, it is my favorite rifle right now and I have quite a bit of rifles of different variety. I am not bad mouthing SR15 or any AR, but personally given the option, in the same shoe the OP is in, I would probably pick SIG551 since like OP mentioned, parts availability are limited in Denmark. |
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The KAC SR15 IWS cost 3000 euro
The SIG 551-2SP (1:7 twist) costs around 3600 euro. By the way I decided on SIG, as I found a german sparepart dealer who ships within Europe without problem :) As for spareparts for KAC, I can't find any via Brownells. I had a SIG 516 once and bought in some accessories for it like Tango Down scar panels, Magpul Hadnstopper etc. But not bolt, firing pin etc. Could not get them. Some danes ordered som ITAR restircted items and had the police knocking on their door, so I think I will stay far away from ordering something "risky risky"., The SIG dealer is all OK, as its within Europe and nothing happens. Once I get some pictures, how do I show it to you guys? don't know how to attach pic. |
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Quoted:
Tough choice! So E3 bolt is truely amazing I see! Anyone ever heard of a SIG's bolt breaking? I heard from an article that SIG rifles are engineered to last decades of full use without breakage. Of course all things man made will eventually break, but they should be pretty solid and well made. I can't find half as much trouble shooting and rifle reviews for SIG rifles that I can for AR15 so SIG info is limited. But from what I've heard so far the AR15 do have a list of "most common replacement parts". What I want to know if these "most common replacement parts" include the legendary KAC rifles? From what I know E3 bolt is the only significant duabilty enhancement compared to a regular AR15, any other details other than E3 bolt? As for the wishlist, I only have these two. BTW $8000 for a SIG?????? Only....... 5768.8 EUR 
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Quoted:
The KAC SR15 IWS cost 3000 euro The SIG 551-2SP (1:7 twist) costs around 3600 euro. By the way I decided on SIG, as I found a german sparepart dealer who ships within Europe without problem :) As for spareparts for KAC, I can't find any via Brownells. I had a SIG 516 once and bought in some accessories for it like Tango Down scar panels, Magpul Hadnstopper etc. But not bolt, firing pin etc. Could not get them. Some danes ordered som ITAR restircted items and had the police knocking on their door, so I think I will stay far away from ordering something "risky risky"., The SIG dealer is all OK, as its within Europe and nothing happens. Once I get some pictures, how do I show it to you guys? don't know how to attach pic. Damn both rifles are pricy, SIG being $5040USD and SR15 being $4200. You can get 2 of the SR15 Mod1 in US for the price of one over there, oh well, at least you can have one. Good choice going with the Swiss SIG 551! Just FYI, I found a dealer in US selling Swiss Pre-Ban SIG rifles, and they want $9800 for the SIG551-2SP.... Enjoy your new rifle haha 
For pics, just sign up for a Flickr account, and once you upload a picture, they will have option for you to post on forums. Watch some Youtube vids if you are still confused, I'm sure there are vids out there. |
| I have not visited where you live so I am not sure what to suggest. You have posted your question here so I take it that you are looking at a Stoner design. Rifles are not unlike girls in the sense that most of them can be pretty durable with proper care but certain ones better then others. I can only give my personal opinion from rifles I have owned. I feel that Rock River Arms is the best builder for quality, durability and accuracy. If you go for an AR rifle go for the duty line as many times the top of the line is over complicated. Rifles that are built to military specs are usually the most durable. Considering where you live an AR with a piston system might be the way to go to avoid many future problems. I will say that where I live you can buy a new rifle that will not even fire or is so inaccurate that it is useless in the low price range. I am sure the old standard, "you get what you pay for", is true everywhere. If you have access to FN products it would be hard to go wrong, again in the higher price range. I shoot at least 4 days a week and with a good rifle you won't need parts, if you take care of it. If I lived where you live I would be more concerned about magazines and ammo availability. The gun ads from the US probably look pretty amazing but it is a "Buyer Beware" market and the quality of machined metal can be very poor at times. I recently was at a shooting range and a young man showed up with a new lower priced AR15 from one of the biggest builders. I was able to out shoot his groups with my 10mm pistol every time at 100 yards. I would have offered to fix his rifle but on examination it would have cost more then a new rifle to fix it. This is not uncommon. |
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