I tried checking for information re the SIG 516 Patrol on this forum and really could not find much. So I will simply ask if any of you enthusiasts have an opinion re this rifle you would share.

Whatever information, long or short, good or bad, technical or anecdotal I would appreciate reading. This will help me decide whether I need one of these or not.

I do not have a gas operated AR but do have a curiosity about same. Any input would be appreciated, thank you...

A little bit of a stray, but I have a 516 pistol and love it. I have a few hundred rounds through it, no issues at all. It's a little heavy, but I just deal with it. I'd recommend it.

I really like my 516. It is slightly heavier than a di rifle. Very accurate, adjustable gas makes suppression an enjoyable activity. I recommend it.

Anecdotal: NCSBI issues 516sbr's and I've not heard of a single issue with them. They replaced Colt 6920's.

They are piston rifles, therefore, heavier than d i's.

I would absolutely have one.... if they had something other than a quad rail

I have a 516. It's well made accurate and operates flawlessly. Quad rail is not a problem for me. I just use rails ladders to cover any unused portions of the rail. I personally don't care for the look of the M-lok rails but that's just me. YMMV

I bought my 516 Patrol back around 2010/2011.

Normally, I clean my firearms shortly after a range trip, however with my 516, I decided to let it go for sometime now. I started earlier last year or so into some local 3-gun events and used my 516. I've yet to give her any sort of cleaning and have only reapplied lube, ( Slide Glide lite ) one time late last year. It has never mis-fed or stuttered. I've used GI, Magpul and DD mags and it runs them all. Other than a Wilson Combat TTU , DD Gen 2 muzzle climb mitigator and Magpul STR, the rifle is stock.

It's one of my go-to rifles.

I love my 516, but my question for you would be what price can you get one for? I got mine a few years back for about $1,300. I've since added carbon fiber handguards from Lancer to replace the quad rails, which were another $200 or so.

If you're pushing $2,000 on one out the door I would not do it. If you're below $1,500 I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you! I appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts.

My idea was to buy just the upper. I see Sig has them on sale re current Father’s Day Promotion. I have a lower just waiting for a mate, plus I could swap it around from one lower configuration to another, depending the task.

Thanks again, Ambush

A few years ago a dealer came back from SHOT with a model called the 516 Carbon. It has a 14' Lancer hand guard, really nice collapsible stock (forget the brand), 1:7 twist, but beyond the furniture I suspect it's a 516 like any other. Its been rock solid reliable and accuracy is fine with 55g and 62g factory of different brands. It does what you expect a decent AR will do. Its a little heavy but that may be the nature of piston guns. What I really really like about the piston design is how clean the gun runs.

Hopefully you bought the upper. The 516 is a fundamentally sound build from my own user experience.

I've both "generations" of 516; the first is the one that got SIG in trouble with LWRC for patent infringement. The second is a FDE in an early 2nd generation configuration when they were still shipping them with Magpul grips and stocks. Both guns came with the gas block annoyingly canted over to one side; other than that assembly faux pas--a very common one during that particular time frame, apparently--they've been dead-on reliable.

In terms of getting the gas blocks fixed by SIG: by the time I convinced myself that I should look into doing something about it, I couldn't send my Gen1 back without it coming back as a Gen2 due to the outcome of that LWRC lawsuit, and I otherwise liked my Gen1 and how it shoots VERY much as-is. Bad karma to FUBAR it with how well it operates. The FDE Gen2 I just didn't bother with after a couple of enjoyable range sessions with the gun. As long as I don't stare at those gas blocks all that intently their offset quirk doesn't irk me...much.

If I had planned on mounting an iron front sight on the gas block rail I do admit that I'd be far more pissed about the offset gas blocks than I am. But as heavy a gun as they both are I continue to use lighter polymer MBUS sights as backups with the front mounted to the end of the existing quad rail instead. Losing a bit of sight radius isn't that bad for me considering how I set up and use the rifles these days.

Those early Generation 2 guns did have some ship that were sketchy regarding reliable operation but my example has been trouble-free from the day I took it out of its box. I've been looking at various handguards to see whether any can be modified (i.e., 'Dremeled' or other such 'bubba' mod) to work with a 516; the Lancer carbon fiber piece is relatively light but its look just exudes "Honda Civic ricer" to me when I was briefly considering one of their CF handguards for my MPX. And they ain't cheap enough for me to rattle can to give them a more unified look to the rest of the rifle. Finish-wise the Cerakote on the FDE gun has held up well but admittedly I haven't shot that one as much lately. Another example of too many guns, too little time.

As they sit they're heavy even as piston guns go; my PWS Mk114 Mod 1 is ample proof that a piston rifle doesn't have to emulate a boat anchor like my 516s do. Between the two SIGs I still prefer my Gen1 rifle a bit more but they're close enough to one another that I could live with either if one of them had gone 'bu-bye'. But as pistons go I much prefer my PWS, and now I'm considering a second one in Mod 2-M form.

I've got a 10" G2 upper on a KAC lower; it is pretty easily my favorite carbine. Dead nuts reliable, I clean it... sometimes... and generally just feed it some Slip 2000 and a healthy dose of green tip. Very quiet suppressed, very little recoil, and yes, heavy as hell. Shoots tight groups too - well, combat accuracy. Green tip with a red dot runs around 1.5" - 2" groups at 100m, and will ring steel all day out to 300m or so.

It'd probably be the last thing to leave the safe, other than my G19 and 870 riot gun.

Piston guns seem to get a bad rap for their weight, but I really don't think they're "that much" more than a DI gun ... I have a 716 and I don't mind it so much.

I've got a Osprey Defence conversion on my 11.5" Colt Commander, that typically use on my M16, I don't notice it's any heavier than the DI system that I converted it from ... It runs perfectly and much cooler now

SIG 516 owner here since 2011 and I love it especially with the Lancer carbon fiber hand guard on it, Geissele trigger, and Raptor Charging Handle. It's very accurate and it runs suppressed like a dream (and it has an easy suppressed setting gas adjustment valve knob). Very soft shooting. The lower is one of the highest quality lowers I've seen to date on an AR.

They shipped me a Gen 1 gas block with a Gen 2 carrier and that made me furious at that time. Luckily, just a month ago, I was able to buy a an original gen 1 carrier from a random guy who stumbled upon it (it's completely identical to LWRC's carrier) and run it successfully in my 516 and I love shooting it so much more because it's a true Gen 1 now, which can run full auto and is identical to the 516 that passed the torture tests and over the beach test demonstrated by Robert Hirt...

The Gen 2 gas blocks offer easier access to clean the gas piston operating rod with no threaded gas valve for the carbon to build up in unlike the Gen 1. The Gen 2 carriers are almost 2 oz lighter and still run fine in the 516 (typically competition shooters want lighter carriers to increase cycling rate for faster shots). You can still run your Gen 2 516 with an LWRC bolt carrier which is ideal if you plan on ever dropping in a RDIAS.