I know there are a few folks here that own a Sig 552. I have a chance to purchase an SBR'd 552 that was sold with the fake can in, 2014 wasn't it? I didn't jump on one then, and I was sad, but now I can remedy that with mere money. SO, should I?

I've loved one ever since I've seen one way back in the day? 91, 92? Anyway, for a long time and the desire has only increased. I swore off 5.56 for 7.62 when I bought my SCAR, but some funds have suddenly come my way to make this happen.

What I'm looking for is advice from those that have, or have had, a 552 and whether its all that and more. Please no "if you have the money just do it" or "I have an SBR'd AR that will do the same thing for way less". I get both comments and appreciate them.

But . . . This is a pretty rare thing, not something that I can go and fondle and no SBR'd AR will cut it unless kimberkid or someone says theirs wasn't worth it.

The one that I'm looking at is way out of state and not something that I can remotely eyeball nor is there one at any range (except Las Vegas that's full auto) that I know of and going to Vegas to test drive a gun is counter productive to actually buying the gun.

Thanks!

I have a SBR'd 553. Think of it as a Swiss krinkov. If you want a sweet shooting iconic weapon that you'll end up taking to the range more often than not, go for it

quote:

If you want a sweet shooting iconic weapon that you'll end up taking to the range more often than not, go for it

Yes please! What kind of parts maintenance am I looking at for this?

quote:

Originally posted by Loswsmith:

quote:

If you want a sweet shooting iconic weapon that you'll end up taking to the range more often than not, go for it

Yes please! What kind of parts maintenance am I looking at for this?

I keep a spare firing pin around but other than that I've put thousands of rounds through it and no issues. It's an older design based on an even older rock solid design. I replaced the gas valve on mine with the Swiss valve with a suppressor setting and it runs just as well suppressed. They are great rifles.

Using a Griffin Recce 5 on the 553 and a Dead Air Wolverine on the SU:

It really comes down to price. The 553 is a better rifle than the 552. The gas piston and bolt carrier design are far better on the 553. If you have other Swiss 55x rifles, the 552 is a great addition. And those 552s are very unique in that they are the only semiauto 552s ever imported and are marked “SG 552-2 SP Commando”. Pretty cool. Another great thing about these 552s - because were imported as rifles, satisfied their import requirements by going to LE, and were then made title-1 by adding the faux barrel extension, they are not subject to 922(r). So, no US parts need to be swapped in.

As a shooter, the 552 can tend to beat itself up at the locking flange at the rear of the piston and where it interfaces with the carrier. The cocking handle is more flimsy than the 550/551/553. And the recoil spring and guide rod will go into low atmospheric orbit (or into your orbit...ie your eyeball) when you eventually forget to hold the recoil spring guide rod captive with your thumb while opening the upper and lower.

At $3500-4k, yes I’d buy one. I love mine. But you’ll want to register as a SBR and adios the faux suppressor. I have other Swiss 55x, so the 552 stays in the safe mostly. The 553 sbr comes to the range every time. If someone is asking $5k or more (which is most likely), I would pass and instead buy a 553 for $3250-$3500 from JDI, and SBR it.

Spare parts are available for both the 552 and 553. Barrels typically last 50-60k rounds. But I like lots of spares and spare barrels are pretty reasonable. Nothing really breaks on these rifles. The owner of Battlefield Vegas shared with me in an email that they had guns in the 60-100k round range and had only replaced the recoil spring. Personally I’m a spare parts whore. I have a pathological number of 55x spare parts that I have collected over the last 15 years. If whittling it to the essentials, I think a complete bolt head, complete carrier (especially if 552, because eventually they won’t be easy to find), cocking handle, firing pin, recoil spring (especially if 552), gas piston (especially if 552), gas valve, rubber dust covers (they eventually crack) with rivets, takedown pins. At least one of each, preferably more. And the smart long term shooter who plans on shooting a lot should consider barrels too.

I'm only chiming in only because you mentioned me by name!

Josh summed it up nicely ... if you want an occasional shooter that will mostly live in the safe, the 552 is fine, there's nothing wrong with that.

BUT if you want something to shoot on a regular basis, a 553 makes more sense. The 553 is butter smooth, if you want to make it look more like a 552 you can get a steel lower, then have a complete lower for spare parts if you feel you need them.
As far as spare parts for this weapon, I'm not a parts whore ... having several 55x's I'll just rob or shoot another one until I get a replacement part ... but in the 12 years since I got my first 556, and many thousands of rounds, I've never had to replace a single part ... there's a possibility id never need a part for mt 552, but it doesn't have the interchangeability that the 550, 551, 553 & 556 have and because its all matching numbers, I'm more than content to shoot my P556 & P553 SBR's on a regular basis and only shoot the 552 on "special" occasions.

I hope we haven't burst your bubble about the 552 because I can honestly say I don't regret buying & SBR-ing my 552!

By the way, there's nothing wrong with a P522-SBR

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
I'm only chiming in only because you mentioned me by name!

Josh summed it up nicely ... if you want an occasional shooter that will mostly live in the safe, the 552 is fine, there's nothing wrong with that.

BUT if you want something to shoot on a regular basis, a 553 makes more sense. The 553 is butter smooth, if you want to make it look more like a 552 you can get a steel lower, then have a complete lower for spare parts if you feel you need them.
As far as spare parts for this weapon, I'm not a parts whore ... having several 55x's I'll just rob or shoot another one until I get a replacement part ... but in the 12 years since I got my first 556, and many thousands of rounds, I've never had to replace a single part ... there's a possibility id never need a part for mt 552, but it doesn't have the interchangeability that the 550, 551, 553 & 556 have and because its all matching numbers, I'm more than content to shoot my P556 & P553 SBR's on a regular basis and only shoot the 552 on "special" occasions.

I hope we haven't burst your bubble about the 552 because I can honestly say I don't regret buying & SBR-ing my 552!

553 can be ordered from JDI with a steel or aluminum Swiss mag lower, aluminum Swiss AR mag lower, gray or black finish, green or black furniture, short or long barrel, welded optic rail or diopter sight upper receiver.

The 552 is very smooth, I actually find it to be more smooth than the 553. But it’s no longer supported by SwissArms. And the gas piston-carrier interface is a less than ideal design with known issues on *some* higher round count guns.

Unless one is an avid collector and just has to have a 552 in their collection, the 553 eclipses the 552.

Thanks Josh, Kimber and Andy!

So the 552 I'm looking at is an already SBR'd version of the "fake can" 552s. It is NOT in the 3500-4000 range, which to me seems fair because I remember that the fake can 552s were selling for $4300 ish and age certainly hasn't made them cheaper. We're talking just north of 50% more than that for a fully converted SBR 552 marked as a 552.

What I'm hearing is that unless paying a lot for the 552 on the side of the gun, the 553 is the way to go. However, I was looking at the JDI website and I'm not sure that I can get a 553 anymore, not if they can do the transition to SBR for me. THis is one of the reason's why I want to bite at this when I'm able. I remember a pithy response Para made to a member when ex-service surplus P210's were on sale some years back. To the effect of: the member "Nice, but I'll pass on this." Para "Yeah sure, you'll just wait until the next time."

Nor am I sure that I want to try and negotiate the transition from 553 to SBR on my own getting parts. I mean, I have x skills and knowledge but, as we know from Harry Callahan, a man has to know his limitations and I know mine.

So any insight as to that?

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:

DROOL!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Loswsmith:
Thanks Josh, Kimber and Andy!

So the 552 I'm looking at is an already SBR'd version of the "fake can" 552s. It is NOT in the 3500-4000 range, which to me seems fair because I remember that the fake can 552s were selling for $4300 ish and age certainly hasn't made them cheaper. We're talking just north of 50% more than that for a fully converted SBR 552 marked as a 552.

What I'm hearing is that unless paying a lot for the 552 on the side of the gun, the 553 is the way to go. However, I was looking at the JDI website and I'm not sure that I can get a 553 anymore, not if they can do the transition to SBR for me. THis is one of the reason's why I want to bite at this when I'm able. I remember a pithy response Para made to a member when ex-service surplus P210's were on sale some years back. To the effect of: the member "Nice, but I'll pass on this." Para "Yeah sure, you'll just wait until the next time."

Nor am I sure that I want to try and negotiate the transition from 553 to SBR on my own getting parts. I mean, I have x skills and knowledge but, as we know from Harry Callahan, a man has to know his limitations and I know mine.

So any insight as to that?

You order the 553 to your desired spec from JDI. They are not in stock, they are made to order. And you may wait many months with little communication along the way. Plan on another $400-500 for 922(r) parts.

Where is the 552 engraved? And is it a corporate/LLC that registered it or an individual? Is it something terrible and long like “Billy Bob Samperson Irrevocable Living Trust, Port Cassahooticola, FL” or similar? These are all very pertinent details. There are 552-to-553 conversion kits for the 552 available from SwissArms. JDI can probably order. Consists of a bolt carrier, gas piston/recoil spring specific to this kit, cocking handle, and gas tube specific to this kit. Expect to pay $800-$1k for it. And the exact asking price would be helpful too.

I'd love a 552 but they seem to go for $6k and not last long at that price. Lots of other things I'd buy for $6K, so I just enjoy my two 550's, 551-2 SP SWAT and three 553's. As Josh put, the 552 is for a collector to flush out the suite of options whereas the 553 is better for actually using.

I snagged a spare 553 upper and added a brace to it. I've got an SBR'ed railed 553 already but this one is my main shooter. Works great with the four position gas regulator.

The price being asked for is $6900. I don't have a picture of where the engraving is.

Here's my thoughts:
I've always wanted the 552, not the 553. The price seems high but fair and its not like Davidson's can order up one if I lose this one.

I've strongly considered the 553, but now, when I have the money JDI seems hard to get in contact with and so, in the sake of being, well its hard to say cheap when I'm talking about 5300 vs. 7100 but there you go but for the sake of argument we'll say:, "cheap" I might miss both opportunities. Finally, if I go JDI, will the 553 always grate at me over the 552.

While I'm not a collector, I play one in the TV in my head, so, for the sake of this discussion, rather than "filling in" my collection it would more like "starting my collection in the middle". Or rather I'm not collecting Sig rifle's, I'm collecting the lusts of my life that are in rifle form.

I guess its like this: if you guys are confident that JDI will eventually work out, then I guess I need to try them before I make a decision.

Thanks everyone, and the pics are NOT making this easier.

quote:

Originally posted by Loswsmith:
The price being asked for is $6900. I don't have a picture of where the engraving is.

Here's my thoughts:
I've always wanted the 552, not the 553. The price seems high but fair and its not like Davidson's can order up one if I lose this one.

I've strongly considered the 553, but now, when I have the money JDI seems hard to get in contact with and so, in the sake of being, well its hard to say cheap when I'm talking about 5300 vs. 7100 but there you go but for the sake of argument we'll say:, "cheap" I might miss both opportunities. Finally, if I go JDI, will the 553 always grate at me over the 552.

While I'm not a collector, I play one in the TV in my head, so, for the sake of this discussion, rather than "filling in" my collection it would more like "starting my collection in the middle". Or rather I'm not collecting Sig rifle's, I'm collecting the lusts of my life that are in rifle form.

I guess its like this: if you guys are confident that JDI will eventually work out, then I guess I need to try them before I make a decision.

Thanks everyone, and the pics are NOT making this easier.

I think this is sound reasoning as to why you want a 552. It’s a lot of coin, and honestly the seller is on the high side with that asking price. I would definitely need to see it’s condition, where it’s engraved, and what’s engraved before spending that amount of money.

There have been multiple 553s on Gunbroker for under/around $4k if you don’t want to deal with JDI. Consider that a 553 with 922(r) parts, and stock will cost you around $4k plus the tax stamp for your eForm-1. And you’ll have approval for your sbr in a few weeks instead of 12-18 months. That $3k difference buys a lot of mags and accessories. Or even almost a second 553 or a 551 “conversion kit”, lower, and bolt group.

But the heart wants what the heart wants. If only a 552 will scratch the itch...

If you’re dead set on the 552, shoot me an email through the board. I have some thoughts that are better taken offline.

quote:

Originally posted by JoshNC:
<snip>

But the heart wants what the heart wants. If only a 552 will scratch the itch...

<snip>

Loswsmith, what you really want is the 552, no matter how much better or cheaper the 553 is. You already touched on it, so I'll tell you this from my experiance.

Every time I've compromised, I ended up regretting it because it's not what I wanted, so yes it raked on me. I'd try to make it into what I wanted ... and I've see others do it too, and no matter what I did, it still wasn't what the heart wanted.

When I first saw the AUG A2 I instantly wanted one, but they weren't available in the states, so I bought an A1 ... Then I saw a AUG Special Receiver, it was closer to an A2 because you could put a Picitinny adapter in the NATO platform ... Then the USR was introduced in '97 ... and I got one of those, but I hated the thumbhole stock & lack of a flash hider THEN FINALLY I heard that a well known dealer was working with the importer to send 100 A1's back to Austria and have them upgraded to the new A2 receiver with the original serial number, the new donut of death with a crosshair optic tube ... Then shipped back in a new factory box with a new test target, it wasn't a knock-off, it IS an A2 ... I was never satisfied and it took 3 years, but I finally got what the heart wanted ... I'd have saved a bunch of money had I sent ny A1 in for the conversion, but I don't think it was in the works yet, and I was impatient.

Pretty much the same when I settled for a SiG 556 ... Well, 3 of them before I got a real 552 and SBR'd it, then 551, 553 and finally a 550

I have a bunch of stories like that, M16, HK registered sear, an HK52, MP5SD ... I've finally learned, I think.

If you do buy the 552, I'd seriously concider buying the conversion/upgrade parts Josh mentioned ... you can shoot it to your hearts content you'll save the original parts that make it a 552, and not worry about decreasing the value if an original numbered part has to be replaced.

For its few short comings, it's still a great rifle ... Good Luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:


Using a Griffin Recce 5 on the 553 and a Dead Air Wolverine on the SU:

Andy,
Does that dead air mount clear the gas valve when you pull it off to clean it?

quote:

Originally posted by Shackelford:

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:

Using a Griffin Recce 5 on the 553 and a Dead Air Wolverine on the SU:

Andy,
Does that dead air mount clear the gas valve when you pull it off to clean it?

Assuming you mean the Griffin mount on the 553? Sure does. I just turn the valve so the wings are to the side and it slides right over.

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:

quote:

Originally posted by Shackelford:

quote:

Originally posted by Andyb:

Using a Griffin Recce 5 on the 553 and a Dead Air Wolverine on the SU:

Andy,
Does that dead air mount clear the gas valve when you pull it off to clean it?

Assuming you mean the Griffin mount on the 553? Sure does. I just turn the valve so the wings are to the side and it slides right over.

AAC 51T, SF socom, SiCo ASR, and deadair keymount all allow you to remove the valve. It’s the gas tube that can’t be removed without also removing the FH. The gas tube could in theory be cut like is done on the 550 Sniper and heavy barrel 550/551 variants seen in Europe.

I love my 552, definitely would recommend adding one if you have the chance! There are only what 250 from that batch of State Alcohol Commission units and as Josh states above they are all Swiss! I need to SBR mine still. I love to spot them in the movies and on TV.

If clean, buy it.

Enjoy,
HK Ag

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
I love my 552, definitely would recommend adding one if you have the chance! There are only what 250 from that batch of State Alcohol Commission units and as Josh states above they are all Swiss! I need to SBR mine still. I love to spot them in the movies and on TV.

If clean, buy it.

Enjoy,
HK Ag

Even fewer. There were somewhere between 70 and 90 semiautos. $7k is on the very high side unless it comes with a ton of mags, railed fore end, etc. And where/what is engraved if buying an SBR is a very big deal.

I agree though, I love my 552. “SG 552-2 SP Commando” is a very very cool marking. Not hassling with 922(r) is great.

JDI has some newly made or new old stock 552 pistols inbound. I think they will be gray, which is cool, as there are no gray semiauto 552 in the country. They will require 922(r) compliance to make into rifles.

OP here is a Sig Sauer USA imported 553.

https://www.gunbroker.com/Item/825253512