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I’ve been looking at adding another AR to my collection. In my search I came across a Sig 516. Through the magic of Google, I’ve found out that it is piston driven and not DI, that the guy who helped develop the HK 416 helped develop this rifle as well and finally that it was discontinued in 2019. Does anyone have any opinions on this rifle? Is about $1000 a fair price?

Thanks
 
Posts: 378 | Registered: November 06, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I have the 10” pistol version, and it has been 100% flawless. The only downside is it’s a little heavy, but that seems too the norm with piston guns.





10mm lays waste to entire cities, cuts through diamonds and will tear Superman a new asshole. - Parabellum

Sex offenders can not be rehabilitated. It's in their wiring. They should not be released back into the general public. On the other hand they should not be warehoused either. I think they should be executed.....Spectre

When someone tries to kill you, it doesn't matter how they are doing it. You're in mortal danger, and it's time to try to kill them back.

Arc.
___

Kill every last one of these goddamned animals. We need a president with balls. We need leadership. We should be carpet bombing these barbarians wherever we find them, and we should be looking for them 24/7. We have to unleash Hell upon them. They understand nothing but death, so death is what we should bring them, wholesale.... Para

I left "practical" behind many years ago. It was covered with my first Glock 19. (Fredward)
 
Posts: 2494 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: July 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
They're after my Lucky Charms!
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The 516 was a copy of a different piston AR. I wish I could recall who, but it was a US design. SigUSA was sued and quickly settled over it. It is a solid design. A little front heavy, but as a 556 owner, I wouldn't mind it.

As for price, 1k for a new 516 seems right, but a lot depends on model, upgrades, and condition. Surfing the gun auction sites should help you decide the worth of the rifle.


Lord, your ocean is so very large and my divos are so very f****d-up
Dirt Sailors Unite!
 
Posts: 25075 | Location: NoVa | Registered: May 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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They copied the LWRC, another great piston gun. I can’t think of anything that’s piston in the $1k price range really….that seems fair.





10mm lays waste to entire cities, cuts through diamonds and will tear Superman a new asshole. - Parabellum

Sex offenders can not be rehabilitated. It's in their wiring. They should not be released back into the general public. On the other hand they should not be warehoused either. I think they should be executed.....Spectre

When someone tries to kill you, it doesn't matter how they are doing it. You're in mortal danger, and it's time to try to kill them back.

Arc.
___

Kill every last one of these goddamned animals. We need a president with balls. We need leadership. We should be carpet bombing these barbarians wherever we find them, and we should be looking for them 24/7. We have to unleash Hell upon them. They understand nothing but death, so death is what we should bring them, wholesale.... Para

I left "practical" behind many years ago. It was covered with my first Glock 19. (Fredward)
 
Posts: 2494 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: July 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I own a 516 upper. As others have said, it's a little front heavy, but a solid design, reliable and actually pretty accurate. I shoot mine mostly suppressed with a Sig can I picked up and it's a nice combo.

I picked up a new upper about 18 months ago for $569, which was a great deal since I think the upper alone originally sold for $800+. If it's in good shape I would say that a complete rifle for $1,000 is a pretty good deal. But you might want to look on Gunbroker to see what others are selling for. And one word of caution, the 516 is a proprietary design and some people have expressed concern about the availability of parts down the road, since SIG discontinued them a couple of years ago.
 
Posts: 541 | Location: Gunnison, CO | Registered: March 25, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
some people have expressed concern about the availability of parts

This is THE issue on these proprietary piston designs and Sigs track record of supporting stuff that they have end of life'd is terrible IMO and experience.


“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
 
Posts: 10991 | Registered: October 14, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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That’s my biggest concern. I don’t want to invest $1000 in a rifle that is n a few years won’t have any spare parts for a proprietary system. I think I’m just going to keep looking. Does the piston have any propensity for problems?
 
Posts: 378 | Registered: November 06, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I’m not sure about the actual piston system, but I’m pretty sure there are pictures of the 516 running LWRC bcc’s. I’m not sure if anything else inner changes. I guess you could spend $500-1000 more and get a Barrett, PWS, or a Bren 2.





10mm lays waste to entire cities, cuts through diamonds and will tear Superman a new asshole. - Parabellum

Sex offenders can not be rehabilitated. It's in their wiring. They should not be released back into the general public. On the other hand they should not be warehoused either. I think they should be executed.....Spectre

When someone tries to kill you, it doesn't matter how they are doing it. You're in mortal danger, and it's time to try to kill them back.

Arc.
___

Kill every last one of these goddamned animals. We need a president with balls. We need leadership. We should be carpet bombing these barbarians wherever we find them, and we should be looking for them 24/7. We have to unleash Hell upon them. They understand nothing but death, so death is what we should bring them, wholesale.... Para

I left "practical" behind many years ago. It was covered with my first Glock 19. (Fredward)
 
Posts: 2494 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: July 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I run trains!
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LWRC BCGs will run in semi mode, but not full auto (if you’re lucky enough to have that) in 516 I believe.



Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.

Complacency sucks…
 
Posts: 5423 | Location: Wichita, KS (for now)…always a Texan… | Registered: April 14, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by DeputyCG:
Does the piston have any propensity for problems?

A well-designed and built piston system shouldn't have any major issues.

My experience with piston versus DI:
- Piston uppers are heavier.
- Piston BCGs run cleaner than DI. An easy wipe down and a bit of lube is all that necessary after shooting a piston system.
- DI uppers are more accurate.

Some folks say that DI uppers are more tolerant of the over gassing from suppressor use. Both types are fine for me.

When my piston upper reaches end of life, I won't buy another piston system. DI works fine for me.
 
Posts: 7867 | Location: Colorado | Registered: January 26, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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My 516 has been a great rifle. Very accurate with 75 grain rounds, it runs very clean and has been 100% reliable. Only downsides are it's a bit heavy, and the quad rail is out of date compared to other more modern/ergonomic AR designs. I picked mine up long ago when they were $1200 new and it has certainly been worth it.


-------------------------
SCAR forend upgrades:
www.regosys.com
www.instagram.com/regosystems/
 
Posts: 2597 | Location: Midwest | Registered: September 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The 516 isn't discontinued, per se. It it still offered in the LE catalog and does well in foreign sales. Just never caught on well on the consumer side. Parts should still be available for some time.
 
Posts: 275 | Location: Southern NH | Registered: April 01, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I'm a big fan of the 516. It's a poor man's HK416 and I'm okay with that... so I have three of them. Two are 11.5" SBRs and another 16" LE trade-in that I'm going to cut to 13.9" and p/w a KeyMo flash hider.

There are still parts out there at least on the second hand market if needed. I just picked up two more pistons and a complete full auto BCG on gunbroker. As 4sigman said the most recent LE and Defense Products catalogs still have the 516G2 listed right along with the MCX and Spear. https://www.sigsauer.com/le
 
Posts: 1 | Location: Oklahoma | Registered: November 10, 2022Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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