The pitchfork mags are made in Asia by Dominion Defense. These were available in Canada through one of the Canadian Swiss Arms distributors, The Shooting Edge or maybe Wolverine Supplies. I remember first seeing them mentioned around 2004 or 2005 iirc. I believe these were originally made for the Canadian market, but I could be wrong.

Dominion! I knew there was another brand related to them; it was escaping me. The Asian origin is lame.

Dominion Defence must have had access to the molds as we've compared them to SIG mags from various OEM's over 30yrs and they're a perfect match for most. Some older ones are slightly off but not unexpected given different subcontractors over almost 40yrs

quote:

Originally posted by PGT:
Dominion Defence must have had access to the molds as we've compared them to SIG mags from various OEM's over 30yrs and they're a perfect match for most. Some older ones are slightly off but not unexpected given different subcontractors over almost 40yrs

I believe a Canadian member of the old SwissRifles Sturmgewehr forum mentioned that they did use original molds, but I could be wrong. The Chinese are very adept at reverse engineering, so it’s also conceivable that they made their own molds.

I'm seeing several different options on GB now, from around 4k-6k. Definitely pricey, but the ones in the 4k range aren't too far out of line considering what other high quality imports go for. Has anyone gotten a 550, or 551, from any of these current batches?

I'm not overly concerned about mags, I bought some new ones back when they were $30 from Sig USA. There's a mag well conversion device on GB for $50 so you can run AR mags in the standard configuration, anyone tried that yet?

I got an all steel 551, it looks nice, though I don’t have anything to compare it to, other than the US builds. I’ll let you know how it shoots when I get a stock. JDI has a couple 550 models right now, real tempting.

The 551 is arguably the "sweet spot", IMO. I have not shot a 550; I am sure they are fantastic to shoot, but they're longer than I prefer. The 553 is iconic and very cool, but it's a 9" 5.56, so it only fits some very specific practical applications; the 553LB is nice, but at that point you're better off with a similar barrel length and nicer gas system, in a 551. I highly recommend the 553R, and I don't think it gets enough of a mention. It is a fantastic 7.62x39 rifle; my favorite, hands down. There was a bad batch of firing pins in the 553Rs at one point, but JDI and gunfactory can furnish replacements and/or spares. My gun broke a firing pin less than 1000rds into it's life; JDI provided a replacement under warranty and I got spares from gunfactory, in the unlikely event it occurred again. Anyway, the 55X is an awesome platform, and I'd take a 551, if I could have only one. If I could have two, it'd be 551 and 553R.

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
I got an all steel 551, it looks nice, though I don’t have anything to compare it to, other than the US builds. I’ll let you know how it shoots when I get a stock. JDI has a couple 550 models right now, real tempting.

I love my 550. It Shoots well. I have been doing load development and I am getting sub moa groups with 69 grain bullets. I remember reading some complaints on accuracy with the 550 but I have found it to be better than most of my AR's. Mine is one of the rifles JDI brought in unfinished and then had them cerakoted. They did a great job painting them!

speaking of 553's, here's my Sig Sauer-Exeter imported 553 with Swiss STANAG lower and SRD556 can.

What kind of magazine do you have in that NATO lower?

translucent FDE from Lancer Systems. Not cheap but looks proper for this platform.