The SIG Sauer SIG516 is a

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt ...

manufactured by

SIG Sauer Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...

. It is an

AR-15 style rifle An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation ...

chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. Introduced in 2010, the SIG516 was discontinued as of 2019. A variant chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, the SIG716i, remains in production.

Design details

Operating mechanism

The SIG516 is a semi-automatic multi-caliber

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

. It fires from a

closed bolt A semi or full-automatic firearm which is said to fire from a closed bolt is one where, when ready to fire, a round is in the chamber and the bolt and working parts are forward. When the trigger is pulled, the firing pin or striker fires the ...

, and has a short-stroke push rod piston system. The gas piston pushes the bolt carrier rearward, where it is returned to the forward and locked position by a spring. This process loads the next cartridge. The 516 has a four-position gas regulator, allowing the user to choose the amount of gas directed to the piston.

Features

The SIG516 has a safety lever on the left side, to be used by the thumb of the shooting hand. The gas block integrates an adjustable gas regulator. The front gas block is railed to accept the front sight with a flip-up sight post. SIG516 models are equipped with an M16A2 style bird-cage flash hider. All SIG516 models except the Marksman are equipped with barrels shrouded by a free-floating M1913

Picatinny rail The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was ...

, as well as flip-up iron sights ( BUIS) made by SIG Sauer. The 5.56×45mm NATO SIG516 models accept AR-15 style

box magazine A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...

s. These magazines are constructed in 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-round variants. SIG516 Russian rifles use a different magazine, as they are chambered in

7.62×39mm The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...

. The SIG516 Russian uses magazines designed for 7.62×39mm

s. The rifle is hammer-fired and has a two-stage trigger mechanism in the SIG516 Marksman, while all others have a military specification single-stage trigger. It is built to pass the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

test protocol “Over the Beach”, meaning the SIG516 is designed to fire safely as quickly as possible after being submerged in water.

Variants

SIG716

The SIG716 is

battle rifle A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to better differentiate the intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the StG-44, AK-47, M16, ...

variant, which is based on the same design, but is chambered for the larger 7.62x51mm NATO round and uses

SR-25 pattern magazine An SR-25, AR-10 or LR-308 pattern magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine based on the original Armalite AR-10 "waffle" magazine design introduced in the late 1950s, used for .308 Winchester and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. The design has ...

SIG716 G2

The SIG716 G2 (Generation 2) variant features a short-stroke pushrod gas system. This operating system reduces carbon fouling, excessive heat and unburned powder in the action, ensuring further improved reliability and function. The G2 Patrol model is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, while the G2 DMR model is chambered in

6.5mm Creedmoor The 6.5mm Creedmoor (6.5×48 mm), designated 6.5 Creedmoor by SAAMI, 6.5 Creedmoor by the C.I.P. or 6.5 CM or 6.5 CRDMR for short, is a centerfire rifle cartridge introduced by Hornady in 2007. It was developed by Hornady senior ballistic ...

SIG 716i

The 716i (impingement) variant features a direct impingement gas system instead of short-stroke pushrod gas system. This operating system has helped Sig Sauer to bring down the cost of manufacturing and pushing more sales of 716i, while improving weight reduction. The 716i is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. Sig Sauer appears to have discontinued SIG716 and SIG716 G2 models, since the company stopped displaying these products in their website, while they continue to sell magazines and spare parts in their online store. The 716i has been recognized as the best AR-10 rifle for the year 2020, by readers' choice voting of Ballistic magazine.

Users

* : Used by

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM; french: links=no, Commandement des Forces d'opérations spéciales du Canada; COMFOSCAN) is a command of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is responsible for all special forces operations that are ...

. * : Used by Navy El-Sa'ka Forces. * : In use with the Georgian

MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

and MOD special forces * : Used by the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

including the

Special Duties Unit The Special Duties Unit (SDU; ), nicknamed the "Flying Tigers" (), is the elite tactical unit of the Hong Kong Police Force tasked with countering terrorist attacks, hostage rescue, underwater search and recovery, and tackling serious crime ...

and the Counter Terrorism Response Unit. * : Order placed for 72,400 units of SIG 716i model. In December 2019, the first lot of 10,000 rifles was delivered to the Indian Army’s Northern Command. An additional order for 72,000 rifles was confirmed by SIG Sauer in July 2020. The order for the second batch of 72,000 assault rifles would be coming after the first batch has been delivered. Sig Sauer also confirmed that delivery of the first order has already been completed. *: Used by the Mobile Brigade of the

Indonesian National Police '' , mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation) , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 440,000 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = , nongovernment ...

, SIG716 G2 used by

Indonesian National Armed Forces , founded = as the ('People's Security Forces') , current_form = , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta , website = , commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo , ...

special forces unit. * : Transitioning into the general service rifle of the

Naval Infantry Force The Naval Infantry Corps ( es, Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina) are the naval infantry and amphibious infantry force of the Mexican Navy. The main task of the ''Infantería de Marina'' is to guarantee the maritime security of the country's port ...

. * : Used by PTJ (Counter-Terrorist Unit) of Serbian Police * : Used by the Mobilen Einsatzpolizei of the Aargau Police. * : Used by Police Special Operation Department and Police Counter Attack Teams * : Used by

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFO) Surrey Police and

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, ...

* : Used by

Florida Highway Patrol The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws ...

when purchased in 2019,

Delaware State Police The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the state of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by local ...

when purchased in 2012 and also by

Cincinnati Police Department The Cincinnati Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Cincinnati, Ohio. The department has 1,057 sworn officers and 281 non-sworn employees. History When Cincinnati incorporated, as a village, in 1802, a ‘ night watch ...

SWAT, as well as the

Anderson County, South Carolina Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 203,718. Its county seat is Anderson. Named for Revolutionary War leader Robert Anderson, the county is located in northwestern ...

Sheriff's Office SWAT.

San Diego Police Department The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of San Diego, California. The department was officially established on May 16, 1889. History Prior to the establishment of the San Diego Police Departm ...

SWAT, in which the rifles will replace out aging Vietnam era M16s.

References

External links

716i TREAD
at sigsauer.com

at sigsauer.com {{ArmaLite AR-10 derivatives, state=collapsed 5.56 mm assault rifles 7.62×39mm assault rifles SIG Sauer rifles Rifles of Switzerland Semi-automatic rifles ArmaLite AR-10 derivatives Police weapons Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2010 Short stroke piston firearms