Sig 510 or '57 assault rifle

CLASSIC12 · May 20, 2015

Hi there

I thought I'd do another brief post on Swiss weaponry. This is what we call Stgw 57 (German for Sturm Gewehr 57) or Fass 57 (French/Italian, for Fusil d' Assaut 57/Fucile d' Assalto 57). It replaced the old straight bolt action rifles previously used and fires the same 7.5 X 55 mm GP 11 round. It was replaced by the Stgw 90 / Fass 90, or Sig 550.

Those rifles are easily found on the second hand market, I bought this one in 2009 for 350.- Swiss francs (about the same in US$).

SIG SG 510 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've slightly modified it for sport shooting rather than combat. Better / longer grip (for use of the winter trigger, that cuts triggger pull in half), better sights, adjustable bipod instead of fixed one, custom made short 10 rds mag instead of original 24 rounds.

Off to the range

Standart Swiss army rifle ranges are 300 meters (328 yards).

You can see the winter trigger deployed

Zoom in, I'll be using target nbr 9 (if you don't pay attention you can shoot at the wrong target).

I am fairly new at this, been mostly shooting handguns. My best pass, 4 ten, 5 nine, and (ugh) a flying seven for a total of 92.

Had a dead on bullseye on another pass

Cooling down after 80 rounds

g8rb8 · May 20, 2015

CLASSIC12 said:
Those rifles are easily found on the second hand market, I bought this one in 2009 for 350.- Swiss francs (about the same in US$).

Very interesting. Even more interesting to me is how inexpensive this rifle was. In the U.S. in 2009, despite the onset of an economic recession, firearm prices were not significantly negatively effected. Why is a rifle like this so inexpensive in Switzerland?

CLASSIC12 · May 20, 2015

g8rb8 said:
Very interesting. Even more interesting to me is how inexpensive this rifle was. In the U.S. in 2009, despite the onset of an economic recession, firearm prices were not significantly negatively effected. Why is a rifle like this so inexpensive in Switzerland?

Offer and demand. These rifles are mil-surp, and can be kept by soldiers after their service, so lots of them are in dad's or grandpa's attic, and find their way to the second hand market.

Same goes for Sig P 210 (500.- to 1500.-), Waffenfabrik Parabellum (Swiss Luger, 800.- to 1800.-), Sig P 220 (500.-), all sorts of Schmidt-Rubin rifles (from free to 150.- except the sniper version mith matching number scope which cost a lot), Sig 550, (700.- to 1500.-).

I posted this in another forum

Switzerland has a militia army, where every male aged 18 is called in for military service. Recruit school lasts abt. 4 months; optionally there is another 3 month for under-officer school.

Thereafter there are repeating course, lasting abt. 6-7 weeks every year or every other year, until the age of 35 to 50, depending on rank (higher rank = longer time).

Every soldier keeps his assault rifle (currently SIG 550) at home, though recently there is an option to keep it in the arsenal. Two sealed cans of 50 "pocket ammo" used to be distributed, only to be used in case of need while joining your base. This stopped some years ago. Officers and other personal keep their pistols at home (currently SIG P220 9 mm).

There is a possibility to keep your rifle (although the full auto will be de-activated) or pistol after your service, against a modest refurbishment fee of abt 100.- CHF (which may include a new barrel if need be).

Therefore you see a lot of SIG 550, but also the older SIG 510 and old straight line bolt rifles (such as K31) in Swiss homes as well as in ads for sale. Similarly for the Sig P220, P 210 and older Waffefabrik Parabellum (Swiss Luger).

There are lots of shooting ranges belonging to the Swiss confederation for army training. Those can also be used by shooting associations, but only with ordnance weapons, current and past. There are also private shooting ranges where any calibers can be shot, those cost a lot more naturally. The restriction really is for full auto shooting.

Over the counter purchase of weapons is not quite correct, you need a permit (50.- CHF) for each and every weapon your acquire, which may take up to 2 months to obtain. And a clean criminal record, which is centralized for the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscr...in_Switzerland

Engine49guy · May 20, 2015

Visited a friend that was a Policeman in Canton Bern back in the 90's and he had the same rifle in his closet for Military Service.

His brother had an HK MP5 in his closet.

Texas Star · May 20, 2015

CLASSIC12 said:
Offer and demand. These rifles are mil-surp, and can be kept by soldiers after their service, so lots of them are in dad's or grandpa's attic, and find their way to the second hand market.

Same goes for Sig P 210 (500.- to 1500.-), Waffenfabrik Parabellum (Swiss Luger, 800.- to 1800.-), Sig P 220 (500.-), all sorts of Schmidt-Rubin rifles (from free to 150.- except the sniper version mith matching number scope which cost a lot), Sig 550, (700.- to 1500.-).

I posted this in another forum

Switzerland has a militia army, where every male aged 18 is called in for military service. Recruit school lasts abt. 4 months; optionally there is another 3 month for under-officer school.

Thereafter there are repeating course, lasting abt. 6-7 weeks every year or every other year, until the age of 35 to 50, depending on rank (higher rank = longer time).

Every soldier keeps his assault rifle (currently SIG 550) at home, though recently there is an option to keep it in the arsenal. Two sealed cans of 50 "pocket ammo" used to be distributed, only to be used in case of need while joining your base. This stopped some years ago. Officers and other personal keep their pistols at home (currently SIG P220 9 mm).

There is a possibility to keep your rifle (although the full auto will be de-activated) or pistol after your service, against a modest refurbishment fee of abt 100.- CHF (which may include a new barrel if need be).

Therefore you see a lot of SIG 550, but also the older SIG 510 and old straight line bolt rifles (such as K31) in Swiss homes as well as in ads for sale. Similarly for the Sig P220, P 210 and older Waffefabrik Parabellum (Swiss Luger).

There are lots of shooting ranges belonging to the Swiss confederation for army training. Those can also be used by shooting associations, but only with ordnance weapons, current and past. There are also private shooting ranges where any calibers can be shot, those cost a lot more naturally. The restriction really is for full auto shooting.

Over the counter purchase of weapons is not quite correct, you need a permit (50.- CHF) for each and every weapon your acquire, which may take up to 2 months to obtain. And a clean criminal record, which is centralized for the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscr...in_Switzerland

Does CHF mean Confoederation Helvetica Francs? And these francs are about the same value as a US dollar? So you have to pay about $50 for each permit that you get to buy EACH gun?

I realize that's probably better than in most Euro countries, but seems pretty steep to a Texan!

Thanks for your colorful and informative posts.

PS. Nice shooting, especially with iron sights. I see the legend of Swiss marksmanship is still valid.

Mack · May 20, 2015

Yeah I would gladly pay $50 for a permit to buy a Stgw 57 for $350. That is about a $3,000 plus rifle in the States due to how rare they are over here.

murphydog · May 20, 2015

Was this a typical 300 m group for you, and what are the dimensions of the bullseye and the first few scoring rings? Looks like you did some very nice target work!

Cyrano · May 20, 2015

We've lost a lot. I don't think our bossy uncle (Sam) wil allow the STGW57 into the country.

metrotps · May 21, 2015

Engine49guy said:
Visited a friend that was a Policeman in Canton Bern back in the 90's and he had the same rifle in his closet for Military Service.
His brother had an HK MP5 in his closet.

I have an 1812 Canton Bern musket in my safe. Always wanted the Sig AMT in 7.62x51 and a P210.

Sig 510 or '57 assault rifle

CLASSIC12

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g8rb8

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CLASSIC12

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Engine49guy

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Texas Star

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Mack

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murphydog

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Cyrano

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metrotps

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