SIG Branches Out

Once upon a time, Sig Sauer was known only for its widely acclaimed, top quality semi-auto pistols. Today, Sig Arms semi-auto pistols maintain their lofty prestige with numerous law enforcement agencies adopting Sig sidearms.

However, in recent years, Sig has branched out into a staggering array of shooting-related products that (besides handguns) includes rifles, ammo, riflescopes, thermal night vision, silencers and—get this—air guns.

These air guns are not your ordinary bb guns. They are .177 caliber replicas of some of the most popular Sig firearms available. This fact is why I decided to talk about them here.

Very few of us have the opportunity to get to a firing range or other safe place to shoot as often as we’d like to. The result is that we are not as proficient with our everyday carry pieces as we’d like to be.

As we all know, training and repetitive practice is vital to acquire and maintain skill with our chosen weapon. These Sig air guns have the heft and feel of the Sig pistol or rifle they replicate. This gives us the opportunity to practice our gun handling and marksmanship skills in the back yard instead of or in addition to actual shooting at a firing range.

Besides air guns, Sig also offers a variety of pop-up and spinning targets designed for us with Sig air guns. These targets will challenge your ability to engage multiple moving targets without elaborate range facilities. Just set up these targets in your backyard with a piece of old carpet or plywood as a backstop and practice, practice, practice—without stray bullets or loud noises to annoy your neighbors.

Sig provided two of their air pistols and one air rifle for testing. The two pistols are replicas of the Sig P320 and the Sig 1911. The rifle is based on the Sig MPX sub gun.

Weighing in at 2.2 pounds, the Sig P320 CO₂ air gun features a rifled barrel, excellent three-dot iron sights and a patented 30-round magazine. The magazine is designed to accommodate .177 caliber lead pellets or steel BBs.

Sig’s 1911 air gun is their “Spartan” model. Emblazoned on the frame and the grips in the classic Greek alphabet, along with a stylized Greek hoplite helmet is a quotation by the Spartan King Leonidas II at the Battle of Thermopylae. When an envoy from the Persian King Xerxes demanded that the Spartans lay down their arms, Leonidas replied “Molon Labe.” This translates as “Come and take them.”

Sig’s 1911 takes 16 BBs rather than pellets. It weighs 2.6 pounds and is powered by CO₂.

Based on the MPX subgun, the Sig CO₂ pellet air rifle weighs in at 6.6 pounds and has an eight-inch, steel, rifled barrel. It is equipped with folding battle sights and a functional micro red dot sight. It also has a 30-round magazine.

Next week, I hope to report my back yard experience shooting all three Sig air guns at some of Sig’s moving targets.

Story by Stan Skinner