I went in looking for nothing in particular (CZ75s, 870s, etc) and made an impulsive buy today: Springfield TRP in stainless :|
Nice! Let me know how it is! I'd actually been fighting off the want for a TRP, trying to remind myself that I don't really like 1911s, and I like my Hi-Power better, don't need another caliber... blah blah blah, not quite convincing myself.
I took out the 556 and the 522 for a test-shoot today. I was going to do a comparo between the 522 and the 15-22, but I forgot to bring any magazines for the 15-22.
I hadn't cleaned either Sig since unpacking them, so I wondered how they'd function. I brought 100 rounds of Remington 55 grain .223, and a bulk pack of Federal .22 LR, and some CCI Stinger and Velociter for back-up, just in case the 522 was finicky.
But it was fine, the 522 was accurate and reliable, and didn't have a single misfeed or misfire. I had merely unpacked the Walther red-dot and put it on top of the 522, and it was pretty much dead-on at ~40 yards. NICE.
The 556 shot well too, and was easy to hit clays with the iron sights on the 100 yard peep by putting the clay right at the top of the front sight. Shooting rapidly, I was surprised at how quickly it got super hot up front, with smoke coming out of the hand guard. Mine is the Patrol version with a shorty handguard, I wonder if the full-size ones stay cooler with a longer piston tube.
I was surprised to discover the 556 has a stamped-steel upper. It also has a sling attachment point poking out the left side at the rear of the receiver -- when I'd get all snuggled up to shoot, that would occasionally bump my nose. Happily, it's reversible, and there's a slightly longer recoil pad in the box, so the problem will be solved. The thing's a cinch to disassemble and clean. Not many parts in there.
So comparing the 15-22 and 522 - accuracy is same, 522 might have an edge on reliability, due to 15-22 magazines being picky about how they are loaded. 15-22 is slight easier to field-strip, since you just bust it open and pull the charging handle & bolt out the back. On the 522, you bust it open, pull the charging handle out of the bolt, and then use it to push the bolt out the back. The Smith's bolt looks beefier, with double rails compared to the 522's single rail.
So they're pretty much even, but on the Smith, the magazine actually activates the bolt lock back thing, whereas on the 522 the bolt gets hung up on the empty magazine, but you still have to pull the bolt back and push a lever to lock it back, like a 10/22, but easier. If you just drop the mag, the bolt closes. So it's kind of janky how it looks like a 556, but has different magazine and bolt buttons. The 15-22 actually functions identically to a AR-15.
I was just sadly handling the rifle, and heard something rattling around in it. Turns out, the grip has a trap door in the bottom, and inside was the charging handle! Yippee!
