Swiss SIG 553 pistols have hit the US market

[JoshNC]

Indeed! But, if no more factory parts are available for my Billy, one has to do what one has to do to keep it running. Didn't some of the early 556's come with Swiss parts? I'll have to eyeball the differences to see if I got some in my spare US guns.

Bolt carriers and bolt heads in the very early guns were Swiss. I suspect hammers were too, as they had the exact same markings as Swiss hammers. The very very earliest 556 rifles looked to me to use Swiss gas pistons as well, though they were blued steel vs stainless steel as was used on Swiss 551 by that time.

[ralfabco]

Their business plan to only bring in 50 of this or 50 of that- makes the rifles themselves irrelevant because no real amounts are available, so they fall to novelty status.

You can buy all the genuine Swiss spare parts you want. The limited imports protects the market.

Less expensive alternatives are available if you want more bang for your buck and endless rails, stocks, and trigger options.

Even with 1,000 imported rifles nobody would offer series production aftermarket accessories. You do not have enough collectors/shooters who will drop $3,600+ on a pistol/rifle.

It is the cheap crap that sells. Hi-end foreign built AK's cannot even compete with cheap generic AR kit builds. I think it is good for the hobby that Dave is protecting the market. It is no different with exotic cars. Yes, it is a niche item.

[RetroRevolver77]

You can buy all the genuine Swiss spare parts you want. The limited imports protects the market.

Less expensive alternatives are available if you want more bang for your buck and endless rails, stocks, and trigger options.

Even with 1,000 imported rifles nobody would offer series production aftermarket accessories. You do not have enough collectors/shooters who will drop $3,600+ on a pistol/rifle.

It is the cheap crap that sells. Hi-end foreign built AK's cannot even compete with cheap generic AR kit builds. I think it is good for the hobby that Dave is protecting the market. It is no different with exotic cars. Yes, it is a niche item.

Well it seems someone should get an import license and start importing SIG's in mass, keep the factory going, make them a viable alternative in the market place. No reason to protect people's investment, we're not talking about $40K NFA rifles, these are $3K rifles that could probably be brought in for less if enough are purchased. I'd like to see them become an alternative, say perhaps to the AUG rather than such a limited introduced weapon that they just become irrelevant.

[Bret]

But the root of the problem is that Swiss Arms is selling 55X series for so much that they can't sell them in mass. This of course is likely directly related to the high manufacturing cost in Switzerland. They're getting little if any in military contracts due to the high selling price. So the high cost and selling price means that they sell few firearms. Because they sell few firearms, they can't reduce costs through mass production. Therefore, they have a high selling price. This circle will repeat until they're out of business.

[RetroRevolver77]

But the root of the problem is that Swiss Arms is selling 55X series for so much that they can't sell them in mass. This of course is likely directly related to the high manufacturing cost in Switzerland. They're getting little if any in military contracts due to the high selling price. So the high cost and selling price means that they sell few firearms. Because they sell few firearms, they can't reduce costs through mass production. Therefore, they have a high selling price. This circle will repeat until they're out of business.

I think they'd be surprised at how many people would buy them. If they are selling out within a couple days 50 at a time, then bring in 500 and see what happens. That's JDI's policy, not the Swiss.

[JoshNC]

$3k is absolutely not out of line for SIG/SwissArms rifles. We will never see Swiss 55x for $2k, that’s just dreaming. JDI’s prices are quite reasonable, they just don’t import huge quantities. And I don’t blame them. The market for $3k semiautomatic rifles is not huge. It’s a unique market segment.

[RetroRevolver77]

$3k is absolutely not out of line for SIG/SwissArms rifles. We will never see Swiss 55x for $2k, that’s just dreaming. JDI’s prices are quite reasonable, they just don’t import huge quantities. And I don’t blame them. The market for $3k semiautomatic rifles is not huge. It’s a unique market segment.

Yah but they shouldn't have limited the SIG 551. It should have been like the SIG 553 where you can order them whenever you want.

[MountainRaven]

I have no interest in the 553, only in the 551.

If JDI doesn't want to import any more of them, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, golly shucks, I guess I'm stuck with my super slick AR-15 and $3000 that they don't get.

[JoshNC]

I have no interest in the 553, only in the 551.

If JDI doesn't want to import any more of them, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, golly shucks, I guess I'm stuck with my super slick AR-15 and $3000 that they don't get.

Or you could order a 551 conversion kit from JDI and piece it together yourself. The kit consists of a barrel upper with gas tube and handguards. Requires more work and the upper, lower, and bolt group won’t have matching numbers. Not ideal, but how badly do you want a 551?

[RetroRevolver77]

Or you could order a 551 conversion kit from JDI and piece it together yourself. The kit consists of a barrel upper with gas tube and handguards. Requires more work and the upper, lower, and bolt group won’t have matching numbers. Not ideal, but how badly do you want a 551?

No that's lame. I'm thinking maybe a few importers off the top of my head might be interested in bringing in more SIG rifles.