SIG SAUER 510

Sig Sauer, a collaboration between SIGARMS of Switzerland and J.P. Sauer and Sohn GmbH of Germany, is a an ISO 9001 certified company incorporated in Delaware, and located in Exeter, New Hampshire. The German half was born of a wagon factory above the Rhine Falls in Switzerland, launched by Friedrich Peyer im Hof, Heinrich Moser and Conrad Neher in 1853. Three years later, these three men decided to branch out into small arms on behest of Switzerland's Federal Ministry of Defense. They developed the state-of-the-art Prelaz-Burnand rifle in an attempt to secure a contract by the Swiss Army, and managed to land an order for 30,000 units of this muzzle-loading rifle. The name of the company was changed to Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft, or SIG. It has now been renamed to SAN Swiss Arms.

SIGARMS introduced the assault rifle SIG 510 in 1957 and production of this remarkable firearms continued through to 1983. The SIG 510 was designed and developed by the Swiss gun specialist Rudolf Amsler, who was involved with the development of many other innovative firearms as well. The SIG 510, which is also known as the Stgw. or Sturmgewehr 57, incorporates the roller-delayed blowback operation system, which has a fixed barrel and does not use a gas system to tackle recoil. Many users have found that the roller-delayed blowback system greatly enhances accuracy, and the SIG 510 is certainly an extremely accurate assault rifle. It was the standard service rifle of the Swiss Armed Forces until it was replaced by the SIG 550, though the SIG 410-4 is still in active service with the Chilean and Bolivian armed forces. A limited number were also produced by Beretta in Italy for the South American gun market.

The SIG 510 is a selective-fire weapon, although there are variants available on the commercial market that only shoot in semiautomatic mode. It is a bulky weapon by assault rifle standards, owing to the fact that its muzzle is designed for shooting 22-mm inside-diameter tube grenades, as well. These can only be used with blank grenade-launching cartridges. The design of the grenade launcher is such that bulleted rounds can cause internal explosion of the grenade before it is launched.

The SIG 510 is manufactured in two versions. The shorter Stgw. 57, is 1105 mm long, with a barrel length of 583 mm. It weighs 5.56 kilograms in an unloaded condition. It chambers 7.5 x 55 mm GP11 rounds that are fed from a 24-round detachable box magazine. The SIG 510-4 measures 1016 mm in overall length, including the larger wood forearm that is the primary visual distinction from the Stgw. 57, with a barrel length of 505 mm. It shoots 7.62 x 51 mm NATO ammunition from a 20-round detachable box magazine. Both versions have a uniform rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, and both the Stgw. 57 and SIG 510 function identically, which means that they both incorporate the roller-delayed blowback system and benefit equally from this unique system ion terms of accuracy and dependability under extended fire.

The Stgw. 57 and SIG 510 rifles are supplied along with a number of accessories that are common to both. Among these is a telescopic sight that is fitted onto specially provided pads on the receiver, then locked into place on the scope base. Also included are a blank firing device, a cleaning and maintenance kit that fits neatly into the rifle's pistol grip, a special night sight device. The grenade launcher incorporated into the muzzle of the SIG 510 is enabled by a grenade sight, which is also part of the accessory package. The bayonet in the accessories kit is attached by placing its ring over the muzzle while fitting the butt onto the bayonet stud until it locks in place. A sling for portability is included, and the SIG 510 also comes with extra magazines.