SHOT Show 2015 – Sig Airguns / Stoeger Airguns

So I’m moving from appointment to appointment and I get a text from the President of AirgunDepot asking me to meet him at Sig Sauer’s booth. I start thinking, “Sig.. do they make airguns..?” As I get to the booth, it’s massive by the way, I found a little section over at the back with some very exciting products.

Sig Sauer Booth at SHOT 2015.. It was massive

1 to 1 replicas

Ok, so what Sig has done is to take a couple of their pistols and rifles and create true working 1 to 1 replicas. These are so precisely recreated that they are planning to use them at their famed Sig Academy for training purposes. Semi-automatic pistols are really nothing new, so I’m going to focus on what I think is really exciting, the rifles.

New Sig Sauer 1 to 1 Pellet Pistols

Semi-auto .177 & .22 CO2 rifles and Semi-auto .22, & .25 PCP rifles

Sig has created a couple of versions of their semi-automatic rifles starting with co2 version that comes in .177 and .22 caliber. These have the same weight and balance as the actual firearm and come stock with a 30 round magazine.  For those that want more, 50 & 70 round magazines will also be available as optional accessories.

Sig’s new Semi-Auto Pellet gun Lineup.. impressive

Now here’s where things get really interesting. CO2 allows shooters to get off multiple shots without having to cock or pump the airgun. The problem is that under rapid fire situations, CO2 will freeze and lose pressure, resulting is ever decreasing velocity. CO2 is also not very usable in cold weather. So, to combat this issue, they are releasing PCP versions of these new airguns in .22 and even .25 cal.

Sig Semi-Auto up close – the body is all metal and was built from the same plans as the actual firearm.

I own a GSG 522 MP5 .22LR with a custom stock and killer Leapers 1.5-6 UTG scope. The issue is that it only runs smoothly with high test .22LR ammo. Not only is it hard to find, when I do find it, it’s .18 to .25 per round after shipping and handling. I bought the gun to be able to go out and plink inexpensively. I guess those days are over. As I was discussing this with Sig, I asked them if they were creating these airguns, specifically the PCP versions, to help overcome the .22 LR ammo availability and cost issues. His answer was, that’s exactly the market they are looking to tap into. When I look at the potential of these new guns, I can’t help but to get really excited. I can’t wait for these to become available sometime later this year. And yes.. they are on my speed dial.

Stoeger airguns for 2015

This could be a good year for Stoeger Airguns. They have a great new youth airgun based off their x3 series. It’s composite and steel and pushing decent velocity in .22 and .177. The cocking force, weight, and size make it a great option for a young shooter, or someone looking for a simple close range practice airgun.

New Stoeger Youth Airgun. (Rifle on the right)

Their ATAC also looks pretty interesting to me and I expect to get a sample for testing in the near future. They’ve made a few changes to help reduce the recoil and have also improved the bundled optic. These changes should make the out of the box shooting experience much more enjoyable for those new to magnum gas ram airguns.

Stoeger ATAC – Fully Suppressed, Gas Ram powered airgun.

Lastly, they have their X50 in .25 caliber. I looked at the x50 in .177 a few years ago and have been wanting to see if all that power was more effective in the larger calibers. Stoeger is going to work to get one sent out sometime later this year.

Stoeger X50 – Available in .177, .22, and .25 caliber – I hope to get the .25 in for testing soon.

One important point of note is that Stoeger airguns have a 2 year limited warranty vs most airguns that only come with a 1 year warranty. I spent some time talking shop with their lead service tech and was very impressed with their customer service philosophy and openness to hear new ideas. It’s refreshing to have a company ask advice about how they could possibly improve their products and customer service. It makes me want to take another look at their line of airguns.

More to come

There is a lot more to share about SHOT 2015 so stay glued to the Airgun University.  I’ll be releasing a lot more cool information about what’s new for 2015 over the following weeks.