home Weapons Firearms Head-to-Head: SIG Sauer 516 vs. HK 416 Rifle

Head-to-Head: SIG Sauer 516 vs. HK 416 Rifle

Jul 10, 2019

Photo illustration Wikimedia US DoD — ILOPANGO, El Salvador A Costa Rican special operations member engages targets June 18, 2011 at the Critical Tasks Evaluation event of Fuerzas Comando 2011 at the Shangallo Range here. Fuerzas Comando, established in 2004, is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored special operations skills competition and senior leader seminar which is conducted annually in Central and Southern America and the Caribbean. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Luke Rollins)

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New weaponry is constantly being developed and improved to better equip infantry units. This will enhance their abilities to perform better out in combat zones and battle. That is why Sig Sauer has created the SIG 516 which is very similar to the HK 416.

The SIG 516 was first produced in 2010 after the US military believed there could have been improvements made to the HK 416 which was created in the early 2000s.

The major resemblance between the SIG 516 and HK 416 is that they both use a short-stroke tappet system which is situated above the barrel. This drives back a modified bolt carrier in the upper receiver. This system built in the rifle is most likely why the SIG 516 adapted it from the HK 416. It provides compatibility with almost every AR. Another large characteristic that these rifles both share is that they do not support conventional folding stocks, according to nationaliinterest.com.

Although the SIG 516 has a lot in common with the HK 416, they do share some differences. The SIG 516 was made more inexpensively because of money issues, which led to the manufacturers designing the bolt carrier group to be a lot like that of an AR. While the HK 416 on the other hand, has a safety pin in the bolt making it more costly. Another distinction between the two rifles, the SIG 516 carries less recoil because of the 4-position gas regulator installed. The gas regulator equipped on the SIG 516 can also be adjusted manually which is a major benefit for the rifle.

In spite of the fact that the SIG 516 has less recoil and is more affordable, the HK 416 has been utilized much more often than the SIG 516 out in battle. Even though the SIG 516 is not being used by the US military, it is still very accurate and deadly despite being semi-automatic. With all set aside, the SIG 516 is a highly advanced rifle that could be used for many purposes such as a tactical weapon, patrol, and personal defense.