Swiss Arms: Black Special Carbine

nestle said:
So.... Where and how much did you get it for?
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CRAFM.... I think they got 2. Here's the pic CRAFM sent. I'll post detailed pics when the rifle arrives. I'll be interested to see the markings. It was described as a Black Special 363. I've actually been waiting for this for about 4 or 5 months. It was held up with the RCMP for classification:

sigcarbine.jpg
 
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It isn't unique, well not with regards the colouration. There are some being (and already) made for New Zealand. 14.5" barrel, all black, the difference is that it is a model with picatinny rail built into receiver without the built in drum rear sight. It's not called a Black Special here, rather a SG 551-2 SP. I almost forgot the stock on our model doesn't fold due to minimum rifle length restrictions.
 
The 551s and 552s have been available in black in Europe and elsewhere for several years now. It is new for Canada though.
 
nestle said:
A colour change warrants re-classification? Go RCMP!
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As much as I absolteuly hate what the RCMP is doing these days, it's the importer's mistake on this one.

If they just had the markings say "black special" on them they'd be ok. Then just register it as a restricted Black Special with a 363mm barrel.

Problem is that they changed the name on the side of the rifle to "Black Special 363". Once you've got a name change a new FRT number needs to be made. They probably wanted to inspect the rifle to make sure it wasn't a SG 550 variant.
 
USP said:
I can buy a can of Krylon to you know.... :p:D
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SA550-1.jpg


SA550-2.jpg


Let the horror begin...

I painted this one last year to prove a point; if it's in the vault it's a tool, not a display piece. I occasionally key the paint at events to throw off the competition. ;)
 
Are there any 'improvements' to this version of the carbine, or is it soley a colour change? Seems odd that it would be called a Black Special 363 if the internals are identical to the other carbines.
 
canucklehead said:
Are there any 'improvements' to this version of the carbine, or is it soley a colour change? Seems odd that it would be called a Black Special 363 if the internals are identical to the other carbines.
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Well, it's called a "Black Special 363" because it's a Black Special with a 363mm barrel. It's no odder than calling a Glock by it's model name (i.e. Glock 22, Glock 17, etc). Yes it is still a Glock, but there are many models of Glock. Ditto for SA rifles.
 
Ar180shooter said:
Well, it's called a "Black Special 363" because it's a Black Special with a 363mm barrel. It's no odder than calling a Glock by it's model name (i.e. Glock 22, Glock 17, etc). Yes it is still a Glock, but there are many models of Glock. Ditto for SA rifles.
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Well, I get that part. I own a Green Special Carbine. I was wondering if internals were different, because mine isn't called a Green Special 363. It would stand to reason that there would be SOME difference other than colour, but perhaps not!
 
canucklehead said:
Well, I get that part. I own a Green Special Carbine. I was wondering if internals were different, because mine isn't called a Green Special 363. It would stand to reason that there would be SOME difference other than colour, but perhaps not!
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I understand what you mean, why not just call it a Black Special Carbine? Doing so would definitely be consistent, but the point I was making is that names are arbitrary sequences of sounds that are meaningless without reference... (sorry, working on a semantics final right now... :p)
 
mufasa said:
It isn't unique, well not with regards the colouration. There are some being (and already) made for New Zealand. 14.5" barrel, all black, the difference is that it is a model with picatinny rail built into receiver without the built in drum rear sight. It's not called a Black Special here, rather a SG 551-2 SP. I almost forgot the stock on our model doesn't fold due to minimum rifle length restrictions.
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Isn't it Category E down there? Have they started issuing import permits again or is it still this "hand one in and we'll give you an import permit for another one" bollocks?
 
Yeah it is an "E" cat. gun. A sacrifice gun is still required, though not to get the permit to import, you produce the hand in gun when the new one arrives in the country. A tremendous waste of money, SKS's etc are now frequently $1000+ NZ. If a dealer is importing the guns they typically provide the sacrifice gun, but this is of course built into the cost. I debated getting one of those Sig551-2 SP but not having a need for it and the $8000 NZ price tag put me off. AR15's are typically $5000 +NZ if it makes you guys feel any better at the cost of "Black rifles" in Canada.
 
I actually spoke to the guy in Auckland at NZ Police who was responsible for issuing those permits, he struck me as being a jobsworth. At the time I seem to recall he would only accept for the hand-in something that had been imported as Category E, not converted to it, couldn't really follow what would be acceptable.
 
One of the the features that makes a semi-auto a Military Style Semi Automatic (MSSA) is having a military pattern free standing pistol grip. People were getting around this by adding a metal bar from the pistol grip to the stock and thus was no longer free standing and thus no longer restricted based on that criteria. The Police said enough is enough and changed there interpretation of free standing pistol grip to include thumb hole stocks, Draganov stocks etc thus previously unrestricted rifles like a SL8s became retricted and were required to be registered and the owners apply for "E" cat endorcements on their firearms licences. There was an amnesty period where people could convert their "A" cat guns to "E" cat and thus have 30rd mags etc in them. It didn't take long for a people to grab an SKS they bought for $250 add a Draganov stock go register it as an "E" cat, take it off, give the stock to someone else who registers their SKS as an "E" and so on to use as sacrifice guns. As a consequence the Arms Officers may have been a bit reluctant to accept these newly created "E" cats as sacrifices, but strictly speaking an "E" is an "E" and he should have accepted it. It doesn't really matter now as the new interpretation was challenged in court and over-turned. It was all an example of why if you are going to institute policies and legislation you should stop for five minutes to think how it will work.

Sorry for getting so far off topic from those marvelous guns produced by Swiss Arms (wanders off to hug his Sig 550).
 
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