300Spartans
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Canada of course
Looking forward to the OP's additions to this thread. I have no intention of buying the SG, but would love to see how they perform.
Great write up!
Great write up!
The FAMAE SG542: Initial thoughts and observations (Range Report on post 40)
- Thread starter Master-G
- Start date
Hey, no worries!
The subjects of price and quality were very prominent in the threads I read here in doing my research. When it comes to non-restricted 7.62mm black rifles there isn't a lot of choice--really it's only the SG542 or the XCR-M. I think going on logic only I would've picked up an XCR-M...it's more modern and more accommodating of accessories. But, the Swiss lineage of this rifle appealed to me, and I'll likely not be able to afford an SAPR if/when they arrive.
Let's go back to the NEW exchange reality for a bit.
The swiss arms SAPR is currently about 3500 swiss franc a a piece, the LB is about 300 to 400 more.
3500 swiss franc is roughly = 4700 CDN.
PE 90 is about 3150 swiss franc = 4200 CDN
I have handled the SG540, yeh they are not as pretty as the Swiss Arms, but the price of FAMAE at 2800ish is roughly 65% of the swiss arms these days. I am pretty sure you are getting more than 65% of the Swiss Arms value out of the FAMAE.
The CDN has tanked and it is going to be like this for awhile. Time to adjust to the reality. I am pretty sure the FAMAE price will rise too, because things are bought in USD.
The swiss arms SAPR is currently about 3500 swiss franc a a piece, the LB is about 300 to 400 more.
3500 swiss franc is roughly = 4700 CDN.
PE 90 is about 3150 swiss franc = 4200 CDN
I have handled the SG540, yeh they are not as pretty as the Swiss Arms, but the price of FAMAE at 2800ish is roughly 65% of the swiss arms these days. I am pretty sure you are getting more than 65% of the Swiss Arms value out of the FAMAE.
The CDN has tanked and it is going to be like this for awhile. Time to adjust to the reality. I am pretty sure the FAMAE price will rise too, because things are bought in USD.
GT, the Swiss price for the PE is not quite that high. Most fair prices for PE90's back home in Switzerland are running around 2750-2800 CHF retail price (this varies from vendor to vendor of course with some asking way too much).
From Switzerland: PE 90 - (Privatversion) Listenpreis Grundversion (grün/grau) inkl. 1 Magazin und Manual: CHF. 2'760.00
2760 CHF is 3581 CDN.
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Beltfed, while I agree with you up to this point, Greeentips beat me to the punch to talk about pricing equivalency.
I was lucky to get my SA when our dollar was high, so only paid $2,700 new. Just before the donkey wallopers banned them, they were selling for near $3,700.
The canadian dollar hasn't gotten much better in the last year and a half, so like Greentips says, $4,000 or more is about right.
Being how the SAPR is vapourware at the moment, this is in a class all of its' own.
I do think that this does compares quite well to my SAs in quality.
Over priced,,, yes I will agree to that too, but I don't think that I would low ball it like a lot of people here do.
Strangely enough, I will have My Little Pony engraved on my ARs before I will ever buy Colt, nor will I buy HK unless cheap surplus G3s and HK33s are moved into the NR category.
I also own a Norc M305 and that is on the way out.
Yet the T97 has a niche of its' own in my safe and I enjoy that for all of its' very own reasons too.
Master G, thank you for the post. It is a very nice review with superb pictures to back it all up.
I can only look forward to another review from the range.
3,499 Swiss Francs = 4,671.45 Canadian Dollars
Yup, the dollar really sucks right now.
I was going to post the link to the SAPR, but in order to see it you would have to scroll down the page past the AK's, MP5's, G3's, FN SCAR ect. I just could not do that to you guys.
walleyed99
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- I'm not telling, Sask
LMFAO, thanks for the chuckle.....
Well if you guys are going to bring the current dollar into it, for sure, as our currency tanks it is going to stretch less.
So not only are they not worth the asking price, you are asking for it sans lube if you buy now with the dollar below 80 cents US.
It is like comparing anything. I was recently looking to buy a new Glock .45 long slide (the G41?) until I found out the price was just under a $1000 - no thanks, I'll wait until the pricing is closer to what it should be before diving in.
Having said that, my opinion is also largely influenced with my current inventory of .308 semi autos available to me, which is pretty good - it would have to be a hell of a deal for me to add another.
So not only are they not worth the asking price, you are asking for it sans lube if you buy now with the dollar below 80 cents US.
It is like comparing anything. I was recently looking to buy a new Glock .45 long slide (the G41?) until I found out the price was just under a $1000 - no thanks, I'll wait until the pricing is closer to what it should be before diving in.
Having said that, my opinion is also largely influenced with my current inventory of .308 semi autos available to me, which is pretty good - it would have to be a hell of a deal for me to add another.
If you are happy with it , and that's what matters the most!!!Hey, no worries!
Having owned a SwissArms and currently owning an SG542 the Swiss was nicer but it wasn't 308 and I don't like M14 based rifles much, nor do I trust Robson Arms. Hence I own an SG542 for now, the only two things that I really think need fixing on it are the flash hider and the gas block.
Ar180shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
What you need to remember is there are also costs associated with importing the rifles. They were going for about $3700 before the ban and when our currency was doing better. GT's figures of $4200 are pretty close to what they'll be going for after the ban is lifted.
I had a chance to take the rifle out after work tonight—it looks like a rainy day tomorrow. When my younger daughter found out a range visit was in order she wanted to attend as well—she hasn't been out since last year. She had fun with her Henry Mini-bolt .22 Rifle and the Chief's Special (it's her favourite handgun)
I had a chance to give the SG542 a quick shakedown after she was done. I fired 50 rounds of the Hirtenberger surplus I picked up from Marstar without any problems at all—both magazines worked well.
Here are shots 6-11 through the rifle (I always shoot the first round and check the case first before firing any more)
[youtube]aYic8KMZ4X0[/youtube]
I moved back to 50m to try some standing shooting (I'm not a great standing shooter!)
[youtube]fUOVpclhqCM[/youtube]
The rifle is very comfortable to shoot, but I did notice that the case rims were mangled a bit. I then noticed that the gas setting was on "2" instead of "1". D'oh! Changing it to "1" made for a bit easier recoil and less-mangled brass. Here's the result of the group in the video:
I'd attribute the windage variance to me.
It was nearly sunset at that point and I wanted to try a few targets from the bench at 100m.
Here's my first try...about a 6" group (with four rounds going into around 3"). I found this target a little tough to pick up in the fading light.
Here's the last group of the day—I switched to a different target (note that the heads are different sizes)
I was happy with this...about 3.75", or 3.25 MOA. With iron sights and surplus ammo, and with the sun just about set, I don't think I could do any better.
Here's a fired case from the rifle (the pattern was common on all cases). There's a dent at the case mount, plus small sctrach on the side and a little burr on the rim.
So—I'm very happy with the rifle. It's comfortable and fun to shoot, accurate and completely reliable so far. The iron sights aren't bad...I'm still undecided about an optic. I'm kicking around the idea of maybe a Holosun on it...or maybe a low-magnification scope. Or maybe leave it as is!
A great start to the weekend!
I had a chance to give the SG542 a quick shakedown after she was done. I fired 50 rounds of the Hirtenberger surplus I picked up from Marstar without any problems at all—both magazines worked well.
Here are shots 6-11 through the rifle (I always shoot the first round and check the case first before firing any more)
[youtube]aYic8KMZ4X0[/youtube]
I moved back to 50m to try some standing shooting (I'm not a great standing shooter!)
[youtube]fUOVpclhqCM[/youtube]
The rifle is very comfortable to shoot, but I did notice that the case rims were mangled a bit. I then noticed that the gas setting was on "2" instead of "1". D'oh! Changing it to "1" made for a bit easier recoil and less-mangled brass. Here's the result of the group in the video:
I'd attribute the windage variance to me.
It was nearly sunset at that point and I wanted to try a few targets from the bench at 100m.
Here's my first try...about a 6" group (with four rounds going into around 3"). I found this target a little tough to pick up in the fading light.
Here's the last group of the day—I switched to a different target (note that the heads are different sizes)
I was happy with this...about 3.75", or 3.25 MOA. With iron sights and surplus ammo, and with the sun just about set, I don't think I could do any better.
Here's a fired case from the rifle (the pattern was common on all cases). There's a dent at the case mount, plus small sctrach on the side and a little burr on the rim.
So—I'm very happy with the rifle. It's comfortable and fun to shoot, accurate and completely reliable so far. The iron sights aren't bad...I'm still undecided about an optic. I'm kicking around the idea of maybe a Holosun on it...or maybe a low-magnification scope. Or maybe leave it as is!
A great start to the weekend!
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