Man...I really want one of these, I've been thinking about it real hard, it's that one rifle in NR class that you just know in the back of your head should be Restricted "just because". But I don't think I can justify spending $2300 on one. Ugh! Decisions....
The FAMAE SG542: Initial thoughts and observations (Range Report on post 40)
- Thread starter Master-G
- Start date
I got my hands on one two weeks ago and its not worth the cash.
Feels cheap, fire end is not tight and for over 2500 not a chance.
I bought a csa v58 for less than half the price and feel its worth it.
Your money spend it how you want but seriously you need to get your hands on
One before you jump
vickers vanguard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Laval, Quebec
here's my take on the SG 542. Bought one last week after a lot of online research, asking owners of competing models, first hand handling of each gun that was in the competition etc, etc.....
First I wanted a 308 rifle semi-auto and the 3 contenders that ended-up making the final ( LOL) were : XCR-M, FN FNAR, and the SG 542 .
1- XCR-M : Excellent build and materials, very nice and solid design. It failed on reliability and been picky with amo type. It also does not have much history.Weight and balance was also an issue. Price : 3000 $ pretty much.
2- FN FNAR : i would take this one over the XCR-M any day ! FN is a great company with an excellent track record. Rifle is based on the Browning BAR and has a long history of being a dependable rifle. Price at 1500 $ is i think an excellent value. When it comes to precision, the FNAR will beat both of the above ( XCR and SG 542).
3- SG 542 : Based on an excellent and proven design. Rifle simple and well made, despite what some people might say. Sure it's not build to the same attention to details as the swiss arms but it's well done none the less. You have to realize that the thing is based on a much older version of the 550 design and there's room for improvement for sure (ex : flash hider pinned vs threaded ). It's a military issued rifle and it's heritage was a significant factor is my choice. The litle rattling( yes it's not that much) that people are talking about is typical of a battle rifle. I don't expect a lot of these battle rifle in terms of precision. They were built to have a decent grouping at X distance but certainly not a sniper rifle. What I expect though, is reliability and that is my most important criteria ! and I hope this thing will prove to be such a gun. The downside of the SG 542 : cost of accessories ! it's simply gross ! for example, at 120 $ a magazine....I don't know how the hell they can justify that. I received mine with only one magazine and I find that weird !!!
Is it worth almost 3000$ ( I paid 2700 $ for a new one ) ? I would say 2000$ would be a fair price, not 2700$. However, the importers went to a great length to get these and all of us who had interest in one, have an idea. The dealers can demand what they think is fair and it's the market that decides the rest.
I'd like to bring your attention to the following though : Is a Colt canada AR worth the 2000$ that was initially being asked and that a lot of people paid ?.....when you can get A daniel Defence for 500 $ less ?
is the XCR-M worth the 3000 $.....hell no in my opinion ( because of reliability issue mainly)
and here's a good one for you : how many here would be willing to buy an AK series if they were available ? what if somebody could for example sake, import a variant for 2000 or a bit more. Would you buy it ? I 'm sure a lot will. I've shot an AK 47 ( Bulgarian and Chinese ) last year at a range in Tucson and I've taken them apart. Oh boy ! if you want something that rattles...try an AK ! precision ? I was all over the place in semi-auto before you ask. Reliability ? hell it is.....we shot all kind of crappy surplus russian amo for half a day and not a single stoppage. After couple magazines, we would stop for 10 mins or so......as the barrel was smoking and you could barely hold the rifle.
Finally, I did try a swiss arm SG 55X series, here in Montreal when they were available for sale...don't remember the exact model, but it was the Carabine version with a 16 in barrel. Impressions ? a beauty i have to admit. I found it to be fairly heavy for a 5.56 rifle and it was selling for 3600 $ and the store will not give you a penny discount. Honestly, too complex ( piston), heavy, and expensive for
a 5.56. A regular AR will do the job. Would I buy a Swiss Arm in 308 f the end-up here on the market ? yes I will probably...unless they demand an insane price.
First I wanted a 308 rifle semi-auto and the 3 contenders that ended-up making the final ( LOL) were : XCR-M, FN FNAR, and the SG 542 .
1- XCR-M : Excellent build and materials, very nice and solid design. It failed on reliability and been picky with amo type. It also does not have much history.Weight and balance was also an issue. Price : 3000 $ pretty much.
2- FN FNAR : i would take this one over the XCR-M any day ! FN is a great company with an excellent track record. Rifle is based on the Browning BAR and has a long history of being a dependable rifle. Price at 1500 $ is i think an excellent value. When it comes to precision, the FNAR will beat both of the above ( XCR and SG 542).
3- SG 542 : Based on an excellent and proven design. Rifle simple and well made, despite what some people might say. Sure it's not build to the same attention to details as the swiss arms but it's well done none the less. You have to realize that the thing is based on a much older version of the 550 design and there's room for improvement for sure (ex : flash hider pinned vs threaded ). It's a military issued rifle and it's heritage was a significant factor is my choice. The litle rattling( yes it's not that much) that people are talking about is typical of a battle rifle. I don't expect a lot of these battle rifle in terms of precision. They were built to have a decent grouping at X distance but certainly not a sniper rifle. What I expect though, is reliability and that is my most important criteria ! and I hope this thing will prove to be such a gun. The downside of the SG 542 : cost of accessories ! it's simply gross ! for example, at 120 $ a magazine....I don't know how the hell they can justify that. I received mine with only one magazine and I find that weird !!!
Is it worth almost 3000$ ( I paid 2700 $ for a new one ) ? I would say 2000$ would be a fair price, not 2700$. However, the importers went to a great length to get these and all of us who had interest in one, have an idea. The dealers can demand what they think is fair and it's the market that decides the rest.
I'd like to bring your attention to the following though : Is a Colt canada AR worth the 2000$ that was initially being asked and that a lot of people paid ?.....when you can get A daniel Defence for 500 $ less ?
is the XCR-M worth the 3000 $.....hell no in my opinion ( because of reliability issue mainly)
and here's a good one for you : how many here would be willing to buy an AK series if they were available ? what if somebody could for example sake, import a variant for 2000 or a bit more. Would you buy it ? I 'm sure a lot will. I've shot an AK 47 ( Bulgarian and Chinese ) last year at a range in Tucson and I've taken them apart. Oh boy ! if you want something that rattles...try an AK ! precision ? I was all over the place in semi-auto before you ask. Reliability ? hell it is.....we shot all kind of crappy surplus russian amo for half a day and not a single stoppage. After couple magazines, we would stop for 10 mins or so......as the barrel was smoking and you could barely hold the rifle.
Finally, I did try a swiss arm SG 55X series, here in Montreal when they were available for sale...don't remember the exact model, but it was the Carabine version with a 16 in barrel. Impressions ? a beauty i have to admit. I found it to be fairly heavy for a 5.56 rifle and it was selling for 3600 $ and the store will not give you a penny discount. Honestly, too complex ( piston), heavy, and expensive for
a 5.56. A regular AR will do the job. Would I buy a Swiss Arm in 308 f the end-up here on the market ? yes I will probably...unless they demand an insane price.
Here's some more imput on the sg 542 I bought one from the very first lot that entered canada so I've had mine for almost a year and a half Its been on a few hunting trips and works very well for my intended purpose I use it for a deep timber elk gun hunting in the benches and push the odd elk out into a max 300 yard cut
mine is fully decked out leapuold mark 4 -2.5 x8 and I tailored some rounds to reduce the case damage
this gun like 150 grain sst and as slow burning powder , I'm running rl22
at 44 grains I can group just around 1 inch at 100 but my brass is good to reuse and cycles very nice
i tryed the auto loading powders and had no luck with brass or grouping
I also tried heavier projectiles and again it's a 150
this gun cycles very well on the norinco viper wash
my biggest complaint would be ythe added weight of a big steel mag
sure would be nice with some plastic 10 round pistols mags
mother than that I'm 750 rounds with zero failures and I've got this thing accurate
love mine just trying to reduce weight
mine is fully decked out leapuold mark 4 -2.5 x8 and I tailored some rounds to reduce the case damage
this gun like 150 grain sst and as slow burning powder , I'm running rl22
at 44 grains I can group just around 1 inch at 100 but my brass is good to reuse and cycles very nice
i tryed the auto loading powders and had no luck with brass or grouping
I also tried heavier projectiles and again it's a 150
this gun cycles very well on the norinco viper wash
my biggest complaint would be ythe added weight of a big steel mag
sure would be nice with some plastic 10 round pistols mags
mother than that I'm 750 rounds with zero failures and I've got this thing accurate
love mine just trying to reduce weight
Clobbersauras
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Waaay out west.
Master-G, great write up and excellent photos. Thanks for taking the time to post.
vickers vanguard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Laval, Quebec
So, using 150 grains produces the most accurate grouping ? can you confirm that......not looking to make it into a precision rifle, wasn't meant to be nor was it designed to be such.....just trying to understand things. Thanks
how many commentators here have taken the blinders off and compared the SAPR's next to the FAMEA in real life testing? How long will a FAMEA go under hard conditions compared to a SAN? How many rounds can they typically fire on target without having to replace parts? The FAMAE Is no slouch in performance and does exactly what it was designed to do and does so well. At 2/3's the cost its a better buy than the SAN. Don't believe me then spend your own money and test them yourselves, until then opinions are just that and few if any here are based on fact.
I am likely one of the few posters who has fired thousands or rounds through both. The SAN holds are marginal edge in accuracy and refinement but it isn't twice the rifle.
Not all of us are restricted to firearm use in Canada fwiw.
I am likely one of the few posters who has fired thousands or rounds through both. The SAN holds are marginal edge in accuracy and refinement but it isn't twice the rifle.
Not all of us are restricted to firearm use in Canada fwiw.
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vickers vanguard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Laval, Quebec
anybody knows where to find one of the two take down pins....the ones you pop to separate the upper from the lower. Mine is brand new still unfired but one of the take-down pins has a broken or missing prong ( the two little metal tabs that go in when you press on the pin). Got the riffle from Tactical import. also, how many magazines did you get with the riffle ? one or two ?
thanks
thanks
vickers vanguard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Laval, Quebec
It certainly fits well with no movement at all, but it seems to me that it'd be easy to over-torque the adjustment bolt and flex the mount if you were not careful. The stock design does not lend itself to optics use, though. I'm going to stick with irons for now, I think.
The iron sights aren't near the quality as on the Sig Classic Greens--but they do the job. I find most front sight posts too thick, and this rifle is no exception. I'm gonna look into thinning it down to .60 to .070" -ish. The front sight adjust screw will need to be loctited down once zeroed.
CSC has the pins in stock. If you purchased from CSC, warranty replacement I suspect. If you purchased someware else you'll have to purchase it (not cheap). Email gunsmith@theshootingcentre.com
FAMAE shipped each rifle to CSC with 2 mags, a cleaning kit and sling.
vickers vanguard
CGN Regular
- Location
- Laval, Quebec
Great thread back to life. Isn't it worth a sticky?
Anyone tried grouping with a bipod or front rest? Does it move the point of impact?
I was disappointed with a Classic green poi moving a few moa depending on the forces against the handguard.
Anyone tried grouping with a bipod or front rest? Does it move the point of impact?
I was disappointed with a Classic green poi moving a few moa depending on the forces against the handguard.
