Sorry this is a long story but if you have this rifle it could save you some time, aggravation and money.
Well I bought the Sig 522 when it first came out and have really loved the rifle since, except for one thing, the lack of iron sights. I had been checking with Sig customer service for a while about the status of BUIS for the 522 and a few months back they told me that it would be soon and that they would be similar to the sights for the Sig 556 which sounded cool. At that point I bought the 556 front sight which they said would be compatible - that front sight was about $50.
Then a couple of weeks ago I called and they told me that the 522 sights were ready and in stock but would only be sold as a set with the front and rear included for $80. I was ticked off but ordered them anyway figuring that maybe someday down the road I could use the extra front sight or sell it.
I got the sight set in and was a bit disappointed with the rear sight which is made by Williams and is not adjustable with out a screwdriver and only slides l-r and u-d with set screw to lock it in position, so not much fine adjustment Well I figured I better try them out anyway so I installed them and set off for the range. The rifle was grouping tight but very low and right with the front and rear sights centered and little to no wind at 25 yards. After a few rounds and further adjustment I was still low over 2 inches and left about an inch with both the front and rear sights moved to their furthest adjustment.
Well that just sucked so I got home and called Sig and got a return authorization number and sent them back the next day. But Sig would not take back the extra front sight that I had ordered a few months back, so I am stuck with it. I like the design of it so I left it on the gun and started to research on the internet. It will not work with most sights made for AR type rifles because it is short, so I needed to find something to work with it.
I considered the Sig rear diopter sight for the 556 rifle but it is pre-set up for ranges based on military 5.56mm ammo and it costs $222 from Sig, which seemed like a lot for this .2 LR rifle, but I was considering it because I really like the design. Then with a little internet research I found a sight made by ITAC Defense that seemed to be the same as the Sig rotary diopter sight. A few calls and I found that it is in fact the exact same sight and ITAC makes it for Sig. The only difference is the labeling; the Sig model has Sig printed on it and the ITAC DS1 has a blank space on it, comes with a detachable riser for using it on an AR rifle and it costs up to $70 less from various online suppliers.
So I bought one and it arrived today. I figure that all I need to do is mount it without the riser and rather than use the preset diopter holes to represent the 100 200 and 300 meter ranges that they would for the 5.56mm round I will figure out what they work at for the .22 LR round used in the 522 rifle.
Tomorrow I will be at the range sighting it in. I will zero the CQB notch at 25 yards and then try to figure out what ranges the 3 other diopter holes will zero at by shooting at increasing ranges.
Hopefully I will have some further info on the diopter sight late tomorrow.
My advice based on this experience is do not buy the Williams sight being marketed for the Sig 522 rifle, first because it may not be able to zero in for your rifle and second because it is crappy to adjust and is cheap / poor in design. The ITAC DS-1 can be purchased for about $150 and along with the front sight for the Sig 556 is a bit expensive but I think it will be a much better performer (TBD) than the Sig option. If it does not work, I will save it for a future AR rifle project.
Here are some pictures of the sights mounted on my Sig 522 rifle. I really like the look of it, and hopefully it will perform as well. I'll post again soon to let you know.
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Well I bought the Sig 522 when it first came out and have really loved the rifle since, except for one thing, the lack of iron sights. I had been checking with Sig customer service for a while about the status of BUIS for the 522 and a few months back they told me that it would be soon and that they would be similar to the sights for the Sig 556 which sounded cool. At that point I bought the 556 front sight which they said would be compatible - that front sight was about $50.
Then a couple of weeks ago I called and they told me that the 522 sights were ready and in stock but would only be sold as a set with the front and rear included for $80. I was ticked off but ordered them anyway figuring that maybe someday down the road I could use the extra front sight or sell it.
I got the sight set in and was a bit disappointed with the rear sight which is made by Williams and is not adjustable with out a screwdriver and only slides l-r and u-d with set screw to lock it in position, so not much fine adjustment Well I figured I better try them out anyway so I installed them and set off for the range. The rifle was grouping tight but very low and right with the front and rear sights centered and little to no wind at 25 yards. After a few rounds and further adjustment I was still low over 2 inches and left about an inch with both the front and rear sights moved to their furthest adjustment.
Well that just sucked so I got home and called Sig and got a return authorization number and sent them back the next day. But Sig would not take back the extra front sight that I had ordered a few months back, so I am stuck with it. I like the design of it so I left it on the gun and started to research on the internet. It will not work with most sights made for AR type rifles because it is short, so I needed to find something to work with it.
I considered the Sig rear diopter sight for the 556 rifle but it is pre-set up for ranges based on military 5.56mm ammo and it costs $222 from Sig, which seemed like a lot for this .2 LR rifle, but I was considering it because I really like the design. Then with a little internet research I found a sight made by ITAC Defense that seemed to be the same as the Sig rotary diopter sight. A few calls and I found that it is in fact the exact same sight and ITAC makes it for Sig. The only difference is the labeling; the Sig model has Sig printed on it and the ITAC DS1 has a blank space on it, comes with a detachable riser for using it on an AR rifle and it costs up to $70 less from various online suppliers.
So I bought one and it arrived today. I figure that all I need to do is mount it without the riser and rather than use the preset diopter holes to represent the 100 200 and 300 meter ranges that they would for the 5.56mm round I will figure out what they work at for the .22 LR round used in the 522 rifle.
Tomorrow I will be at the range sighting it in. I will zero the CQB notch at 25 yards and then try to figure out what ranges the 3 other diopter holes will zero at by shooting at increasing ranges.
Hopefully I will have some further info on the diopter sight late tomorrow.
My advice based on this experience is do not buy the Williams sight being marketed for the Sig 522 rifle, first because it may not be able to zero in for your rifle and second because it is crappy to adjust and is cheap / poor in design. The ITAC DS-1 can be purchased for about $150 and along with the front sight for the Sig 556 is a bit expensive but I think it will be a much better performer (TBD) than the Sig option. If it does not work, I will save it for a future AR rifle project.
Here are some pictures of the sights mounted on my Sig 522 rifle. I really like the look of it, and hopefully it will perform as well. I'll post again soon to let you know.
