TFB FIRST LOOK: Introducing the New 5.56 SIG MCX SPEAR-LT

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Small arm designs are introduced in both revolutionary and evolutionary processes, each being equally important to developing a reliable and capable firearm system. For manufacturers, engineering a new gun and its progressive iterations, is a painstaking progression that requires refinement, numerous evaluation cycles, and performance improvements. For the consumer, the excitement of a new system is intertwined with compatibility concerns, the hope for additional features in future releases, and waiting – a cycle that is not unique to the firearm industry. In early 2015, SIG Sauer released the MCX, a revolutionary design in a market awash in direct impingement AR-15 variants. In the years since the initial release, the MCX progressed into the MCX Virtus, arriving at where we are today – the introduction of the SIG MCX SPEAR-LT.

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it really puzzles me, with the sig stuff like that. hype and all is good, sure, but - a 'lighter' ar15, a $2500 and a 7.5lbs - what kind of a joke is that?
and the major improvement they claim for it to have is that a handguard now will actually stay in its proper place and not going to wonder around? seriously? :)

we are in the group buy wait for an .308 ar10 ruger that is 6.8lbs with close to a $1k price. well, whatever.
 
Yeah, the changes seem minor, with the exception of the hand guard, I do like that upgrade. But the x39 kit, that I want.
Ill buy a x39 kit in a heartbeat, hopefully they are able to keep an actual inventory of them unlike the rest of the mcx parts the last 2 years
 
Ill buy a x39 kit in a heartbeat, hopefully they are able to keep an actual inventory of them unlike the rest of the mcx parts the last 2 years
An 11.5" x39 kit would amazing. It would be the first gun thing in a while that I dropped what I was doing to make sure I got in on asap.
 
it really puzzles me, with the sig stuff like that. hype and all is good, sure, but - a 'lighter' ar15, a $2500 and a 7.5lbs - what kind of a joke is that?
and the major improvement they claim for it to have is that a handguard now will actually stay in its proper place and not going to wonder around? seriously? :)

we are in the group buy wait for an .308 ar10 ruger that is 6.8lbs with close to a $1k price. well, whatever.

I have to agree, and while I don’t want to hijack this thread, I’m more excited for the SFAR than the Sig “I’m not an AR”, AR.


View: https://youtu.be/_ntQvxSMkwc
 
So the upgrades from a Virtus are basically
1: MI handguard
2: Arisaka handguard clamp
3: Firing pin latch moved instead of using the “G” one for regular AR triggers
4: ADM ambi lever on lower
 
it really puzzles me, with the sig stuff like that. hype and all is good, sure, but - a 'lighter' ar15, a $2500 and a 7.5lbs - what kind of a joke is that?
and the major improvement they claim for it to have is that a handguard now will actually stay in its proper place and not going to wonder around? seriously? :)

we are in the group buy wait for an .308 ar10 ruger that is 6.8lbs with close to a $1k price. well, whatever.

I think they are worthwhile improvements over the Virtus. Although, ironically, some of the things they changed are actually going back to the way the Gen 1 MCX had things.

But if you want an AR-manual of arms rifle with quick swap barrels and an action that doesn’t need a buffer tube? The MCX is where it’s at. Heck, even if you don’t care about quick change barrels.

This Gen may not be worth an upgrade from the Gen 2 if you already own one, but the upgrades are good nonetheless. And I’m pleased with the upgrades. I was about to buy a Virtus upper when this thing was announced earlier in the year. Will definitely wait to get this Gen.
 
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Completely different rifles. The full size Sig Spear is the better comparison with the SFAR.

It wasn’t a comparison as much as me being more interested in one new product over another, that’s all.
As far as the Spear is concerned, I want to know how much 6.8X51 (277 Sig FURY).. is going to cost us normies before I dip a toe in.
 
It wasn’t a comparison as much as me being more interested in one new product over another, that’s all.
As far as the Spear is concerned, I want to know how much 6.8X51 (277 Sig FURY).. is going to cost us normies before I dip a toe in.
Ha, it’ll be a while before 277 Sig Fury goes down. Actually, it probably never will. It will probably just not increase in price as quickly as other cartridges. But I’m guessing it will be a few years before it’s the same price as 308/6.5CM. I know the special initial release of the Spear was a clone of the XM5, but hopefully the first normal release includes 308/6.5CM barrel options. The SFAR’s size and weight is nice to see though.
 
if you want an AR-manual of arms rifle with quick swap barrels
what is the barrel life on that sig and the out of the box accuracy? i just wonder -would anybody ever need to swap out that barrel, 'quickly'?
 
what is the barrel life on that sig and the out of the box accuracy? i just wonder -would anybody ever need to swap out that barrel, 'quickly'?
No idea on barrel life. The gen 3 does have thinner barrel profile though.

But swapping the barrel like a machine gunner isn't the purpose. It's to change caliber/barrel lengths easily, not as an urgent existential need. It's not a tool-less change, but close to it.
 
It's to change caliber/barrel lengths easily
they`ve lost me there. i would never want to do that. i cannot even think of why i would want to do that.
may be for somebody in the world where government allows you to own one single serialized rifle only it would make some sense.

a fun gun, i am not against it, i just, well, all i see there is a solution to a problem that does not exist. and a questionable marketing pitch on it.
looks good, though, if one has a spare $2.5K - there are worse things to spend it on.

on a why part - the whole benefit of the AR15 concept is a uniformity and switchability of your existing lowers across all of your uppers. It is a same lego style platform that gives you redundancy. to get something that is not redundant into that game needs to have a huge unprecedented reason behind it, or to be unique in some truly beneficial way.
a simple piston AR15 is neither unique nor beneficial enough to be non-redundant for what i think of it.
 
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they`ve lost me there. i would never want to do that. i cannot even think of why i would want to do that.
may be for somebody in the world where government allows you to own one single serialized rifle only it would make some sense.

a fun gun, i am not against it, i just, well, all i see there is a solution to a problem that does not exist. and a questionable marketing pitch on it.
looks good, though, if one has a spare $2.5K - there are worse things to spend it on.

on a why part - the whole benefit of the AR15 concept is a uniformity and switchability of your existing lowers across all of your uppers. It is a same lego style platform that gives you redundancy. to get something that is not redundant into that game needs to have a huge unprecedented reason behind it, or to be unique in some truly beneficial way.
a simple piston AR15 is neither unique nor beneficial enough to be non-redundant for what i think of it.

It saves weight if you want to bring options with you when travelling or what not. You just need to write down zero shifts. Also, as mentioned by edmorseiii, it helps if you have an SBR that you want to bring to an SBR-banned state or if you haven't gotten permission from the ATF for some travel that just came up.

I understand that may not be relevant to you, but it's a nice feature. The biggest feature though is a recoil system enclosed in the receiver with AR manual of arms. And for me, the ability to mount onto an AR lower.
 
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The biggest feature though is a recoil system enclosed in the receiver with AR manual of arms.
This is what I wanted, AR controls with the ability to fold it and swap barrels around without needing to build or re-armorer uppers for my registered SBR. Then I came to really like the hand guard system, even with the legacy's flaws, you can go from lights and dohickys to a slick hand guard by pushing the front take down pin.

Granted I bought my legacy MCX for $1200 a few years ago, so it was a no brainer for me.
 
This is what I wanted, AR controls with the ability to fold it and swap barrels around without needing to build or re-armorer uppers for my registered SBR. Then I came to really like the hand guard system, even with the legacy's flaws, you can go from lights and dohickys to a slick hand guard by pushing the front take down pin.

Granted I bought my legacy MCX for $1200 a few years ago, so it was a no brainer for me.

I think that's actually one of the changes in this new model. They bolted down the handguard in order to better maintain zero for things like peq lasers.
 
I think that's actually one of the changes in this new model. They bolted down the handguard in order to better maintain zero for things like peq lasers.
Which, while I like the shape of the new hand guard, I don't care for. The legacy had a longer top rail integral to the upper that makes 12 oclock mounting of lasers more rigid then the best AR15 rail.
 

Small arm designs are introduced in both revolutionary and evolutionary processes, each being equally important to developing a reliable and capable firearm system. For manufacturers, engineering a new gun and its progressive iterations, is a painstaking progression that requires refinement, numerous evaluation cycles, and performance improvements. For the consumer, the excitement of a new system is intertwined with compatibility concerns, the hope for additional features in future releases, and waiting – a cycle that is not unique to the firearm industry. In early 2015, SIG Sauer released the MCX, a revolutionary design in a market awash in direct impingement AR-15 variants. In the years since the initial release, the MCX progressed into the MCX Virtus, arriving at where we are today – the introduction of the SIG MCX SPEAR-LT.

View attachment 663615
How much will be backwards compatible to work on the virtus? Mainly the new light wight handguard and 7.62 conversion is what I hope will work on the virtus
 
This is cool, but what I am really waiting to find out is if the x39 barrel/bolt kit will work with my legacy MCX. If so, I will start shooting MUCH more again.

I do have a couple thousand rounds of x39 in need of something to shoot it…
 
My guess is long term the miltara is going to switch to the MCX across the board. In 5.56 300BO and the upsize Spear.
I think it’s a safe bet that Sig is angling to have the Spear LT ready to replace the M4 for support personnel after the regular Spear is propagated throughout combat arms.
How much will be backwards compatible to work on the virtus? Mainly the new light wight handguard and 7.62 conversion is what I hope will work on the virtus
When it was first announced earlier this year, I heard it was not backwards compatible. But it seems like a lot may be.. except for the handguard. You’ll need to look to Midwest industries if you want a slimmer handguard for your Virtus.
 
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