Extra vid: Manhurin SIG SG 540 .223 Rem 300m First Impressions

A little teasing look at Chappie's Manhurin-built SIG SG 540 in .223 Rem on the 300m range.
Blokey likey. It's kinda the M16A1 of the SIG range :)
Also served as practice for working with a handheld Rode Wireless Go in an interview stick.
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[@scooterdogg7580]

French SIG , Ian's jealous of you today lol

[@rodrigodepierola]

I'd be keeping an eye on him throughout Finnish Brutality, he'll be eyeing that gun an might liberate it

[@dbmail545]

Not the only one! Manhurin has a great reputation.

[@zepetv589]

That and the Chap's proper FAMAS.

[@thebotrchap]

Terminal Boy The Germanic and Italo parts would disagree with that statement, hell even the French speaking parts would disagree 😃

[@reddevilparatrooper]

I read something in a book that I have from Small Arms of the World 1977 edition that the French Foreign Legion was considering this rifle for their Parachute Regiment. When the idea was dropped the only thing the Paratroopers got was their bayonets which they used as personal knives with their gear along with their issued FAMAS bayonets. The SIG bayonets for French issue are rare now and collectors item because many Legionaires took them home after faithful service. Very few made it on surplus here in the US. I only saw a few offered for sale on Shotgun News in the early 1990s when no one knew that the French even had these bayonets.

[@thebotrchap]

reddevilparatrooper I’m picking one up in a few weeks. Looks like it will be handy to dig up dandelions in the lawn.

[@reddevilparatrooper]

@@thebotrchap Outsatnding! The Legionares loved using them as fighting knives and general purpose knives. I lucked out back in the 90s of buying one of these SIG bayonet fighting knives because I had some knives I had collected during my time in Europe and Central America. This one slipped my mind.

[@stevenlee798]

Its great to see these two fine gents enjoying themselves on a beautiful sunny day at the range shooting a semi auto rifle. Its what my dreams are made of.... (i live in Australia)😭

[@markatkins9587]

Dirty bastards ! Give em one of these 🖕from a shooter in USA 😁

[@stevenlee798]

@@markatkins9587 cheers mark. Hoping to get to your part of the world one day to shoot all the great guns you're allowed to own and enjoy. You guys are very lucky to have your 2a. Dont let them take it from you. Regards

[@ntrf-xyz]

4:15 It's probably a coincidence that there is a Sterling SMG waiting for it's turn at 46

[@BlokeontheRange]

Well spotted :) $5+ Patrons already know what that's all about, hint hint :)

[@jic1]

@@BlokeontheRange A 9mm at 300m? That should be interesting.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Not at 300m. There's also 100m and 200m butts.

[@jic1]

@@BlokeontheRange Ah, well. Guess I'll just have to wait 'til 9-Hole do the MP5 on the service rifle course...

[@donnkelley6823]

@@jic1 Here on our home range, at one of our service rifle matches. We had a guy show up with an MP5..... It was his duty weapon. He did pretty damn good out to 200..... After that not so much. Due to our one round per target. So after the match I got on the spotting scope and afterward it was decided that 300 full auto suppressive fire was in order...... I have no idea what that means or has to do with anything but we had a damn good time doing it........

[@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860]

"Schlock,Schlock" best bolt movement description ever.

[@therideneverends1697]

Ive never seen a metal SIG mag like that, neat!

[@johnnewman9436]

That looks like a really fun rifle

[@dbmail545]

Dang, these aren't available in the US either. Good luck to the Chap!

[@onkelmicke9670]

Nice! Yes the 550 is heavier than I would like it to be. This one looks like a great rifle, hope to see more of it.

[@petervanetie7863]

I liked the video. I own an original Swiss SIG SG540 and I’m very happy with it! It’s only hard to get stuff for it but I’ve found in the last few years the bayonet and an extra mag. I live in The Netherlands and think there are not many original SG540 left.

[@thebotrchap]

I have a bayonet waiting for me in France. I was lucky that this rifle came with 1x30rnd and 3x20rnd mags.

[@petervanetie7863]

@@thebotrchap I have two 20rnd mag and the mount for a scope haha.

[@thebotrchap]

@@petervanetie7863 I have a universal picca mount that fits both 540 and 550 but having an original mount is awesome. What optic have you put on it?

[@petervanetie7863]

@@thebotrchap haha none! I shoot my rifle without a scope. But when I bought it there was an old Browning scope on it. There has to be a Hensoldt scope on it but they are hard to find.

[@alaincharlesleroy87]

When i was in French Army, it was my gun !!! I used it in Djibouti in 1982

[@thebotrchap]

Intéressant! Encore avec des porte-chargeurs MAT49 recyclés? Quand avez reçu le FAMAS alors 🤔

[@alaincharlesleroy87]

@@thebotrchap Avec des portes chargeurs en nylon si je me rappel bien, d'autres avaient une pochette en toile pour 4 chargeurs ! Le Sig a été pour moi une arme de transition après le FSA 49/56 et le MAT49, 6 mois environ. Le FAMAS fin 1983. A Djibouti j'ai pu tirer à la Kalash russe et est/allemande, et au PM Sterling !!! Par la suite j'ai retrouvé une fois le SIG lors d'un stage en France en 1986

[@DEUTZ_V8]

@@thebotrchap il y a un espace toujours ouvert derriere la fenetre d'ejection pour permettre le mouvement du levier d'armement ? Donc le sable et la boue et la pluie penetre facilement ?

[@n2dadarknight]

...and Ian has been one upped, let’s see his response.

[@BoomerTactical]

Carried a 551 on duty for three years before I became the special weapons coordinator at SIG. Without a doubt one of the finest battle rifle’s ever built.

[@lohikarhu734]

May i say? "special weapons coordinator at SIG" sounds damned interesting :-) is there anything you *may* say about that, or, perhaps, point to some video, or other, sources of info about that subject (department?) Alles bestens! Hyvää jatkoa... ;-)

[@MrWarwick15]

Sweet recoil! Thanks Chappy Blokes! Rich.

[@dsar9489]

Well, I'm a convert..... The Sig always intrigued me primarily due to my experience with the Howa produced Japanese variant.. That 540 however is something else...

[@marcogram1216]

Very nice! Manhurin quality as well!

[@lohikarhu734]

It's nice to see a gun channel where *both* knowledge, AND *marksmanship* are in play .... i really like the level of detail on the other channel, and don't care about how good a marksman, but when, shall we say, "on the range" it's hard to make weapon comparisons when marksmanship is so different between the operators. Ok, so, that SIG seems quite nice, for that kind of weapon, and you both seemed to actually enjoy it. One thing that I, personally, would be interested to see, is how well these weapons *can* be shot "at speed" , once per second, or someone might want to do in suppression fire; certainly, not so much accuracy is required in suppression, but, in a "target-rich" environment... always enjoyable, often enlightening!

[@seanlukew7499]

Good luck with your Citizenship request!

[@steveclancy6474]

He'll get my vote (I'm naturalised in Graubunden if that is even a thing)

[@SonOfTheDawn515]

If only we could get these in the US.

[@240pixel]

There like 10 of these rifles in private hands and costs about 20k give or take.

[@neueneggschiessen3933]

@@240pixel Bought mine for 2000 Swiss francs.

[@scipio10000]

On a more serious take I hope Ian get a chance to make a couple of episodes on the sig-540 and the mab 15. After you have done yours obviously ;-)

[@bigghoss762]

Shame that the Sig 556 rifles that are readily available here in the states suck.

[@Veritas419]

bigghoss762 they were, nobody bought them.

[@petesheppard1709]

An elegant-looking rifle!

[@paulzwartels3396]

Nice Video! One does not find much information of the Manurhin 540 on the Net so happy to see this as my LGS has one in stock that I'm interested in buying ... I understand that it is lighter, better balanced but does not have the finishing touch of a 550. Aside from that and in terms of precision, do you recon that the 540 is equal to the 550?

[@badpossum440]

a nearly empty range ,haven't seen one of those for years.

[@2nd_a_dad4791]

I find the rifle interesting but that range is badass.

[@mistergreene2]

Perhaps a brief explanation of the particular circumstances for which the 550 was over-engineered?

[@BlokeontheRange]

When we do a full video, I'm sure Chappie will explain it more than we did here :)

[@mistergreene2]

@@BlokeontheRange Excellent. Might help your citizenship request to clarify lol.

[@johndilday1846]

I would love to see these imported for sale in the U.S.

[@seanlukew7499]

So do you have the full Manhurin set now?

[@thebotrchap]

I only have this and an MR73 revolver. They made a whole lot more.

[@michaelreyes2240]

I have The military GRADE sg540 its full auto/3 burst/semi....I Love it....

[@bend1483]

All the lens dirt was very distracting. But good video!

[@Veritas419]

Can 550 magazines be used in a 540? Did the Chilean government manufacture these?

[@BlokeontheRange]

No. And the Chilean-made ones have different mags.

[@Beardman770]

Would love to see the FAMAS.

[@240pixel]

Ian did a lot of content about Famas.

[@jic1]

@@240pixel But if I'm not mistaken, Chap's one is full-auto.

[@240pixel]

@@jic1 Larry Vicker's one is full auto too.

[@thebotrchap]

I will do a couple of technical deep dives on bits that Ian’s doesn’t have.

[@Beardman770]

@@thebotrchap that would be excellent!

[@andreadallacosta7628]

C'était notre côté french quality.... Merci a vous pour vôtre démonstration

[@sherlock9397]

Once the whole Coronavirus thing is over I am moving to Switzerland

[@Spawnx91]

Hi, thank you for this video ! Maybe you can help me, i would like to know if the bolt lever is compatible with a SIG550ish one ? Thank you !

[@BlokeontheRange]

Nope, it isn't, sorry

[@asdrubale2]

The gun of inspector Farges from “The Professional”.

[@matbhud]

Is a mag well adapter for m16 mags available for this?

[@thebotrchap]

I’ve had a look at those kits. From what I scan tell they are for FAMAE built 540s which have different mags.

[@G-Mastah-Fash]

The QBZ 03 looks very similar to this

[@nirfz]

Is there a practical reason why lot's of such rifles have their charginghandle on the "wrong" side for a righthanded shooter? Or is it just a leftover from bolt action times? Maybe apart from when the rifle is slung across the back. (I don't suppose this to be the main reason. Soldiers most of the times even back then mostly had some sort of stuff on their back so it wouldn't poke any where uncomfortably anyway)

[@antongrahn1499]

I was trained to never ler go of the pistol grip, thus all other manipulations are done with the left hand. Turn the rifle on its side, rack bolt. I dont see whats wrong. With a handle on the right side.

[@BlokeontheRange]

It's mechanically simpler, with a pressed steel receiver you're not weakening it as much by cutting another slot on the side opposite to the ejection opening.

[@nirfz]

@@BlokeontheRange Ah, that makes sense, thanks!

[@nirfz]

@@antongrahn1499 I used the word wrong, because i was trained on a rifle that has it's charginghandle on the left side, and when changing the magazine, you could keep the rifle in the shoulder, the firing hand on the pistol grip, and depending on the position, keep looking through the sightsystem. No turning of the rifle ect. needed. So from an ergonomic standpoint it seems "wrong" to me.

[@antongrahn1499]

@@nirfz I was trained on the FNC Ak5 which has a bolt release so its no bother. But blokes answer explains the design anyway. Just diffrent rifles. I doubt it makes a diffrence.

[@allyreneepenny9447]

Nice rifle ❗

[@AndrewFaversham]

Is this in England? I thought you guys had super strict weapons laws. So you are allowed to have high power rifle’s ?

[@BlokeontheRange]

It is not in England... But perhaps you should investigate what firearms are/aren't allowed in the UK in any case? Wikipedia is your friend...

[@ThunderBuddy]

What happened to your camera?

[@BlokeontheRange]

Dusty lens combined with being forced to film towards the sun.

[@collinchrisman1555]

I bet the french one is pretty nice quality wise. Not sure about chile though, haven't heard the best about them. Considering one if/when they're imported. Also do you know if it shares any parts interchangeability with the 550 other than magazines and scope mounts? mainly bolt or bolt carrier.

[@thebotrchap]

The only thing it shares with the 550 is the pistol grip.

[@STEALTH1DAN]

Portuguese comandos still use a few of them

[@takedasamurai238]

#bloke on the range, can I ask how did you acquire the exception permit from uk that allows you to acquire acquisition permit, I am having trouble finding information who I can contact. Thank you

[@BlokeontheRange]

Canton Bern accepted a british visitor's permit, which was how I did it before I had my permanent residency. So you'd need to get someone to apply for a visitor's permit for you.

[@andrewhughes8140]

FAMAE was along about importing a 540 pistol a couple years ago from Chile. Nothing has come of it.

[@krinkov39]

JDI Firearms is now the importer and is waiting on samples to send to the ATF for approval for import. He currently brings in 550 series guns so unless the manufacturer falls through it should happen at some point.

[@andrewhughes8140]

@@krinkov39 That's cool. Thanks for the update.

[@lefr33man]

My dad has one of those in .222, bretty gud gun, but the bolt does go "shlock-shlock" for some reason.

[@BlokeontheRange]

Probably has a gas system set up for the greater gas volume of .223 so .222 isn't generating quite the same bolt velocity as it does in .223.

[@aregularperson7573]

The Chileans also built the sig 540 under under license and famae the Chilean state run arms company still build them to this day

[@thebotrchap]

Not the same mags unfortunately

[@aregularperson7573]

@@thebotrchap yes there now made with M16 style mags

[@sandders9634]

What was the significance of factory semi? Is your Famas select fire?

[@thebotrchap]

Yes

[@TTRTIM]

Why would it be difficult to take the Chap's FAMAS to Finland?

[@thebotrchap]

Because it’s a full auto capable and held on a special license. It would require a lot of paperwork to get it in and out of CH temporarily and I’m guessing the Finnish authorities wouldn’t be too thrilled either

[@TTRTIM]

@@thebotrchap that would tend to be a bit of a sticking point

[@BlokeontheRange]

Finland would say "no", for a start...

[@manjitsoni9676]

ਘੈਂਟ ਵੀਡੀਓ ਵੀਰੇ

[@Yakhashe]

Is this at Guntelsey?

[@BlokeontheRange]

Yes

[@Yakhashe]

@@BlokeontheRange Cool, been there during my military service as well. First time i shot a gun was right there. And watch out for grazing deer in the morning :)

[@daleking4481]

I have a sig 542 made by Famae, which is chambered in 7.62 NATO, and while it is a very accurate rifle, the fit and finish does not compare to my Swiss Arms. Even the charging handle on the Swiss Arms is noticeably a better quality.

[@FortuneZer0]

Well, there is one disadvantage of me working shift.

[@windy33a]

Dare you to shoot the SMG at 300

[@zarb88]

I wonder why they make everyone lay prone instead of bench rest. Not the most comfortable way to shoot.

[@thebotrchap]

Shooting off a bench is extremely rare here and all the competitions are prone anyway. That range has one single removable bench which is only used by our wheelchair bound friend. Everyone else gets down and dirty.

[@karas3248]

Chap at finish brutality 2021?

[@thebotrchap]

2020

[@ihcfn]

@@thebotrchap Excellent

[@krinkov39]

@@thebotrchap If you make it to Desert Brutality 2021 I could supply an sg550 for you to use for comparison. I've run one the past two years in classic and it wasn't to bad.

[@jamietus1012]

Anyone else think it would have been really cool to have a metric pattern lee enfield? As in if Australia or someone commonwealth had switched to metric earlier? Or is it just me wanting to not have to work out different hold points because my sight is in yards but the range is in meters?

[@jic1]

Apparently the Ishapore 2A1 had 800m sights.

[@BlokeontheRange]

You could just adjust the sights and not worry about it ;)

[@jamietus1012]

@@BlokeontheRange that would work fine if I'm only shooting at one range, but if I'm shooting at multiple ranges then there would be the problem of which range do I zero to (if your shooting 100, 200 and 300m then zeroing at 200 would probably be the smartest choice). Unless u mean something else and I'm not following?

[@BlokeontheRange]

I mean, on an SMLE and with the click-adjustable sights on a No.4 you can set the range anywhere you want, not just in 100 yard increments. So if you need a little more at 300m over 300 yds, you can do this. Nothing's forcing you to put the rear sight slider exactly on a 100 yd increment. A lot of the modern ammo doesn't follow Mk.VII ballistics anyway, so you'll likely be doing this as a matter of course.

[@jamietus1012]

@@BlokeontheRange oh right, of course. Honestly don't know how this didn't occur to me. Thanks for the good advice as always

[@sherlock9397]

Anyone hear a machine gun possibly an MG42 at 1:20

[@BlokeontheRange]

No. Sounds like 2 shots were fired close together.

[@a1phamalestud]

Nice Grau 5.56

[@Panzerfan93]

will we get a comparison video with the 540 and 550 side by side?

[@BlokeontheRange]

Of course :)

[@Panzerfan93]

​@@BlokeontheRange Great!

[@hvymtal8566]

I'm curious as to how a 551 or 551LB would stack up to this. Bit more of an apples to apples comparison seeing as the "proper" 550 is a great big long musket in the same vein as the M16A2

[@HaNsWiDjAjA]

@@hvymtal8566 Funny that you mentioned that, the Bloke and the Chap have stated in their newest Q&A with Ian of Forgotten Weapons that he much prefer the 540 to the 550, for the same reason that they preferred the original M16 to the M16A2. The same changes made to the 540 that the Americans did to the M16 resulted in the latter iteration becoming a worse combat weapon.

[@disdownloadnetvictim]

@@HaNsWiDjAjA I disagree with this. the 550 improves on the 540 in a few ways. its just heavier as a result. Front heavy. in this case it helps mitigate heat and full auto recoil.

[@borkwoof696]

Are the sights anything like a G3?

[@BlokeontheRange]

Yes.

[@LeFeuauxpoudres]

Manurhin* ;) Cool video because we don't see those "french" very much.

[@MyDailyUpload]

I’d love to get my hands on one of those. My “collection” includes examples of Swiss 550, 551, 552, 553 and US 556 and 551A1 rifles. Soon I hope to add a Beretta AR70/90 which is similar rifle but a bit more crudely executed and bulkier. The SIG seems more slim and elegant compared to the Beretta, and the Manhurin is even more so? I need to try it myself.

[@240pixel]

Seen one marked .222 Rem. Interesting gun with even more interesting history. greets from Lithuania!

[@thebotrchap]

Hi, most civilian ones are indeed .222 Rem due to French firearms laws until early 2000s which prohibited civilians owning military calibres. I guess the .223 Rem ones were for international civilian sales.

[@240pixel]

@@thebotrchap that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying!

[@8d4o0c4]

Great rifle, gents. Thank you for the peek! Would love to hear more about the naturalisation quest, actually - I will be applying soon-ish, myself.

[@tombradley4844]

Is that a Sterling SMG in the background ?.

[@kettujabamiesukkeliukko]

And so Ian made video of 542 :)

[@dmg4415]

Lovechild by HK and a Galil? In apperence!

[@nekolare]

Bro is Vardoc lost twin brother

[@ShortT-RexLikeArms]

Weird nerdy question, but what's the difference between the receiver wall thickness between the 540 and the 550?

[@ghalmarraz8706]

That's awesome. Need one

[@scipio10000]

I take it that 'Le Chap' will be competing in the Nordic Event in the Retro and 'The Bloke' in the Classic divisions. What are they going to use as sidearms? MAC50 and HP35s?

[@BlokeontheRange]

The FB2020 divisions are different. We'll both be competing in Irons.

[@scipio10000]

@@BlokeontheRange Sidearms choice not yet finalized?

[@BlokeontheRange]

I'm taking an FN BDA9, and he's taking a 15 round French 9mm pistol, whatever it's called...

[@thebotrchap]

scipio10000 MAB PA-15

[@GregStachowski]

@@BlokeontheRange he really is going to have to keep looking over his shoulder for a Ian sneaking up on him, isn't he?

[@inprice123]

Aaaargh. Lens flare! Cleaning the lens would help.

[@TheIvanNewb]

You guys dropping by Denmark, then? Nordics, "røde" on the mic (Danish for red).

[@mediocrefunkybeat]

Very popular audio brand. Make decent gear.

[@jamietus1012]

I'm pretty sure they were talking about finnish brutality

[@TheIvanNewb]

@@mediocrefunkybeat Ah, fair. Was not aware

[@Supernaut242]

A very popular microphone brand from Australia nonetheless.

[@jic1]

Funny that you brought that up, I read just today that the founder of that company bought Kurt Cobain's Martin guitar from the MTV Unplugged set for $6M.

[@AA-dn8dj]

I wish I could buy those in America.

[@betaich]

Since when is chaps beard grey? Never noticed it before.

[@RCGB31]

manurHin ! ;-)

[@disdownloadnetvictim]

Would you happen to have any manurhin SG540 magazines for sale or trade or know of a source for some? please let me know as i would like to try these for my 550 here in USA.

[@thebotrchap]

Sorry, no idea of sources stateside. They do fit my 550 although a bit tight but that’s a sample size of 1.

[@disdownloadnetvictim]

@@thebotrchap theyre steel correct? would you sell any?

[@thebotrchap]

@@disdownloadnetvictim Very thick steel. No sorry, I retain my small stash jealously 😀

[@disdownloadnetvictim]

@@thebotrchap do they scratch the paint on 550 receivers? If youre interesed in trades let me know... I would like an alternative to the all plastic 550 magazines.

[@thebotrchap]

@@disdownloadnetvictim Probably in the long run. I don’t actually use them in my PE90. There’s more than enough wall thickness to to shave a thou or so off the mag wall if you wanted to avoid it though.

[@markm6464]

Are 540 magazines interchangeable with 550 magazines?

[@BlokeontheRange]

No

[@gunwatcher81]

@@BlokeontheRange I’ve seen the Chilean made FAMAE made SIG-540s imported to Canada use SIG-550 mags. Does this mean the French Manhurin SIG-540s and the Chilean FAMAE 540s have different magazine wells? Was it always this way with Chile’s 540s?

[@slaughterround643]

my friends are wondering why I'm slowly humming Megalovania to myself while watching youtube...

[@robgoodsight6216]

Hahahahaha...me tooooo!!!