There are very few guns that are universally liked by everyone. The Swiss SIG 550 series is probably one of the best examples of such a weapon. Just like Swiss watches, to me, Swiss rifles were always a symbol of quality and refinement. But I never had a chance to shoot one and only saw this rifle in books and movies.
Until one day, when we went to the range with the father of my then-girlfriend. I met her at a shooting match, we were both range officers, and her father had a fascinating gun collection. That day, we were planning to test some new electronic reactive targets, and I had no idea which gun he would bring to the range.
When he opened his bag, I was speechless. He had a SIG 552 “Commando”, a short and compact variant, my favorite one. I put it on the grass and took a few photos. He also had a standard SIG 550 in his collection, but that day he was planning to shoot from inside the vehicle, so the compact weapon made more sense.
We spent the next few hours blazing through a labyrinth of shooting bays in his Land Cruiser. I was driving, and he was riding shotgun and shooting the targets through an open passenger window. We both had a blast. Once the driving part was over, I finally had a chance to shoot the SIG 552.
The gun was the perfect size for me, using the safety felt natural, and the recoil was tame. Needless to say, I was beyond excited. He noticed that, smiled and said, “If you marry my daughter, one day this SIG might be yours”.
I was 24 years old and had no plans to get married, and my then-girlfriend was even younger and never even mentioned marriage. But the thought of owning a SIG 552 made me think about the idea. At the end, common sense prevailed, and I never got that SIG.
But since then, the gun fascinated me even more. Many argue whether the SIG 550 is an AK variant. I think it is not, but there are certain similarities: a gas system and a bolt, so probably Swiss engineers tested an AK and had some takeaways. Or did they?
I tried to find the answers, but, to my surprise, the history of SIG 550 wasn’t really covered in detail anywhere, at least in English. The only book I found was about Swiss rifles manufactured before 1958. Even my friends who traveled to Switzerland to do some weapon history research did not find much information about the development history of the SIG 550 series.
But recently, the French author Thomas Anderson announced a book about the history of Swiss rifles called “Guardians of Neutrality – Swiss Rifles Through the Ages”. He has a channel called Le Feu aux Poudres, where he talks about weapon history.
The UK publisher of the book, Safar Publishing, announced the pre-order on Kickstarter and achieved the first goal within 24 hours. If you’re interested in the history of Swiss weapons, you can support the project on Kickstarter or wait until the book is available on their website.
I am looking forward to reading it - with current prices and availability, I don’t know when I will be able to afford buying a SIG rifle, but at least I can enjoy a book about its history.
