BuzzNectar 35 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 picked up a nib MSAR STG-556 off gunbroker last week.sent off the money order and THEN started to do some research while waiting found out that the standard stg 556 uses only msar mags and are very hard to find,especially for a reasonable price.then while looking i find numerous threads and videos of failure.from jamming and pinching rounds in the chamber to failure to feed of many types,magazines getting stuck in the magwell and complaint of an extremely stiff trigger... wtf did i get myself into well as time pased and my worries stacked the gun finally came in yesterday.i opened up the box it shipped in to find the original gun box...it looked like it was an old one with handling and scratch marks.then i open it up and pull out the gun...it has dust all over it.now im thinking i really got one of the older ones and more prone to problems.took it home stripped it down and sprayed it down with remoil and put it back togeather and mounted a konus red dot.was going to place a target at 100 and try to get it sighted in but the weather started turning crappy so i just threw a bucket out at about 40 to test function i used wolf.223 fmj 55gr. loaded up racked the charging handle and pow...the recoil and volume felt very good(16" barrel version)was surprised on how well it felt even the trigger as it is somewhat stiff but very little travel.ok so lets fire again....click ooohhh shit.it had failed to feed the next round...oh yeah it has a gas setting and it was on low...switched to high,charged the handle and pow.ok lets go again...click failure to feed.went through 20 more rds of this and gave up for the day bummed as hell.so i did some more searching last night and found that some people just didnt have any luck with wolf but ran fine on brass cased more mil spec type .223 and 5.56.so today i scrounge around in storage and find a few rounds of south african 5.56 surpluss and some federal 50gr hollow point .223...load up and pull the trigger.....every round cycled.loaded up a nother mag and set the gas back to low...every round cycled ok load up the federal .223...every round cycled so now im more than relieved.turns out it was the underpowered steel cased .223 wolf that gave this gun probs.i have to admit that as stupid as i was to impulse buy this gun without thorough research,im glad did as if i had seen all the warnings and red flags i would have never bought it and moved on to something else.i can say im very pleased with the feel of this gun.i was an absolute fool to blindly do what i did(especially for the price)but turns out for once luck was on my side...hell even the konus red dot i put on was on target at 100 right off the bat im happy i dodged the bullet this time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyRumore 1,332 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I've never had any problems with mine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronswin 26 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) I've had an early model STG556 for a few years now and even used it in several 3-gun matches. It will use either MSAR magazines or original Steyr AUG magazines with minor filing to the magwell (if yours is first gen model). Don't use Wolf ammo until you have broken in the rifle with a few hundred rounds. The trigger pull will eventually get somewhat better with use and there are a couple aftermarket devices that will help with the trigger feel to a degree. I've had a couple of minor issues with mine and MSAR's customer service was better than companies like Remington or Smith & Wesson. Microtech has recently moved it's facility from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and word is they may have had some problems with this move. Take your STG556 to the range several times more and I'm pretty sure you will appreciate that purchase. Edited April 20, 2011 by Ronswin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I've been looking at these recently...problem is I shoot left. Is this rifle set up to be ambidextrous? Can the ejection port etc. be switched for a lefty? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuzzNectar 35 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) I've been looking at these recently...problem is I shoot left. Is this rifle set up to be ambidextrous? Can the ejection port etc. be switched for a lefty? yes the ejection port can be easily switched to the left,the only thing is that im unsure if you have to buy the left hand bolt to make it work or if the bolt is if you want switch the cocking lever to the right?????i will switch it tomorrow and try to catch some brass in the face for ya and see if thats all you have to do also went to wal mart and bought a box of federal .223 100rd value pack.i had zero probs with this ammo also as it ate it up like candy i cant say enough about how i love the way it feels and how quick it is to shoulder it on target.i would be willing to say that most of the probs of jamming and feeding i read and watched were due to the ammo used.im glad i bought it.did i mention i love the way it feels seriously though its a very mobile unit.shoots great on the move and with a little practice its easy to stay on target with finger on the trigger during mag changes.i managed to pick up 5 30rd and 2 42rd mags new in wrapper for an ok price.....time to stock up on brass cased .223/5.56 so far with the konus im putting 5 shot 1" groups shooting about one shot per second if not a hair faster off the top of the car at 50.any comments on experience or questions please feel free to post as im up for suggestions on tactics/accessories and will answer any Q's about what little i know as of now.thanks.ps...like an idiot i always shoot a new gun a few shots without ear protection to see how unbareable it is,and i must say im very surprised.even with the compact design and 16"barrel(alot shorter than my 16"m4 fully collapsed)the report was very tollerable if needed to be shot without ear protection but i dont recommend doing it anyway just thought i'd throw that out there. Edited April 21, 2011 by BuzzNectar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Hey, let me know how the left handed experiemnt works! How much does this rifle weigh? Will it take standard AR mags? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyRumore 1,332 Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 You guys are not very observant. The pic I posted of my gun is set up left handed. Tony 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scoutjoe 276 Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 The one we had down at the shop runs just fine for the customer. Sure beats the old Pennsylvania Rifle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuzzNectar 35 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Hey, let me know how the left handed experiemnt works! How much does this rifle weigh? Will it take standard AR mags? will do.the e4 version is the one that takes ar mags,i just loved the way the stg 556 looks soooo much exactly like the original AUG,also if you have the stg 556 version you can purchase just the e4 stock that accepts ar mags,its a tad high at $400.its supposed to weigh 7ish unloaded,idk it seems like such a very manipulative(spelling?)package.i just cant stop picking it up and going through the movements with it.(i think my wife belives im having an affair with it)but thats ok it was my birthday present to my self.i have officialy put my m4 up for sale at the local gun shop and declaired this as my main .223/5.56 gun.the ONLY thing im concerned about at this point is how long some of the components will last.paticularly the trigger pack...the hammer,trigger,disconnector is a synthetic material.however i have not herd of a problem there so far.btw i will just tell you now i bought mine new for $1275 shipped.seems like the $12xx is the best deal so far i came up for a 16".i have seen the 20" for a couple hundred cheaper but compact was one thing i was going for.so far accuracy is on par with my dpms m4. You guys are not very observant. The pic I posted of my gun is set up left handed. Tony oh yeah i see that now, is all you have to do is switch the ejection port cover to run lefty?took all but 3 seconds to do.i also have the black one in 16".i originally wanted green till i saw one in person in black....damn good lookin...did i mention it handles and feels awesome thanks Tony Edited April 21, 2011 by BuzzNectar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuzzNectar 35 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Hey, let me know how the left handed experiemnt works! How much does this rifle weigh? Will it take standard AR mags? well it looks like you will need a left hand bolt to make it work.and after i tried and saw it jam it became obvious as to why.just like most other guns the extractor is on one side and thats the direction the cases will go.dont know why i thought the bolt would spit them out whichever way i wanted.anyway i looked around a little and saw a typical price of $125 for a left hand bolt,only thing is that most are currently out of stock.maybe you can find a gun with a lefty in it already set up???got my mags in today and they look great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gunfanatic 221 Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 You have to change the bolt to one designed for left side ejection. They also make a model E4 that takes AR15 mags. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 You have to change the bolt to one designed for left side ejection. They also make a model E4 that takes AR15 mags. Thanks man! Thats what I needed to know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnny 0 Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 (edited) I like mine, have the left hand bolt but havent put it in yet, mine wont shoot wolf yet but I was told by Ratworx that it should after several hundred rounds of brass ammo. I dont know about now but 6 months ago i got a bunch of 30 and 42 round mags from Ratworx for a great price Edited April 23, 2011 by johnny Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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