#spearlt

It’s in our nature to do comparisons with just about everything in life. This is most especially true when we have to put down our hard earned money. Recently I wanted to do some comparisons with a couple of hard hitting 16” rifles in my collection. And I wanted to take 2 different perspectives. The first one being if I didn’t already have an AR style rifle and secondly which on would I choose for an apocalypse style scenario. I think at the end of the day these decisions are most definitely individual in nature, so here are my thoughts.

The first rifle I’d like to discus is my Sig Sauer Spear LT in 5.56. This is a piston driven rifle that is meant for military use. We of course as civilians only have the semi-automatic variant, but other than the giggle switch, these are the same. Piston driven rifles arguably have better environmental performance, that is performance in adverse conditions such as snow, rain and sand. The spear LT is also left hand friendly with ambidextrous controls for the magazine release, safety selector, bolt release and charging handle. Ergonomics are superior on the spear LT in my opinion. Mine is in FDE but they are also available in black I do believe. I have owned mine since they first were released; I picked it up from Brownells a number of years ago and being the 3 variant of the sig MCX platform, they’ve fine tuned it to what it is today. Despite sig having a lot of drama with their P320 series of handgun, their MCX platform is well loved across the board.

The second rifle is the Geissele Super duty. This one is the Brownells exclusive that is no longer available. But unlike the regular Super duty, it’s mainly the cosmetics and coloring that set it apart. The newer Super duty rifles come outfitted for a huxwurx suppressor and have steel re-enforcements in the QD sling sockets on the hand guard. But other than that, they are very much the same. I have thousands of rounds through the Geissele Super duty and can’t think of a single malfunction I’ve had with this rifle. It is a tad on the heavy side but not much different than the Sig Spear LT. The ergonomics are less stellar when compared to the Sig Spear LT as well. With only an ambidextrous safety selector and charging handle, it lacks the ambidextrous magazine release and bolt release that the sig Spear LT has. Sure these can be added, but it’s nice to have features such as these integrated into the platform. 

So which of these would I choose? If it’s my first AR-15 I would most likely choose the Brownells Exclusive Geissele Super Duty over the Sig Spear LT. The Spear LT would be a better choice in my opinion if you’re a lefty and maybe already have a number of AR-15s and just want something slightly different than the norm. It sure is one fine rifle. If I had to choose just one for an apocalypse type of scenario I would most likely choose the Geissele Super Duty solely on the basis of parts availability. The AR-15 platform is truly America’s rifle and parts are plentiful. The Sig spear LT, while a fine rifle, many parts are proprietary and that can lead into longevity issues. At the end of the day, either of these are fine choice and it comes down to a personal preference indeed. 

The Sig Sauer MCX platform has been around for quite some time now. The latest version of the Sig Sauer MCX is the Spear LT. The Spear version is slated for military use, so the LT version is the light weight version of the new M5 selected for the military. It comes in a number of different calibers and configurations currently. Available calibers are 5.56, 7.62x39 and .300 Blackout. The Sig Spear LT is available in rifle, pistol and SBR versions. The barrel lengths are 16”, 11.5” and 9” for .300 Blackout. You can get it in any color you prefer, so long as it’s in FDE. Hopefully other color options become available down the road.

My quest for the new sig Spear LT started back in the Fall of last year when it was first announced. Being the new hotness on the block, they were pretty hard to find in a specific version. I had my hopes set on an 11.5” 5.56 pistol version, but last month the 16” version in 5.56 and the 11.5” version in 7.62x39 came in stock over at Brownells. I truly wasn’t interested in the 7.62x39 version, even if the barrel length was what I was after. I had also passed up a .300 Blackout version that was in stock back in November. So I decided to go ahead with the 16”rifle version in 5.56. Brownells of course had it on the way to my FFL the following day. Once it arrived, I picked it up and started to look over the rifle.

The first thing that is noticeable is the packaging that Sig uses a very simple cardboard box to ship the Sig MCX Spear LT in. I’d have preferred to see some sort of a hard case for such a pricey rifle, but let’s be honest…most any factory hard case gets put in the attic anyways in leu of a nicer range case. It comes with a single Magpul M3 Pmag in black, a sticker, a cable lock and documentation. There was supposed to be a taper washer included in case you wanted to change out the Sig specific muzzle device for a non-Sig muzzle device. This is especially helpful if you’re using a suppressor other than a Sig suppressor. Unfortunately this taper washer was missing from my box.

First impressions of the rifle itself…it’s truly one fine looking firearm. The fit and finish are truly what you’d expect from a higher end firearm. The anodized aluminum parts were all a slightly different shade of FDE which I tend to prefer. It is piston driven with a 2 position gas setting. The factory trigger, while no Geissele, will do for now. It’s way better than any milspec trigger I’ve used in the past. It does have a sorta flat bow with a hook at the bottom. I’m not crazy about the hook, but the trigger pull, break and reset are nice for what they are. The folding stock is very minimalist, except it does have sort of a cheek riser and QD socket. At the end of the day…there is nothing that “has” to be changed out immediately except the muzzle device so I can use one of my Rugged suppressors. So far, I’ve added a set of Magpul MBUS3 in FDE and the Sig Tango MSR optic.

Hoping for an update on this rifle in the near future, but if I don’t acquire any other firearms this year, so be it. The Sig MCX Spear LT is truly a modern fighting rifle. It balances better than anticipated, even with the added weight of a can on the end. Well done Sig.