New SIG Cross .308

[u/Oetter83]

Never seen a rifle BNIB come in like this before.

I wonder if it would be fine after cleaning but leaning towards just returning it since these are far from cheap firearms

[u/SpectreBallistics]

Return that.

The rifle was clearly stored / transported incorrectly at some point between the manufacturer and you.

This is why we coat our guns in oil. You need to clean it before using it, but at least it wont be rusted.

[u/Oetter83 → u/SpectreBallistics]

Apparently the entire batch a retailer got of cross .308’s had this problem

I ordered this from one of bigger reputable retailers from Ontario so I wonder if something majorly fucked up at SIG

[u/SpectreBallistics → u/Oetter83]

The root cause here is moisture. At some point it was stored in a wet environment. Where that environment was wet, you'll never know.

[u/Oetter83 → u/SpectreBallistics]

SIG USA fighting the trade war by dipping their barrels in the Atlantic before shipping them to Canada apparently

[u/CryptidWorks → u/SpectreBallistics]

Yeah, this looks like it came out of a warehouse that experienced a flood or extended high humidity conditions.

If the whole batch was like the rumors OP mentioned, it may have possibly been the railcar/trailer they came in on.

Either way, the whole batch should have been an insurance write-off and never been delivered. Yeesh.

[u/Oetter83 → u/CryptidWorks]

It’s interesting to me that it’s just the barrel. The rest of the gun is in perfect condition id have assumed some corrosion on the rest of the gun or outside of barrel

It’s almost like SIG was testing their barrels with corrosive ammo

[u/CryptidWorks → u/Oetter83]

Differing metallurgy/treatments. The receiver is aluminum, the barrel is steel. The bolt is nitrided/coated, so it's rust-resistant, etc.

The barrel I think is just regular 400 series stainless, which will rust if exposed to moisture for prolonged amounts of time. It's corrosion resistant but it's formulated to gain ease of machining at the cost of less rust resistance than higher-chromium alloys.

I almost wonder if they forgot to oil them before they left the factory. Being stored in a box, possibly with moisture for months with no shipping oil would probably do it.

[u/Dexcessive → u/Oetter83]

Unfortunately SIG isn’t what it used to be when it comes to their qc.

[u/Kridane → u/Dexcessive]

Everytime a european manufacturer moves to the US their quality tanks

[u/CryptidWorks → u/Kridane]

The ol' "moving it to save money on wages and tariffs" definitely has a downside, and that downside is people will do the absolute minimum when their work treats them like shit for minimum wage (or as close to it as possible), practically no holidays and no job security due to At-Will employment (and NH, where the Sig factory is located, is indeed at-will).

I certainly wouldn't have any company loyalty or pride in my work if my boss could fire me on a whim for pointing out a problem if they happen to be in a bad mood, and if a batch of rifles were improperly treated or exposed to the elements, it would incentivize covering it up, shutting up, and making it someone else's problem.

Same thing happened to Bosch appliances. There is a significant difference in the QA/failure rates between the models manufactured in Europe vs the US.

[u/AssignmentPutrid3197 → u/Dexcessive]

I'll never buy a Sig after the p320 scandal.

[u/Oetter83 → u/Dexcessive]

The tape on the box saying “inspected by SIG” is kinda funny after looking down the bore