The NGSW You Have at Home: SIG New MCX Spear in 6.8x51

For those looking to get as close as possible to the Army's ultra-modern Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, the MCX Spear-based XM7, SIG Sauer has you covered.

The NGSW program, which SIG won in April 2022, aims to use the XM7 rifle to replace the M4 Carbine series with America's warfighters and the XM250 machine gun to do the same for the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. While the M4 and M249 are 5.56 NATO platforms, the new NGSW series will use the Army's new 6.8 Common Cartridge family of ammunition.

The Army's XM7, which is a select-fire MCX Spear in 6.8x51 with a 15.3-inch barrel is designed to carry its SLX suppressor full-time. (All photos: Guns.com)

That's what makes the newest MCX Spear so cool, as it is chambered not in SIG's commercial .277 Fury variant of the cartridge but in 6.8x51mm – and SIG plans to make overruns of Army ammo available to consumers. The rifles will still be able to shoot dimensionally identical .277 Fury, while other caliber options such as .308 and 6.5 CM are a barrel swap away.

Guns.com recently attended SIG's Next event where the latest gas-piston-operated MCX Spear was on hand, and we got a sneak peek.

SIG will release the new MCX Spear in 6.8x51 in both a 16-inch carbine and a 13-inch factory SBR, both with a standard Coyote finish, 1:7 twist cold-hammer-forged 5/8x24 TPI threaded barrels, folding telescoping Magpul SL-M stocks, and 20-round AR-10 style mags.

The carbine-length MCX Spear in 6.8x51 carries a 16-inch barrel for an overall length, with the stock extended, of 38.3 inches. Weight is 9.2 pounds empty and without optics, accessories, can, or sling.

The carbine-length MCX Spear in 6.8x51, magazines — Whereas SIG previously marketed the MCX Spear with Lancer mags, the new all-metal mags are made in house by the company.

6.8x51 Army 113-grain rounds — The military overrun ammo on hand was 113-grain copper solid ball in 20-round boxes, 460-round cans, and 920-round crates. With a .330 ballistic coefficient and 3,200 FPS velocity out of a 16-inch barrel, these rounds spec out at 2,569 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. The case is a brass/stainless steel hybrid that allows for increased muzzle velocity/energy compared to traditional brass.

The bad news is that exclusivity comes with a cost, and the rifles will hit the $4K mark with 6.8x51 overrun ammo coming in at something like $4-5 a round. But for hardcore collectors with deep pockets (or room to spare on their plastic), that price will likely not even be a speed bump.

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