Disassembly, Reassembly of the SSG 3000 Rifle

Just to let you know you’re faced with a precision piece of hardware, the "SSG" stands for scharfschützengewehr ("sharp shooter rifle") manufactured by J. P. Sauer & Sohn of Eckenforde, Germany. As imported to these shores by Sig Arms, the SSG 3000 is chambered for .308 Winchester, wears a four-groove, shock-absorbing, flashsuppressed sniper barrel 23.5 inches long, an adjustable Mc Millan fiberglass stock and has a trigger pull of three pounds that breaks like an ice sickle.

Weighing in at twelve pounds, and with an even heftier price tag, the rifle is offered in three tactically-oriented packages. The basic, Level I, has a carrying case but no optics. Level II includes a Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-10x40mm Du plex reticle scope, Harris bipod and carrying case. Level III ups the scope to a Leupold Mark IV M1 10x40mm Mil Dot, Harris Bipod and case.

At any level, the cost of these packages limits the chances of servicing an SSG Sig Arms tells us purchasers of these guns lean heavily towards those who prefer to do their own maintenance. This is not unexpected. The rifle was designed, is built to and serves primarily as a tactical weapon with Law Enforcement and military Special Operations world wide. There’s still hope.

When price is no factor, as it can be amongst wellheeled trophy hunters, serious target competitors capable of devastating High Power rifle matches and those among them who hanker to carry their centerfire skills into smallbore competition with the same rifle, the possibilities increase in your favor. Reason? The versatility of the rifle. It can down a prize mountain ram at 400 yards or better, win Across- The-Course matches and there is a It is also uniquely versatile among them.

sub-MOA .22LR caliber conversion available that the owner can install. Well, that always depends upon the self-held respect said owner has for their personal gunsmithing expertise. For that and other factors I’ll address, including the adjustable trigger, these over-ambitious types often end up facing you wearing a puzzled expression and toting a problem. So, you’re not entirely out of the picture with any SSG 3000 happening to drop.

Because all of them are mechanically the same regardless of level, I’ll concentrate here on providing information for the base rifle. Field Stripping Plus I’ve never stated this previously in fourteen years worth of these articles: The owners’ manual for the SSG 3000 is the best I’ve ever read. Its detail is unsurpassed. To be admittedly picky, the information provided even goes too far when addressing trigger adjustment. I’ll get deeper into concerns about that later and trust you’ll remember my words of caution.

Unfor A B It requires only mild encouragement. Above center and When reinstalling it in the receiver the position must be uncocked. tunately, few gun owners bother with the manual and, as a result, mistakes will be made. A very smart tool for working on this rifle appears on page 402 of Brownells catalog #62. It is a drive torque T-handle, specifically part #792-212-065AC. It’s great for removing all the hex head screws you’ll encounter and perfect for reinstalling them.

These screws are tightened to a manufacturers spec equaling sixtyfive inch-pounds of torque. Once the screw being turned in reaches that specification, the T-handle "breaks," Assemblies are available only as complete replacements. See text for comments on trigger adjustability. Bspinning freely and tightening no further. Here is yet another whydidn’t-I-think-of-that idea. Remove the magazine by depressing its ejector button, check the chamber and put on your eye protection.

With the bolt open about half way, engage the safety (313) and withdraw the bolt from the receiver (300). You may have to rotate the bolt to the left by placing the safety back on with its button next to the trigger in order to avoid bumping into the stock cheek piece and complete the withdrawal. Slacken off pressure and remove the A

rear (514) and front (512) stock screws, in that order. There’s a filler piece that the magazine ejector button and forward stock screw passes. Carefully insert a 5/16" punch in the forward stock screw hole and tap down on the filler piece. It doesn’t take much to dislodge from its stock recess. Lift the barreled action from the stock. The trigger group (700) will remain attached to the receiver.

If the barrel is badly fouled or the chamber shows a need of some polishing, loosen the two rear clamping screws and completely remove the front one (306). The order here is center, rear, front. Pull out the insert (308). This key-like part locates the barrel relative to the receiver and fits in a barrel slot. The barrel itself is a snug slip fit. Separating it may call for more than a slight tug. All the above goes a little beyond basic field stripping but it sets you up nicely for going further.

Detailed Disassembly The schematic is divided up according to subassemblies. #100 is the bolt group, #200 the scope mount, #300 the receiver, #400 the barrel, #500 the adjustable stock, #600 the magazine and #700 the trigger mechanism. Begin with the bolt. The cocking piece, or lock (313), is not threaded and is secured in the bolt (109) by a cam. Close and open the bolt a few times to get familiar with the location of the cam when the action is cocked and uncocked.

Secure the bolt between padded vise jaws and rotate the cam to its cocked position. You may have to insert a 5/32" punch into the hole in the cocking piece to do this. Afterwards, you can withdraw the complete firing pin assembly for cleaning (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105). Comb offset via two recessed screws (A), height via locking screws (B) and adjustment nut (C). Length is changed by adding or removing spacers inside the butt plate.

The extractor (111) and ejector (106) are retained by roll pins (108 and 110) which drift in either direction. I suggest you only drive the pins out far enough to free up the related part to make reinstalling the pins much easier and greatly lessen the prospect of damage. The extractor is removed in a manner similar to a Remington 700. Depress the plunger to compress the extractor spring, pivot out the extractor and control the spring pressure on the plunger.

Once the ejector pin is out of their way there is nothing to prevent the ejector and its spring from escaping. Be prepared. So far, so good. There isn’t a lot to dismantling the receiver beyond the magazine catch (307), its guide pin (309), compression spring (310) and pressure bolt (311). The catch is removed first. It has tabs in the bottom that rest in the receiver’s catch recess and it retains the guide pin, spring and pressure bolt.

No retaining pins or tools are involved in removing or reinstalling this assembly. The trigger group is a different proposition. As you can see it has upward of twenty internal components held together by pins (714) and a rocker lever (718). Contrary to what has been published in the manual, among other places, don’t believe setting the trigger take-up and letoff points is easily accomplished or even possible without an experienced Sig Arms technician planted at your side.

Does that mean this trigger isn’t adjustable as advertised? No. Anyone can adjust it for position along its longitudinal axis. This allows a change in the space existing between the front of the trigger (710) and trigger guard to accommodate the wearing of heavy gloves in cold weather. Or, should it exist, a really fat trigger finger. However, in its most forward position the trigger must not contact the unlock slide (708).

In the rearmost position the trigger must likewise be clear of any contact with the adjustment screw (709) identified in the accompanying photo. A complete replacement trigger assembly can be had from Sig Arms to correct problems created by people who’ve attempted take-up/let-off alterations. Individual parts are not available. Similar adjustment limitations do not exist with the stock. This puppy is owner adjustable for height, offset and length.

Recessed in, but easily accessible via the top of the cheek piece, are two release screws for changing offset. Back each of these off four turns to slide the piece left or right as required, then tighten both to sixty-five inch-pounds. Two locking screws extend from the right side of the stock. Slacken both to set the desired height with the stock adjustment nut, then tighten both screws to maintain it. Changing length of pull is a matter of adding or subtracting butt plate spacers.

These are not your usual spacers. To do this, back out the butt plate screws enough to pull the entire unit slightly to the rear. Push the top of the spacer to be removed to the left, rotate it downward and extract it from the bottom. When that suffices in lessening LOP sufficiently, tighten the plate screws. Naturally,

SSG 3000 Ri le (Specifications subject to change without notice) 101 Cylinder Pin for Firing Pin 102 Striking Pin Nut 103 Brazed Nipple 104 Firing Pin Spring 105 Firing Pin 106 Ejector Pin 107 Ejector Spring 108 Extractor Pin 109 Bolt 110 Pin for Extractor Spring 111 Extractor 112 Cocking Handle Knob 113 Cocking Piece 201 Rail 202 Mount 203 Counterpiece 204 Clamping Screw 205 Allen Screw 301 Magazine Ejector Spring 302 Magazine Ejector 303 Receiver Housing 304 Set Screw 306 Clamping Screw 307 Magazine Catch 308 Insert 309 Guide Pin 310 Compression Spring 311 Pressure Bolt 312 Roll Pin 313 Safety Lock 401 Barrel, 7.62×51 NATO 402 Flash Suppressor 403 Retention Screw 501 Stock 510 Sling Swivel 513 Washer 514 Pan Head Screw 601 Magazine Case 602 Magazine Feeder 603 Magazine Spring 604 Magazine Floor Plate 701 Bolt Stop 702 Bolt Catch 703 Trigger Sear 704 Trigger Sear Compression Spring 705 Rocker Lever 706 Trigger Lever 707 Trigger Shoe 708 Unlock Slide 709 Set Screw 710 Trigger 711 Pan Head Screw 712 Trigger Spring 713 Collar Stud 714 Straight Pin 715 Trigger Housing 716 Spring Bolt 717 Trigger Spring Set Screw 718 Rocker Lever 719 Spring Pin 720 Magazine Catch Spring 721 Spring Counter Bearing

A B Cto increase LOP you add to the stack and additional spacers are not on Sig Arms restricted list. The .22 Caliber Option There’s more than one reason this is offered. Law Enforcement departments and the military can reduce costs by using .22 rimfire in their training programs. A High Power competitor can hone skills using cheap 40 grain pills in the same gun normally fed with match-grade 168 grain hollow point boat tails.

From a weight, trigger pull and stock fit standpoint this is of significant advantage to serious shooters, tactical or otherwise. This package includes a barrel, bolt, magazine adapter, .22 magazine and all required mounting screws. A few changes are needed before the conversion can be completed. First, remove the .308 barrel. Next, you’ll be working with the receiver. Refer to drawings A, Band Cin that order. Press down on the magazine ejector spring (301) to unhook and let it relax.

Unhook the lower claw of the magazine ejector (302). Lift the bottom end of the ejector, pivot it to the left and withdraw it from its upper aperture.

The slot under the barrel’s breech end should be facing downward when 22 LR caliber conversion. (A) After removing the barrel, remove the magazine ejector and unhook the magazine ejector spring (301) downwards from the upper retainer. (B) Unhook the lower claw from the magazine ejector (302) and remove it. (C) Lift the bottom end of the magazine ejector, swing it to the left and remove it from the upper aperture. it is aligned with the receiver’s barrel slot.

Insert the barrel, install the insert (308) from below the receiver, lightly tighten the clamping screws and remove the .308 magazine. Install the magazine adapter upward and into contact with the barrel. Secure it in place with the adapter screw (656). Be certain the screw is well seated, then check on barrel location by rotating it lightly in both directions. Insert and cycle the bolt completely a few times to assure smooth travel, lock-up and set headspace.

Tighten the clamping screws to sixty-five inch-pounds and reunite the action with the stock. Insert the .22 magazine until it snaps in place. Congratulations, you’ve just transformed a trophy-downing, Acrossthe-Course match winner into a sub- MOA, smallbore tack driver. And you can turn it right back into a trophy getter any time the owner wants. Reassembly Tip If the bolt isn’t uncocked, it cannot be inserted into the receiver.

When rejoining the barrel to the receiver after maintenance or conversion, start in one clamping screw (306) from the left. Install 308 and turn the screw into contact with it. After contact is made, give the screw one-eighth additional turn. This spreads the receiver making it easier to insert the barrel. Before moving the screw to the right side to tighten it and its two compan ions to sixty-five inch-pounds, install, close and turn down the bolt.

This will pull the barrel to the rear and reestablish the correct headspace. Now tighten all the screws. AG American Gunsmithing Association