Sig Sauer MPX Air Rifle Review 2023


Here is my real-world review of the Sig MPX Air Rifle, I hope you enjoy it.

My son recently did rather well in some school exams. Actually, I’ll step back a bit – I told him before the exams took place if he did well then I’d get him something. My son does push himself a little harder when motivated correctly, you see. And he did indeed do rather well so we had a chat about what he would like. My only stipulation being it couldn’t be anything to do with his PS4 and no online purchases!

So, to cut a long story short, he asked me if I would buy him an Air Rifle and as of course, this is a particular interest of mine so I was pretty happy about this.

Off we went to the airgun shop, not really knowing what we’d end up with. My son is 11, at the time of writing, so I knew that high on his list would be something that looked pretty cool and they definitely had a lot of cool looking things there. One of them being the Sig Sauer MPX Semi-Automatic Air Rifle, which he ended up asking me to buy him. It was more than I was intending to pay (especially with the extra CO2 canisters, pellets, red dot sight, and additional targets) but get it we did.

Last update on 2022-12-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

What is the Sig Sauer MPX?

The Sig MPX is a Semi-Automatic CO2 Powered Air Rifle. It shoots either .177 or .22 caliber pellets (depending on what model you’ve bought) from a 30-round pellet magazine. The version I bought and reviewed below is the .177 caliber version.

 

Looks

There’s no question that in the looks department, the Sig MPX has it nailed. It looks and feels solid and very well made. The detailing is excellent. You wouldn’t then want to pick this thing up and it feels all light and flimsy! Well, you wouldn’t be disappointed. This Air Rifle not only looks the part but feels the part too. There’s some real weight behind it, 3kg in fact (about 6.2 lb).

Seen below, my one (err sorry, my son’s one) has an optional red-dot sight that we’ve clipped into the M193 accessory rail. The rifle is constructed from steel, apart from the stock which is plastic. This stock hides the 88g CO2 canister that you’ll need to use to power it.

Sig Sauer MPX Air Rifle

The magazine clip is also plastic but feels fine and makes a reassuring snap when locked into the rifle. It holds a good amount of pellets too, you can load 30 .177 caliber pellets into each magazine.

Sig Sauer MPX Magazine

Pellet Loading

Just a point about this. Loading the pellets into the magazine can be a bit fiddly, but this is the norm for this kind of semi-automatic rifle. This is usually the only time when my son lets me get involved in using the gun! “Dad, can you load it up, please?” <sigh>. You can see below the plastic pellet holder:

plastic pellet holder

You can see here how the pellets then end up in the magazine:

how the pellets end up in the magazine

It doesn’t take long to load though really. Purely by myself, I was able to remove the pellet cartridge, load it up with 30 pellets and feed it back into the magazine in under 2 minutes.

If you have a helpful assistant then he can start putting the pellets in from one side whilst you start from the other, reducing the time even more. Either way, it doesn’t take that long to load. Which, incidentally, is still a lot longer than it can take to fire all those pellets if you wanted!

Of course, another option is to buy a spare magazine! If you want to do that, you can check the price here.

 

Power Plant

The MPX will require an 88g CO2 canister for use. I’m not always a fan of these as they can be expensive and not last as long as you hope. Additionally, you really need to get through one in each session.

If you leave your CO2 canister screwed into your Rifle and then store it you will most likely find that some of the gas has leaked out by the next time you need to use it and you’ll have to screw another one in earlier than you thought.

When you need to though, they’re easy to work with. You unclick the plastic stock from the gun, exposing the empty CO2 canister. Unscrew it and then screw the new one in, you might just hear the canister’s seal break when fully inserted.

If you’d like to know how much these CO2 canister’s cost, you can check the price here.

 

What does the Sig Sauer MPX come with?

You may find that some suppliers offer bundles with this particular gun. What I received with mine was literally just the rifle itself. Which may be fine for a lot of people if you already have the other stuff. Or, if you’re like me you might not like the extra bits some shops throw-in and would rather get your own stuff.

You can see from the below I have the red-dot sight attached along with the CO2 canister and also the pellets visible, these don’t usually come with it:

What will you need once you’ve bought the Sig Sauer MPX?

To be able to use this Rifle, you will need the following:

  • The Sig MPX uses carbon dioxide to power the firing of the pellets. It takes an 88g CO2 canister which you will need for its use.
  • The Rifle fires .177 caliber pellets, don’t spend too much on these – dome-heads are fine, a general purpose pellet.
  • Although it has a sight built-in, I’d recommend a red-dot sight, these aren’t expensive.

 

Manufacturer Details

Sig Sauer used to be a leading manufacturer of firearms. Originally formed in 1853, they have a lot of history behind them. Rather than me waffle on, best go straight to the horse’s mouth. Check their website out here.

Technical Specification

Model NameSIG MPX
Power Delivery88G CO2
Pellet Caliber.177 cal
Muzzle Velocityup to 575 fps
Trigger Weight7 lb (31 N)
Stock TypePlastic
Accessory RailM1913
SightsFolding
Mags Included1 30 round Mag
Length25.75 inch (65.4 cm)
Weight6.2 lb (3 kg)

 

How loud is the Sig Sauer MPX?

I used a sound meter recording from about the trigger point to give you an idea of sound levels. After 30 shots, the noise level seemed to vary from 97 to 102 decibels, with the majority on the lower end of this.

This seems typical of a CO2 Air Rifle, to be honest, and didn’t stand out as being too loud at all. You can buy an optional suppressor for it but they don’t seem to be available in too many places.

 

What velocity does the Sig Sauer MPX shoot at?

The manufacturer claims it will shoot at up to 575 fps. This isn’t a particularly powerful rifle but that’s not what it’s designed for. Bear in mind that these results will vary, depending on the type of pellet you’re using (the heavier the pellet the slower it will be), the temperature and also your altitude.

A lot of people still get caught up in this whole “It has to shoot fast!” game. Each rifle has its purpose though and for the things you’ll be shooting with this you won’t be bothered about its speed. Also, if you think 575 fps is slow, do still remember that this equates to just under 400 mph!

 

What’s it like to use the Sig Sauer MPX?

It’s such good fun. It’s hard to knock the gun in any way really as it just does what it was designed to do, which is bring maximum enjoyment and a smile to its user.

Yes, it’s a bit of a pain having the larger CO2 canisters and yes, it can be a little fiddly getting those pellets into the magazine but there’s no way around this for any gun of this type.

The smaller CO2 canister just wouldn’t be sufficient and how else are you meant to load multiple pellets?

As you’d expect from a CO2, recoil is minimal, barely perceptible actually. Being semi-automatic you can really get through that 30 mags in no time at all. Actually, in about 10 seconds if you really try hard! As for reliability, well it hasn’t failed once yet, not a single jam. We’ve had it for a few months now and gone through a good few tins of pellets.

Last weekend my son and I went to the latest supermarket and bought loads of things we could shoot with it to mix things up a bit. For the next couple of hours we had a great time shooting:

  • old apples
  • mints (they explode on impact)
  • eggs (they make a load of mess which my son loves, my wife – not so much)
  • miniature fizzy drink cans, great to shoot once shaken up.
  • watermelon – the .177 pellet will penetrate the skin and get stuck in the flesh. We tried to aim at the same entry hole and eventually made it through to the other side.

This is what you’ll find yourself doing if you have one of these. Spending time outside having fun. If not with your family, then by yourself. This actually leads quite nicely to the next section, which is…

 

What’s it best for?

Having fun. And boy, are you going to have a lot of fun with this. This gun is designed for plinking. Going out with your kids into the backyard and shooting tin cans and targets. You may or may not be surprised about this but the accuracy of the MPX is very good and if you’re shooting at a target you will achieve good groupings.

 

Sig Sauer MPX Problems

It’s hardly fair to mention the cost of the 88g CO2 canister but it is a factor when you buy a gun like this. If you’re going to use the gun a lot the price could build up. Each 88g canister will fire somewhere between 250-300 pellets, that’s a whole tin.

How often do you go outside plinking and get through a whole tin? It’s probably not that often. This means you’ll be potentially storing your MPX with some CO2 still left, which will reduce the number of pellets you can get out of it (CO2 will leak over time).

The stock is synthetic, as we know. I don’t think this is too much of an issue though really. You need to remove it to gain access to the CO2 and that could be tricky if it was made out of metal, like the gun itself.

 

Best Way To Buy

If you’re interested in buying a Sig MPX or indeed just want to check out the price, then take a look at it here.

 

Final Verdict

I’d definitely recommend it. In fact, just talking about it like I’ve done here for the last hour or so has made me want to go outside and shoot some stuff with it, so that’s what I’m going to do! Finally, then, this is what I think:

Positives

  • Its looks are great.
  • Made very well, feels expensive and that it won’t break.
  • 30-round magazine.
  • Semi-Automatic, high rate of fire.
  • Reliable – it hasn’t let me down once.

Negatives

  • Having to use the 88g CO2 canisters can be a little tiresome.
  • A tiny bit fiddly loading 30 pellets into the mag (you can still do it in under 2 minutes by yourself though).
  • Best for plinking – due to its relatively low velocity it has one main purpose, fun.

 

Overall Rating

Considering it’s not trying to be anything other than what it was designed for, I give the Sig Sauer MPX:

94%

Related

Finally, if you’re interested in what my thoughts are for the best air rifle for the complete beginner, then please check out the article here. Or, if you’re more interested in understanding what the most popular calibers of pellets are for air rifles, then take a look here.