FN SCAR16s

[spd522]

I shot one at FNH 3 Gun and liked it. It would take a little to get used to but I thought it would be fine for 3 gun.

Probably my biggest gripe on it (other than price) is the mismatched color of the parts. Surely they could get all

the tan colors to match and make everything else black, grey, or parkerized and not some of each. Just looks assembled from assorted parts bins as it is, color-wise. But I could live with it.

Craig

[joshua79109]

I shot one at FNH 3 Gun and liked it. It would take a little to get used to but I thought it would be fine for 3 gun.

Probably my biggest gripe on it (other than price) is the mismatched color of the parts. Surely they could get all

the tan colors to match and make everything else black, grey, or parkerized and not some of each. Just looks assembled from assorted parts bins as it is, color-wise. But I could live with it.

Craig

The color is odd. Mine is different - the lower is darker. It appears that they are still playing with the color, since they seem to change colors as the newer batches ship.

I've seen info that they might be putting out a limited run in black that is supposed to look good. I've seen a pic, but it could have been one of the older versions.

I've always stuck to all black, so this color is "fun" for me. Stepping out of the box.

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How did you feel about the different recoil? Were you shooting optics/irons?

Edited October 26, 2009 by joshua79109

[spd522]

The one I shot had a 1x4 Burris XTR on it. Recoil was fine best I remember for no muzzle brake. I was concentrating on hitting the plates so I didn't really remember recoil.

I think the tan color is fine if all the same shade.

Craig

[Carlos]

Tommy knows what he is talking about & he and the other FN shooters have backed it up with wins/solid performances at the 2 and 3gun shoots we have been holding at Silver Eagle Group in Ashburn. While it is not "my" match (I only run/design the USPSA handgun out there) I have volunteered to help out at 2 recent matches where the SCAR showed up. OP - to answer your question: yes - the SCAR is being used & seems to work well for 3gun.

Price: some things to remember about FN - they are not only a major sponsors of the competitive shooting sports, they are also the suppliers for many of the MADE IN THE USA small arms that our brave fighting soldiers are fielding over seas to keep us safe here at home.

Those facts carry a lot of weight in my book.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Carlos

[joshua79109]

Tommy knows what he is talking about & he and the other FN shooters have backed it up with wins/solid performances at the 2 and 3gun shoots we have been holding at Silver Eagle Group in Ashburn. While it is not "my" match (I only run/design the USPSA handgun out there) I have volunteered to help out at 2 recent matches where the SCAR showed up. OP - to answer your question: yes - the SCAR is being used & seems to work well for 3gun.

Price: some things to remember about FN - they are not only a major sponsors of the competitive shooting sports, they are also the suppliers for many of the MADE IN THE USA small arms that our brave fighting soldiers are fielding over seas to keep us safe here at home.

Those facts carry a lot of weight in my book.

Thanks Carlos

I now have 4 of their products and I'm very impressed with the company. The other 3 products I have of theirs have run perfectly with zero malfunctions so far. My SCAR will begin it's shooting life at the end of this week. I gave it an initial cleaning today and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to break down and clean.

[joshua79109]

Just saw the first black one up for sale... they only want $10,000 for it

wow

[joshua79109]

Scope and mount arrived by big brown truck today. Hopefully I'll get to the range on Friday or Saturday and then post a range report.

[joshua79109]

Took the SCAR to the range for the first time today. Put 500 rounds through it with zero failures. The SCAR feels great. The weight is comparable to my ARs, but it is balanced much different. I like the feel of the SCAR.

Prone position

Wind was between 25 and 35 mph today

Federal 55 grain (cheap stuff)

The SCAR performed much better than I expected

100 yards Rapid Fire

200 yards 5 shot group

[joshua79109]

Continued

200 yards 5 shot group 2

200 yards 5 shot group 3

[joshua79109]

Continued

200 yards 5 shot group 4

[Revopop]

Nice! Thanks for the update.

[joshua79109]

The SCAR was surprisingly clean after 500 rounds. Compared to one of the ARs with the same use.

It is also very easy to break down and clean.

[Sterling White]

Have you tried to use a vice or sand bags? I'm curious to know if the flyers where shooter caused.

[spd522]

Nice groups. What scope were you using?

Craig

[joshua79109]

Have you tried to use a vice or sand bags? I'm curious to know if the flyers where shooter caused.

At this point I feel like the groups could tighten up by taking the shooter out of the equation. My groups at 100 yards were all around the 1" mark (similar moa to the 200 yards pics shown). That was the first run at it. I'm going to take it back out and set up with a vice and bags (and good ammo) to see what the capabilities are.

[joshua79109]

Nice groups. What scope were you using?

Craig

Aimpoint - 2 moa dot

Edited November 7, 2009 by joshua79109

[Charles Bond]

The SCAR was surprisingly clean after 500 rounds. Compared to one of the ARs with the same use.

It is also very easy to break down and clean.

In your opinion is this unit one where a gunsmith could improve the trigger or replace it with something else?

[joshua79109]

The SCAR was surprisingly clean after 500 rounds. Compared to one of the ARs with the same use.

It is also very easy to break down and clean.

In your opinion is this unit one where a gunsmith could improve the trigger or replace it with something else?

I can't say too much about a trigger fix - only because it is not something I have much knowledge of.

I will say the trigger needs work. I plan to get a few thousand rounds through it before I take any action.

The safety selector was tough out of the box, but is already better after 500 rounds. Feels good now.

I have watched closely to see if any after market stuff becomes available. An issue - of course - is that they are not popular enough for aftermarket support. According to some - Troy Industries has considered making some aftermarket gear for the SCAR, but might have recently decided against taking on the line.

On the FN Forum site there is a post from a moderator who has knowledge in that area. He worked his over and posted up directions so that others could have the trigger worked over by someone qualified.

Here's a link - http://fnforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=16633

[Charles Bond]

The SCAR was surprisingly clean after 500 rounds. Compared to one of the ARs with the same use.

It is also very easy to break down and clean.

In your opinion is this unit one where a gunsmith could improve the trigger or replace it with something else?

I can't say too much about a trigger fix - only because it is not something I have much knowledge of.

I will say the trigger needs work. I plan to get a few thousand rounds through it before I take any action.

The safety selector was tough out of the box, but is already better after 500 rounds. Feels good now.

I have watched closely to see if any after market stuff becomes available. An issue - of course - is that they are not popular enough for aftermarket support. According to some - Troy Industries has considered making some aftermarket gear for the SCAR, but might have recently decided against taking on the line.

On the FN Forum site there is a post from a moderator who has knowledge in that area. He worked his over and posted up directions so that others could have the trigger worked over by someone qualified.

Here's a link - http://fnforum.net/viewtopic.php?t=16633

Thanks again for sharing all your information. I look forward to reading more as your work with the rifle grows. It is really nice ro be able to receive information from someone like yourself who has opinions not driven by advertising.

[joshua79109]

Put a sling on the SCAR and did some practical shooting. Ran another 500 rounds (for a total of 1000) through it. Zero malfunctions of any sort so far. I did reach for the charging handle on the back twice (where it would be on the AR)

The SCAR weighs about the same as my AR that I run regularly, but feels much lighter. It feels like it's lighter up front. I wondered if this caused any difference in muzzle jump vs the AR so I tried to test the difference. Both are 16" barrels with a Vortex flash hider. I tried to feel the difference, but they felt the same - I timed myself a few times, but seemed to run about the same time. I also set each of them on a rest and watched as I fired a round, but could not see a real difference.

I'll try to do a little better test to see if I can find any difference in muzzle jump.

I really like the SCAR. No problems so far.

[fastshooter03]

Just let ME sight in the one at next year's FN/CMMG 3-gun match

Nick

[joshua79109]

I came across a link that has a great explanation of weight distribution -

http://vuurwapenblog.com/2009/11/25/ar-15-...ce-part-1-of-3/

After reading the article I tested the SCAR and my favorite AR because the AR is similar in weight but feels heavier to me. Barrels are the same length and both have Vortex flash hiders. AR is a mid length - no upgrade to the buffer.

Using the author's terms my SCAR center of gravity is different than my AR center of gravity. My AR is just about perfectly balanced (leans towards the front by about a 1/2 inch) and my SCAR has a rear weight bias. They are dressed out the same as far as the gear attached. I'm sure I could move the Aimpoint towards the front and change the outcome of each, but placed in the same position the SCAR leans to the rear by about 4 inches.

It seems I prefer the rear weight bias.

Now to figure out if there is a difference in muzzle jump - it would make sense that the AR would have less muzzle jump, but it seems to me that the SCAR has a little less muzzle jump.

[bulamike]

Comes down to ergonomics for me, I have a lot of friends who use the scar, and I can tell you that if your use to the carbine it

takes a while to get use too. Everything sits up high and I cant drive the gun from target to target like I can a standard carbine.

The 7.62 Ive heard nothing but good things, but overall I honestly dont have patience to change decades of shooting the carbine.

[joshua79109]

Went shooting with a friend who is a local police officer so he could try out the SCAR. I did not set up the conversation about the muzzle jump issue at all. He first used his AR and then used the SCAR. He ran 10 rounds through the SCAR and then said " it seems like it has less felt recoil than my AR".

Of course after he said that I jumped on and explained all of my opinions. I asked him if either carbine feels heavier to him and he said they feel the same. He weighs about 50 pounds more than I do.

I ran my AR and the SCAR again and I still feel like the SCAR has less muzzle jump.

I'd guess at this point that this is just opinion, but I'm still trying to set up a test with the carbines to test the muzzle jump. I'd like to set them up on a rest and use something like tape to see how much each moves. I tried once, but I haven't figured out how to pull the trigger with out changing the way the carbine moves.

[joshua79109]

Ran an additional 500 rounds through the SCAR (total of 2100) - so far 0 failures of any sort.

The more I use it the more I like it.

Most of the last 500 were used running drills, but I ran the final 25 rounds at 300 yards for grouping (with good ammo).

My 5 group average (5 shots each) was 2.4".

Ran multiple corrective procedures for possible failures again. I've become very use to the methods used with my ARs and I've been worried about the difference with the SCAR, but so far so good. I'm running the charging handle on the right side to keep it the same as my semi auto shotgun and my semi auto 308. I will keep the charging handle on the right side for this reason.

I'm starting to get use to the feel of the SCAR. I'm still not as quick running corrective drills, but I am a little quicker from target to target. This was the first time I did not reach for the charging handle at the back of the carbine (where it's at on the AR).