Re: FN SCAR
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kahuna</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They'll accept almost anyone's mags, despite what the manual says, although some PMags don't drop free.
They're going for around $3500 on GB and Sturm...
K </div></div>
Do you own a SCAR? I ask because I just sold mine, and PMags won't work at all in mine. You can't drop (press bolt release) the bolt on any of the 10+ I tried. As far as GB prices, they are now selling for just a little over 3K. Prices are dropping fast.
As for performance. I prefer an AR. Keep in mind this is only my opinion, I'm sure some will disagree. I think it just doesn't bring enough to the table to justify over double the cost. Sure it runs cleaner, and the main reason for a piston, keeps the bolt cool, but even if you're firing 500 rounds a range trip, I doubt it would matter, and I paid $1200 for my Colt, and 3400 for my Scar. $2200 buys a hell of a lot of bolts. Also, in stock configuration against a 6920 with a KAC RAS on it and a front pistol grip, the AR was lighter.
Quick change barrel system? FN will only be selling 16.1 inch barrels as it stands now. Sure there will be aftermarket barrels, but not FN barrels.
The kicker was I could hit faster with my AR at 25 yards, and that sealed the deal for me. Again, I'm not special forces, and I don't foresee any need for that kind of system, so the value to me was low. If I was going to be stuck behind enemy lines with no resources, then the SCAR would definitely start to look very attractive. It has been run through its paces by SOCOM, and all reports are that it passed. I'm not SOCOM, my needs/requirements are different.
Ergos on the AR are better. (I may be biased by familiarity) The only thing I really liked about the SCAR was the failure drill for clearing a doublefeed (which I never experienced). The manual of arms is quite a bit simpler with the scar, and you can get back in the fight faster. (Magpul's B.A.D. will even this score when it comes out though.)This comes at a cost with something I call "Scar scar", which came about from my thumb bleeding where the charging handle would hit as it returned to battery. Sure you can chalk that up to familiarity, or lack there of... but I fire my AR with my support hand pointer finger at the 9 o'clock position pointing at what I'm shooting at, and my thumb up over the top of the barrel. Its a hard habit to break, although I'm sure more time on the scar would have cured me of letting my hand slide back. I installed a KAC pistol grip to use as a reference to keep this from happening, and it did resolve the issue, but I tend to not like forward pistol grips.
Again, this is only my experience. I shot them side by side, and feel the AR outperforms the Scar. Was my small trial run very comprehensive? No. 100 rounds through a Scar is not enough, but with the price difference, it was enough for me to go back to my 6920.