I just got my new SCAR 17s last week so I took it to the range on Saturday and here's how it went...
(I have video I shot with my iPad but my "Apple-fu" is lacking and I can't figure out how to download it... yet.)
I have a Leupold MK4 CQ/T 1-3x14 optic on it. I was shooting cheap PMC unidentified .308 ammo I bought at the Funshow 2 weeks ago (200rds) and some of my reloads (40rds) which were 168gr. SMK's with 42gr. of IMR4895 behind them stuffed into Full-Length Small-Base sized LC Match Brass with Winchester primers. OAL was 2.800". I was resting on a cheap Grip-pod.
Accuracy:
Surprisingly, the Leupold bore-sighted pretty damn close without any adjustments so I went ahead and started sending rounds downrange. I was shooting at 100yds. After zeroing it loosely at the 24"x24" gong with the cheap PMC ammo I took 5 shots at paper with my reloads. 3 of them were definitely sub-moa but the other 2 were flyers. One was about an inch out and the other about 3 inches out. I know that doesn't sound great but the flyers were definitely my fault because Number one: I was shooting a "new to me" Semi-auto when I almost exclusively shoot a Bolt-gun... and Number two: that damn trigger is about a-hundred-pounds compared to the one-and-a-half-pounds of my 40X's trigger! Anyway, my groups tightened up to MOA or better as the day went on and I got used to the trigger. This rifle is easily more accurate than my Supermatch M1A was. I moved to the 300yd line and only shot at the Gong there because 3X optics are not conducive to shooting groups at 300yds. I hit the gong with every shot of the cheap PMC ammo... relatively rapid-fire... and what surprised me most was that I put the dot in that scope just above the center of the gong. I was expecting to have to "hold-over" a lot more to hit it. For all I know I was just catching the bottom of the Gong... But I was hitting it!
Recoil:
The recoil is very manageable but not as light as a 5.56 AR. It's more of a snap than a kick or push. I was able to re-acquire very quickly.
Reliability:
The rifle was flawless in this area. I took it to the "plinking range" and did several 20 round Mag-Dumps. It ate the cheap ammo as well as my reloads without a single failure of any kind. I did notice however, that the forearm got uncomfortably hot after a Mag-dump. That was a little surprising. Fortunately, I had a Grip-pod on the rifle or this would have been more of an issue. I was even able to keep good control of my shots hip-firing as fast as I could with the stock folded.
Cleaning:
I took the rifle apart when I got home and it was surprisingly clean. The only area that was really "dirty" at all was the piston and gas-block area. I did notice quite a bit of brass shavings around the chamber, bolt carrier and trigger group which blew away with a shot from the air compressor. The bolt-carrier is coated black and I was pleasantly surprised to see that none of the black was scraped away exposing bare metal... Anywhere. Everything inside looked like new. No wear.
All in all I'm VERY happy with the FN SCAR 17s. It fills a niche quite nicely. It's a high-power, accurate, light, reliable rifle that's VERY handy. It kicks the 5.56 AR and M4's ass in being just as handy for CQ and more powerful and reliable. It kicks the tried and true .308 Battle rifle's ass in being more accurate and would be a lot easier to hump around all day. Not that I don't like AR's and .308 Battle rifles... I just found a replacement for both. That makes the $2700 price tag easier to swallow!
Thanks for reading...
Cheers,
John
PS: Anything I missed... Let me know and I'll try and address it
