Another good performer found, tested at the range yesterday:

Win Match 180 gr. Nosler Accubond by Black Hills.
Performed about the same as the Federal 165 gr Sierra Game King.

First – it’s a semi-auto rifle with 10 and 20 round magazines available. But it’s very accurate with certain ammunition. However, the trigger is only average when compared to match triggers found in a custom rifle used for precision shooting.

Second – IMO, the FNAR is better suited for as a fighting rifle, for defense against crowds of charging zombies, or getting into a herd of feral hogs, or taking down medium-to-large game, than for shooting poor little pd’s.

Third – the ammo selection for a .308 is much more limited than for what may be the most versatile rifle in history with regard to the ammo selection available for it: the .30-06. Ammo is available for it to shoot anything from little varmints in West Texas to heavy game in Africa.

Fourth – the .308 is not typically reknown as a flat-shooting round. There are many rifles in a variety of calibers available to you that shoot cheaper and smaller bullets with greater speed and with better, flatter ballistics – all of which may be more suitable for varmints. Just a few are the .17, .22-250, .223, .25-06 and many more. You’ll need to research what your needs are.

Enjoy Tech and keep carrying that card! Hope this helps.

As said, I have had and continue to have excellent results with the 175 gr Buffalo Bore match ammo.
I also have had surprisingly good results with the cheap Federal blue-box 150 gr soft points which I used while sighting-in and breaking-in the rifle.

Yesterday, I tried Winchester’s Supreme Ballistic Silver Tips in 168 gr and 150 gr. These are boat-tail nosler-point bullets.
They sprayed all over the place at 100 and 200 yards. Very erratic, not even real groups – way over 1 moa of spread from point of aim. The barrel was clean.

This was an unpleasant surprise for me, since I have gotten superior results over the years with the same type of ammo in Win. 270, both 130 gr and 140 gr. Yes, it’s a completely different rifle and is a single-shot bolt action.

However, at the end of the day, I tried another type in the FNAR: Federal’s Premium 165 gr Sierra Game King provided acceptable results. Groups of 5 at 100 and 200 yards were all within 1 MOA of the POA, usually 3 of the 5 within 1/2 MOA. And that was when I was tired. Would expect better results if rested.

For now, it looks as if that will be my hunting ammo for this season. Looking forward to the day I have time to get into reloading!

the fnar…if u want to see it they have them on the gungenie website.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx?item=531051220

For a good published review with photos, check out Quinn’s Gunblast website.

I regard this rifle as multipurpose for hunting, fighting (self-defense) and medium-range target shooting. I would love to get into a herd of hogs with it. Hope to do just that this fall. I’ll also be taking a few deer with it. Don’t expect to need more than a single shot for that.

I am an AR-15 fan. And I like the feel and fit of this rifle much better than most A-10’s I’ve handled (only at gunshows). And, I too purchased it to fit a hole in my gunsafe. I expect it to perform very well if the zombies come.

The stock combs, recoil pads and shims offer a great deal of versatile customization for comfort and fit.

Magazines: Hard to come by. Got my one extra from armaliterifles.com; still waiting on my 10-round mags, ordered 5 months ago.

To the best of my knowledge, this rifle accepts only the FNAR mag’s.

Rifle shoots great! You should expect sub-MOA groups. To 700 yards is the farthest I’ve gone at my deer lease. Have shot many 3-rd groups w/holes touching at 100 yards.

I use a Leupold 6.5×20 LRT w/ tactical milling reticle; on a Nightforce unimount (base and rings are integral – easy on and off with two nuts/bolts). You may not need that much scope, but my old eyes do, and I like to shoot paper at long distances. That scope costs as much as the rifle! But I also use it on another long-range rifle.

You could just as easlily mount a holographic scope with no magnification for relatively short-range work, or a lesser magnified scope. Whatever your budget or need happens to be. This rifle is very versatile in that respect.

With normal circumstances, I would be fairly comfortable and confident of an ethical shot to harvest deer or other big game out to 500 yards with the equipment I have. But no further for me with ANY rifle, regardless of its accuracy.

I have used two different Harris bipods with swivels and locks, plus the LaRue QD adapter on each.

Have used Buffalo Bore match ammo and found it to be very consistent. Higher velocity and heavy bullet = fair amount of recoil. In my case, the hvy bbl helps because I don’t particularly like much recoil, and I can get back on the target quicker.

Had trouble at first with ammo-feed malfunctions on round-nosed 150-gr Federal’s I was using for breaking-in and general range ammo. Was pretty sure it was the magazine. Took it to dealer, gunsmith adjusted the mag lip, and problem was solved in a few minutes.

Like Tony says above, the rifle ejects the the spent cartridge with vigor, and forms an indentention on the nose of the brass. I had not previously experienced that with other semi-auto’s either.

A few things I don’t like about the rifle:
Comes with only one magazine, and extra mag’s are too darned hard to get.

Wish the handgrip was removable and replacable. Don’t like the hard plastic. I’m looking for a soft-rubber wrap for it.

For me, the rifle was difficult to dissassemble and reassemble for detailed cleaning of the piston system. I have only done it once, and the learning curve was pretty steep and slow for me. However, FN says that doesn’t have to be done very often. Probably depends on your shooting habits and ammo quality.

All in all, I’m very pleased with the rifle. Am looking forward to using it this hunting season.

Perhaps I should have elaborated a little more about what I was looking for in a conversion kit and what I meant by “military-style” — specifically, a folding stock, addition of a flash suppressor for night engagements and the ability to readily accept laser sights. These features go a long way towards making any rifle more suitable for shipboard storage and use as a defensive weapon.

From what I’ve seen and read so far, the FNAR will probably have no problem accepting the latter, so if you or anyone else has an answer to the first two requirements, please let me know.

Earl

I sail a lot and have found that a reliable assault-style rifle is ideal for vessel defence against piracy and other acts of hostility, but I would also like to retain the best possible long-range accuracy in the same weapon, hence my interest in the FNAR.

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

With Best Regards To All,
Earl

Help!!! JC

If you’re on the fence, here’s a pretty nice write-up that has more information in one-spot than I’ve seen prior: http://gunblast.com/FN-AR.htm

On Ammo – Per my post above, I’ve fired Remington 150Gr & Serbian 168 Gr Match (not Russian, specifically Prvi Partizan .308 Match 168grn HP) in the past and recently purchased 500 rds of Brown Bear Russian 145grn FMJ which I tested 120 rds this past weekend 72-200 yards – worked flawlessly. Surprisingly, the PP 168 & BB 145 were dead-on without any elevation adjustments required (Rem 150 shot 1″ higher). I shot 20 of another off-brand my first trip out, but can’t recall the brand. It seems to eat whatever you put through no probs!

I have some Barnaul that I haven’t shot due to the bullet/casing paint primer/lacquer – Don’t want it to dirty up my pretty rig… if SHTF, I’m confident it’d go through no probs & would have plenty of free time to clean it

A little real world thought on how this rifle behaves with what ammo we may actually end up having to shoot would help. There is a huge variety of 7.62×51 military ball ammo out there and it is more likely we will end up shooting a lot more of that than the Buffalo Bore, Black Hills match grade stuff.

Also as a tip to the group – this is the best price I’ve found for ‘range ammo’ – just ordered 500 rounds myself. Reviews call it a bit dirty, but 1/2 the price of normal range ammo (ie twice the fun!) & no typical russian Red Primer to coat the barrel…

$7.95/20 rounds – Brown Bear .308 145grn FMJ
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Brown_Bear_.308_145grn_FMJ.html

I can post a review if anyone wants. LMK.

Enjoy!
Tony

The recoil was managable & only odd thing I found was the expended casing was expelled so hard from the chamber, it bent the brass nose to a D shape on all the rounds, making some scratches at the rear of the extraction port. I'm sure this is known to the folks here as normal, but as a rookie, thought it odd. One would certainly have to true the brass nose for reloading purposes.

I love the weapon & selected it for my 1st hunting rifle as it seemed to have rave reviews (outside of mag availability) compared to many other rifles/calibers out there… and was much better priced than many ($1300 @ CDNN Sports).

Question – I have ~260 rounds of Barnaul 7/62×51 ammo ($7.50/box – why I bought it!) which has the red primer where the brass/round meet – was initially told lacquer, but then corrected this is around the primer. I've heard from some that this primer is a bear to clean out when rifle cools & I should avoid ammo with it like the plague… others have said use a box of non-primered ammo to 'clean the bore' while hot after firing primered ammo… other military types have said use it & no big deal… any thoughts on putting this through 'my baby'?

Thanks in advance!
Tony

Just to let you know I have a light barrel and am having the same problems as you. I can fire maybe 2 nice shots and then the group opens to 5″ or more. I am switching scopes and buying some 168gr match ammo to see if that make any difference. Hoping I don’t have to ship back. Look forward to hearing if sending it in fixed your problems.

Good Luck

The FNAR I have gets good accuracy (1 and 2 inch groups) at 100 yds with many brands of cheap ammo but my 168 gr. Hornady bthp handloads get same hole results consistently at 100 yds. This is just a great rifle when fitted with a 4-16 power scope, green laser, and tactical flashlight which uses up all of the factory picatinny rails. Pricey, but worth the money with the heavy barrel.