Review of SCAR 16s
Jeff and Boge Quinn of GunBlast have reviewed the SCAR 16s and liked what they saw ...
With the MK 16, FN Herstal has set out to build the world’s best 5.56mm fighting rifle, and the SCAR 16s is as close to that rifle as most of us can get, legally. It is a well-built rifle, very reliable, easy to shoot, and match-accurate. The price tag to own such a piece is not cheap. As of this writing, the MSRP is bumping right up against the three thousand dollar mark. However, that is not too far out of line with some of the AR-based piston rifles available, and the SCAR system must be pretty good, as it beat out other designs for the USSOCom contract. FN manufacturers the great majority of our small arms now in use with U.S. troops, and the SCAR seems to be well-accepted by those who handled, fired, and fielded the new rifle. The SCAR 16s comes with one magazine and an owner’s manual, and is available either in black or the Flat Dark Earth finish shown here. You never regret buying the best.
Hat Tip: Michael Bane and SaysUncle
And let the games begin! Just when the AR vs. AK arguments were getting a little stale, FN comes along and divides opinion again.
I do drop by GunBlast.com regularly and I do like Jeff’s reviews on firearms (even if some of them are a bit too positive for my liking). His style is very down to earth and natural and you don’t feel like you’re being shilled a load of crap.
Anyways, before this explodes into the usual fanboy debate, I’ll chuck in my two cents worth – the best piston driven AR is the LWRCi M6A3.
Have fun!
There seems to be quite a few screws on this rifle. I’m not too fond fond of that, on a firearm. First, it looks like it was hastily thrown together rather than carefully and efficiently designed. And second, they might come undone during shooting.
Meh, I’m holding out for the Massada/ACR.
He dint say that the rails on the forarm are connected to the barrel and you got a red hot forearm in combat. The Butstock is cheap plastic and breaks too easily. And the fire control group has plastic parts which break too easily.
Its a $3000 dollar pice of junk some admaral liked.
Lance, not an issue with a semi-automatic that won’t see combat. That is like saying the M4 is junk because it cannot be used as a light machine gun without overheating.
I will judge it based on combat reports from the Rangers when the SCAR equipped troops see combat.
Thats a [oint Steve. I know a man in my rilfe matches who uses a SCAR, it very accurate and thats a thing i admit to you. But A guy with a AR always beats him as well. LOL
Someone mentioned recently that the Gunblast reviews tend to be kind to the guns they look at. Very kind. Too kind. It’s true.
I sympathize with gun blast and other publications who review arms. They are handed a gun in perfect working order, with ammunition known to work, and they shoot a limited quantity of ammunition. It would be unreasonable and uneconomic to do a 5000 round torture test of every gun reviewed. The chance of them experiencing a problem is very low.
If I started reviewing arms on the blog ( so far I have declined all offers to get review guns ) I doubt my reviews would be much different.
What I do expect is that all malfunctions are reported in a review – be it the guns fault or operator error.
Out of interest, how many rounds do you think a reviewer should fire on a semi-auto rifle or shotgun before writing a review?
People were complaining about this on AR15.
The rail getting hot is still an issue in semi-automatic mode. It will get very hot very fast if the operator remotely use it anywhere near it normal fire rate. You need a glove to protect your hand if you’re going to heavily use the rifle.
Aluminum are great at absorbing heat. It also great at getting rid of the heat it absorbed but it take time not much tho. It heat up fast it cool down fast.
It’s a tough one when it comes to reviewing guns, especially when advertising revenues are involved. Don’t want to have one of the big players cancel their ads because you said one of their guns wasn’t very good.
Additionally, give a certain manufacturer too many bad reviews and the loaner guns dry up real quick.
The guns that are lent out for review, have probably had a team of engineers working on them for two weeks previous to make sure they function flawlessly and that every single part is polished, oiled, greased and filed to perfection.
Though I enjoy reading gun reviews, I always take them with a massive pinch of salt and rely instead on various Internet forums to try and get an honest appraisal of a firearm.
What we need is a Top Gear style show that looks at firearms independently and free of collusion.
It sucks even with gloves nice tac gloves can get burned or melt too. And there not cheap.
Good friend is deployed overseas right now – can’t say where exactly – BUT they have run into guys sporting these there. The guys he talked to said there “were some issues”. No further info on it until said person returns (OpSec) but it sure wasn’t a glowing tidbit.
I talked to a SpecOps guy about this recently. He mentioned that they kept on pushing the SCAR on his platoon but none of them wanted the FN rifle for multiple reasons. He mentioned that they all already upgraded their M4s to piston themselves and didn’t need this loud and clunky pet project of some general. His words, not mine.
I for one am glad socom got their rifle. The m4/m16 wasn’t up to the task in afghanistan. But I hope they don’t incorporate it into the army at large, it is too expensive and not much of a advance over the Ar. And on some points like durability for example it may even be deficient.
Stubby, the Army wont go to the SCAR they aready made requirements for a piston M-4. The Marines are commited to the M-16A4 for the next 10 years as well.
M4/M16 beats the SCAR? wishful thinking to say the least…
Sorry destoryer
But there some serious problums with the SCAE and its not the super gun some think it is.
The regular military is not going to go with it.
The SCAR does what it was designed to do, and is a fine weapon. The M4 has done it’s job but certainly has a lot of drawbacks, all of which the SCAR was designed to address. Funny how time changes – if there had been BLOGs during the Vietnam war just imagine the things that would have been said about the 5.56mm round, or the Mattel plastic rifle? And yet here we are, 40 years later, fighting two wars with the descendants of those first M-16s, and swearing they’re the best. We use the M-16 because they are cheap and fairly reliable. There have been better weapons developed and tested since the 1970′s, but none have been able to overcome the DoD acquisitions juggernaut. It’s taken the war on terror to break that mentality and open the DoD floodgate to new (and old) weapons ideas. We’re seeing M-14s back in the fight, all kinds of M-16 variants and modifications, AR-10s, now the SCAR, etc. It’s healthy and gratifying. The SCAR family will undoubtedly go through some growing pains, but I can almost guarantee it will not struggle like the M-16A1. USSOCOM tested the SCAR very thoroughly (all four components of SOCCOM) and it kicked ass. For those that have used it, it’s reliable, flexible, cooler, and cleaner than the M-4. It’s better balanced and it’s CG keeps the weapon on target comfortably. It is made of composites (not plastic) that are durable and well engineered. Will there be mods? Yes, surely. The charging handle will probably be canted, the folding stock latch will probably need to be reengineered, but these are small fries. No, I don’t work for FN, but I know my firearms. I’ve shot them all from FALs to Steyrs, ARs to 416s, Galils and FS2000s, the XCR, and the SCAR. The SCAR stacks up and will undoubtedly prove itself in combat. How is it that everyone knows “this SpecOps guy?”
i agree blade, every weapon has growing pains and FN will undoubtedly resolve them. Since I own a SCAR 16S and have tested it significantly, i have experienced no “major” problems with it. Until SOCOM actually publishes the supposed complaints and major problems of the SCAR (like army soldiers have with the M4), I will not take any rumors about it seriously.