Good news for New York City gun enthusiasts, the Ares SCR “conventionalized” AR-15 has been approved for sale in New York City, under their more restrictive set of laws. Guns.com has an article on the approval:

Ares Defense is now offering special low-rise iron sights for their SCR rifles. The SCR is a new “traditional” assembled lower receiver for AR-15-pattern uppers that uses “featureless” straight or Monte-Carlo-typerifle stock.

The SCR, or Sport Configurable Rifle, has a lot of appeal. Not only is it light and simple compared to standard complete AR-15 lowers, its traditional ergonomics are better suited for certain types of shooting, such as from a benchrest or blind.

Of course, no one’s overlooking the fact that because of its old-school stylings, the SCR breezes right past restrictions that were doubtlessly leveled against the AR-15 and other rifles based on appearances — giving shooters the benefit of ARs in locations where they are otherwise prohibited, whether it’s local law or hunting regulation.

One area where the AR market isn’t strong is low-height iron sights. Although there are a few out there for H&K and other flattop rifles with higher-than-average rails, the SCR requires users to put their sight plane directly on top of the rifle, which is significantly closer to the upper than with standard AR lowers.

Ares is addressing that now with their new low-rise iron sight sets. Ares has two, with the rear sight pictured above as well as with an even lower-profile Micro minimalist rear sight. Both use the same fixedfront sight designed to work with drop-in handguards like on their factory featureless uppers.

The SCR is one of the latest attempts to make a “civilized” AR-15, with more domestic-looking features, chiefly eliminating the distinctive pistol grip. With low-profile sights, I think it may become a hit in ban states.

It is only a matter of time before someone tries to mount the ARES AMG-2 upper onto an SCR lower, which if it works would create the most identity-confused black rifle of all time.