In November, FN America announced that SCAR20S, civilian version of FN MK 20 SSR – Sniper Support Rifle will soon be available for the US customers on the civilian market. FN MK 20 SSR is currently used by US SOCOM units under the designation MK 20 Mod O Sniper Support Rifle.

FN MK 20 SSR is not the first “sniper” version of the proven design. Back in the day, I had a chance to check out the FN SCAR-H TPR and was very impressed by how well FN adapted SCAR-H design for precision rifle applications.

FN MK 20 SSR

FN MK 20 SSR

But SCAR20S certainly present a big improvement over FN SCAR-H TPR. It has a better trigger (Geissele “Super SCAR”), non-folding adjustable stock with adjustable cheekpiece, Hogue rubber grip with finger grooves, and 20 inch cold hammer-forged, chrome-lined, free-floating barrel.

SCAR20S

According to the manufacturer’s press release: “The rifle achieves 1-MOA (minute of angle) accuracy to 100 yards with match-grade ammunition out of the box.” I asked company representatives a few more questions and they clarified that the standard that they use is a 5 shot group and with quality ammunition you often can achieve half MOA groups at a 100 yards.

Despite being a precision rifle and having a longer barrel extension, SCAR20S still has an option of (relatively) quick barrel change. Gas system is identical to the standard SCAR-H and has an adjustable gas regulator with two positions, for use with or without suppressor.

SCAR20S gas regulator

SCAR20S gas regulator

In my personal experience, SCAR-H is very reliable weapon. I had a chance to witness some very rugged testing of this rifle, it had very low stoppage rate even with low-quality ammunition, survived drop tests, and never had any major issues during trials that lasted for 8 months. Since SCAR20S has the same operating system, I think it is fair to expect the same level of reliability and durability from it.

MSRP for the SCAR20S is listed as $4,499.