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Posted: 10/7/2010 6:54:00 PM EDT
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So, my FN SCAR 17S is here thanks to the eagle eyed searching of Edwin from work. He found a great deal at a local gun shop so this beautiful gal followed me home from work this week.
Out of the box it is hard to believe that a 7.62 X 51mm battle rifle is so light. Tipping the scales at just less than 8 lbs without a mag, this thing is seriously quick handling. I added a Night Force 1-4 optic and a VCAS 200-AA sling. Note that I had to reverse the Larue Tactical mount to keep from shredding my knuckles while charging the rifle. It’s now in some sort of reverse cantilever configuration, but it works. I’ll add a Surefire Scout Light in a Danger Close mount as soon as they get here. The rifle came with only one mag though I was able to score a few more through the generosity of a good friend. The colors of the upper, lower, and stock are about as mismatched as they could possibly be and still fall under the FDE umbrella. The PWS brake on the end of the barrel is huge. I mean freaking BIG. I’m going to swap it out for a Surefire as soon as their SCAR H compatible brakes are available. I took it out to get a couple of rounds through it this evening. This thing is a shooter for damn sure. While there is no doubt that you are shooting a “real” cartridge, it is BY FAR the softest shooting 7.62X51mm I have ever shot which is especially notable due to the light overall weight. I plan on taking the timer out with me next trip and compare some spilt times and see how fast and maneuverable it really is. As the days are getting short I only had time to zero it and run a couple of mags through it (about 175 rounds total). This included M118LR, Mk316Mod1, M80, and some sort of SOCOM issued barrier blind round that looks like it is loaded with the Barnes TSX bullet. Accuracy was excellent. Most of the shooting was done at 50 meters for zeroing purposes, but I took some pot shots at the jetsam floating around the 100m mark with good effect. What I found most interesting was the POA/POI deviations with the different bullet weights/configurations. With 5.56mm it seems that I can run anything through my guns and get no more than 2 or 3 MOA shift. With this rifle, I was seeing as much as 6 or 7 MOA shifts between the different cartridges. Definitely something to file away for future reference. Some photos: Overall layout: 
Serious medicine for the muhj… 
Did I mention this thing is freakin’ huge? 3 full inches long… 
Here is the barrier blind group. POA was the 1” black dot low and right of the group. Huge POA/POI shift! 
Best group of the day was 5 shots just under an inch with M118LR shot off a bipod at 50m. I plan on stretching it out to 100 the next trip. 
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Very nice. I'm looking at a similar setup with either a NF 1-4x or a Elcan SpecterDR 1.5-6x with 7.62mm reticle. If you could next time you are at the range and shoot at 100m...could you shoot some 5 shot groups off a bench and sandbags with some LR and let us know the results? Very few SCAR-17s owners are posting accuracy reviews with match ammo to see what the rifle is really capable of. Do you feel that it's a 1MOA gun at 100m? Appreciate those liberated mags...you're probably the only person out there with more than two mags for their SCAR in the whole darn country.
CMS |
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Quoted:
Do you feel that it's a 1MOA gun at 100m? It feels like it's going to be close. Maybe off a bag with a better shooter than I. I'll definitely post what I come up with. I'll head back out to the range this weekend. Appreciate those liberated mags...you're probably the only person out there with more than two mags for their SCAR in the whole darn country.
CMS I know it and I do. I'm looking forward to seeing how the CProducts 25 rounders perform! Stephen |
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Well, theoretically I have a few more magazines. Converted FAL magazines that so far hand cycle perfectly. Mags lock back when empty and drop freely when mag release is pressed. I have been advised that due to the difference in the heat treat on the metal body these should be considered strictly training magazines as they will not be nearly as durable as the OEM magazines that come with the gun.
Front profile; FAL notch has been ground down flush and reblued. 
There is some extra material on the OEM magazines that obviously can not be put back, but some material towards the front of the FAL mag was removed. Note that mags feed from the same side; the Heavy mag is downloaded to 19 rounds with the FAL mag at 20. 
The big pain in the ass was the mag notch. Alignment is critical and the notch is difficult to keep perfectly square. 
Next step is live fire. I'll update here after I've got a few hundred rounds through it (assuming it runs). Stephen |
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stephen,
thanks for the review. I think everyonr here is very very interested in this rifle. Just as a point of reference, how much POI shift would one expect out of a .308 chambered AR-10 made by either Larue, Knights or Armalite, etc.? I am very shocked it would be that severe out of your SCAR-17, and if that is consistently the case out of your rifle, do all SCAR-17s have the same design flaw? |
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Quoted: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v342/stephen_101st/Gear/DSC00232.jpg ...and with the Little Guy. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v342/stephen_101st/Gear/DSC00234.jpg You have some seriously nice toys stephen.  |
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Quoted:
stephen, thanks for the review. I think everyonr here is very very interested in this rifle. Just as a point of reference, how much POI shift would one expect out of a .308 chambered AR-10 made by either Larue, Knights or Armalite, etc.? I am very shocked it would be that severe out of your SCAR-17, and if that is consistently the case out of your rifle, do all SCAR-17s have the same design flaw? It's not a design flaw. All ammo is like this (different surplus ammo from different countries with different specs) and I get the same results out of my HK-91. CMS |
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Quoted:
It's not a design flaw. All ammo is like this (different surplus ammo from different countries with different specs) and I get the same results out of my HK-91. CMS So what POI shift would you get out of an AR-10? I've understood 2-3 MOA being common on any rifle but not 7+ MOA. I've never actually tested the POI shift going from 55 grain to various bullet weights (68, 75, 77 grain, etc.) out of my M4 upper. I'll test it the next time I head to the range just to see what happens. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
It's not a design flaw. All ammo is like this (different surplus ammo from different countries with different specs) and I get the same results out of my HK-91. CMS So what POI shift would you get out of an AR-10? I've understood 2-3 MOA being common on any rifle but not 7+ MOA. I've never actually tested the POI shift going from 55 grain to various bullet weights (68, 75, 77 grain, etc.) out of my M4 upper. I'll test it the next time I head to the range just to see what happens. It's a 40 grain difference in bullet weight so I don't think that 7moa is totally crazy. I plan on shooting it some more off the bench to see if there is really that much deviation or if it was just a fluke. Stephen |
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