The FN SCAR-L
The Coolest Gun Name In The World
The SCAR-L is the 5.56x45mm version of the expansive
family of modular assault rifles from FN Herstal.
It was 2009 and SFC Mike Delgado was on his third trip downrange since 911. Delgado really should have been dead or in prison. He grew up a dirt-poor kid from North Hollywood who had raised himself on the streets. By some miracle he had actually finished high school. Before Delgado could get himself blown away by a drug dealer, an Army recruiter had wisely told him he didn’t think he had what it took to be a soldier. That made it a challenge. Now Delgado’s platoon was the most STRAC in his Ranger batallion.
They didn’t waste much time with orientation. All of the leadership and most of the junior Rangers had already logged a combat tour. The new guys were all paired up with somebody hard and wise. Seventy-two hours after their C-17 was wheels down, SFC Delgado’s platoon was ready to head outside the wire.
The FN SCAR-L combines Information Age engineering with state-of-the-art
materials science to create a rugged and dependable military combat rifle.
New Toys
A couple months before deployment, SFC Delgado’s troops had drawn weird new rifles. The FN SCAR-L was fundamentally unlike their previous M-4. Sporting a gas piston-driven action, bulbous adjustable buttstock, and unfamiliar ergonomics, the sparkly new weapons were like crack cocaine to Delgado’s eager young Rangers. Throughout their extensive pre-deployment fire and maneuver exercises, Delgado had yet to see a stoppage. His Rangers trusted their SCARs.
Their first hit was a night raid on a High Value Target (HVT) in a remote Afghan village. The S-2 had the principal ID’d in a nasty mud house just outside the tiny town. With a Reaper orbiting overhead to help catch squirters, Delgado’s Rangers fast roped onto the target under NVGs via a pair of Task Force MH-47 Chinooks.
These were bad men and there was little time wasted on niceties. With fire teams placed at the corners of the objective for security and the weapons squad pulling overwatch, Delgado’s breacher blew the front door out of its frame. Elements from the lead rifle squad cleared the structure like the artists they were. A brief burst from an AKM was answered by a fusillade of suppressed 5.56mm fire from the Rangers’ SCARs.
Delgado’s Rangers had the structure secured six minutes after boots on the ground with no friendly casualties. The HVT was KIA along with two other cooling hajis. The Bad Guys’ primary lieutenant was unhurt but trussed up like a hog. Delgado reported to his platoon leader who called the birds back in for extraction. Though Delgado didn’t know or care, his boys had just scored the first Allied kills with the new SCAR rifles. No matter, this time tomorrow they’d be doing it all over again.
The buttstock on the FN SCAR-L folds to the right and snaps in place. A quick snatch deploys it in an instant.
A Curiously Violent Tribe
The U.S. Army Rangers are like some kind of militarized religious cult. To an individual they are hard, fit, brave and competent. They can subsist for weeks on nothing more than energy drinks and garbage. They even speak a unique language. However, if ever you find yourself deep in the suck, it is the U.S. Army Rangers you want watching your back. Those guys simply do not quit.
Back in 2009 a single Ranger battalion took 600 SCAR rifles on a combat deployment to Afghanistan. The Rangers had a selection of SCAR-L (Light) variants in 5.56x45mm as well as the SCAR-H (Heavy) in 7.62x51mm. CQB, standard rifle, and sniper versions also went downrange. While the SCARs were generally held in high regard by the Rangers, the decision makers ultimately determined the benefits of the new rifle did not justify transforming the logistics tail to support them. The U.S. Special Operations Command pulled their SCAR-Ls out of service by 2013. The SCAR-H purportedly remains in use, most commonly with the SEALs. The SCAR serves today with military and Law Enforcement formations in 20 different countries.
The FN SCAR-L (bottom) is an objectively better rifle
than the M-4. However, the SCAR is quite expensive.
The Weapon
CAR) has got to be the coolest gun name since John Moses Browning wore diapers (which is a theoretical construct — all serious gun guys know, like Kim Jong Il, JMB was so awesome he did not pee or poop.) Originally developed by FN Herstal in 2004 as the result of a request by the U.S. Special Operations Command for a truly modular assault rifle, the SCAR is a superb modern combat weapon. Both the SCAR-L and the SCAR-H are built around common non-interchangeable aluminum receivers. There is a conversion kit allowing the SCAR-H to run 5.56x45mm though the SCAR-L chassis is too small to accommodate the larger round.
Swapping out barrels is a straightforward process. By exchanging tubes, the basic SCAR receiver can become a sniper weapon, an assault rifle or a stubby close quarters carbine. The SCAR will fire .300BLK with the appropriate conversion parts. FN originally designed conversions for the Combloc M43 7.62x39mm as well as the 6.8x43mm SPC, though these two kits have not seen widespread use.
The SCAR family of rifles operates via a gas-operated, short-stroke, piston-driven action not fundamentally dissimilar to that of the M-1 carbine. This design keeps crud and fouling out of the receiver and offers superb reliability in austere environments. Using their experience building most of the Free World’s machineguns, FN’s materials science and engineering are without peer.
The SCAR features a full-length Picatinny rail up top for optics and ample railed real estate for accessories. The magazine catch and fire selector are bilateral, while the bolt release is left side only. The charging handle is readily reversible at the user level. The SCAR-L feeds from standard NATO STANAG magazines, while the SCAR-H uses a proprietary FN box.
In early rifles, the charging handle was rigidly affixed to the bolt carrier and reciprocated with the action. This made it easy to manipulate the action should things get sticky. However, it was also easy to rap your knuckles on bulky optics when charging the rifle and it sometimes got in the way when the shooter was contorted in weird field-expedient firing positions. The latest versions include a redesigned non-reciprocating charging handle. The guns come with both horizontal and angled charging knobs. The rifle will run fine with both installed if desired.
The SCAR buttstock is adjustable for length of pull and comb height. It also folds to the right side. The stock interface is angled so the rifle can still be fired with the stock folded. This is arguably the most adaptable buttstock I have ever seen on a combat rifle. There are five different sling attachment points. In a pinch this thing could probably e-file your income taxes.
The SCAR comes with a superb set of folding backup iron sights. The front sight is fixed to the gas block and adjustable for zero. The rear sight is removable and allows the operator to dial in bullet drop and windage. The gas system is adjustable for fouling without tools.
You zero the weapon via the folding front sight
that is rigidly affixed to the gas block.
he rear sight is removable if you need space for an optic.
It is readily adjustable on the fly for windage and elevation.
The three-position fire selector on the FN SCAR-L rotates
through 90 degrees total. The 45-degree position is semiauto.
The controls on the FN SCAR-L are familiar and intuitive.
Trigger Time
The FN SCAR has its own unique manual of arms. For those of us who grew up on the M-16, the transition is straightforward and intuitive. The fire selector offers semi- and full-auto operation but only rotates through 90 degrees total. Its operation resembles the HK G-36. The bolt naturally locks to the rear on the last round fired. Magazine changes are identical to those of an M-4 except you can also drop the bolt by giving the charging handle a quick snatch to the rear.
The trigger is typical of its genre. The standard fire controls are plenty crisp with just a hint of creep. This is desirable in a combat rifle. Super light triggers in a dynamic environment breed accidental discharges.
Accuracy is superb for its intended application. I have read some commentary from operators who deployed with the rifle downrange who claimed to have gotten better groups with their accurized SCAR-H’s than they did with their issue M-110 Stoner SASS precision rifles. The SCAR family of rifles shoots plenty straight.
At bad breath ranges the SCAR has an interesting personality. The cyclic rate of fire for the standard SCAR-L service rifle is markedly slower than that of the M-4 — like 600 RPM for the SCAR versus 750 for the M-4. This improves burst control and minimizes profligate ammunition expenditure. The SCAR’s full-auto personality is both placid and user friendly.
Ruminations
The SCAR-L is an objectively better rifle than the M-4. The chassis is more adaptable, the weapon is more reliable, and it isn’t much heavier. All this is to be expected. The AR-15 platform is half a century older. However, the SCAR is undeniably expensive.
FN offers a variety of SCAR variants for sale to us mere mortals, but they’re spendy. MSRP for the SCAR 16S, the semiauto civilian version of the GI SCAR-L, is a whopping $3,839. That’s a lot of cash. However, if money is no object and you’d like to pack the same rifle the Rangers took downrange back in 2009, FN will get you there.
