GUNS Magazine ATI Nomad Vs. Scar

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The FN SCAR 16S and the ATI Nomad 12-gauge are on opposite ends
of the spectrum but the cheap single-barrel shotgun might be the better
general-purpose survival gun.

You’re hard at work beta-testing whoopie cushions and fake dog doo at the Fartco Novelty Company Inc. Though it was the glamor that first drew you, after 17 years even this seems like a grind. The new battery-powered flatulator is performing well but it’s been a long day. You’re looking forward to a quiet evening with the family — then you feel a scant rumble through the floor.

You direct your attention outside. Smoke rises on the horizon and you see crowds of terrified people fleeing some unseen menace. An electric buzz runs through the office as fear spreads over your coworkers like a contagion. But not you. You’ve prepared your entire life for this moment.

In a flash you’re downstairs and atop your moped. In the heady excitement of the moment you intentionally eschew your helmet. Given this has all the makings of a proper apocalypse you’ll take your chances with the traffic wardens.

Traffic is snarled, but you are immune. You bounce the curb and cut through sundry yards and parks puttering past terrified victims who lacked your foresight. Nineteen minutes later you pull up at home.

Your family has drilled for this and they are waiting on you. The government-surplus Hummer is packed and ready to go with food, water and fuel enough for at least three weeks on the road. Your wife even had time to throw together a few tuna fish sandwiches. The kids are strapped into the back, and your bride has the shotgun. You slip into your body armor and throw open the door to the gun safe.

There in the front row resides a tricked-out FN SCAR 16S alongside a Nomad single-barrel break-open 12-gauge shotgun. The Hummer is already cubed out, and you’ve only got room for one. Which gun do you grab? The kids are getting impatient and the plaintive cries from the street are growing closer.

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The ATI Nomad collapses back onto itself for easy portage or storage.

The primary strength of the ATI Nomad 12-gauge is its ammo versatility.
Different loads can be configured for different applications.

Practical Tactical

Who are we kidding? Of course you take both. Strap junior to the roof if need be, but now doomsday has finally arrived, you’re not going to split hairs over ordnance. However, what if you really could only take one? For a real-deal bugout survival defensive situation, are you better off with the $4,500 black rifle or the no-frills single-barrel shotgun that only set you back a c-note? I would assert the answer, as painful as it is for guys like us to hear, is the shotgun might be the better choice.

The tricked-out SCAR 16S with a Holosight, magnifier, tactical light and sound suppressor legitimately costs more than four grand all up. For this simply breathtaking investment you get unflinching reliability, decent stealth, proper combat accuracy and a prodigious magazine capacity. The SCAR chassis serves with American Special Operations Forces deployed downrange as I sit typing these words. It is one epically cool rifle. It will reliably make you stand out in a crowd. Now hold this thought.

By contrast, the ATI Nomad is stripped-down and austere. The 18″ barrel folds back onto the buttstock and the resulting package is so easy to store it could conceivably ride in a book bag. Even amidst the current ammo drought you can still find 12-gauge rounds.

Buckshot and slugs will drop most anything that walks, gallops or slithers. Cheap birdshot will keep the cooking pot stoked with tree rats or bunnies and wing shoot subsistence birds. This weapon is the heir apparent to your granddad’s favorite farm gun, which means it doesn’t scare people or mark you as special. Under certain circumstances this attribute could itself be quite valuable.

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The rigid charging handle on the FN SCAR 16S is reversible and
reciprocates with the bolt — watch your fingers!

The buttstock on the FN SCAR 16S is more complicated than
the U.S. Tax Code, but it is undeniably effective.

Technical Details — The SCAR 16S

SCAR stands for Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle and it is indeed the apex predator among the world’s modern military weapons. A thoroughly state-of-the-art design, the SCAR orbits around an aluminum receiver and includes ample polymer furniture. The GI-issue SCAR-Heavy fires 7.62x51mm. The SCAR-Light is 5.56x45mm. The SCAR 16S is the semi-auto civilian version of the military SCAR-L.

I happened upon my SCAR at a Law Enforcement auction for seized guns, so I got it at a good price. However, a cheap Rolls Royce is still expensive. You don’t get into a SCAR cheap unless a relative dies and leaves you one.

The SCAR runs a short stroke piston-driven action inspired by the Armalite AR180. This design keeps heat and crud upfront and away from the gun’s entrails. It is inimitably reliable as a result. The gun is designed to be easily disassembled and maintained in an austere environment.

There is plenty of rail space for optics and accessories. The buttstock is more complicated than the human female but remains eminently practical. The stock is easily adjustable for both length of pull and comb. It also folds with the push of a button. The SCAR comes with a nice set of folding iron sights that stay out of the way when not in use.

The charging handle on the SCAR reciprocates with the action and is readily reversible without tools. This means you can take a boot to it in the unlikely event the action ever gets sticky. However, that also means the handle zips back and forth when firing. With a bulky optic installed, it is easy to rap your fingers while charging the weapon.

The SCAR 16S accepts standard STANAG M4 magazines and drums. The end result is versatile, effective and cool. In the world of Modern Sporting Rifles, literally nothing is finer.

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The FN SCAR 16S is one sexy rascal — however, all the tactical bling makes
you conspicuous and costs more than your first (and probably second) car.

The ATI Nomad 12-gauge is arguably the simplest firearm on the planet.
There is little on the gun to break.

The ATI Nomad 12-Gauge

By contrast, the ATI Nomad is as simple as kindergarten art class. If you can tie your own shoes without assistance, you can run the Nomad. It’s just stupid-proof.

Pull back on the trigger guard to break open the action, drop in a shell, close the action, and cock the hammer manually. Now point the gun at something you dislike and squeeze. Repeat as necessary.

The Nomad doesn’t have a safety. The manual hammer is all the safety you need. Don’t cock the gun until you’re ready to shoot and you’ll be fine.

To fold the gun up for storage you just open the action and then wrap the muzzle back to the toe of the buttstock. The steel is nicely blued, the furniture is polymer and nigh indestructible. The sights consist of a simple brass bead and a groove in the top of the receiver. It’s not complicated because it doesn’t need to be complicated. The Nomad comes with a set of steel sling swivels on the bottom and the chamber is cut to accept 3″ shells.

American Tactical offers the Nomad in three different gauges and various barrel lengths. The gun is also available as part of a turn-key survival rig with its own backpack.

The real strength of the Nomad is in its ammunition versatility. Birdshot is available most anywhere at a good price. Buckshot and slugs, at appropriate ranges, offer unquestionable downrange authority. There are even less-than-lethal options should the need arise.

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To paraphrase Dirty Harry Callahan, at a typical 8-meter engagement range,
the ATI Nomad 12-gauge, even loaded with cheap 7-½ birdshot, would take a man’s head clean off.