March 4, 2019|RIFLES
One day a couple of years ago I walked into Desert Eagle Guns inPrescott Valley, AZ to find the usual, Borris and Maria behind the counter and as always I was greeted with “Hello Ryan, how are you today?”
We had some small talk and then I asked Borris about an AR10 platform rifle that I had been having some trouble with. It was a DPMS and I was inconsistently struggling with a lot of light primer strikes. I asked Borris what he thought and after some discussion I decided I was going to trade it in for a new 308 rifle. It was at that time Borris said to me “If you want THE BEST 308 battle rifle, you need this…” and he walked out with the Scar 17S and handed it to me. I looked at it, I looked at the price tag, and something just felt right. I didn’t buy the rifle that day, I traded my DPMS in on a Lewis Machine & Tool 308 AR, talk about a serious upgrade.
I continued to frequent Desert Eagle Guns often stepping behind the counter (yeah I’m special) to hold the Scar 17S, but with the $2800 price tag I just wasn’t sure. One major concern for me was the weight. This rifle is very light and I was worried the recoil impulse wouldn’t be for me. Also keeping mind that I always spend nearly as much for the optic as I do for the rifle I just could not get myself to purchase the gun.
Finally one day I walked in with money to burn after a relatively large barter/sale deal was reached that same day. I purchased the FN Herstal Scar 17S and headed home. I just kept holding the rifle, almost afraid of how light it was. I’ve spent my share of time behind mean rifles and I don’t like to do that very much. But when I went out to sight this rifle in I was absolutely blown away. The recoil was as smooth as the action. This rifle is a beast. I ran a DMR style optic on it for a bit before picking up a 308 reticle Elcan Spectre DR which is the best optic out there in my opinion, at least for combat and battle rifles. I just love that optic.
Now that I’ve spent time behind the Scar 17S, found my optic and run it suppressed I am one happy camper. This is an absolutely great weapon platform. The only problem now is that there is a Scar 20 out, and yes I bought the whole deployment kit. Watch for that rifle to be featured in the future.
The FN SCAR (Special Operation Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a gas-operated semi-automatic rifle featuring a rotating bolt. It is a modular platform designed for easy caliber changes. The rifle was developed by FN Herstal for US SOCOM. This family of rifles contains two platforms. The SCAR-L (light) chambered in 5.56 NATO and the SCAR-H (heavy) chambered in 7.62 NATO. Both are available in Close Quarters Combat (CQC), Standard (STD), and Long Barrel (LB) variants.
If you have never had the opportunity to shoot a Scar 17, give us a call to schedule a Shooting Experience, we can even suppress this one for you. Or, of course, if you’d like to buy one of these amazing rifles come check out the Prescott Caliber Club and we will get you set up.