scar vs ar-15- educate me

1time · Sep 23, 2017

People are spoiled by the pricing of ARs. The price is cheaper now than when they first hit the civilian market. They are being made by everyone and that drives prices down. A high end AR is as expensive as the Scar.

I think the only true advantage of the scar is the weight and the recoil in 7.62. The recoil comes with a price through because the recoil impulse is strange and has been known to bust good optics. I'm mounting a vortex to mine today for a hunting trip.

Blaster229 · Sep 23, 2017

The United States military doesn't use the SCAR as their basic issue weapon. There's a reason for that.

DaemonAssassin · Sep 23, 2017

Blaster229 said:
The United States military doesn't use the SCAR as their basic issue weapon. There's a reason for that.

And this was all the reason I needed to stay away from the SCAR.

rob-cubed · Sep 23, 2017

Blaster229 said:
The United States military doesn't use the SCAR as their basic issue weapon. There's a reason for that.

True, but the US military's decision to continue fielding the M4 doesn't mean the SCAR is not fit for service--it's issued by some 20 countries. Logistics and cost is a huge part of the DOD's decision-making. Moving to an entirely new platform would be an undertaking, and the M4 continues to be more than adequate as the incumbent with 45 years of service.

I'm not arguing the SCAR is better, just that change in the military is equated with risk and other consequences (look at the problems initially fielding the M16). So its failure to replace the M4 is not necessarily a strike against it.

For Joe Public, the fact that it costs 2.5x as much as an AR is a huge deterrent. Personally I think they are great rifles but if I had to choose one, it's still be an AR.

AlBeight · Sep 23, 2017

I bought a 16s a few months ago and love it. But I also love my various AR's. Other than cost and a few obvious design differences I can't really say one is better than the other. Due to free time constraints and local range regs, other than static bench shooting I haven't pushed either to their capabilities.

Mainly bought the SCAR for the collector value & novelty of it. I mean, it certainly has a cool factor to it. I'd be curious to see exactly why the Spec Ops community fell in love with it for a short while, specifically. Again, not being a soldier I don't have a point of reference to see why one would be preferred over the other, but those guys probably know a small bit more about weapons than I do. I'd also be curious as to why they seemed to have given up on it, if in fact they have.

I suppose for the average consumer it will come down to cost. I paid as much for four AR's (pre-furniture swap-out & optics) than I did for one SCAR 16. There's also very few accessories (again cool factor) for the SCAR which may influence most of us keyboard commandos.

From a relative platform newbie, I'd say if you can afford it you won't be disappointed with either, but I can't really pick a clear winner (sorry if that doesn't help you).

jjsat · Sep 23, 2017

I own ARs and a 17. The Scar is over priced IMHO, but it scratches an itch every time I take it out. Different platform, very smooth shooting and light 308. I get 1.5-2 MOA out of mine.

OSOK1776 · Sep 23, 2017

I have 4 AR10s in 308 and a scar17 .. hands down the SCAR is one of the better off the shelf options out there and is the softest recoil gas 308 that I have shot, especially for the weight. I will also say it shoots pretty consistent with every type of round i have put it in where the others are pretty finicky still.

That said while i agree that it isn't worth the price tag I think everyone should have one.

Blaster229 · Sep 24, 2017

My friend on the right likes a scar for desert work.

Ideal Paradigm · Sep 24, 2017

rockstarr said:
looking for some education here. Why are the scar rifles so much more expensive? I am looking to understand why one would rather spend 2 times the amount of money an ar-15 that is well equipped costs or even 4 times what a base model ar-15 costs?

Are scar rifles superior?

SCAR rifles are a different rifle. The answer to this is completely dependent on what you're looking for in a rifle.

If we're strictly talking about 5.56, then I would go with an AR if you're unwilling to spend $2000+ on a 5.56 platform. Don't get me wrong, the SCAR 16 is great, but price is usually a major deciding factor.

The SCAR 17 on the other hand is probably one of the best .308 battle rifles. Shoots smooth and is incredibly durable. Again, the price tag is high on this, and if you're not willing to spend $2000+, go with an AR-10.

Bountied · Sep 24, 2017

You can get an off the shelf AR that is perfect for 1-1.5K or get an off the shelf SCAR for 2-3K and spend another 1-2K upgrading it to make if perfect... Why? There are ambi ARs that take pmags, which companies are throwing at people now, Or get a SCAR with proprietary mags from FN. Then you need to get the Handl defense lower and a geisle trigger... why? I had a 17, it was cool, I sold it because there is no point price wise and it wasn't very accurate. If Uncle Sam gave me one, that's one thing, but I could get 3 ARs that are equally capable for the same price as a SCAR. Do what ever floats your boat but I'll stick with the AR platform. My M1A with irons out shoots the SCAR with a scope, its steel and wood, like god intended before Eugene Stoner came along.

Boss94 · Sep 24, 2017

Bountied said:
You can get an off the shelf AR that is perfect for 1-1.5K or get an off the shelf SCAR for 2-3K and spend another 1-2K upgrading it to make if perfect... Why? There are ambi ARs that take pmags, which companies are throwing at people now, Or get a SCAR with proprietary mags from FN. Then you need to get the Handl defense lower and a geisle trigger... why? I had a 17, it was cool, I sold it because there is no point price wise and it wasn't very accurate. If Uncle Sam gave me one, that's one thing, but I could get 3 ARs that are equally capable for the same price as a SCAR. Do what ever floats your boat but I'll stick with the AR platform. My M1A with irons out shoots the SCAR with a scope, its steel and wood, like god intended before Eugene Stoner came along.

The scar 16 uses ar15 mags. The 17 uses its own which have come way down in price recently.

jjsat · Sep 24, 2017

Boss94 said:
The scar 16 uses ar15 mags. The 17 uses its own which have come way down in price recently.

Agreed Boss, I'm seeing Scar 17 mag prices now under $35 and 17 rifle prices under $2600

OrbitalEllipses · Sep 24, 2017

At the end of the day the SCAR has capabilities built in that would appear more robust than commercial solutions the AR market has come up with. The cost reflects that this design was custom built for one customer.

OSOK1776 · Sep 24, 2017

Handl makes a scar lower that allows the 17 to use sr25/pmag 308s. It’s great if you have multiple ar10s

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ideal Paradigm · Sep 24, 2017

Bountied said:
You can get an off the shelf AR that is perfect for 1-1.5K or get an off the shelf SCAR for 2-3K and spend another 1-2K upgrading it to make if perfect... Why? There are ambi ARs that take pmags, which companies are throwing at people now, Or get a SCAR with proprietary mags from FN.

If we're talking about the SCAR 16, they can use PMAG Gen 3 magazines which also work in AR-15s.

LargemouthAss · Sep 25, 2017

I have a SCAR 17 and one huge benefit of the SCAR over the AR platform is that cleaning is so much quicker on the SCAR. I have gone well over 3k rounds without cleaning (just occasional lube) and when I take it apart the only dirt is on the piston. Overall the platform can be incredibly accurate but getting there is more pricey than an AR. The 17 is very rough on optics so you cannot get away with the cheap stuff.

erwos · Sep 25, 2017

If OP wants to be special, there's also the Beretta ARX-100, which besides bad BUIS and a meh trigger is a pretty cool rifle for about half the cost of a SCAR16.

OrbitalEllipses · Sep 25, 2017

Ideal Paradigm said:
If we're talking about the SCAR 16, they can use PMAG Gen 3 magazines which also work in AR-15s.

Any generation of Pmag can be used, provided the user modifies the bolt catch notch on the back of the magazine. To that effect, most of my Gen 3 Pmags have required a slight bit of filing though much less than the u-shaped notches of prior generation Pmags. Provided the notch is correct, any STANAG mag should work in the SCAR 16S.

DaemonAssassin · Sep 26, 2017

LargemouthAss said:
I have a SCAR 17 and one huge benefit of the SCAR over the AR platform is that cleaning is so much quicker on the SCAR. I have gone well over 3k rounds without cleaning (just occasional lube) and when I take it apart the only dirt is on the piston. Overall the platform can be incredibly accurate but getting there is more pricey than an AR. The 17 is very rough on optics so you cannot get away with the cheap stuff.

You don't have to do uber clean on an AR all the time. Just keep it lubed well.

clandestine · Sep 26, 2017

Shoot a 308 AR with a Suppressor and Adjustable Gas then thoot a SCAR17 with FIXED Gas and a Suppressor and then tell me which one is better.

scar vs ar-15- educate me

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Ultimate Member

God loves you, I don't.

Why should we Free BSD?

In need of moderation

Member

Active Member

Active Member

God loves you, I don't.

Member

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Active Member

Ultimate Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

The Hebrew Hammer

Ultimate Member

Why should we Free BSD?

AR-15 Savant

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics