SCAR for the Army!

[SuperSet]

Love the SCAR but that short handguard sucks.

[romeo26]

Why no reciprocating handle? It's a smart and simple way to see exactly where the bolt is and doubles as a handy "forward assist" to the extent that bit of gadgetry was ever needed on the M16/M4 in the first place.

Complaints about catching thumbs and so on nothwidthstanding, there are a few popular firearms with a similar arrangement and the simple response to hurting ones thumb on the reciprocating handle would be "then don't put your hand there!"

Given budgets, purchasing/acquisitions, sparing, logistics, training programs and all the rest, I'd put real money on little more than an incrementally improved M4 getting through this process.

R

so we don't have thumb-less people on the front lines. but never lost a thumb to my 17 yet. I wonder how are they going to take out the gas piston.

[cbaer5]

geat maybe Ill hold off on buying a scar now. thanks for posting

[starsnuffer]

I'm not sure how many of you have been paying attention to the Army's budget and force drawdown, but no, this PIP won't ever happen, much like the last few dozen.

At least the platform will get some additional testing and refinement.

-W

[TheHammerOfTruth]

AK 47 is forever the best and should be adopted.

Is the weather nice in your dreamland? How about the price of gas?

[HKDoc]

The whole thing is so crazy. Buy 4 or 5 fewer f35 planes and the new rifles are paid for.

[Zippiot]

The whole thing is so crazy. Buy 4 or 5 fewer f35 planes and the new rifles are paid for.

I would rather there are an extra 5 F35's over my head than have a SCAR in every soldiers hands....

My opinion to make a difference for the future, combine the functions of many attachments into 1 simple to use and easily mountable Optic.

Infact thats what made the XM8 lighter than the M4 SOPMOD, it was just the multi-purpose optic on the top.

Buttstock mounted battery pack can power a myriad of devices, from thermal to NVO to lasers, range finders and wind speed trackers. Build all of them into 1 thing, could even go as extreme as to have the electronics flip-side mounted and the regular optics fixed in position...

[sd_shooter]

Is the weather nice in your dreamland? How about the price of gas?

I'm sure he was kidding

Some kind of ARAK would be ideal. AR on the outside, AK on the inside.

[MilitaryArms]

they still have them but have been looking for a replacement and were quoted saying something like: the next design we choose will be entirely new, showing little resemblance to the ak-series (I think he said 101 in the article)

They've already picked the replacement, the AK12.

It's just a fancy AK.

http://militaryarms.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-russian-service-rifle.html

So, it would appear, for the foreseeable future Russia will stick with the AK.

[MilitaryArms]

Why no reciprocating handle? It's a smart and simple way to see exactly where the bolt is and doubles as a handy "forward assist" to the extent that bit of gadgetry was ever needed on the M16/M4 in the first place.

Complaints about catching thumbs and so on nothwidthstanding, there are a few popular firearms with a similar arrangement and the simple response to hurting ones thumb on the reciprocating handle would be "then don't put your hand there!"

Given budgets, purchasing/acquisitions, sparing, logistics, training programs and all the rest, I'd put real money on little more than an incrementally improved M4 getting through this process.

R

It's a bad idea to have it reciprocating. One doesn't need a visual cue on the left side of the receiver to see the status of the bolt. We already do that, we look at the bolt carrier on the right side. Plus, checking the location of the charging handle doesn't tell you why it's not in the right place. By looking at the ejection port you can see the nature of the malfunction. A well designed non-reciprocating charging handle can also be used as a forward assist. But as most of us know who have used the M16 in cruddy conditions, if you have to pound your bolt carrier home the gun isn't going to work most likely.

The non-reciprocating charging handle doesn't just bite thumbs, it causes malfunctions. Sure, we could spend a few million extra bucks trying to train troops to keep everything from their thumbs, gear and cover from contacting it, but most agree simply making it non-reciprocating is a simpler and ultimately better solution.

[MilitaryArms]

the FX5? Isnt that thing just a G36 knock off?

No. While it looks like a G36 externally, it's quite different internally. It's actually overly complicated IMHO. It has a mix of a AK gas system coupled with a roller delay system.

The Mexicans were going to adopt the G36 but decided to field their own design. Since they already use the G36 in their country, they made their home brew design look similar externally. HK got peeved and started to sue them, but then after realizing the Mexicans went their own way with the internal design they backed off and didn't sue.

[Subotai]

The FX5, according to some, is superior to the G36. It's a design worth considering imo. And it's available in 6.8.

[Displacement]

I've used the SCAR-L, SCAR-H, and M4 in combat. The SCAR-L isn't an improvement at all. It still jams if you use bad magazines and it makes a metallic ringing when it shoots (maybe that was just mine). The SCAR-H is the only rifle that has any advantage over the M4 and even then it's just a little bit more power and distance but the ammo weighs more.

The SCAR, ACR, and all of the other new enhanced and optimized battle rifles are solutions to a problem that doesn't exist.

[AVID HUNTER]

I would rather there are an extra 5 F35's over my head than have a SCAR in every soldiers hands....

My opinion to make a difference for the future, combine the functions of many attachments into 1 simple to use and easily mountable Optic.

Infact thats what made the XM8 lighter than the M4 SOPMOD, it was just the multi-purpose optic on the top.

Buttstock mounted battery pack can power a myriad of devices, from thermal to NVO to lasers, range finders and wind speed trackers. Build all of them into 1 thing, could even go as extreme as to have the electronics flip-side mounted and the regular optics fixed in position...

I'd rather have a few more bombs and a president that has the balls to drop them as opposed to putting troops on the ground. Just my .02, and I know I am wrong in the humane factor, but I only care about American lives.

[MrPlink]

The SCAR-L isn't an improvement at all. It still jams if you use bad magazines

and what magazine fed gun is that not true of?