FN has ceased production in US and Belgium. Said so in a tweet; they've since deleted the tweet but the word is it's legit.
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FN SCAR IS DEAD; LONG LIVE THE SCAR! US and Belgium Production is over.
- Thread starter 1911hombre
- Start date
FN to Discontinue All SCAR Models
Recently, rumours have been circulating that FN was going to discontinue the SCAR. As of a few days ago, it seems that said rumours have been confirmed.Many saw the news first circulate on the FN SCAR subreddit with unconfirmed reports from reps stating that certain legacy models of the SCAR...
www.thefirearmblog.com
So the stupidly overpriced rifle is going to get even more stupidly overpriced?
Can’t wait for the gunbroker bubba to sell one for $27,000 cause “socom” and “discontinued” and “i know what i got”
Can’t wait for the gunbroker bubba to sell one for $27,000 cause “socom” and “discontinued” and “i know what i got”
Well, if you want a SCAR, you better hurry up because it is definitely being discontinued.
IIRC, FN is part of General Dynamics. Once their military contracts are done, they don't necessarily want to build for civilian market. I may be wrong about that... but when I was at GDATP, there was Zero interest in making anything for civilians within any of their subsidiary companies.
Cheers,
Sirhr
Respectfully, Sirhr, FN is in no way associated with General Dynamics. FN is a subsidiary of the FN Browning Group, based in Belgium.
AG
I had a scar16 and loved it. Shot the 17 a bit with a giggle switch.
But after dealing with warranty issues and the fact that FN won't warranty s gun if it has worn a suppressor, I would never own a SCAR again. Too many better options.
But after dealing with warranty issues and the fact that FN won't warranty s gun if it has worn a suppressor, I would never own a SCAR again. Too many better options.
That whole suppressor-related warranty thing is only brought into play if you spill your guts when they ask you if you suppressed it. Clean the gun, reinstall the factory muzzle brake, and say "No" if asked. Has worked for most. I will, however, agree that their CS is about the worst.
You are absolutely right... My bad.
It was HK that GD was working with on the XM-8... and at the time, they stated they had no interest in civilian production. IIRC it was under consideration for acquisition by GD, probably contingent on the XM-8 getting adopted. BAE owned it at the time.
HK was later acquired by Private investors. But the president of the GD Armament and Technical products (Linda Hudson, my old boss) ended up as CEO of BAE a few years later.
This is more than 20 years ago... so apologise for the error and thanks for the correction!
Cheers,
Sirhr
Would not be surprised if the market was more or less saturated and sales dropped off. Plus with gummint contracts filled, it was not worth keeping production going for small/declining civilian sales.
I have one that I love. It's actually a really nice gas gun, so to speak! Bought used a few years ago when prices were a bit in the toilet. Which is always the best time to buy!
Sad to see it checking out, but betting the math was not looking good for sales vs. costs.
Cheers,
Sirhr
More SCARs will sell in the next 10 days than the last 10 years...
A wise individual once told me: "FN makes the best combat machine guns....they also make some other stuff. It seems the smaller you go, the shittier they get."
Curious that there's been more LICC content floating around just before this. Honestly this and/or the ICAR are the only mildly amusing "innovations" that set them apart in the rifle/carbine market would get me to consider going deep into a new platform. That said, I have ZERO delusions that FN gives a fuck about putting out a Civ LICC.
A wise individual once told me: "FN makes the best combat machine guns....they also make some other stuff. It seems the smaller you go, the shittier they get."
Curious that there's been more LICC content floating around just before this. Honestly this and/or the ICAR are the only mildly amusing "innovations" that set them apart in the rifle/carbine market would get me to consider going deep into a new platform. That said, I have ZERO delusions that FN gives a fuck about putting out a Civ LICC.
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The 5.7 is pretty cool and the carbine were both really innovative. FN Mimini is 'old' now but was very innovative.
The FAL is one of the most iconic battle rifles ever produced and is still around in various formats.
All the way back to their relationship with John Browning... FN has been at the forefront of a lot. And their quality iis fantastic. Herstal/Liege have produced some of the greatest guns in history.
That said, I think you are right that SCAR sales are about to go through the roof. And someone who was joking about bubbas asking 25K for a SCAR (and maybe a few getting it) is NOT going to be a surprise. Shit like this brings out the chumps!
We'll see what happens with the LICC... or IPC. But like you, would be surprised if it manages to come out in a civilian version. Then again, I've been wrong before. If there is money to be made, the Belgian Gun Industry will find a way to make it!
Cheers,
Sirhr
A commercial/civilian LICC faces a couple major challenges this early on: no ammunition ecosystem in place to support a commercial venture, proprietary magazines on top of that (which no one in the commercial market ever likes), and it is likely only in low rate production at best right now. If you've seen a LICC in person, it is incredibly complex. If you think a commercial SCAR is expensive, I can't image what a commercial LICC would run.
I would not expect a commercial LICC until well after it is fully adopted and fielded by the military customer.
I would not expect a commercial LICC until well after it is fully adopted and fielded by the military customer.
FIFY.
That said, the ammunition advancements are almost certain to find their way into some level of civilian use. Probably through competition like PRS. Where folks are looking for every little advantage.
The LICC concepts have some significant advantages in being able to handle extraordinarily high-pressure. And it’s been my opinion for a while that the next big breakthrough is in ammunition and ballistics are going to be pushing the pressure barriers way beyond where we are today.
So I definitely see some future for the hybrid steel cases, and for the ability to pack them with some very innovative, new powders, or combinations of powders. Because I still think the ability to put dual powders in cases using modern 3-D printing technologies offers some huge future advantages to being able to create high-pressure super high velocity cartridges.
As for the rifle… Hey, the XM-8 was pretty damn cool. And the smart grenade launcher was wicked, cool. But it still didn’t go anywhere because cool or not, the military establishment is still very conservative. And nobody has forgotten McNamara’s errors in rushing the M-16 into production.
Socom gets to do its own thing. That’s the scar.
But XM-8 was part of the objective individual rifle debacle. Objective force warrior, and all that. Which was a total waste of time and money. But hey, Rumsfeld was having the time of his life.
Cheers! Sirhr
I was involved a little in the DOD SCAR experience. Here is what killed the gun.
FN overgassed it badly.
The gas regulation is poorly thought out.
Leadership didn't give troops the training time to overcome the reciprocating charging handle.
The handguard design and length is from 2001, which exacerbated the charging handle issue.
The mags were ungodly expensive. They shouldn't be. D&H makes the mags.
It is 3000 dollars. The price they were selling for, post sample to dealers at Shot when they first came out, was 900 dollars. That is what FN should have remembered when selling them.
If you bite the bullet on the mags, put in a 3 select regulator from mototech, and put a KDG extended handguard on, the gun is the BEST shooting large frame 308 ever. It is light, soft shooting, and accurate.
It should have had a minimum of post issue development but everyone wanted to shit on it because it was different. However, it was the best small arms iteration of the last 20 years.
FN overgassed it badly.
The gas regulation is poorly thought out.
Leadership didn't give troops the training time to overcome the reciprocating charging handle.
The handguard design and length is from 2001, which exacerbated the charging handle issue.
The mags were ungodly expensive. They shouldn't be. D&H makes the mags.
It is 3000 dollars. The price they were selling for, post sample to dealers at Shot when they first came out, was 900 dollars. That is what FN should have remembered when selling them.
If you bite the bullet on the mags, put in a 3 select regulator from mototech, and put a KDG extended handguard on, the gun is the BEST shooting large frame 308 ever. It is light, soft shooting, and accurate.
It should have had a minimum of post issue development but everyone wanted to shit on it because it was different. However, it was the best small arms iteration of the last 20 years.
Free markets and shit - bitches...So the stupidly overpriced rifle is going to get even more stupidly overpriced?
Can’t wait for the gunbroker bubba to sell one for $27,000 cause “socom” and “discontinued” and “i know what i got”
I’ve got a love hate relationship with the Scar. I acquired one in 2008/09 early in the release to the civy market, when FN said “once the military adopts it, we are stopping sales to the public”. Or that was my understanding of it. This one is serial number 592, and it sat in the safe for 4 or 5 years unfired. I got tired of sitting on it and shot about 500 rounds through it, and it has pretty much sat for the rest of time I’ve had it. I still have all the original shipped items and box for this thing.
