Here is something a little different. It is a lightweight grapnel that can be launched from an AR15 using a blank. While it is not sturdy enough to climbing, it was meant for uses like clearing out trip wires.
It looks like the company that made these is out of business, but it is such a simple design that a person with a lathe could easily reproduce it.
Since the SCAR-L and SCAR-H came on the scene and touted as the next best thing I was skeptical to say the least. Even now after using them both enough to get to know them, I find the 556 SCAR neato, but nothing about it justifies the hype that preceded it. The H on the other hand I think has some real potential. Recently we finally got around to testing one out in a manner that I felt gave me something to say about it.
The SCARH has seemingly taken on the role of battle carbine and as a “sniper support “rifle and after a lot of shooting I think this is its most useful role. We fired it for group and at longer ranges to see how it would do. And I was well pleased with what it showed me.
Normally I would put my usual 18x leupold target optic on it for long range testing and firing for group but the owner assured me the Elcan 6x optic pictured on the gun would be enough. For long range shooting on man sized steel gongs it certainly is. For group shooting it limited me to 100 yards. I could have shot further but I feel trying to small groups with smaller power can be rough when eyes get tired and the strings stretch on and on. With that in mind I didn’t feel it fair to the gun to shoot 200-300 yard groups with the 6x. And I am not going to lie., the thing has a reputation for narfing up optics. Or so I am told, so it did not take much to convince me to stick to the Elcan. With all that in mind lets take a looky-poo at what it did.
Above is the typical average group for the day. Fired with 168 grain Federal Gold Medal Match ammo which I was told the Elcan was calibrated for . Group was a 10 round string with the flyer being the first round fired. This is a common flyer for a lot of semi auto guns due to the difference between the bolt closing and locking up under recoil as opposed to by hand with less force. Certainly only the most hardened keyboard marksman would complain about it too much in this case, but the first round flyer on a hand chambered round always was a little off from the main group. I do feel this group is representative over all so I am not going to post all of them up.
After some general drills and plinking I moved it off to long range. I used my usual man sized steel gong roughly shaped like a small man from belt to head. The wind was blowing like a democrat running for president and combined with the 168 grain ammo NOT being 175 or heavier, I chose to put the target out to only 750 yards.
No real reason that I didn’t set it at 800 other than the simple reason I couldn’t find a flat enough spot to set the target. 750-800 yards is what I consider the far end of what a 168 grain 308 round can do from a barrel length around that of a SCAR especially. Really its a pretty good rule of thumb in my opinion that making hits past 800 with the 168s starts to become problematic with anything less than a 26 inch barrel.
With a little wind reading, the elcan 6x put the hits right on the steel using the BDC stadia for the appropriate range. Very few rounds missed and that was due to 35 to 45 mph winds moving full value to 3/4 value all day. One thing we noticed was the light profile barrel did not to seem to have any problems with POI shift as it heated up a bit. The PWS muzzle device made fast follow up shots very easy. The grass muted any chance for a dust signature in this case so i can’t speak to that. I was very impressed with the ease of making hits with the Elcan though it is was a little crowded for my personal tastes. That’s not a gripe. I spent most of my life, and 99 percent of my long range shooting life during the time of the mildot being the most complicated thing out there.
Towards the end of the long range shooting, with the strong wing I attempted to hit the steel rapid fire 20 out of 20 without waiting for lulls in the wind. I managed 19 out of 20 on target in about 35 seconds. That is a very good run in high wind using a short barrel and the 168 grain round I have so little taste for use in serious long range shooting . I was especially pleased with its performance considering the size of the target. I am barely 5’9 and as you can see the gong is not really as big as a normal man.
I would very much like to test for myself how the SCAR H does with 175gr match ammo or something else more tuned for longer ranges. The rest of the time at this range was spent hitting the gong as if it was no further away than 200 yards once the wind stayed blowing in a steady direction. . At 750 the H shot about as good as the 901 with the 901 grouping better when accuracy tested. One caveat being the 901 did have the 18x though so keep that in mind. I do have a gut feeling the 901 will have the advantage at the extreme long range since it has a barrel free floated and not piston operated.
Now comes the part with the down sides. That Elcan 6x while very clear and very useful is VERY heavy. It makes a fairly light handy 762 battle carbine into a very fat chick. With the gun loaded and with other mission required additions such as a light or PEQ etc, this thing turns into a brute. I am not afraid of rifles that have some weight if the weight has a good reason, but the optic on this one really makes it tough to say I would every really buy one myself for constant use.
Speaking of the optic, the charging handle. Or as I think of it, the SCAR H knuckle skinner. When the charging handle is on the left side, which is the best side for righties, you do not have much choice of places to mount any optics if it sticks out over the side of the rifles top rail any at all. Hand position is critical as well since you can stop the gun or take a knock from the handle as it operates. Same thing if the CH touches anything around you when in use. I am not a fan of it nor will I ever be. I have read and heard all the reasons why it was given this feature, but I still think it just sucks.
I had some problems with the factory safeties. I could not use the right side of the ambi safety in any way that was useful and I struggled to quickly and smoothly use the left handed full sized lever. This is something easily fixed now a days and its a good thing. If I was to buy a SCAR H I would have to order a replacement ambi safety before I even got home with it.
The trigger was the superb Super SCAR Trigger ’nuff said. It did not have the factory trigger in it so I can’t really give any opinion on that. I would highly recommend that super scar trigger though to anyone buying one of these guns.
As hideous as some find the butt stock and as much fun as it is to joke about it, there was no trouble from it. The stock was comfortable and easy enough to adjust. For average guy in the US use I don’t see it being any real issue though I do understand it has had some problems in the past in combat.
I heard so much hyperbole over how the PWS muzzle device was so loud that it would cause dead bodies to rise from the bottom of lakes and make instant rain storms. It wasn’t that loud and it wasn’t that blasty in my opinion. It did however work great. Same as the L model. But it’s much appreciated on the 762 model. Rapid fire off hand, prone or any strange position I tried was like shooting a 556 gun. Maybe even less. I do find I would like to see how it feels without it. The Colt 901 has very pleasant recoil with no recoil dampening muzzle brake at all but the HK417 has recoil I find to be way too much considering what it is. So I would like to see how the piston SCAR feels with no brake compared to the piston 417. I stood beside it and over it while some one shot it prone and walked all around it during firing with nothing more than foam plugs in. It’s not that bad at all. Or I am well on my way to deafness. Other shooter remarked it was not as bad as it has been made out to be. Unrelated, the SCAR H and the L vents a hell of a lot of gas out onto the barrel in front of the gas block and even onto the brake. I would like to see what kind of flash is produced at night when the gun is suppressed and from a position directly in front of it.
Unlike the HK 417/Mr762 which I loathe, the SCARH never failed us during use. I found it shot more accurate and was much more pleasant to shoot recoil wise. I know I have brought it up many times but that HK 417 really surprised me by how much recoil it has. In the review of the HK you can even see the bruising it caused another shooter from its recoil. The SCARH and Colt 901 are as pleasant to shoot as a 556 gun to me. Not so for that HK417. The SCAR was as reliable as the 901 though I did not shoot quite as much through the SCARH as I did the Colt 901s.
One last complaint about the H is the rail space. There is not a lot of it on the gun for positioning extras you may have much need for or just simply want. There are of course fixes for that and other models with longer rails but the SCARH tested was the configuration it first came out as and is a product of the time period it was designed.
I was impressed with the guns accuracy and performance. I would certainly own one and set it up in the sniper support role. Oddly there are as many things I don’t like about it as there are things I do like. But I feel it has a couple of roles that it excels best at. As a combat carbine, I think in its stock form it leaves a lot to be desired and the 762 pattern ARs are superior in most ways. If I wanted to use a 762 carbine like I would a 556 carbine, I would hands down go with something like the Colt 901 ( which is my first pick) the KAC EMC carbine or whatever they call it this month, or even the LMT MWS god forbid. If I wanted a piston operated 762 DMR or sniper support rifle/carbine., I would absolutely use the SCAR H especially when it is dressed with its longer rail and the current upgrades.
This review with some time with the SCARH is late enough that it’s not changing anyone’s mind about buying one at this point, but I would suggest making sure you know exactly what you want out of it and what you may need to change on the H if you are thinking about getting one. I certainly would get one if I had use for it even in its standard guise.
I am not a big fan of steel-cased ammunition. It has never really been that much of a savings per round vs. the quality you have to deal with. Recently (Ammoman.com) was kind enough to reach out and provided some ammunition to us. One of the rounds sent to us for testing is the new Winchester USA Forged ammunition line in 9mm. The USA Forged line is Winchester’s attempt to get in on the cheap, high volume shooting steel-cased ammunition market, but offer a slightly better product than the foreign steel-cased ammunitions on the market.
There are some slight differences in the USA Forged line vs. other steel-cased ammunition. The Winchester USA Forged is 100% USA made and it uses an all lead bullet core with brass jacket (FMJ). There are no bi-metal components in the bullet. It has a non corrosive boxer primer and uses a clean burning powder, per the manufactures markings on the box.
I shot 200 rounds of Federal American Eagle 115grn FMJ before switching to the steel-cased USA Forged 115grn FMJ, just to compare how the steel functioned against a decent brass offering. I used a 19 year old Gen2 Glock 19 and a brand new H&K VP9 to test the Forged ammunition. Each firearm had 100 rounds of American Eagle though it before using the USA Forged ammunition.
Function/Reliability/Quality:
I shot 450 rounds of the Winchester USA Forged 9mm. As I was loading rounds I noticed how scraped up and ruff the steel casings were. The Forged ammo does not have a lacquer coating or any kind of washed finish on it that I could see. Winchester says they have a proprietary surface treatment on the casings but the three boxes I received, most of the casings look pretty rough. The proprietary surface treatment is extremely inconsistent. It looks like plain exposed steel most of the time. In several images and videos from some of the industry magazines out there, all the rounds looked the same, with a nice even casing coating. This was definitely not the case for the boxes I received.
It took a little more elbow grease to load up magazines as they seemed to not want to slide in smoothly, due to the rough casings. Once loaded up, I quickly started dumping rounds down range at a rapid pace. I noticed a little more recoil from the Forged ammo. The steel casings were really flying out forcefully. I quickly burned through 85 rounds. On the 86th round I had a Failure to Extract (FTE) resulting in a Double Feed. I notice the casing was a quarter of the way out of the chamber and another round had fed into the back of it. I cleared the magazine and racked the slide to reengage the head of the un-extracted casing. Once the extractor and slide reengaged the lip of the casing I was unable to rack the slide to extract it. I ended up having to smack the nose of the slide against the ground several times, to unseat the stuck casing enough to rack it out. The casing looked normal but you can see where the extractor slipped of the rim of the casing.
Except for the one (1) FTE resulting in a double feed, I had no other firing function issues. There were a few things that caught my attention as far as the quality of the individual rounds. At the end of the day these did not cause actual function issues but it did make the overall use and enjoyment of the Forged ammunition not as enjoyable. They are a little nit-picky but worth mentioning.
First; This ammunition is dirty. Dirty to handle and dirty shooting. It says clean burning powder is used and I was thinking, compared to what?, sticking my hands into a bag of coal dust. I’ve been to courses where I shot 1500 rounds in a day and my hands were not this dirty. Second; There was a large noticeable powder cloud after firing each round and from time to time un-burned powder pieces would ignite in the air after firing rounds. It seemed to be as dirty shooting as any other steel-cased foreign ammo. Third; The above mentioned difficulty loading magazines. The rough, dirty and inconstantly coated shell casings just made loading more difficult.
Accuracy:
I did not spend any time on in-depth formal accuracy testing. The USA Forged ammunition is 115grn FMJ plinking ammo and I shot it all off hand. I took my target from 7 to 25 yards and all in between. All the hits were there and the round is going to hit what you’re shooting at. At 25 yards I shot 20 rounds and they were all center mass within an extreme of 4 to 6 inches of center from each other, that’s good enough for me.
Final Thoughts:
Overall the Winchester USA Forged ammo worked. It does have a slight edge over foreign/imported steel-cased ammunition as far as the FMJ bullet is concerned. The best thing the Forged ammunition has going for it is the traditional FMJ bullet construction. I don’t think it is worth shooting over any brass-cased ammunition. In checking on Blazer Brass, PMC Bronze, Speer Lawman and American Eagle, all were between .21 and .26 cents per round depending quantity. I found the USA Forged is also going for .21 to .26 cents per round. At these prices I don’t personally see that the Winchester steel-cased offering is saving any money. Thanks again to (Ammoman.com) for supplying the ammunition for the review.
Duncan.
I heard that H&K won the Army compact semi-auto sniper competition. That surprised me as I thought Knights Armament Corp. would be a sure win. It will be interesting to see how the HK rifle turns out and how many actually get purchased.
I find it interesting that the Army moved away from a 20 inch barreled .308 to having a 16 inch barreled .308 carbine. That got me thinking about the other Sniper type ARs that have been used recently in our military. You see that the 18inch barreled MK12 rifles mostly phased out of service. There also is no mention about other sniper M16 variants in the military being currently used (like the SAM-R, or the SDM-R).
I know the Army and Marines have both field the MK12 sniper rifle. I also hear that very few are still in use. One main thing said is that no replacement parts or service was set aside for them, so when they were shot out, there was no replacement.
The USMC adopted a 16.5 inch barreled 5.56 HK carbine for use as an Automatic Rifle. When it was adopted I wondered if the USMC just really wanted a heavy barreled carbine but didn’t want to buy M4A1 Carbines. Almost immediately after fielding the USMC made claims that these carbines were very accurate and that they would fill the Corps requirements for a Designated Marksman rifle.
There is plenty out there saying that the USMC likes the idea of the M27 IAR as a DMR rifle, for example this article from Marines.mil.
The Corps seems feel that a 3.5X scope on a 16.5 inch automatic rifle barrel firing M855 meets their needs as a DMR. So this makes for an interesting question. Is it that the USMC doesn’t need a match rifle firing match ammo with higher magnification, or is it that the individual Marines in combat situations cannot make better use of a more precision rifle?
Most likely it is that Marine Infantry would not effectively use a sniper rifle. When people think about snipers they often think about the shooting skills and then next the stalking and hiding skills. What isn’t often though about is the different in mentality, and the much greater training in spotting targets and observation fields of fire.
The Marine Corps Times isn’t a very reliable source of information, a little less so than National Enquirer, but they had an article with an interesting comment:
“You’d be shocked at how bad Marines are at guessing, like 700 meters for a target that was at 275 meters,” she said. “Range estimation comes into everything we do, whether it’s call for fire, small-arms marksmanship or setting a cordon for an [improvised explosive device]; it can be taught, but it’s a very perishable skill.”
Ever since the 5.56 service round was adopted over 50 years ago, its reputation has had its ups and downs. We have went from the 55 grain M193 FMJ round to now having what seems to be a confusing amount of bullet weights and designs and with every different bullet we get a different purpose for its use. Over last 15 years especially it has become the general purpose all around work horse for most of us. Yet while most shooters will pay lip service to that fact, few seem to actually use it to its full potential.
As the market does what it does best, we get more and more rifle rounds. We get some rounds with a lot of possible uses to some that have very limited uses. With so many choices it was natural for shooters to start thinking up, and having made, guns to fill certain specialized roles. Sure it’s fun to lay awake in bed at nigh while your mind specs out some “idea” rifle for some such purpose or another. Of course that new beauty has to have just the right round for it. Something new that on paper has the ability hit at range and deliver impressive terminal ballistics for when the _____ happens, said person will have the best tool.
That is all a lot of fun and everyone has or will do it at some time or another even if its just a day dream. The reality is that most of us ( and I am mainly addressing people who train fairly seriously) use the 556 in a variety of carbines or rifles, for the bulk of our rifle training.
The AR15 chambered in 556 has become the general purpose rifle for the vast majority of people. It is just a fact if no other reason than that is what most of them are made in. Of course it is not as simple as that though, but it will do as a starting point
With all that in mind there are a few other things to consider. Things that may help strip away all the zombie fantasy and late night tinfoil hat delirium. The 556 is the service rifle cartridge. It is what the US military uses and will continue to use for the far future despite the hopes of DC lobbyist. This gives us huge advantages for the round. The military does not use anything they do not test, study and develop and continue to at least consider improving through out its service life. We saw this with the 7.62 NATO round and still are. Same with the 556. We have went from 55gr ball. to things like the SOST, AA53 and now the dubious M855A1. The spin off effect of military adoption is civilian use and interest. Not only do we have access to all but a few military rounds, but we have use of even more and better variants and specialized loads.
This seemingly endless variety makes the AR15 rifle or carbine extremely useful. We have now been seeing that in practice for a few years now. From military use we have seen the rise of the DMR concept AR. Something that in the past many thought had to be a M14 type weapon until that gross misconception was finally put to rest. We also have the MK12 MOD 0 the MOD 1 and now MOD H. All of which are essentially sniper rifles. The USMC has been using the HK IAR for a while now as the automatic rifle and now it is starting to get the role of the DMR. Of course the 556 service round has been used in the M249 SAW and all its versions, and of course the service rifle and carbine.
The round’s versatility really shines in the non-military world. At one point it was thought of as little more than something to shoot a ground hog with. And most varmint shooters probably would have stuck to the .222 Remington for that.
Things have certainly changed. A huge wake up call for most serious competitive shooters was the year the US Army Marksmanship Unit took their AMU M16A2s to the National Matches and trounced the USMC’s NM M14s in 7.62. The civilians shooters had already started to use the 556 for service rifle etc, but the AMU dumping the M14 and the 762 was a real wake up call for a lot of other people. Here was a round that before was not even thought about for such things now taking over.
Back then, few of the serious shooters I knew would have imagined the round going from the jungle spray and pray to belted machine gun ammo, to being used in some of the worlds best precision sniper rifles. Never mind the idea of people in the south and west using the round for easily taking down 300 pound wild hogs. The service cartridge is seeing improvement continuously and yearly we get new new loading with ever improving bullet designs and higher quality.
lets think about the service round in more practical terms for defensive and military use. In the past competitive shooting was a way to help train citizens in the use of the service rifle and cartridge. It was a way to have fun mastering the rifle in preparation for the day those citizens would have to use those rifles to defend the nation. Boy Scouts practiced , college and high school shooting teams and the NRA all had events to help get people ready for that potential. Other countries of the world had and still do have a tradition of using their respective service rifle in regular events to keep skills up with the weapons they would be handed if war was to ever break out. Ostensibly, we carry this on in service rifle matches but it has strayed from its original intent. The closest we see to this tradition is the various “carbine classes” the more serious and dedicated among us go to and pay for privately and the Appleseed training that is put on by volunteers that starts out from basic marksmanship with a large does of other things that are marginally useful.
It used to be in the years past. All of this was done with the service rifle and cartridge and that is a huge strength and advantage from the purpose of this post. Everyone wants to have something unique to them to set them apart or to conform to their own tastes. And that is fine as Pat Rogers says,”on a warm day where huge puffy white clouds slowly float through and impossibly blue summer sky” but in the vent of a major world changing event to our country where everyone who can fire a gun if needed, it is much better if everyone capable person is already very familiar with the service round and rifle.
It have always noticed the amount of shooters who are willing to spend a lot of time and money training with their 556 carbine in training classes or locally in some form or another and if something happened, would use their carbine if they can possibly get to it. They may train and practice to a max of 200 yards but beyond is the end of the known universe for them.
Many of them have a special beloved sniper rifle or long range precision rifle in some very specialized high performance round. Few of them ever consider practicing with the same gun they would run to if they had to be in a gun fight. The US military does not get to decide to use a 6.5-284 or a 300BLK . They use the 5.56. service round and they should be able to use it to its full ability and have confidence in it.
Even now the exploits of famous military marksman are told and re told into legend and it is a real shame so few really aspire to have enough skill to be just as proficient with their rifles as those guys from the past. SGT York used just his service rifle and cartridge just like the Marines of WW1. Of course there are feats of skilled men with astonishing marksmanship and hellishly long shots from recent years, but mostly they are sniper who are expected to be the ones to pull it off with their special tools. I’m sure there are stories of some soldier or Making a impressive shot at long range with an A4 or M4, but most of us don’t hear about it.
I have made an effort over the years to show what rack grade rifles will do with standard service amm0.
AR15 At 1,000 Yards (Can a rack grade AR15 and M855 make 1,000 yard hits?)
Using a rack grade M16A2 upper on a semi auto lower and M855 and the MK 262 round , I made my best case that regular equipment can shoot to 1,000 yards and make actual hits on a man. It still frustrates me that so many think of it as some great miracle or gimmick. It is not. It is doable and within the ability or anyone who is a competent rifleman. Even shooters on the mid level with a little practice can see hits at 800 yards with the AR15 rifle, or carbine and the 556 round using the standard issue ammo. It does not require bank busting custom rifles. It does require practice and use.
I have owned and/or used a wild amount of specialized rifle rounds for short and long range shooting. Everything from the .17 Remington to the 50BMG but I come to the decision 10 years ago to focus on using the service cartridge. I wanted to get everything out of it I could. To see what it would do and to hopefully open the eyes of its detractors and people who just had no idea. I use it in the service rifle in one form or the other. I do use specialized version of the Ar15, but always in the 5.56 round. the beauty of that combo is that you are always using and getting better with the round and the gun due to the controls and ergonomics of the AR15 almost always exactly the same on every one of them.
There is a lot to be said for regular use of the 556 round not only for 50 yard carbine work, but for long range shooting. As i said it is the round almost all of us use as a self defense carbine round. Being able to use it well and to hit at long range makes you better at shorter ranges. it gives you the ability to make hits at ranges maybe the other guy can not hit you from. For those in the military, it is what you are going to be handed so why not master it completely ?
I like the idea of all serious minded shooters being very familiar with the service round. In my fantasy idea world the country would be a nation of rifleman all competent with the service rifle and round. All serious shooters would be able to take a rack M4 and make a hit on a man sized target at 500 yards on demand, and be able to take prone shot with an A4 and hit at 800 yards. It would be as if everyone was a designated marksman. That would have to be a valuable resource to a military in time of need. That was the intent of leaders past. To keep a nation of rifleman.
In the event of a major emergency where the country was in danger, or a break down of things having a population to draw from that could be handed an old surplus M16A1 or A2 or even a new M4 would be a huge advantage. If things happened to be bad enough, and the gov collapsed, local communities or state gov would have the ability to arm people with rifles and ammo from what used to be the federal government for protection. Laugh if you want, but who knows anymore? The world has taken a strange turn, black is white and up is down these day.
Besides it use usefulness for martial purposes, the service round has a hat to wear for about anything you want to use it for. I use the 556 for pretty much everything anymore except pistol use ( and it is even used for that by some people ) or the very limited times I need a shotgun. other than that, I use the 556 almost exclusively in rifles these days . After years of use and pushing it to its limits, I have learned that it does everything I need from 0 to 1,000 yards with just simple changing of the Ar15 variant. To go along with that I also use the Ar15 in one form or another for 99 percent of my rifle or carbine use from traini9ng to competition to small and medium game to sniper training. When I got a Mk12, I retired all my bolt guns from any thing other than the rare use or for friends who like to shoot them. the Mk12 in 556 using 77 grain MK262 fill all of my long range precision needs.
Before the Mk12 I used the Colt Accurized Rifle for long range. It played multiple roles for me but the 24 inch barrel limited it for everything I wanted. the Mk12’s 18 inch barrel is handier and the 1/7 twist gives more variety where as the CAR ‘s 1/9 twist would not allow me to use 80 grain sierra bullets.
My friends and I used the Colt Accurized Rifle HBAR Elite for many years for precision rifle use from its first introduction in the mid 90s.
With both of the precision Ar15s, the ammo is essential to get the most out out of them. Even with that need there 556 is available in the military match loading.
The service round is our most useful cartridge. With practice it will give you much more than what you may only be seeing at “carbine class “ranges. It is capable of some very impressive results. With regular use shooting at long range, hunting, urban sniping for LE and general training and hunting you will grown in skill and confidence with it and see just how valuable the 556 is and become better ready for the possible future day when you have to use to for much more serious purposes.