MK-16/17 SCAR gallery from OEF-A

[QuietShootr]

I just scored 5 spare magazines and it turned this into a completely different rifle.

I was so frustrated with the mag situation I was ready to sell the damn gun. I know it sounds crazy, but having the ability to do magazine changes made it clear what a capable weapon this really is.

Well how about hook a brother up, huh?

[RetreatHell]

For those of you having trouble finding mags, just buy this one.... it's only $280

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=265845671

And there's still 2 friggin' days left on the auction!! Insanity!!!!

[QuietShootr]

For those of you having trouble finding mags, just buy this one.... it's only $280

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=265845671

And there's still 2 friggin' days left on the auction!! Insanity!!!!

**** that noise.

I'm getting a load of FAL mags converted - I know a guy who has figured out the secret sauce to making them work.

[mkmckinley]

I'm sure you're all sick of this thread but someone PM'd me a few questions and since I took the time to answer them I thought I'd post them here. Again this is just my opinion which is worth exactly what you paid for it. Anyway here goes:

1 After carrying a Mk17 for work would you consider it as a replacement for the M4\5.56 for an all around weapon? I guess i mean- was it just suited to the long range nature of the engagements in A-Stan or could you envision carrying it everywhere?

If I was given the choice between a Mk-17 and my M4 and Mk 18 I'd take the Mk-17 to Afghanistan. It's great for doing stuff on foot and has a better effective range which is good in areas where you can use it. In and around vehicles and in urban or wooded terrain I actually prefer an M4 but the Mk17 can do stuff the M4 can't do. If the regular Army gave one guy per fire team a Mk 17 and taught him how to shoot it out to 800m I think they'd be a lot better off in the desert.

2 What was it like to shoot- was it considerably more difficult to shoot and control compared to your M4?

Hard to quantify. I found it maybe 30% harder to control than an AR. 7.62 is a bigger round but the Mk17 is a bigger heavier gun too. It's a little harder to do shoot house and CQB type stuff but with training it's not that much slower. One of our best shooters was really damn fast with it so it's an "Indian not the arrow" situation.

3 What is the muzzle blast like on the shorter barrels? Is it really obnoxious?

It's not that bad considering. I always wore ear pro so naked ear might have been a lot worse but I'll never know. We mostly ran the shorties suppressed though.


4 Last but not least, if you could have a SCAR light or heavy and have it with an extended rail, would you pick one of those over an Ar that was setup however you liked? I saw you mentioned that as a big drawback to the SCAR platform but now TD and PWS seem to have filled that need.

That's a tough question. I don't have any experience with the extended rails but they sound like a big improvement. I guess in 7.62 I'd probably rather have a SCAR but in 5.56 I'd stick with an AR. I really like the AR-15 but I have more experience with it so I might be biased. Right now I have an M4 and a Mk 18 upper and I really like being able to just switch uppers without having to rezero the sights. That is a big deal.
What makes it really hard is that there are some really nice 7.62 ARs in roughly the same price range as SCAR Heavies. Based on my experience I'd probably stick with the Mk-17 though. It's proven itself to me and I like the color.

[JPB]

I'm sure you're all sick of this thread but someone PM'd me a few questions and since I took the time to answer them I thought I'd post them here.

Are you kidding me? This is still IMHO one of the very best threads on this site. I wish that there were more threads like it. Real world feed back on the Mk17? This is about as good as it can get.

[parishioner]

Are you kidding me? This is still IMHO one of the very best threads on this site. I wish that there were more threads like it. Real world feed back on the Mk17? This is about as good as it can get.

Agreed. There's a reason its in a tacked thread. I keep coming back to it partly because its great info and partly because I want one so damn bad. Add to it whenever you can.

[train of abuses]

I will jump on the bandwagon and strongly thank you for sharing your experience with the SCAR! I doubt anyone who is interested in the SCAR is tired of you posting about it because there is so little first person info on the internet from someone who was issued a SCAR H. Most of the info is speculation or "I heard from a friend who swears..." type stuff.

As others have said, this is the best thread on the internet about the SCAR in my book!

[Bowser]

What did you think of the Elcan?

[mkmckinley]

I like the flip lever for selecting the magnification, it's fast and positive although some people have raised doubts about the external mechanism and the mounting hardware I haven't seen any problems. Doesn't mean they cant or won't happen I just haven't seen them. The BDC Reticle is clear, easy to use and has a range estimation feature. The illum is really nice and stays put when you adjust it. The red dot is very crisp and is daylight visible. The glass is really clear. Eye relief is more forgiving than the military issued ACOGs I've used.

The downsides are that there is a 1X-4X POI shift and that it's pretty heavy for what it is. The one I was issued had the shift pretty bad. You can just zero it on 4X and deal with it being a little off at 1X but it's still a pretty big deficiency in my opinion. That's my biggest gripe though they weren't all as bad as mine. The Elcan also mounts pretty high and makes the balance really weird. It's not that big a deal just something to get used to. The SCAR being a pretty tall gun makes it worse. I believe the Elcan SpectreDR was designed for an AR so its a good height for that weapon but could stand to be a little shorter on a SCAR. Luckily you can adjust the stock comb up on the SCAR to compensate.

I've never tried mounting a Docter sight on top like you see some people do and I don't really see the point. That Doter would be so high up you'd almost have to take your face completely off the stock to sight through it. If anyone really feels the need to augment an Elcan with a Docter I'd recommend a 45 degree offset mount.

[train of abuses]

Since you actually have experience with the rifle, what would you say would be the best sort of optic to have on the rifle for a civilian who can choose? I see this constantly debated on forums, but your input would surely be valuable!

I have seen some argue aimpoints with the magnifiers, some say the acogs, some argue for 2.5 x 10 style scopes, some who argue for 1 x 4 scopes, etc.

What do you think?