Dealer: HK MR556-A5 RIFLE $2,280.59
MSRP: $2,995.00
Now you know…
Thanks for sharing
And knowing is half the battle.
Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 
Once the initial buying stampeed slows I’m hoping the sale price will be under $2500. However, I’m the type of guy that will wait at least 5 years for the design to mature a tad on the open market before I dish out that kind of cash for it. It seems like every new rifle on the market undergoes a number of changes to the design in the first 5yrs or more.
BTW, does anyone know what the dealer price is for the 5.56 SCAR?
at that price ,I don’t see me getting one ,I guess I will stick with My COLT M4
The main features of this rifle have been around for over five years. We need to see how this version compares the the 416. I suspect they are very similar, at least with the upper receiver. It should be good to go, if this is what you need.
If that is the case, then I would be good to go once the price gets close enough to the dealer cost. I’ve always been impressed with the H&K equipment that I’ve owned and used in the past. I prefer the M16 style charging handle, and I still wonder why moving to a left/right side handle in SCAR/ACR/XCR is an innovation. The M16 charging handle is ambidextrous, reliable, and it is out of the way when not in use. Perhaps because the side mounted charging handle has the forward assist integrated into it?
However, as WarpigM-4 has said, I may have a hard time justifying going with a piston AR versus a quality DI system and I might just stick with my Colt and some BCM builds.
Me too.
$2500 is basically reasonable. This is much better than the $4000 a lot of folks (probably working for other piston companies, LOL) were predicting over at HKPRO.
I have said from the beginning it needs to be competitive with the SCAR, not DI guns or hobby piston guns. At $2500 it is about right.
I already have a 10 inch 416 upper on my M16A1, and it is excellent. I already have a COLT M4gery, and it is excellent.
Reasonable? By what standard. It lacks the features of the SCAR, but costs the same. It’s the same complaint I have against LWRC.
Feature to dollar ratio, it lags behind the SCAR, XCR and ACR.
The MR556 is a freaking brick as well. People bitch about the ACR; the MR556 is laughably heavy. Even a 20" Colt HBAR MT6700C is lighter.
Multi-Cal like the SCAR? No
Lighter than a SCAR? LOL
Folding Stock like the SCAR? No
QD barrel like the SCAR? No
So how is reasonable being defined here? What makes a MR556 worth $1300 more than a 6920 with a decent quality rail? What gives it parity with the SCAR. No stamping HK on the side is not a good reason
On the upside, the price is high enough to not directly piss in LWRC’s cheerios however, so I am sure that camp will be pleased.
I think of the 416 and the SCAR as, essentially, competing for the same market. That being people who want extremely high-quality 5.56 rifles that are civilian versions of what the Special Ops guys use. If HK had priced it at 4k, like some were suggesting, it would have been absurd.
As far as a SCAR vs. 416 debate, I like em’ both. However, the SCAR is a non-starter for me because there is no NFA version available to civilians. My 416 upper runs like a top on my M16A1 lower.
And as far as the Ruger piston gun, POF, Bushmaster stuff, XCR and the LWRC, I see those guns as competing for a different segment of the market.
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More “Special Ops” guys use Colt M4’s so I am not sure what correlation is being drawn. Does that suddenly mean the 6920 with a KAC rail should be $2500 since it remains the weapon of choice for “special ops guys”?
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Lined up side by side, feature for feature, what makes the MR556 in the same class as the SCAR? If all we are looking for is the ability to shoot 5.56, even a $900 Daniel Defense can do that.
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So because some internet types speculated the MR556 was going to be $4k, that makes $2500 a bargain? I guess Magpul should have said the Masada was going to be $10k then.
I don’t think all of the market is too keen on throwing out 60 years of design evolution just yet. After so many years of using M16 variants, I still prefer its manual of arms. I’ve shot the SCAR a few times, and for me it is just another alternative. I think what perked my interest in the H&K was that the 416 equaled the SCAR in the extreme dust test. One of my few complaints about the M4 is that it doesn’t handle dust all that well. The 416 seems to address this issue and is a true incremental improvement on the M4 platform, while retaining all the design features I like.
The only downside to the H&K is the weight, which will be a hard sell for me. The price does come into play as well, but I’m willing to dish out the extra cash for “measurable” performance improvements and the strong possibility of excellent quality. If I were to go beyond a top tier DI rifle, personally I would bypass LWRC and the other piston ARs for a surer investiment in the H&K. The multicaliber option doesn’t concern me that much. Other than 7.62x39, I have no interest in the other odd-ball calibers in the 5.56 platform…and I have yet to find a rifle with a straight magwell that accepts M16 magazines and will reliably feed the 7.62 which requires a more extreme curvature throughout its mag length. Folding stock, other that easier storage of the rifle not an issue for me either as I see little benefit in firing the weapon without the support of at least a collapsed stock.
To each his own.
While the military version is switchable, is the SCAR 16S civilian version multi-caliber? I haven’t seen any news about FN planning barrel/caliber conversions for it. Based off all the SHOT news, it looks like FN is just selling the SCAR-L nd SCAR-H as complete rifles for now. Anyone know anything different?
As for the MR556, $2500 for it seems reasonable, considering it, along with the SCAR, are the only combat proven/military adopted advanced piston carbine designs. People bring up the LWRC, XCR, and ACR in comparison, but I think I would take my chances with the proven designs. Granted, for 99% of civilian shooters, a DI AR is more than adequate, but having more choices is never a bad thing. Extreme reliability, insensitivity to dust/dirt, excellent barrel life, and seamless manual of arms transition are what the MR556/416 has going for it. If that’s not enough value for you, get the SCAR. I think either is an excellent choice.
The Marine Corps thinks there’s benefits to the 416 IAR over the SCAR, so to dismiss it as not in the same league as the SCAR is a stretch in my opinion.
“1. More “Special Ops” guys use Colt M4’s so I am not sure what correlation is being drawn. Does that suddenly mean the 6920 with a KAC rail should be $2500 since it remains the weapon of choice for “special ops guys”?”
Okay…
People keep talking about the 416 like it’s the new favorite of the various special forces communities. If I’m not mistaken, the consensus of the rumor mill is that Delta is no longer using it.
The one plausible advantage used to sell piston guns is the ability to deal with various barrel lengths and suppressors, but the adjustable gas blocks have now given DI guns this ability. I agree with the other poster who observed that the DI platform just seems to fill the SF market niche better, given the inherent weight advantage and the new equipment available for DI rifles.
guess people cant complain ACR/SCAR is overpriced. I thought spec ops went with HK416 mainly because it worked the most reliably on suppressors vs DI
I personally like the way the charging handle is set up on the SCAR. Sure it isn’t ambidextrous, but you can configure it to either side, and more importantly you do not have to alter your sight picture to manually cycle the weapon if the need were to arise.
That’s also a non issue for me. Part of my training when performing reloads is to purposely get off the tunnel vision of the sight picture in order to get a quick scan for additional threats, quick scene sizeup, and then determine if I should be moving and where. Getting off the sight picture can also speed up your reloads since it becomes more difficult to multitask under stress. Reaquiring the sight picture only takes about 1/8 of a second on the M4. If I were on a static range with loosely secured magazines, with predetermined locations of the badguys, my cover, and how many shots I should put into each threat…then yeah, keeping the tunnel vision of constant sight picture would help.
Lastly, if you are a right handed shooter and you have your stock full extended, you can still charge the M4 without moving your cheek weld or your sight picture. If I’m shooting left handed I’ll be fumbling more anyhow, so I’m not going to divide my attention by trying to maintain the sight picture.
Don’t get me wrong, the SCAR is an excellent weapon, but for those of us that have used M4s for years and will likely be carrying them for at least another 20, the H&K is a better choice.
LWRC and the HK416 do not offer a monolithic rail and this has kept me from buying one for that amount of money.
And no, a rail that butts to the front of the upper to give a monolith look is not a real monolith.
I’d rather own a LMT MRP or a Colt monolith.