Mods, not sure if this belongs here or precision rifle subforum, please move if necessary.
Ive seen a lot of people asking questions about the SCAR17 vs SR25/ OBR / LMT MWS/ name your AR 308 Platform, and I decided to do a side-by-side range comparison. For the range session I set up both guns as a 308 Recce type gun, as many people tend to run 16” 308s as such. I used the same NF 2.5-10x NXS w/ Mil Dot reticle, Harris bipod, and rear bag trying to put each on as even a footing as possible. Ammo used was 175 gr FGMM, marked as 7.62x51. I am assuming that this is basically a M118LR clone load. Normally I use hand loads in my 308s, but again I wanted to keep it even and show what is possible from factory ammo. I started out with the EMC, shooting 10 shot groups. All groups at 100m. The results were satisfactory in my opinion, showing that is more than capable of being used in the precision role.
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DSC00844 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
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DSC00843 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
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DSC00858 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
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DSC00856 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
The flyer is the first round that I fired, cold bore.
I moved on to the SCAR17 pulling the NF and bipod off the SR25 and putting it on the SCAR. It took me a while to get it on paper, it started off way left. I was eventually able to get it there and produced this ten round group. This again I was satisfied with, and I believe that it illustrates that the SCAR is a viable option as a DMR / Recce gun. While the groups are not as good as the EMC I think that they could be shrunk with hand loads. The SCAR’s 1/12 twist rate also may not be the best match for the 175 SMK, I’ll try it again with some shorter / lighter rounds and see if there’s any improvement there.
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DSC00848 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
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DSC00857 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
Major differences that I noticed:
The recoil impulse on the guns is very different . to me the SR25 is better in this regard. While the SCAR’s recoil was lighter (ill get more into that later) it was a bit “snappier” than the SR25. The SR-25 is really a very smooth running gun.
A big reason that the SCAR has a lighter recoil is that PWS Brake on it. While it does do its job very well, it is LOUD. I felt the concussion in my teeth, and as I sit here and type this out I kind of have a headache from the crazy blast from the thing. It is a very noticeable difference when switching between the guns. In fact, when I put the NF back on the EMC at the end of the range session to rezero it, after the first round I actually did a double take and had to make sure that the gun did in fact fire and cycle – it felt like I put a suppressor on the thing it was so different. I ‘ll definitely have to replace that PWS Brake with an AAC Flash Hider.
Reliability so far has been great on both guns, with about 2.5K through each one. The SCAR has yet to malfunction, but the EMC did have its first stoppage today. It was a magazine problem with the 308 PMAGs. The FGMM 175 round has a really long OAL to where they just barely fit into the magazines. The meplat will actually be touching the front wall of the magazine when they’re sitting in there. As a result sometimes they will stick a bit, so when the bolt comes forward to pick up the next round, it nose dives the round into the front of the mag. It only happened once, but its noticeable when loading the mags that the rounds are a tight fit. They fit fine in the KAC metal mag as well as the SCAR mags.
Both triggers are stock; the SCAR’s being quite a bit heavier than the EMC. Before I bought the SCAR I heard how bad the trigger was, but in my experience it feels like a crisp single stage that is just very heavy. Mine has no creep, and the break is very crisp, just again, heavy. Still, I’m going to replace it with a Super SCAR as soon as I can actually find one. The stock KAC trigger is pretty good, however its not Geissele smooth and crisp. It has smooth first stage, but a little creep into the second before the break.
Cheek weld was a huge difference, and is one area where I think that the EMC is way better. The Magpul ACS I think is a great stock for a DMR / Reece type gun, mainly for its cheek weld. I find it to be extremely comfortable and I just feel at home on it. The SCAR has much less available real estate to plop your face on and it the first thing you notice going from the EMC to SCAR. However, the adjustable comb piece on the SCAR is good feature, and moving it to the up position provides a good sight picture with the NF optic.
Weight is definitely a big thumbs up to the SCAR. Even with the NF and Bipod on it the SCAR is still lighter than the EMC. Usually I run the SCAR with just an Aimpoint T-1 and with that setup its about the same weight as a 556 AR.
At the end of the day, I think both rifles are extremely capable, accurate and reliable weapons. As a DMR / Reece gun I find the SR25 to be a fit better for me. It just seems to fit me like a glove, probably because of all the trigger time I have on the AR as opposed to the SCAR as well as my EMC being slightly more accurate than my SCAR. However, as a battle rifle, where accuracy isn’t as big of a concern, I think that the SCAR’s lightweight and reliability give it an edge, I will say that both rifles will do the job, but my experience is that for a DMR / Reece, go with and SR25 / OBR / etc. For a battle rifle, its really hard to beat the SCAR.
As a side note, I am interested to see how Colt’s SP901 shakes out as well….
If you guys have any other questions or would like me to try out anything in comparison, let me know.
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DSC00859 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
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DSC00860 by philnovak, on Flickr[/IMG]
