Makes me very glad I bought a FDE SCAR 17 for $2450 back in 2012. And a 16 for $2075. Both new.

If you are dead set on a SCAR 17, then that is a great choice. The SCAR 17 is a great balance of light weight, good accuracy, and good ergonomics. Keep in mind that very few people paying the 2900 plus price for SCAR 17 admission leave them stock.

Many end up dropping another 1100 easy through adding an extended handguard, a handl defense lower to use SR25 pattern mags, and a Geissele super scar trigger. Bare minimum (it really goes up from there). That is not including optics.

If you are looking at other options, check into a lightly used LMT MWS. You get a quick change barrel setup, common mag interchangeability, a single piece upper/rail setup, and multiple caliber options offered directly from LMT.

I picked both of mine up used and have had good luck with them. The MWS is a bit on the heavy side for carrying around, but they are good shooters and have a lengthy combat service history. Parts support from LMT is also good.

I’ve got a SCAR 17, and think the bare minimum is a better trigger. The lowers that take SR25 mags can be nice, but are pretty pricy and were mainly developed at a time when factory SCAR 17 mags were something like $70 each, if you could even find them. Now they are easily available for $40 or less, so that has to be bounced against the cost of a $400 SR25 mag lower. Wouldn’t say the extended handguard is a requirement unless you really have something you need to mount out there. A lot of people don’t like the factory stock and replace it with the ACR stock from KDG. Tried that, but the cheekpiece didn’t come up as high as the factory one, so off it went. The other item people replace is the charging handle, usually with a bent one to keep one’s knuckles from getting scraped against the scope mount.

A lot of things are personal taste, but yeah, you can dump a lot of money into a SCAR.

Thanks for all the replies and discussion. I've redoubled my efforts on a SCAR. One of the local shops says they're getting orders for SCAR-17s filled in about 6 weeks of ordering time, and the price, while not stellar, is within earshot of what it will cost me to buy from an online source, ship it in, and pay FFL fees. So, I'm giving them a whirl. I'd much rather buy and support a local shop if I can, and these folks also run a nice shooting range. Hopefully I'm sharing pictures of the new blaster come August.


And, as far as add-ons, yeah, I'm pretty much planning to spend something close to the gun's acquisition cost on an optic and other upgrades. I've already got a small pile of magazines and a good stash of ammo put up. I appreciate all the fun equipment suggestions.

I do love my Scar rifles !

Hang in ! It will be worth it to find a 17 !

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Truth.

And is it better to wait a year or two to get a SCAR 17, or pay a couple hundred bucks to have it now?

I'd pay the couple hundred extra to have it now, who know's what the future will bring. Maybe after the Saudi's and Africans orders are filled, maybe the Canadian's or the Brits will order a ton of them ... and your wait for the price drop will be out even longer ... or there may be a price increase.

A bird in the hand ...

I've got two DPMS G2's and I'm very happy with them.

I'm am not a DPMS guy by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't find anything bad to say about them.

The triggers are actually pretty good. I've replaced the rails with MI ones, but other than that, they are GTG IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
I've been on a waiting list for a SCAR-17 for almost 8 months, and no end is in sight. I got so frustrated, I started looking for a decent AR-10, or a Sig 716.

I can find 5.56 guns in almost any flavor, but pickings for .308s are slim around here!

"Are .308 battle rifles suddenly the new "it" thing?"

I don't spend much time in local guns stores anymore, but the ones I've been in had 308s on the wall. SCARs, both DI and piston AR-10s. Not in the quantity and selection of AR-15s, but still there.

The store managers state that AR-10s are selling if they're in 6.5 or 6 Creedmoor. Those in 308 are far from "it" -- more like the "has been" that sells slowly.

I recently sold a NIB 308 AR-10. Took many months to sell. Had to reduce the price a few times, and a number of potential buyers were looking for a 6.5 AR-10. I wouldn't have sold that Falkor AR-10 if it would have been in 6.5 or 6mm.

quote:

Originally posted by H&K-Guy:
As long as you are in no hurry, I'd hold out for the SCAR17s. There really is no substitute.

If you buy something else, you'll still always crave the SCAR.

H&K-Guy

Very fond of LWRC reapers, instead. Not cheaper, but equipped with things I preferred.

Has anyone mentioned a Galil Ace in .308?

quote:

Originally posted by JonDaddy82:
Has anyone mentioned a Galil Ace in .308?

Just say no.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...620011344#5620011344

Still trying to score a Desert Tech MDR in 308. Anyone here have one and does it hold up?

quote:

Originally posted by SFCUSARET:
Still trying to score a Desert Tech MDR in 308. Anyone here have one and does it hold up?

You may want to read the LONG threads at Bullpup Forum and Arf about the MDR. Multiple people reporting problems and returns to DT for repairs, some more than once. Any interest I had in getting one is gone after reading through those threads.

I'd be more interested in the SCAR 17 if it took FAL mags, so I wasn't boned here in MA. The SCAR 16 takes NATO mags, so I may yet pick one up.

As far as a .308 Battle Rifle is concerned, there are always the classics. I'm pretty excited about the RFB though.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
I'd be more interested in the SCAR 17 if it took FAL mags, so I wasn't boned here in MA. The SCAR 16 takes NATO mags, so I may yet pick one up.

As far as a .308 Battle Rifle is concerned, there are always the classics. I'm pretty excited about the RFB though.

If you can use any of the AR-10 mags, then there is a company that makes a lower for the SCAR-17 that allows for their use. Handl Defense: https://www.handldefense.com/s...ory/trigger-modules/

I don't see one that would take pre-98 AR-10 mags, which would be gen-1 M14 type. Any way, that would be dumping hundreds of more dollars into an already expensive rifle. Big Meh on that. I'll stick to maybe getting a 16.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
I don't see one that would take pre-98 AR-10 mags, which would be gen-1 M14 type. Any way, that would be dumping hundreds of more dollars into an already expensive rifle. Big Meh on that. I'll stick to maybe getting a 16.

That lower takes SR-25 pattern mags, and there were KAC SR-25s and associated mags out in the early 90s, and you could also convert original AR-10 waffle mags.

That Gen 1 M14 mag stuff only applied to the later “Armalite” AR-10, which had nothing to do with the original AR-10 made by the original Armalite.

In MA, using a Handl lower would get you access to pre-94 SR-25 mags, which are about 2-3x the price of modern SCAR magazines.

They are kind of rare, even out here where they're not banned.

A few years back, I found a shop in Minnesota that had at least a hundred of those pre-94 SR-25 waffle magazines. They also wanted $120 for each one, IIRC.

I think what Arc means are AR-10B pattern M-14 magazine conversions.

A lower and spendy mags on top of a not cheap rifle... No way is a Scar-17 worth that amount of extra coin. Especially considering all the other ways I already have to send 7.62/.308 downrange.

Yeah, a SCAR isn’t the best option in a ‘progressive gun control’ State.