Tag Archives: FN SCAR

Le Glock Mle 2020

Posted on by Leave a comment

French trench raiders during the First World War, winter 1917 Bezange Forest, Lorraine, note the Ruby pistol.

The French military has flirted with modern semi-auto pistols for longer than most. During the Great War, thousands of Spanish-made Ruby and Star pistols augmented the country’s rather lackluster Modèle 1892 revolvers.

This cleared the way for the later FN 1922-inspired MAB Model D pistol and Charles Petter’s famous Mle. 1935, the latter design one that went on to morph into the Swiss SIG P210, arguably one of the best handguns of the 20th Century.

After WWII, the MAC Mle 1950, itself very P210-ish, was adopted and, coupled with the PAMAS G1, a domestically-made clone of the Beretta 92F, is still in service today.

The French MAC 50 PA modèle 1950 pistol

Now, 115 years after the Ruby was first ordered, the French defense ministry has placed an order for 75,000~ new Glocks.

The Glocks, reportedly a two-tone Gen 5 G17 MOS with a threaded barrel, suppressor-height night sight, and optics plate, will be delivered through 2022.

Besides the Austrian polymer pistols, the French are also going FN when it comes to a rifle to replace their venerable FR F2 (itself a souped-up MAS1936).

Sniper overwatch by a 3e RPIMa marksman with a French FR-F2, Rwanda, 1993. These rifles will be upgraded to SCAR H PRs in the coming years. 

More in my column at Guns.com.

That’s a lot of oily M4s

Posted on by Leave a comment

So I told you guys that I spent some time in the Palmetto State last month filming at FN with Guns.com. Want to see how the tour went? I think you will find the M240 and M4 production lines interesting. Do you know FN makes roughly 500 M4s every single day?

After they’re test fired, they’re disassembled, cleaned, then reassembled and given a 101-point inspection. Then, they’re literally dipped in preservation oil and packaged 50 rifles to a large wooden crate.

Some poor Joe or Devil is going to have to clean that off one day…

Anyways, check out the full video below.

SCAR goes long

Posted on by Leave a comment

Long available only to military and LE customers, FN announced earlier this month that they are releasing a commercial version of the SCAR 20 rifle.

The 7.62x51mm-chambered FN MK20 SSR, or Sniper Support Rifle, has been fielded within USSOCOM units over the past decade and promises sub-MOA accuracy out to and beyond 1,000 yards.

The new commercial SCAR 20S version sports much the same specs to include a lengthened receiver, 20-inch, 1-in-12-inch twist, heavy profile barrel and an adjustable stock outfitted with numerous MIL-STD-1913 accessory rails at the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12 o’clock positions. Importantly, it also comes with a factory-installed, double-stage Geissele Super SCAR trigger that provides a 3.5 to 4.5-pound trigger pull.

But is it worth the $4,400 MSRP?

More in my column at Guns.com.

 

SCAR sightings in the wild

Posted on by Leave a comment

Spotted recently at the yearly Belgian Remembrance Parade of Belgian troops in through London: very sweet FN SCARs in 5.56, adopted by the Composante Terre of the Belgian Armed Forces in 2011, replacing the FN FNC as the service rifle.

Soldiers from the Belgian Army present arms during the Parade last week. The men are from the Regiment Carabiniers Prins Boudewijn – Grenadiers, which dates to 1830

Dig the wacky “Jigsaw”-camouflage pattern long-used by the Belgians. Introduced in 1956, it has been revamped over the years but as a whole, the distinctive rusty earth, dark green and khaki pattern has remained the same and is popular with a number of African countries.

According to the MOD:

The annual tradition of the parade dates back to 1934 and was born from the friendship between the British King George V and the Belgian King Albert I, who was also Colonel-in-Chief of the ‘5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards’. In recognition of the heroism and sacrifice of the Belgian Army in the First World War, King George V decided to bestow a unique honor on the Belgians never awarded to any other non-Commonwealth nation: a yearly Belgian Remembrance Parade of Belgian troops in uniform, bearing arms, in central London.

Recent Entries »