High Exposure

Gram, that’s nice. I like the longer handguard - should be mandatory on the SCAR platform. All that barrel sticking out with nowhere to put your hand was a dumb idea. That what happens when engineers build your rifles instead of gun fighters. Now.... tell me about that lever gun... I am lusting after leverguns at the moment. Is that the Marlin GBL or SBL?

Correct. This is not my rifle. It was in our armory at work since before I got hired and I have no idea where we got it. I don’t know the variant - 16” barrel with carry handle. It is chambered in 5.56x45 and had a wooden hand guard with a built in bipod and a folding stock. We also had a legit 1928 Thompson, a Cobray, an Uzi, and 2 Reising Subguns in .30 Carbine but we traded them in for shotguns about 14 years ago. I use the Galil now to teach my guys how to operate AK FoW in the event they come across one they need to render safe. Now, back to the SCAR.

It’s a big heavy AK on steroids. I’ll take my AR all day long.

TD Braddock pants rule, followed closely by their Carlos Ray pants.

Fucking hens teeth bro. So are parts for PM and the like. Some AUG parts work, but most don’t. I may just break down and get a USR or that new Aussie gun.... I’m trying to find an MSAR barre from a free state where the rake isn’t pinned so that I can put what I want on it. No luck. If see one, let me know.

More power to you. Objectively, I have seen way to many piston ARs fail - from a number of manufacturers. Subjectively - I hate the balance and the recoil impulse. In the end, I hate all the different proprietary bits each manufacturer has and how nothing is easy or cheap just because it’s a piston. DI guns have been running fine for years. I see no need to deviate from the TDP if I’m shooting an AR. Inhave other guns that are Piston driven - AUG Clone (MSAR), a really nice milled Arsenal AK, an M1 Garand, I have a legit Galil at work I play with from time to time - but my heart belongs to the AR FoW.

Dude, I hardly shoot it anymore. That muzzle break kills me and I can’t figure out how to swap it out...

Dude, this is funny and all (I am really getting a kick out of it) but Shane is legit. He probably has forgotten more about looooong distance shooting than you or I have ever learned. He’s not some internet troll and he’s not basing his knowledge base on “what he hears on the Internet”. Maybe you are too, but I don’t know you. I know Shane. On another note - JR, I am curious to read some of your articles and check out some of the publications you write for. To be honest, the article you solicited info for on this forum earlier (about top tier rifles) has me scratching my head and I would love to see what other stuff you have done to get some perspective.

Lol! I shot a SCAR 17 for the entirety of T2 in a 3 day EAG class - rifle was issued to a SEAL who was in the class. I felt dirty after. The SEAL didn’t like it either.

The SCAR sucks! But it’s better than any piston AR. Yuck!

Lucas Botkin of Trex Arms is a first class turd. That is all.

Out of all the non-spec rifles I’ve seen over the years S&W is the only one I’d buy. I would prefer a BCM, Colt, Knights, LMT, etc... But, of the lower level “hobby” guns - RRA, Windham/Bushmaster, Stag, Olympic, etc... S&W seems to be the most reliable and built to the best standard (except for that early run with Mossberg supplied barrels - they blew goats). I would have no issues carrying a S&W rifle on duty. I would not carry a Stag, WW/BM, RRA, etc...

I’m gonna go ahead and disagree. There’s a lot more than goes into a quality rifle that will be reliable and accurate for as long as you need it than just a trigger and optic. I am a huge proponent of quality optics, but if you but a good RDS or LPVO on a turd of a rifle, you still have a turd of a rifle. If you don’t know how to shoot, a “better” trigger and optic won’t improve things. If the carbine is made of sub-par components, it won’t last very long. Buy quality, buy once, cry once. A complete upper from a quality manufacturer that has the qualities you want, coupled with a quality lower, built with quality parts, will suit you fine for years to come.

That’s awesome!

9mm short or 9x17 (probably 9mm kurz on a German pistol) is .380 ACP. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.380_ACP

They weigh what they weigh - and you will pay more for “desirable” traits. That being said - there is no free lunch. Heavier rifles are easier to shoot, lighter rifles are more comfortable to carry. I have found the best option to be somewhere in the middle. You won’t know what you prefer until you start shooting. At that price though, the Troy is a good place to start. I don’t know any FFLs down that way. I’m sure someone local will chime in with advice.

Where are you located? Everything but the lower can be delivered directly to your home. Just the lower needs to be purchased from an FFL. I still recommend the complete Troy upper for $450 at Primary Arms I linked to above. I’ve been doing this for a minute or two and that is by far the best value for the dollar out there. If you assembled that upper yourself, you would be in for well over $1000.

^^^ This Whenever possible I try to stand on the shoulders of giants.

Cool. Got it. Without the “?” I couldn’t tell.

Is this a statement or a question? If it’s a statement, I have a giant problem with this. Although it would make my job far easier, it is flat against everything I stand for and believe in. Just throw probably cause and reasonable articulable suspicion out the window and arrest on “maybe”. Wow....

Steel is nice, but paper doesn’t lie. If you want to improve at distance, you need to shoot on paper as much as steel. If your rifle will be used in N.J. for HD/SD you will be much better served with a RDS than with any magnification. Regarding magnification - I took a class a couple weekend ago down in St Augustine Florida. We had to go from standing to prone and get a hit on a 1/2 size IPSC steel target in under 3 seconds. I was significantly and repeatedly faster with the RDS vs the LPVO set to 4x. I was also faster with the LPVO set to 1x than 4X. When you can see more gooder your brain just won’t accept “good enough” over “perfect” and it slows you down.

I agree with this 100%

That’s the same upper I linked to, just from a different vendor instead of BCM direct. Once a muzzle device is permanently attached, it becomes part of the barrel. So, a 14.4” barrel with a 1.5” brake or comp that is permanently attached (pinned and welded, or soldered with the appropriate materials) is considered a 16” barrel this satisfying state and federal regulations for barrel length and the NFA. I would also suggest going for a midlength gas system over a carbine gas system. I find the midlength to be more reliable on semi-auto only guns, and they subjectively shoot softer than the carbine length guns.

In my experience, the S&W would be my first choice over the rifles you mentioned. Even though it is less than Mil-spec, it is a better gun. I have seen quite a few Stags crap out at around 5000 rounds and the Sigs just don’t do it for me. Quality seems to be less than it should be for the price you are paying, and Sig in general just doesn’t inspire confidence over the last few years. I have shot a Ruger AR, it was fine. I have heard nothing but good things about them from people I trust to know what’s up. No, a break/comp isn’t necessary, but if you compare head to head you will notice a difference in felt recoil and/or muzzle rise vs a crowned barrel. I know I am much faster with my battle comp or SF MB556 than I am with a plain barrel. Assembling your own is nice, because you get exactly what you want, you usually spend a little less, and like @Zeke said, you learn more about the gun. As long as you stay with quality parts, you’ll be fine. The best way to know you are getting quality parts is to buy parts built by reputable manufacturers from sellers with a good reputation. Avoid EBay and Amazon, and remember if the price is too good to be true, it is.