FNAR

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Hi, I'm intending on purchasing a .308 semi-auto in a few months. I'm looking at the FNAR and the M1A.
I'm trying to find some info about the FNH FNAR. Seems all I've been able to find is the typical cooprate backed swill.
Is it actually as nice a rifle as the hype leads one to believe. Or is it something that will give me problems if I dont clean it after a cpl hundred rounds.
Thanks
 
You'll save a least $500 by buying the BAR, unless you just have to have a pistol grip and some rail-estate.
 
The BAR doesn't come with a precision heavy barrel, stock spacers to adjust to the shooter, or scope & accessory rails to mount a bipod, glass, and so on.
The BAR & the FNAR are based on the same action, but that $500 makes a hunting rifle into a precision shooting machine.
Denis
 
I've had my FNAR for about three years now, and its been pure joy. Never a hiccup, and its been really accurate. I'd like an M1A someday, but for my needs the FNAR is the better rifle.
 
I think it'd be a pretty decent long-range zombie repeller. :)
They don't all move slow & there's no sense letting 'em get too close.... :)
Denis
 
The FNAR will be my first semi-auto .308 battle rifle; unless I can afford the SCAR heavy :).

I've never read a report of them being anything other than sub-moa accurate and extremely reliable.
 
Not to thread jack but I remember when it was first being released the rumor was it had to be sent to fn to be cleaned and serviced is that actually the case?
 
Tob,
Seriously- it is not a battle rifle.
It is a relatively long range semi-auto magazine-fed precision rifle. That does not make it a battle rifle. Not built or intended for use in battlefield conditions, cannot be easily or quickly cleaned or maintained in the field without tools, heavy to carry, no iron sights, etc.

A true battle rifle will generally be lighter, come with iron sights, and be capable of breakdown without tools in a hurry to at least a field strip level for cleaning & maintenance.

Get the FNAR if you want, just understand what it ain't. :)
Lotta people think that gun is something it was never meant to be.
FN intends it for LE use & anybody who likes a .308 precision semi-auto, not for military environments.
Too heavy to be much of a hunter, too, unless you hunt from a blind or a tree.

Pol,
FN may recommend that, but you can do it yourself if you're reasonably handy with tools.
A good buddy shot his 7Mag BAR for many years on hunts without having the slightest clue on how to break it down. He mentioned one day that it was getting a bit sluggish, once I gave him a set of directions he tore it down for its first thorough cleaning.
Said later he would never have done it without those, and he's a very mechanical kinda guy. Gun started running at speed again & he was very happy.

Denis
 
OK....

Points taken, but I don't agree about the weight issue. It's 8.2 lbs.
The SCAR 17-S (okay- that's a battle rifle) is 8.0 lbs.
My Savage 111 (Hunter) is 7.0 lbs.

What battle rifle is significantly lighter than 8 lbs.?
 
Don't have any experience with the FNAR but I did own a Browning BAR Safari II in .308 for many years and it shot like a dream. .75" groups @ 100 yards right out of the box without even cleaning it first.
I'd expect the FNAR to be just as good.
 
I have a little experience with the FNAR's twin the Winchester SXAR.
A friend of mine has one and I have shot it a couple of times. It is the heavy barrel version. It is a tack driver. The recoil is extemely managable, but the best part for me is the trigger. It is as smooth as glass and breaks very clean.

Recently, he pulled off a 250 yard shot on a coyote and dropped it with this rifle on the first shot.

Hope this helps.
 
Tob,
8.2 pounds, on the lightweight version. Without glass and without ammo.
The heavy barrel I had here was 10 pounds without scope or ammo.
You load one up with 20 .308s & stick good glass on it, tell me it's something you'd like to hump all day long in the field.
Show me a 12-pound battle rifle in general use today. :)

Main point I'm trying to make on the "battle rifle" label (without splitting ounces) is that we get all over people who refer to an AR-15 as an "assault weapon" when it's not.
Correct terminology also applies to the FNAR.
Precision semi-auto, not battle rifle. :)
Denis
 
I agree...

Clearly, calling an AR-15 a "battle rifle" is incorrect as it's chambered in an intermediate caliber (assault rifle)- not a full-power rifle cartridge.
 
I appreciate the comments above. I've been looking at the FNAR also but can't really figure out what purpose it is meant to serve. My local dealer has one and has been trying to interest me in it, but (a) its not a "battle rifle" for shtf or even HD purposes (it could be, maybe, but I can name many other rifles better suited for that purpose), (b) its not a sniper rifle for LE use, (c) its too heavy to be a field gun for hunting. So, what is it?

Maybe the answer is that its a precision semi, and leave it at that. Buy it if you want it. But if I'm missing something about why FN designed and is marketing this rifle, please let me know.
 
It actually was intended for LE use, primarily.
Considering that most LE standoff engagements occur at 100 yards or less, and 300 yards is a statistical abnormality in such situations, it can work very well as a perimeter or rooftop gun.

LE snipers are a totally different breed & mission from those 1000-yard military snipers that get most of the attention. :)

With a good scope, the FNAR can easily pull off precision shots within that 300-yard envelope (and farther) with its inherent accuracy, the stock spacers allow fitting the gun to the individual, and the removable mags are another bonus. Most LE snipers don't fire multiple rounds in any engagement, but not having to break scope contact to reload for 10 or 20 rounds if more than one active threat's involved is not a bad thing.

One FNAR in the right hands & the right spot could have shut down the infamous North Hollywood Bank Job several years back, for instance.
Denis
 
The purpose is to be able to use extended mags...:D
Now, if one could attach an AR-style fixed or collapsible buttstock instead of the butt-ugly one that comes on the gun...well, then we'd be happy!!! :)
 
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