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Jim1973
18 May 2010, 12:50
Got a chance to fire my FNAR HB this weekend.

Overall I like this weapon and am glad I purchased it. I purchased it for $1600 out the door, which isn't the best price but better then the $2200 it sells for in other areas where I live. 20 round mags won't be a problem in my area but I will have to hunt for 10/5 round magazines.

I tried 2 types of ammo, cheap Federal 150gr and good Black Hills 175gr (I think) I didn't bore site my scope, just took it off another rifle and placed it on the FNAR rail. Took about 8-10 rounds to get zeroed with the Federal and then switched to the Black hills to confirm.

I wasn't trying to get sub MOA but I can tell that I should be able to obtain it with a little effort and the right ammo. This time out was only @100m I will be moving to the 200, 300m ranges in the next few weeks.

Here is a list of things that I would list as "negative" but more for my personal preference, rather then the weapons capabilities:

1. Magazine is too loose in the well. It "rattles" every now and then and can be annoying. I believe I seen some FNAR owners taping up their magazines, not sure if this is the reason why.

2. 20 round magazine is not suited for bench/range shooting. I have to use an extra sandbag to clear the magazine on the bench, otherwise I am resting on the magazine. I figure the 10/5 round magazine will be better suited.

3. (most annoying) The rounds eject at an angle which deflects off the side of the reciever. This leaves brass skid marks along the reciever. So far the blueing is holding up better then I would expect it to but I can tell after awhile I will have a brass colored reciever. Researching this, I think it can be fixed by adjusting the gas cylinder but those who have done it report a change in accuracy. For now I have placed a small sticky back rubber piece to take the brunt of the hits. I will figure out a long term solution after I am more familiar with the weapon.

4. The scope rail is unusually long. The scope I used had a 50mm objective which with the mounts I was using caused the scope to rest on the rail without being able to secure the leading mount. This was an annoyance but an easy fix. I was able to place the scope so the objective hung over the leading edge of the rail and then just adjust the eye relief so I had a reasonable relief. I thought this was going to be an annoyance but after a few rounds I realized this setup was almost perfect for my shooting style. I would still rather have a smaller rail but there must be a reason why they make it so long.

5. Trigger pull is about 5 lbs, but I would rather have it set to 3lbs. I will leave it as is until I feel I have an adequate baseline of how the weapon was out of the box.

6. I never noticed it before but I guess I am use to having a bolt release on the left side of the weapon. The FNAR release is on the right side. by the end of my shooting session it become second nature but I still think I would rather it be on the left side or bothsides.

Again, nothign was a dealbreaker, I am satisfied with this platform so far and look forward to testing it out over the next few weeks.

Thanks
Jim

chazthebiker
22 May 2010, 17:29
Congrats! And would really like to see a picture or two.

Stickman
24 May 2010, 06:04
Congrats! And would really like to see a picture or two.




I would love to see some pictures as well, but its still a great writeup. I have not played around with one of these yet.

skypig53
26 May 2010, 18:21
Glad you're enjoying it. I have a HB FNAR as well and have been thoroughly pleased with it. I agree with most of your list of negatives and also agree that they are certainly not deal breakers as it is a fine weapon.

Magazine cost is a little ridiculous and they are still hard to find in my area which leads to dealers jacking the price up a bit more.

I also really dislike the pistol grip. I just don't think it adds anything to the function and subtracts considerably from the form, because, lets face it, it is an ugly angel. It improves slightly once you get some glass on it though. I also hear a lot of people gripe about the lack of irons or any way to mount irons but I think that is way outside the box for what this thing was intended for. It's also really hard to find any info out there for this weapon that doesn't come from a firearms magazine. Any forum thread requesting or offering insights turn into an M1A PWNZ ALL!!!! discussion. Apples and oranges imo.

I've been very curious about whether the browning BAR sport rifle stocks are compatible with the FNAR, i mean, its all FN now. Unfortunately I just haven't had the time, money (balls) to experiment with it.

I would look nice imo.....

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/rr52/christian_caine/FNARStocks.jpg

please pardon my amateur graphic work.

Jim1973
27 May 2010, 00:16
I actually like pistol grips, but really don't have a problem with non pistol grips. For me it depends on the roll, if this or any rifle was strictly hunting or long distance shooting then I don't need a pistol grip but if its primarily a patrol weapon or doubles as a patrol weapon then I prefer pistol grips. I just have an easier time swinging the weapon around or extra leverage if I need to buttstock somebody. Like most things its a personal preference. I would like to see some different options if for no other reason then to allow other options for people who prefer a different set up.

I have ran into a minor problem field stripping my rifle. One of the magazine well screws is stripped. The thing is , I don't think I did it, I believe it was already stripped or close to it. Won't be hard to get around, but I will have to order another one next week.

Jim

skypig53
29 May 2010, 14:36
I not taking credit for this, but this is a post off of FN's forum from a discussion on optics and the FNAR. It's the best description I've heard so far of the rifle's primary function. Interested to see if anyone has a differing view.


As a designated marksman rifle (DMR), the FNAR is darn near perfect for police, law enforcement (LE), SWAT and other similar non-battlefield uses.

I disagree that the DM role is limited only to needing a "med/high power scope", as you comment. However, you may want that kind of scope, at least for the first shot fired, for a sniper-like role. The accuracy of the rifle certainly supports it. But these same LE and SWAT teams have real snipers with dedicated sniper rifles for real sniper shots, if that's all that they need. No, the FNAR is meant for more than that. A sniper shot is only really the answer when a single, well-placed shot will stop a bad situation cold.

By contrast, situations have been happening more and more in which a single, well-placed shot won't solve the problem. There is a famous video of a real-life two-man bank hold-up gone bad in Southern California (attack? the word "hold-up" is way too mild). The police were completely out-gunned by two guys with high-powered rifles wearing body armor. Six or eight policemen were killed or severely wounded in the firefight. The police had to barge into a local hunting store and "requisition" a number of .30-06 hunting rifles to finally bring the two guys down. This was a one-of-a-kind situation, but there are many other cases of heavily armed gangs resisting police, drug/human smuggler "private armies" operating down on the Mex border, etc. In these cases, there are two or more, often many more, heavily armed, extremely dangerous individuals who have been trapped or provoked into a desperate, to-the-death firefight. Killing one of the gang is not enough. Any one of them could cause numerous fatalities. THAT is what the FNAR is meant to deal with.

In a gang shoot-out, all hell is going to break loose. The DMR operators (preferrably two or more) might be placed at some stand-off distance (25-75 yards) to support a peaceful arrest, a drug bust involving unknown numbers of bad guys, a forcible building entry, a crowd/street dispersal, a tear gas flush-out or other precipitating tactic to end a stand off or end an unacceptable situation. While it is absolute doctrine of all LE agencies to avoid gunfire, for public safety reasons, IF the bad guys start shooting, they are probably going to be moving, running, trying to escape, trying to engage innocent bystanders for distraction, using get-away vehicles, etc. A "situation" gone bad, a chaotic shootout with multiple moving assailants is where a sniper will do no good and a DM operator(s) may save the day. The DM operator and DMR need to be capable of rapid target acquisition and rapid, repeat aimed fire upon moving targets. When fitted with 1X to low/mid-power, wide field-of-view optics, there is none better than the FNAR to be the DMR. I would call this rapid, repeat, moving fire scenario "dynamic". So instead of a DM role, it would be a DDM role.

In my vision of the DDMR role for the FNAR (admittedly, a worst case role from a LE point of view, but damn good to be able to perform, if the case arises), the fact that with mid/high-power optics the FNAR can be accurate at 300-600 yards is totally incidental and beside the point. The things that (incidentally) make it accurate at these ranges were put there for other reasons. The .308Win cartridge (at 63,000 psi chamber pressure, a magnum cartridge) was chosen NOT to be a sniper round at 800 yards with a 2 foot drop but to blow through light cover (drywall), body armor, windshields and non-armored vehicles at much shorter range (where is LE ever going to have 300-600 yards to play with in a city, or even a small town?). The heavy, flutted barrel was NOT put there so that your consistency at 500 yards was better but rather so that under rapid repeat fire at much closer distances you don't have to think about barrel heating AT ALL. The heavy mass of the FNAR and the recoil-reducing semi-auto action was NOT put there so a sniper might, if he was lucky, get off a second shot before he needed to scoot but rather so that an LE officer could get off 20 shots in 30 seconds, all of them aimed, accurate, and deadly fire.

So this is the rifle you bought. This is the FNAR, as FN intended it to be. It is a police rifle for the police version of SHTF, worst case. Thank God you were able to obtain it!

Zombie Gun....Nuff said.[:D] Glad I got one.