I just spoke to an FNH sales rep who was in town from North Carolina a couple of days ago. Normally, I don't pay much attention to reps. They are usually just sales guys who happen to be working for a gun company that week, and could be working at a car dealership next week. Every once in a while I meet a good one. This guy from FNH was great. He really knew his stuff. It was a real pleasure to talk to him. I got him alone for a few minutes and asked him a few questions. I learned a lot, but I'll just make a quick bullet list of the pertinent SCAR info I got from him:
1 The SCAR has been in constant evolution since it was originally drawn up, but is pretty much a finished product now.
2 It is getting very popular very quickly in the US military.
3 Projected ship date for LE use is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2007.
4 Projected ship date for the rest of us is set for March of 2008.
5 Both the SCAR Light and SCAR Heavy will ship at those times.
6 Magazines for the SCAR-L will be AR-15 style, as promised.
7 Magazines for the SCAR-H will be proprietary.
8 I got the impression that it would be just the 5.56 and 7.62x51 calibers shipping first, but I didn't ask directly and he didn't say directly so that may not be accurate.
9 No prices were quoted, so your guess is as good as mine.
I very rarely get excited about any new gun. I've been a pistol/combat shotgun/assault rifle instructor for quite a while now. Before anyone asks or assumes, my instruction is mostly for private security companies (not LE or military) so don't think I'm some poser pretending to be the next Rambo or something. I've played with lots of neat toys, and trained other folks how to use them too, but have never had to defend myself from hordes of zombies with just a toothpick and a bendy drinking straw, and I hope my luck holds. :wink:
My point is that the novelty of "newer and better" just doesn't get to me anymore. However, the idea of the first new .308 battle rifle design in almost 50 years is very exciting! I hope they can stick to their projected schedule.
I also want to thank ShipWreck for inviting me over here from another forum. This one is still in its infancy, but I like the looks of it.