Have you shot one? Watching videos of it won't tell you much. The SCAR 16/17 are some of the most controllable semi-auto rifles I have shot in their respective calibers. What you are asking is akin to Glock guys talking about the high bore axis on Sig pistols causing more muzzle flip. When it comes to actually shooting, in the end that one small component doesn't mean much in terms of how the gun shoots for you. I especially like the lower stock position as it's much more ergonomic for me to get a proper cheek weld without neck strain, but then again I'm fairly tall.

 

I shot a 17 a few years back and liked it so much I picked up my own recently. I'd rate the recoil management of it the best I've ever felt for the round it's chambered in.

Shot a Scar 16 as well, and I'd say it feels much better than any DI or piston AR I've shot. I don't think the wheel needs to be re-invented on the platform. FN did their homework, and for its intended purpose, has no equal.

 

Most of the felt recoil from the rifle is mitigated by the muzzle brakes on both the SCAR 16 & 17. It you just shoot at the range, recreationally or competition the muzzle brake is fine. Probably most of the people on this forum use brakes by looking at pictures of their rifles they post.

I don’t use muzzle brakes because I might actually want to use it in a Personal Defense Situation.

I'd say it has a different recoil pulse then DI or Piston AR’s and feels much better with the muzzle brake attached. Without the brakes attached the SCAR Platform felt recoil is not any better than a DI or Piston AR. I would actually say DI systems have softer recoil.
My two cents…

 

The recoil is hardly noticeable.

 

I don't think the SCAR stock does much for 'controlling recoil' - it's the big mass of steel in the middle of the rifle that does a big part of that.

 

Can you improve on the Scar 17's recoil control by modifying the stock? Possibly.

Do you need to? No.

Can you improve on the Scar 17's factory OEM trigger? Definitely.

Do you need to? Probably. As a matter of personal preference, the trigger action and feel will do more to improve the accuracy for many shooters, especially more experienced rifle shooters who have mastered the art of finely tuned trigger control. Trigger control is 80% of accuracy, far more important than even proper sighting technique. But, even those who hate the FN Scar 17 trigger generally and surprisingly do well shooting it despite their dislike of it. Even if a trigger upgrade only provides a psychological improvement, that can be significant because it is one less, but very important, distraction one must deal with that can affect those shots that are the most crucial in terms of accuracy like hunting or competitively scored shots.

The Scar 17 works better than any other stock unmodified mass produced battle rifle as-is, right out of the box in the OEM configuration. There are many such rifles, but this one is mine. Whatever you feel you need to do to bond with yours is cool, but not actually necessary to be successful with the Scar 17. And THAT is the magic of the Scar 17.

 

Quote from Mityno1
"Can you improve on the Scar 17's factory OEM trigger? Definitely.

Do you need to? Probably. As a matter of personal preference, the trigger action and feel will do more to improve the accuracy for many shooters, especially more experienced rifle shooters who have mastered the art of finely tuned trigger control. Trigger control is 80% of accuracy, far more important than even proper sighting technique. But, even those who hate the FN Scar 17 trigger generally and surprisingly do well shooting it despite their dislike of it. Even if a trigger upgrade only provides a psychological improvement, that can be significant because it is one less, but very important, distraction one must deal with that can"

I agree with is completely. I shoot an AIAWand a TRG 22 with superb triggers. When I got my SCAR 17S with its over 8lb trigger pull I just couldn't get decent 5 shoot 100 yard groups. Once I put the SUPER SCAR trigger in it felt like a totally different gun. It now is capable of 1 moa groups sometimes better. It's not just psychological it's huge improvement.

 

The bolt carrier of the SCAR is heavy to slow the rpm, carry more inertia for reliable cycling and has a long arm reaching all the way to the piston.

They couldn't put the armature underneath because that's where the rounds are feeding from. Couldn't put it on the side or you'd have two thinner arms prone to breakage. Logical choice was the top, which is where most of the seesaw motion you see in the slow motion videos comes from.

Every time I've seen someone fire the SCAR with the stock folded, they quickly switch back. So yes, it's effective. But if you're not pulling the stock tightly into your shoulder the worse the seesaw motion will be. The grippy rubber pad and concave shape is supposed to help you keep the stock in place on your shoulder. No one really talks about it, but some benchrest/bipod/prone shooters are likely to become lazy with letting the bench, ground or bipod bear the weight of the rifle or having a poor shoulder weld just because of the way the stock rests on the body in the prone position.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_V2wvk2F6A

 

The centerline of the SCAR stock is actually ever so slightly ABOVE the centerline of the bulk of the reciprocating mass of it's BCG and superior to recoil the physics of the AR10 when shouldered in a proper stance.

 

^^^ But did the rifle have as aggressive of a brake as the stock 17. I know mentally the adrenalin helps under stress but damn, I've forgot to drop the muffs after a target check and thought I had blood running down my neck from the next shoot. DEAFinatly not good for the ears, or what we have left.

 

Excellent information, thank you for the insight everyone.

Wouldn't have guessed that the stock is inline with the bolt from just looking outward. Still find it odd that the stock starts supporting from the lower receiver but if the recoil is tame I guess it wouldn't really matter.

Right now I have a Surefire flash hider coming in that will replace the PWS once I get it. Not a fan of brakes myself and prefer flash suppression.

 

I find my scar17 to be very soft recoiling for a 7.62x51. Need to switch to a flash hider to use my SDN6 can so I’ll see if it the FH makes a difference. I put on a VLTOR enhanced stock which is a tad more solid, can be gripped better prone, has QD attachments, and doesn’t have the concave profile. Not sure it was worth the money in the scheme of things. The Geissele trigger on the other hand was worth every penny .

 

Risingsun, I'd have to say your argument is a bit silly to me. Unless you are firing suppressed (which I understand you are not, nor are you comparing it to) you will quickly go deaf shooting the scar without hearing protection. With muzzle brake OR flash hider. Take a audio reading some time with your flash hider on and tell me how you won't go deaf. I do agree that the recoil is a moot point as I fired mine with nothing on the muzzle and it still had minimal recoil.

When I go hunting I keep one earplug in. I'm a lefty so I keep the right earplug in. I find that the other ear gets less trauma anyways, and at least I can hear out of one ear when I'm done. This is also what I did in the army so I could hear what was going on and not be totally deaf when it was over.

Also for personal defense I could care less if I go deaf. Deaf is better than dead every time.

 

I appreciate your concern for my health. I’ve excellent hearing and always have…. I have suppressor for my 5.56 and 7.62…. I understand the SCAR 17 report is LOUD! And I when I train I use Ear Pro. But in a tactical situation, personal defense, or WROL situation you, you might not have

the luxury of Ear Pro and all I’m saying is I want to be able to use the firearm and still maintain situation awareness. The SCAR 17 with a muzzle break on is unusable too me, it’s usable with a flash hider. It’s usable with a Suppressor. I would be my first choice for Personal Defense…

Use whatever tool you think is appreciate to defend yourself…