PWS MK 216 & SCAR 17

[RHINOWSO]

Your concerns about the SCARs accuracy are, IMO, unfounded unless you are comparing it to a precision 308 AR, like LMT! Larue (if they ever get better barrels for their OBR), and KAC. When firing 168gr, most owners report very good accuracy.

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a piston 308 AR that beats it in the weight department and as I said before, mags and parts are currently plentiful for the SCAR. My go to parts places are MGW and if they don't have it, High Desert Dog can usually get parts as well - and for the really small parts HDD is usually cheaper since MGW seems to charge a minimu of $5 per part, and that can add up for some of the tiny springs, screws, and such whereas HDD will have them for $2.99, $3.99, etc. I love MGW though, but that is really my only complaint with there parts pricing.

Even the formerly hard to find 10-rd mags are in stock everywhere.

[SOW_0331]

I like the SCAR 17 a lot, though it's little brother seems about as useless as balls on a chick.

But you're going to be hard pressed to call it a precision rifle. Accurate, sure. Precision is a step above minute-of-man at 600m, which is where the Mk17 has really shown its value. If I were looking to put an EOTech and magnifier on a battle rifle, it would be the SCAR. It's not really a secret that I chose the LMT MWS.308 for precision. SCAR remains in the SUV as a beater for the wife.

The weight you mentioned is well balanced. It may be heavier but you won't feel as if the weight is all in the rails/barrel. At just over 11lbs with optic, I'd be better suited stepping up my fitness game if I couldn't keep the rifle up, than trying to compromise on performance to cut down on weight. Proper stance and use of natural bone support in the prone, it doesn't ever feel heavier than an M4, at least to me.

Not to speak for KevinB, as he can do that on his own just fine, but I've seen a good amount of posts from him here and elsewhere in regards to the LMT. Says a lot about both his character and the rifle when a competitor can give it good feedback, rather than get caught up in the petty pee-pee-measuring so many in the industry seem to enjoy these days.

[VooDoo6Actual]

w34531,

PWS has some proprietary issues when things go south like their Barrel nut etc. Most people never really use em enough to know or take em apart so trust my advice or don't, it's the truth as I've wrenched on them. Good luck getting a barrel nut wrench when it defecates the bed too.

SCAR H is a better choice of those 2. LMT is excellent it's just the weight issue (IIRC 9.9 lbs or so), it typically weighs less M1 Garand which many a GI has humped w/ better ergonomics etc. The LM8 IIRC is about 6-8 ozs lighter (per Gene @ LMT) is all so your still over 9.2+ lbs. IIRC. Change barrel profile then your into harmonics & possible accuracy issues. I have em both I like em w/ no issues.
If you have limited funds get the SCAR. If you keep all the gee-dunk fodder off a SCAR you can get the weight down to a fairly minimal standard. I really find I don't need the extended real estate rails on a SCAR. Get a Compact ACOG 3x or similar (TA37-4 @ 5.6 ozs.) or a 4x ACOG 9-10 ozs. (although I prefer compact var x's for the extra 7 ozs. w/ all that flexibility i.e. NF 2.5x10 @ 17 ozs.) @ slightly more oz. / Docter Optic (1.5 ozs) / KAC Offsets, simple sling, Inforce or Surefire X300 WL & the weight is pretty forgiving if you had to hump it all day.
If your preparing for a long haul get em both.

Inforce WL w/ 200 Lumens here they have a fairly decent splash & throw threshold (IR are available as well)
http://www.inforce-mil.com/wml-sand.php

PWS fodder enjoy !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF2dqUpVX-E
as always YMMV...

[BattleRifle308]

Thank you very much for your reply.

I'm just about convinced to go with the SCAR, but if anyone has any input on the PWS I'd appreciate it. Of the little info I found on it everyone had nothing but good things to say about it.

I just bought a PWS MK216. It's an absolute tac driver. My only issue with it are the magpul MBUS sights. Good for range day and that's about it.

Other than that super reliable, minimal recoil, Fit finish and feel. Are on par with battle rifles twice the price.

But really more than anything the long stroke gas system is just amazing. The reliability of an ak. With the precision of a ar.

[Chrisollis]

I've been using the SCAR platform for a couple years now and have put enough rounds through it to give a fair assessment. It's a fantastic battle rifle. It's the best in it's class when it comes to battle rifles. It's light, familiar controls controls, reliable, fairly accurate. However, it's no precision rifle. Is it accurate enough? Depends on what you want it for. I spent plenty of time on a bench with different types of match ammo/reloads trying to get that 1/2moa 5 shot group. I can say that with good ammo it consistently hovered around 1-1.5 moa with the occasional sub moa group. It's accurate enough to make minute of man hits out to 800 yards in my experience, that's as far as I've taken it out.

The weapon definitely is a trade off/bargain. Whether your willing to sacrifice a little bit of accuracy to gain utter reliability/light weight is the real question. I still have a SCAR 17 it has it's place but I have found my Larue predatAR to be extremely accurate just as light, more ergonomic, and have had 0 reliability issues, and it takes sr25 pattern mags... I have 0 experience with the PWS offerings.

[w3453l]

Thanks for the continued input, it's appreciated.

Well since the time of my original post, a little over a couple of years have gone by. Seems that not much has changed in the 308 semi auto world. At this point for me, the rifles I'm interested with most are the LMT, and slightly the PWS.

I really want to like the PWS, but it's close in price to the LMT and the MWS looks like the safest bet to me. I just don't see LMT disappearing.

I do like the SCAR, but I think with a 308 I'm going to lean more towards a precision rifle.

And yes, I still have not made the jump to 308. Yes, I am still planning on it. Through the two years I've been putting more of my budget towards 5.56 and 9 mm. Magazines, ammo, and training classes that I want to take have taken priority.

I'm still open to hearing everyone's suggestions. But to sum it up, I have dismissed the SCAR as an option. I'm leaning heavily towards the LMT, but the PWS still has me intrigued.

[Chrisollis]

If you are leaning more towards the rifle being used in a precision role I'd definitely go with the LMT. In it's price range it's hard to beat... It's a heavy pig but is fairly accurate. If you haven't looked at larue's offerings, I would urge you to do so. Nothing wrong with spending more money on ammo/training. Getting into the .308 game is a whole other story. You simply don't pick an AR10 up and run it like you run your lightweight slick AR. You gotta really get behind it and be very aggressive behind the gun or it will push you around like a schoolyard bully, far less forgiving.

[HKGuns]

So it's been nearly three years and you are still looking? How exactly is that possible?

[w3453l]

So it's been nearly three years and you are still looking? How exactly is that possible?

Not that I was constantly looking for three years. Just that it's been put on the back burner so to speak, and while I'm still planning to get a 308, I'm just not necessarily rushing to jump into it. I want to make sure to be smart about, and do it right.

I know looking back at it, it looks like this was one of those posts where the OP asks for advice just to end up ignoring it. That's not the case here, I've been doing a lot of reading here and I've learned a lot.

[HKGuns]

I'm not judging, I was genuinely curious.

To contribute to the thread and owning a SCAR17, I can't argue with anything Chrisollis wrote. He pretty much sums up my thoughts on the 17 as well. Although when I am shooting well, I can occasionally squeeze a sub MOA group out of mine. I really have to be "on" however, to make that happen. That is with very consistent performing hand loads.