On The Range #100: Shooting the FN SCAR 5.56 and the Smith&Wessson M&P15 300AAC Blackout

I was given the opportunity to take a trip to one of the local shooting ranges and put some rounds down range through a couple of rifles I had no prior experience with, but which I had wanted to shoot for a while.

First up was the FN SCAR chambered in 5.56x45.  This is a rifle that was created as an alternative to the popular AR type rifles.  The goal was to create a more reliable, more ergonomic rifle to the replace the venerable M16/M4 rifles commonly found in US and NATO armories.

I'm cross eye dominate, meaning that I am right handed but left eye dominate.  I shoot pistols right handed but long guns I shoot left handed.  The SCAR is perfect for someone like me because of the ambidextrous controls.  The charging handle can be be set up on either the right or the left, and you've got ambidextrous safety and magazine release.

If you can shoot an AR type rifle, you can shoot a SCAR.  The biggest thing to be mindful of is to keep your hand out of the way of the charging handle while shooting as it's a moving part you don't have on the AR.

The SCAR I shot had an aftermarket Eotech red dot sight installed.  This was my first time with the Eotech sight (I am an Aimpoint fan boy) but I had not issues or complaints.

My ammo options were limited because I had to use range ammo as this was a rental gun, so I ended up using cheap steel cased Tula ammunition.  I put 60 rounds through the rifle without any hiccups, so this gun will eat even the dirty stuff (a benefit of the SCAR's piston system vs. the standard AR's direct impingement).

 

Bear in mind I was shooting cheap ammo so grouping was looser than I would like (and I'm not the best shot anyway).  The indoor range I was shooting at had a 50 yard rifle range with a minimum of 25 yards.  My first 3 shots are on the lower left pelvic area taken at 25 yards.  I was holding on the white dot and the sight was zeroed at 50 yards.  Not a great group, but not bad for first time shooting that rifle, offhand, with cheap ammo.

Most of my shooting was done at 25 yards but I did some at 50 as well.  I was able to keep all of my shots on the scoring area and most in the vital hit zones.  The trigger had a noticeable reset and I found double and triple taps were no problem.  Trigger was about the same as you'd get on any milspec AR type rifle or carbine.

The SCAR was a fun gun to shoot, and if I had the disposable income I would pick one up in heartbeat.  In the market for a SCAR?  Check out GRAB A GUN.  They've got a HUGE online inventory and can ship to your local FFL.  Oh, and one of the best parts?  They finance.  So maybe that SCAR isn't so far out of my reach....

But it will have to get behind the Smith&Wesson M&P15 in 300 AAC Blackout!  Wow, did I love shooting 300 Blackout!  I've already bookmarked the M&P15 upper on GRAB A GUN.

 The 300 AAC Blackout was created by Advanced Armament Corporation to be a dedicated suppressor round.  Now, that doesn't mean you can't shoot it unsuppressed because that is all I did today.  But if you're interested in adding a suppressor to your long gun at some point in the future, this is a round designed to excel from the ground up in that role.

Wicked looking round!

Shooting an AR in 300 Blackout is a pure treat.  The recoil is similar to a pistol caliber carbine and accuracy is excellent.  My only regret about shooting the 300 Blackout is that I couldn't afford to take it home with me.  

 Looking at the target above that one large hole is the first group I shot at 25 yards from the bench.  Sure, someone out there can easily do that at 100, but for me that is great.  The rest of the shots are from off hand shooting.

Two groups shot at 50 yards.

So, this gun is going on my "BUY SOON" list.  It was fun to shoot, and I shoot it better than I would have thought.  I think 300 Blackout has the potential to be a great all purpose round.  I have friends that swear buy it for hog hunting and I have no doubt it would put a white tail in the bed of your truck.  And lets face it, if it'll do that it'll work great as a self defense tool.  Not too mention it's great a round to be shooting if you're running a suppressor which is something I am seriously going to be looking into in the future especially since Alabama, like a lot of states, allows suppressor hunting.

If 300 AAC Blackout is a something you've been considering I say go for it.  Check out GRAB A GUN.  Not only do they have the gun I shot today in stock, but they've a ton of other rifles and uppers chambered in 300 AAC Blackout.

As you may have guessed by now this post was sponsored by GRAB A GUN.  They gave me the opportunity to shoot some guns I have not touched before and all they asked from me was to blog about it and mention them as a source to fill your firearms needs.  Go check out their website.  They've a huge selection of firearms, both handguns and long guns, and they even offer financing for your next purchase.

 

A few notes from gun school.

Today was the second and final day of my Defensive Handgun course at Shootrite Firearms Academy.  This was a two day basic handgun self defense course.  Day 1 largely consisted of things I was already familiar with but was a very good refresher.  Day 2 was a lot of stuff I was intellectually familiar with but that I had never put into practice on the range.

I'm going to be doing a detailed post for both days of the course soon but I wanted to make a couple of quick observations.

First was that I was the youngest of the seven people attending the course.  I am 29 and the next youngest person there was 36.  Most of the attendees were 50+.  This actually kind of surprised and disappointed me.  I definitely need to recommend that some of my friends get up there.

There were three men besides me, and three women.  That was a pleasant surprise.  One of the women had just jumped into shooting after Sandyhook.  She went from being ambivalent about guns to being extremely pro gun as a direct result of the attempts to limit the Second Amendment.

There were a variety of guns.  There were three Glocks (mine, another man's, and one woman's). The other two women were shooting a S&W Shield 9mm and a Sig P250, respectively.  One man was shooting an XD and the other an Ed Brown Cobra Carry 1911 (probably the nicest gun out there).

Everyone was shooting 9mm pistols except for the 1911 guy and one of the Glock guys who was shooting .40.  No big surprise here.

Everyone shot about 400-500 rounds and there were, to my knowledge, no malfunctions that were not a result of operator error or deliberately induced for training purposes.

Oh, and everyone could shoot.  And I mean everyone.  This was good because it gave us a chance to advance into some stuff that doesn't normally get covered in this particular course.

All in all I had a good time.  I feel like I really took away some good stuff.  Tiger McKee, the owner and lead instructor, is a very open minded type.  He acknowledges that people may have a different way of doing things and he is ok with that.  He said over and over, "This is the way we do it, and the way we teach it.  We want you to try it, and if you find it does not work for that's ultimately your decision.  As long as what you are doing is safe, I have no issue with that.  Just give our way a chance."  He also made a point of explaining the "why" of his methods, rather than just saying "this is how it is done."

A couple of the things I probably won't do his way.  But he convinced me on at least one thing, and that alone was enough to make the two days worth it.

More to come.