Ever wanted to know what it is like to handle and shoot a rifle designed specifically elite Special Operations? Look no further! We are going to shoot the FN SCAR 17S so you can see the weapon and feel what it’s like to use an official Spec Ops weapon.
We have the FN SCAR 17S which is a semi-auto version of the SCAR-H. Hits hard and accurately.
Quick History
The SCAR stands for Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle. There are a couple of different versions of the SCAR platform to support the 2 main NATO ammo types. The FN SCAR-L (Light) supports the 5.56x45mm NATO round. The FN SCAR-H (Heavy) supports the 7.62x51mm NATO, respectively.
Firearm Overview
Lets get a general overview of the main parts of the SCAR so that we know how the rifle operates.
Check out the images below for reference:
SCAR 17S Breakdown
Rear Sight
Reticle device for aiming the weapon. Standard iron sights are pictured here with front sight at the front of the rifle.
Rifle Rails
Rifle attachment rails are on the sides, bottom, and at the top from the front to the stock of the rifle.
Ejection Port
Opens and closes to release the spent empty shells from the rifle.
Magazine Release
Button to release the magazine from the weapon
Trigger
Activates the firing pin which fires the round.
Charging Handle
Handle that loads and/or ejects a round from the magazine once pulled
Magazine
Standard AR-15 magazines hold 20 rounds of 7.62x51mm or .308 Winchester ammunition.
Bolt Release
Closes the bolt if the bolt is open – an open bolt exposes the inner gun
Safety/Select Fire
Switch which takes the firing mode from safe to fire.
Stock (Not pictured)
Back portion of the gun that provides support when shooting
Once you have a good idea of where these important gun components are located on the weapon, you should know what is referred to in this “how-to” article.
Loading the Magazine
The SCAR platform has two different calibers. We are using the SCAR 17S which is chambered in 7.62x51mm (or .308) ammunition. Magazines usually come in 20 round boxes. To start loading, grab an empty magazine in the off hand (not your precision hand) and use the fingers of your precision hand to get a round. Hold the magazine well in your off hand and align the round with the top of the magazine. Make sure it is facing the correct way and push it down so it is pushed underneath the lips of the magazine. Also, slide it back so it is flush against the back of the magazine. Keep adding a round to the magazine until you cannot add anymore.
Load the SCAR-17S
Insert the magazine
Now that you have a magazine ready to go, it’s time to load your rifle. Pick up the loaded magazine in your off hand once again (if it is not already in your hand) and make sure the ammo in the mag is pointing away from you. Pick up the rifle by the pistol grip with your good hand. Line up the magazine with the open magazine well on the rifle. Push the magazine all the way up into the magazine well until it cannot go any further. Give the bottom of the magazine a good tap up to make sure the magazine is seated well.
Chambering a round
The Charging handle is positioned on the left side of the rifle so pulling it should be fairly easy. Use your off hand to grab the charging handle and with some force, pull it all the way back. Once you have pulled it back, you will see the ejection port open on the right side. This will signify that the rifle is chambering a round to be fired. Let go of the charging handle to close the bolt and ejection handle. The charging handle will return to it’s original position at the front of the rifle. The rifle is now ready to shoot.
Warning: You now have a locked and loaded rifle
Manage the Sights
Identifying your sights
As with most rifles today, most come with some sort of rail system. These rails allow for attachments to help you use and aim your rifle so you can become a better marksman. There are many attachments but we will go over sight attachments only.
The SCAR 17S has Picatinny rails on the top, bottom, and both sides of the weapon. You can use these to attach sights to help you aim. There are two different types of aiming sights you can attach to your rifle rails. Iron Sights are the devices at the front and rear of the rifle so you can look and line up so you aim effectively. Optics are aiming devices that help you aim using reflector (reflex), holographic, and or telescopic sights. Today’s optics are usually battery powered which display a reflector aiming reticle to help the user aim the weapon more accurately. Optics can enhance your aim greatly so they are generally preferred over iron sights.
For this demonstration, we are going to cover a couple of different optics
Using optics
The first thing to do is to make sure your optic is operating correctly. The optic should already be installed on the rifle. Point the SCAR 17S in the direction of your target for safety reasons. Make sure the optic’s viewport is open by opening up the front and the back so you can see through it. If you don’t see a reticle in the viewpoint, you might have a battery operated optic. Use the settings on your specific optic to activate the reticle for aiming. You also might need to increase or decrease the reticle opacity depending on how bright you want it.
This Vortex Optics SPARC Red Dot Sight has Increase and Decrease buttons to activate the opacity strength of the red dot reticle
The Sightmark Ultra Shot Plus QD Reflex Sight has a switch to swap the numerous reticle looks available for that optic
Telescopic sights are generally used for longer ranges and are not always powered like the CVLIFE 3-9×40 Optics R4 Reticle Crosshair Scope
This Vortex Optics SPARC Red Dot Sight has Increase and Decrease buttons to activate the opacity strength of the red dot reticle
The Sightmark Ultra Shot Plus QD Reflex Sight has a switch to swap the numerous reticle looks available for that optic
Telescopic sights are generally used for longer ranges and are not always powered like the CVLIFE 3-9×40 Optics R4 Reticle Crosshair Scope
Using Iron Sights
To prepare your iron sights, you might have to flip them up so they can be used to aim correctly. Once they are flipped up, you can look through the rear sight, which is usually a circular hole, and line up with the front sight. Make sure the top line of the front sight is in the middle of rear sight circle.
The Knights Armament Company Kac 600M is made by Knight’s Armament Company who is renown in making the best military grade firearms parts.
Using iron sights can take a lot of practice to be proficient. They can also act as a backup or a secondary aiming source to your attached sight. This can come in handy when switching from shooting long range to short range targets.
Practicing shooting both to be a well-rounded shooter.
The Knights Armament Company Kac 600M is made by Knight’s Armament Company who is renown in making the best military grade firearms parts.
Using iron sights can take a lot of practice to be proficient. They can also act as a backup or a secondary aiming source to your attached sight. This can come in handy when switching from shooting long range to short range targets.
Practicing shooting both to be a well-rounded shooter.
Firing the SCAR-17S
Line up your shot
You are now ready to shoot the SCAR 17S. Time to get into shooting position. If you have fired a rifle or long gun before, get into the best firing stance for you. If you have not, we’ll be using Fighting Stance as the stance to use to shoot. Fighting Stance is an extremely used and effective stance for new and advanced shooters. I recommend using this form if this is your first time shooting the SCAR 17S.
Get into stance with your forward hand griping the front handguard and your back hand hold the pistol grip on the rifle. DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER. Lean into the rifle and use the sights to line up your shot.
It’s time to shoot. Switch the safety from safe to fire with your thumb. Now it is okay to put your index finger (or whatever finger you are comfortable firing with) and pull the trigger to fire at the target lined up in your sights. You will notice that with each shot, the shell casing will eject out of the ejector port. Please note that these shell casings are hot.
Once done firing, make sure you TAKE YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER and flip the safety back to safe whether you are out of ammo or not. This is always a safe practice for an firearm and not just the SCAR 17S. Also, make sure to never point the rifle in the direction of where you don’t want to shoot.
Reload the SCAR-17S
Out with the old
Pulling the trigger and nothing happening? You are probably jammed or out of ammo. If the SCAR has the charging handle back and the ejection port is open, your most likely out of ammo.
You can reload the rifle by pressing the circular magazine release button on the right hand side of the rifle. It is right above the trigger so you can use your index finger to press it. Don’t get the magazine release button confused with the select fire switch which is behind the magazine release button. Hold the button down with your finger and pull the magazine out with the same hand you used to put the magazine in. You’ll need some arm strength to do this process since it will take a few seconds to do with the rifle in one hand. If you don’t have the strength, rest the rifle on a stand while you complete the reload process.
In with the new
Once you have released and removed the magazine, grab a freshly loaded magazine if you have one. If you do not have a loaded magazine, go back and repeat the Load Magazine section to repeat the process of loading the magazine you have with new ammo. Once you have a loaded magazine, insert the mag like you were loading it for the first time. With your odd hand, push the magazine in the magazine well and give it a good bump to make sure it’s secure.
Finally, to chamber a new round, hit the bolt release to close the bolt and set a round in the chamber to be fired.
Warning: You once again have a loaded rifle
Turn the safety back off if you have turned the safety on. Reassess your target to be fired upon once again. Repeat the Firing section to continue firing the SCAR 17s.
Clearing the weapon
If you are completely done firing, turn the safety on. Remove the magazine as you would when reloading. Instead of putting a new magazine in, put it away or to the side. Check to see if there is a round in the chamber still. Pull back on the charging handle and hold it in the rear position while you look in the open bolt on the right side of the rifle to see whether there is round in there or not. If there was, pulling on the charging handle would have most likely ejected the round for you. The weapon should now be clear of any ammo.
The SCAR 17S is a joy to shoot. It is really LOUD but quite an effective and versatile rifle. Get to the range and try this bad boy if you have the opportunity. If you wanted to buy yourself a pair of shooting gloves, the ones pictured in this tutorial are listed in our favorite gloves for shooting. Get your self a pair. They really come in handy.
All in all, get better by learning as we are. To do this you have to practice. Practice Makes Proficient.
