CA - SCAR-L Hands On Review @ AEX

[creed_det5]

Tucson PD bought H&K USPs in .40S&W for their entire department. Switched out every sidearm for line officers, and issued compacts to detectives. A year later they sent them all back to H&K. Now when I see a TPD officer during my trips into town, 99% of the time what's riding on his/her belt is a Glock 22. Why did this happen? Why did a major metropolitain police department buy several hundred pistols at over six hundred dollars each, and send them all back to the manufacturer within a year? I've talked to TPD officers and former TPD officers about this. They liked the guns, but they could not get spares for them. The lag time between when a gun went down for maintenance and when it could be repaired and put back in service again was unacceptably long. During that time the officer in question has to be issued a new gun, which he then had to qualify with (which takes a day). H&K was absolutely unwilling to work with them on this, or send them adequate stores of parts. Furthermore, because the parts were made in Germany, they were expensive (manufacture on the German economy plus shipping to the US). Again, H&K was not willing to deal. So TPD took their business to Glock and sent H&K a big conex of slightly used USPs.

 

Contrast this to how FN USA went about working with USSOCOM to develop, manufacture, and refine the Mk.48 medium machine gun. They did the same with the SCAR. They were responsive to their customer's needs and requirements.

There's a term for this: CUSTOMER SERVICE! Write that down in your notebooks, boys and girls, because it's important. When an airsoft supplier gets an order wrong, or doesn't have an item in stock that was listed as such, do you complain that they're "getting on their knees" because they make the extra effort to ensure you get what you wanted? No. But let FN take care to meet the needs of their customer, and all of a sudden they're de-chroming trailer hitches. Get real. [/rant]

 

Reference AN/PEQ-2 battery boxes...if you set it up right, you can route the wires into the forend under the box, where they're not visible unless you're really looking. You might have to drill a small hole in the side of the forend, but there are usually ventilation holes enough that drilling isn't neccessary. For the mini battery in the stock, a NiMH battery should have enough endurance for anything but extended full-auto fire support. Or you can shell out some more and assemble a Lithium-Ion battery pack. If the hex screw is a problem (and for many operators IRL they are...allen keys get lost in the field), go to a hardware sture and replace the allen screw with an appropriately sized phillips or slotted screw...and use the compartment in the stock for a small field-maintenance kit.

 

-Chris

[olbertus]

The SCAR was not "beaten by the hk 416 under extreme testing" as these two rifle systems were never in "competition" with each other. As far as I know the HK416 is currently being used by some special operations units in a somewhat unnoficial way (these units selected the HK over the SCAR as well as other systems) but the SCAR was selected by SOCOM and continues to be improved based on field experience.

 

If the 416 had "beaten" the SCAR they must have conducted tests very recently that somehow have not been made public but some dude on an airsoft forum knows about.

 

Just go to HKpro or defensereview.com before you come out with the first thing that comes into your head.

[olbertus]

It is too bad, FNUSA has been on its knees for the US Military, which is why they win every freaking contract to make most of our crapola, that and the US government sees $$ before quality

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You might have a point if we were talking about Kel-Tec but FN have a great pedigree for reliable and innovative weapons apart from the SAW which is definately flawed (especially the caliber).

 

What was geniunely disturbing when it comes to military dollars is the recent dragon skin body armour shenanigens (see defensereview.com for the whole sorry tale of crappy ceramic armor plate makers trying desparately to undermine a vastly superior product for the sake of their existing contract).

 

Anyway this was all off topic I guess, just felt like I had to respond

[(V)atrix]

What was geniunely disturbing when it comes to military dollars is the recent dragon skin body armour shenanigens (see defensereview.com for the whole sorry tale of crappy ceramic armor plate makers trying desparately to undermine a vastly superior product for the sake of their existing contract).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've spoken to a few guys who've tried out that stuff in the field and who actually hate it. Yes, it does offer superior protection - but they complained that it was too heavy and stiff to wear comfortably for extended periods. Apparently the "scales" aren't nearly as flexible or comfortable as the marketing literature would have you believe.

 

But, that's a whole 'nother discussion - so we now return you to your regularly scheduled topic.

[olbertus]

Interesting point (V)atrix thanks for the info I had'nt heard any negative reports as yet. Still, comfort over long periods does become a factor, especially in a hot climate. The point I was really trying to make is that the makers of the old style ceramic plate armour refused to acknowledge the superior protective qualities and claimed that DS had failed ballistic tests which old style armor had passed (which is pure BS)

 

I guess it just fails the comfort test anyway but still you would be grateful for it if you get hit with a tight group of 7.32/39 API and survive.

 

OK back to topic now, sorry

[vgdailynews01]

Yes, on topic.

 

Hmmm. What's sexier?

 

CA G36C

TM G36C

Black CA SCAR

[Oliver Twist]

Sexier or cooler? Frankly I think G36C's are ugly, and the opposite of sexy, the K's and E's are very sexy though...of that group, the best buy is the SCAR me thinks.

 

Which raises another question, whether or not one likes the look, or even the battery capacity, the SCAR is a pretty d*m* good buy for 370.oo!

[vgdailynews01]

Sexier or cooler? Frankly I think G36C's are ugly, and the opposite of sexy, the K's and E's are very sexy though...of that group, the best buy is the SCAR me thinks.

 

Which raises another question, whether or not one likes the look, or even the battery capacity, the SCAR is a pretty d*m* good buy for 370.oo!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

God dang it, I can't buy both a G36C AND a SCAR!

 

WHY MUST AIRSOFT BE SO COOL?!

[Oliver Twist]

And that, my friend, is the problem!

[Mister Cookie]

WHY MUST AIRSOFT BE SO COOL?!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because I play it, of course.

 

the SCAR is a pretty d*m* good buy for 370.oo!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agreed. No doubt the VFC is going to be 500+ and the STAR, well not much experiance with STAR here so I can't say. But for the look of the SCAR combined with the already proven reliability of the CA M4 (or V2, if you must) gearbox, I'm soiling myself at $370!

 

Time to go watch Futureweapons...

 

...They should get their hands on the SCAR for that show

[bruiser]

This is probably my first post on Arnie's. Honestly, I haven't been much involved in the online airsoft community since the Airsoftzone and X-ring days (for those that remember those sites) and a bit on Airsoftplayers (RIP) at the turn of the century. However, I've noticed a significant spike in our web traffic due to the review and decided to look into it.

 

Here are a few of my thoughts to address some of the points brought up in this thread:

 

1. The HK416 wasn't even in the SCAR competition and probably would have been a serious contender against FN's SCAR. Whether HK gun would have won against the FN gun we will never know.

 

2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The FN SCAR look does take a bit of getting used to, even for me. The minibattery capacity restriction is unfortunate for airsofters but it was the best that CA could do to retain as exact a replication of the actual gun as possible. After all, airsoft is as much about posing as it is about playing, no? You want to be a SEAL, SF, etc? Get a SCAR. Wanna be Delta? Get an HK416...for now. Me? I'm getting me a CA SCAR and so's half my staff.

 

3. There are multiple SCAR replicas coming or being developed. Obviously there's the crappy JLS one with the backwards selector switch, Star, VFC, and G&G. God knows who else is trying to make one... Having handled the real one and examined it closely, I am confident that topping the CA one in its detail, realism, and price will be very tough (except for that damn tan RIS mounted M203 that CA announced...)

 

4. I am familiar with all the perfectionist nitpicking airsofters' complaints of some of CA's details including the finish of the M15 series, the lasered on logos, etc. After all, I consider myself to be in the nitpicker category. For example, many of you don't like the "black" finish on the M15 series. Some of you prefer the "more realistic" G&P finish. I felt the same way. BUT, I have a real Olympic Arms CAR-15 that I bought before the ban. Way ugly black finish. Took a tactical carbine class recently and, after about a thousand rounds, it kept failing to extract the round from the chamber. Should be a simple fix by replacing some small parts (extractor spring 10 cents...), but, like a good airsofter, it gave me an excuse to spend money to sex up the gun with the latest toys. So, I ordered and got a complete new Lewis Machine Tool 16inch M4 upper and bolt carrier assembly. Best upper you can buy. It came in that beautiful "military gray" that airsofters seem to dig. Installed a Daniel Defense Lite Rail on it, put on an Eotech 553, test fired it, cleaned it, then oiled it. Guess what? That "sexy" gray finish on the LMT upper turned CA black... The fit and finish on the CA SCAR is, in my opinion, unimpeachably excellent for any airsofter's standard. That CNC metal upper is pure butter. The paint finish on the sights are perfectly smooth. I do worry about the tan plastic parts such as the stock and lower receiver smudging easily though. But hey, an airsoft gun that's clean and not beat or scratched up means you don't play.

 

5. Regarding possible retailer bias in the review, yes, that's always what you should keep in mind as a consumer. I'd be lying to you if we did the review for purely altruistic reasons. My goal was to get attention for Airsoft Extreme and take your money. However, you must take into consideration that we have our credibility and reputation in mind otherwise we won't be able to take your money, right? The final judgment for this or any other product will be in the hands of the future owners. Our review is only meant to be a starting point for those of you who want to know more about this gun.

 

6. Regarding reliability, sure, CA ain't perfect. Neither is any other mfr. We can find repeating problems in all of the "high end" brand internals based on the thousands and thousands of repairs/upgrades that we have performed. However, except for a couple of minor issues, for overall quality and bang for buck, the CA CQB type mechbox that is in the CA SCAR is probably the best mass market produced mechbox.

 

7. On a completely different topic, I want to comment on Orca's anecdote on our opinion of ICS/Airsoft Elite guns so you can have a better sense of where I'm coming from. Our opinion on this brand is based on experience from many years ago when their guns just came out onto the market. The metallurgy was poor which was why their MP5 receivers cracked easily where it connected with the cocking tube. This is why recent and current generation ICS MP5 bodies have more material there than other brands to make up for their metal's brittleness. We ended up losing money overall in parts (replacing the bodies, broken tappet plates, etc at our cost) and labor costs warrantying these MP5's since they arrived 50% of the time at the customer's doorstep broken in half. Mechbox parts compatibility with available aftermarket parts was not all there either. At least when Classic Army was known as Kaka Army for their crappiness years ago, we could power through customer warranty work by replacing broken internals with Systema parts (this was back before internal parts were available from Guarder, G&G, Prometheus, CA, etc). Another motivation was we made enough profit on the CA guns to be able to afford replacing defective internals with superior Systema parts for customers at no charge to them. The ICS M4's quick takedown mechbox system is also a source of the problem where we could not guarantee consistent and predictable performance increase with every upgrade that we did even after spending a ridiculous amount of time on each gun. Couldn't take a customer's money if we couldn't guarantee results that meets expectations and didn't want to deal with the customer dissatisfaction anymore. I'm sure ICS guns are acceptable for some airsofters now - otherwise, this brand wouldn't have survived for so long. Besides, they offer some very innovative features that are truly unique. Nowadays, other than our sour history with this brand, our lack of motivation is the lack of profit in carrying these guns. The price competition on this brand is stupid in the US and we're not going to risk making such a low margin on these guns while at the same time providing possibly costly warranty service and attempting to lower customer expectations on unpredictable upgrade results that we may have to spend extra time (read labor cost) to achieve.

 

In summary:

Do I have a financial motivation? You've got to be stupid if I tell you "no" and you believe it.

Do I love airsoft? Yes

Do I lie? I'm in sales......but good business is built on good reputation which is built on having some integrity.

Do I know everything about airsoft? If I did, I wouldn't be reading this forum.

Are my opinions always right? Only in a perfect world where there are no wars, religions get along, all flowers smell good, and all the beautiful girls desire me.

Do I care about your opinion? Yes unless I and everyone else think you're a complete idiot

Is Airsoft Extreme perfect? If it was, I'd have no competition and my partner wouldn't have screwed up the G&G UMG review and said they came with metal bushings.

[TerranCmdr]

Just thought I'd throw a few cents into this thread.

 

I was down at AEX today and they pulled out the SCAR. I got to check it out a bit. The upper receiver looked really nice, very solid and well done, nice and metaly. The lower receiver disappointed me since it was all plastic, but the guy there told me the real one is plastic like that too so what can you do. It was high-quality plastic though. The sights looked nice, the charging handle and ejection port were also nice features. The selector lever felt a little weak to me (is it made of plastic?) but the clicks for semi, full and safe were still very positive. The stock was also pretty cool, the folding feature makes the gun pretty compact. One feature I was particularly impressed with was the ambidextrous mag catch. Very nifty. Overall a very solid and nice-looking weapon. Not quite my cup of tea, but still a nice piece.

 

Also, I wouldn't be so quick to doubt AEX. They do know their stuff. When I talk to some people that work there they're not afraid to tell me like it is, for example how the paint very easily chips off the TM SOCOM.

[Oliver Twist]

Did they give you an indication of the release date?

[olbertus]

Thanks for the post Bruiser, very informative. I will probably wait with the SCAR as I really need something more like the CQC length version. I do basically trust CA's quality anyway as I own an M15 and MP5 by them and have had only minor issues with them. I am impressed with the CNC upper of the SCAR, i did not realize that CA had access to CNC machinery (i thought all their stuff was made from castings or stampings).

 

Anyway, the SCAR is sure to be successful so further variants (CQC, H etc) are inevitable.

[Janno]

I've gotta tip my hat to Bruiser there - AEX has gone above and beyond most other retailers in its review, and the post here. Naturally, there is profit in mind (as there always is), but whilst most retailers are happy to sit back, take money, and shift guns, AEX is taking a pro-active approach to adding value to its product.

 

It's much the same as running an airsoft site. I'm always trying to come up with new ideas and new games to keep people interested. Being the only site in Central London, i don't ever have to worry about dying out, since i know we'll always have footfall. However, i want to do my best to give the customer true value for money, rather than sit back, spewing out the same games over and over again every event (as many airsoft sites still do).

 

So yes, whilst i do find AEX's review a clever marketing ploy, i also find it immensely helpful and refreshing, and will be ordering several SCARs on behalf of me and my staff on the company trade account (since they are clearly an essential piece of hardware when it comes to running the site)...

[orca]

Woah... Bruiser actually posted! It's been a long time since that's been seen.

 

Anyway my bottom line is. The AEX CA Scar review, saved me the $400.00 I would've spent just to find out a few things they posted in the review. Did it influence me to purchase a CA-SCAR? Yes 100% it did, and probably not in the way you guys are thinking. But next on my list of things is to wait for the actual release and go to 1 of their stores and check it out.

 

AEX even had 1 of the CA SCAR-L's they have out at a local CQB field (airsoftplayground.com) on Sunday. A lucky few people got to see the SCAR-L in action.

 

It's nice to have and see a retailer who's into supporting the airsoft community. AEX has done consistently over the years. Whether it's a review of a pre released product, sponsorship of an event no matter the size, sponsorship of a website (cough! like arnie's).

[nightfire6]

Now its time to prepared for the competition of SCARs, which one is the best SCAR: CA, STAR, G&G, or VFC? Coming soon to a theater near you in 2008.

[bruiser]

 

Yes, that buttery upper is CNC.

Yes, the stock and lower receiver on the real SCAR is polymer.

The CA selector is metal.

I even discovered that CA made the gas knob adjustable with positive clicks. Obviously it doesn't do anything for airsoft purposes and I didn't check that function on the real SCAR but it's just one of the little details on the CA gun that makes it so cool.

There are a couple of minor cosmetic details amiss on the CA lower receivers.

Yes, we let one of our guys play with the SCAR last weekend. Yes, it was a sinister marketing ploy. We have some informational advantages in the airsoft world and are normally very low key about it but with all the yakety yak about our competition, it's time to toot our own horn a bit.

Regarding SCAR availability date (in the US), I estimate based on current information that we can start delivery around early March.

[Oliver Twist]

Bruiser, was that last pic intended to make me add an EOTech to my preorder? Cause it very well might! When you say delivery in early march, do you mean that shipments will arrive in early march or that they will ship in early march?

 

Thanks!

[orca]

LOL Oliver. Early march. Keep in mind these thngs are coming in by boat, then you have to deal with customs which isn't always airsoft friendly. So delivery dates aren't set in stone until items actually land and processes start happening. Bruiser or someone else will post more firm dates as they get closer.

 

FYI That's an Eotech 553 is around $600.00

[Magsz]

Wow, this is bringing back memories of the ASZ days. Good to see you posting some really cool information here bruiser!

[security officer allen]

Bruiser,

 

Where's the tan M900? You know that'll look sexy

[Mister Cookie]

Lucky for me I already have a 512

[Oliver Twist]

Yeah, I guess you're right, I'll be content with March.

[APOLLO]

I'm going to get a scar either way, I didn't think that the color variations would be that many and noticeable but nothing can be done about that. The only other thing that concerns me is having to pry the reciever apart just to get to the gearbox.