Two models will initially be offered, one with a heavy flutedmatch barrel and the other with a lighter tube. Both will be 20inches long with 1:12 twist rifling and chrome lining. Initiallythese will mate into standard aluminum receivers. However,FNH USA plans to offer models with steel receivers down theroad.

The BAR’s basic operation remains largely unchanged. Thebolt features seven locking lugs that rotate 60° to engage recess-es in the barrel. The bolt rides in a compact steel carrier and isrotated by a cam pin after the carrier moves approximately 3/16"rearward.

The spent cartridge case is withdrawn by a hook extractor onthe right side of the bolt head and ejected by a plunger on the left.Operation is by a short-stroke piston system like the M1Carbine’s. On firing, propellant gases pass through a port in thebarrel and drive a captive piston rearward. This in turn impingesagainst a heavy inertia piece that connects to the bolt carrier bydual action bars. Gas pressure is regulated by a screw passingdiagonally into the right side of the cylinder.

FNH USA plans to feed the AR from 10- and 20-rounddetachable box magazines. These insert straight up into an alu-minum magazine well. The magazine well attaches to the bottomof the receiver by two crosspins. Magazine release buttons aremounted on both sides for easy ambidextrous operation.

The magazines with the two test rifles reviewed were obvioushand made/modified prototypes. They inserted easily in AR-15style, with no rocking motion required to lock them securely intoplace.

With a capacity of either 10 or 20 rounds, the FNAR will haveenough rounds on board to handle any situation a LE marksmanwill likely ever encounter. The detachable magazines will alsoallow said marksman to easily change ammunition types, such asfrom a typical 168-grain match load to a dedicated barrier loadfor shooting through glass.

The bolt-release lever is mounted at the right front of thereceiver. After the last round of a magazine is fired, the magazinefollower presses the lever up into engagement with the right

tridges. Available in different grades, the BAR quickly becamethe self-loading hunting rifle of the more affluent.

As Browning is part of the Fabrique Nationale family, it was asimple matter for FNH USA to utilize the BAR action as theheart of its new tactical rifle. Actually, the concept of a BARsniper rifle is really nothing new. Years ago, the U.S. specialoperations community saw the need for a self-loading sniper riflechambered for the long reaching .300 Win. Mag. cartridge.

In response to this need, Arms Tech Limited of Phoenix, Ariz.,developed a suitable rifle BAR-based rifle dubbed the SuperMatch Interdiction Rifle or SMIR. The 13.25-pound SMIRsported a heavy free-floating 26-inch long stainless steel match-grade barrel, modified action and gas system all dropped into aMcMillan synthetic stock.

The end result was a conventionallylaid-out .300 Win. Mag. sniper riflecapable of extremely fast follow-upshots. When Peter Kokalis tested one itproved capable of shooting into .7 moawhen teamed with his handloadstopped with 190-grain Lapua HPBTs.

FNH USA’s new AR is a bit moremodern looking. Rather than chamber-ing it in .300 Win. Mag., FN is intro-ducing the AR in the classic .308 Win.Whether other calibers are added downthe road remains to be seen, but Iwould love eventually to see a .300Win. Mag. FNAR and perhaps one in.260 Rem.

hanks to the lessons learned in Afghanistan and Iraq, somemanufacturers are starting to look at developing semi-auto-matic sniper rifles for military and law enforcement use.

I recently got a first look at Fabrique Nationale Herstal USA’snew law enforcement sniper rifle concept, the FNAR. Productionmodels will differ from the prototypes you see pictured here.

Rather than developing an entirely new design from theground up, FNH USA has instead chosen to utilize Browning’sBAR sporting rifle action as the basis for the project. TheBrowning Automatic Rifle (no relation to the famous militarysquad auto designed by John Moses Browning) was first intro-duced to hunters and sportsmen in 1967. An upper crust self-loading hunting rifle, the BAR has been chambered not only forshort and standard length ammunition, but also magnum car-

The heart of the FNAR is a BrowningBAR sporting rifle action. The sport-ing BAR has been around since1967 and has been chambered bothfor standard and magnum calibers.

T

FNH-USA has been a fountain of innovation lately, and the most recent addition is the FNAR tactical rifle, semi-automatic .308 Win. developed for law enforcement.

action bar, locking the bolt assembly open. Pressing the leverdown disengages it, allowing the bolt to slam home.Unfortunately, due to its sporting rifle heritage, this piece is a biton the flimsy side.

The trigger assembly, riding in a polymer housing, is removedby driving out a pair of crosspins. The trigger pull on both pro-totype rifles I handled was both fairly light and smooth and waswell suited for its intended mission. The safety is a simple trig-ger-blocking crossbolt at the rear of the trigger guard. Althougha bit stiff to operate on both prototype rifles, it was well placedfor a right-handed shooter.

To allow easy mounting of optics, the top of the receiver fea-tures a 1913 rail. Both test rifles had one of Leupold’s fine 3.5-10x40mm LR/T tactical scopes mounted onto this in heavy dutyrings. No iron sights are offered, but the barrel is drilled andtapped for an additional 1913 rail to be mounted near the muzzleif iron sights are desired.

Unlike Arms Tech Limited’s custom rifle built using a one-piece McMillan stock, the FNAR utilizes a two-piece syntheticstock. The fore-end features short 1913 rails at 3, 6 and 9 o’clockwith a sling/bipod stud mounted in the 6 o’clock rail.

The rails allow a marksman to easily mount mission essentialaccessories such as a sling, bipod, white light or IR laser/illumi-nator. The buttstock sports a full pistol grip and is adjustable forlength of pull using spacers. It features a bolt-on cheekpiece toensure a proper cheek weld. Additional cheekpieces of differingheights will be included with each rifle.

Due to the simple fact that both rifles I was allowed to handlewere prototypes, actually the only two in existence, I cannot pro-vide carved-in-stone specifications for either model. It’s simplytoo early to do that. As the design progresses certain things maychange, so just be aware this is intended solely as a first look atwhat FNH USA will be bringing out sometime in 2008.

Will FNH USA actually produce this interesting new model?Yes, they are hard at work on it. Can I provide a date of release,price or additional information on what production models willactually be like? No.

However, I can provide a glimpse into how these two rifleshandled and performed. With relatively short 20-inch tubes, bothmodels are fairly compact with an overall length well suited forthe LE role they are intended to fill. As LE shots are typicallyless than 100 yards there is simply no need for a longer 24- or26-inch barrel, especially in a rifle chambering the .308 Win.cartridge. Mobility is far more important.

Regarding weight, even with its fluting, the heavy barrelmodel is on the porky side. While muzzle heavy, it proved very

stable on the bipod or off bags. Thelighter barrel model proved much hand-ier, yet still sufficiently heavy to be sta-ble enough for its intended mission.

The pistol grip feels good in the hand,even while wearing gloves, and indexesthe trigger finger properly in relation tothe trigger. This is a shortcoming ofrifles using standard M16A2 pistol gripsthat tend to index too close to the triggerfor shooters with average or large hands.

With a low-mounted scope, the cheekrest provided a solid repeatable cheekweld. You won’t need to carve up a GIsleeping mat to obtain a good cheekweld with the FNAR. Rounds loadedeasily into the handmade prototype mag-azines, which in turn locked solidly inplace with a simple upward push into themag well.

Rounds chambered smoothly and reli-ability was flawless. As these were pro-totypes, I did not shoot them extensive-

ly, however as received both rifles had a large amount of copperdeposited in the bore, so they had seen numerous rounds. Alongwith Angus Norcross, the owner of Angus Arms of WiscassetMaine and former Maine State Service Rifle Champion, I put afew hundred assorted rounds through both prototypes. Loadsincluded 147-grain NATO spec ball along with Black HillsAmmunition’s 155-grain A-MAX, 168-grain and 175-grainHPBT match loads.

All four loads fed, fired and ejected flawlessly in 20-30° tem-peratures. Ejection was between 2 and 3 o’clock with emptycases landing approximately 3 feet distant when fired from theprone position.

Firing off a Harris bipod attached with an ARMS mountrevealed the FNAR to be light recoiling. Both rifles producedvery fast follow-up shots when engaging multiple targets fromboth the supported prone and kneeling positions. The die-hardbolt gunners can say what they want while sipping their Kool-Aid, but a semi-auto like the FNAR is significantly faster whenengaging multiple targets or on rapid follow-up shots.

The only problem encountered during testing was accuracy.Both prototypes had been fitted with handmade wood stocksduring preliminary testing. With the wood furniture the FN engi-neers were able to obtain groups of 1 moa or less. Just beforethey were shipped to me for review they were fitted with proto-type synthetic butts and fore-ends.

During testing, the heavy barrel model exhibited pronouncedhorizontal stringing while the lighter barrel model strung verti-cally. This occurred with every load tried and average group sizecan best be described as “something’s wrong here.” Norcross,who built M21 sniper rifles in a previous life and also worked theNational Guard Marksmanship Training Unit gun truck at CampPerry, quickly deduced the prototype fore-ends were the culprit.So I drove from Maine to FNH USA’s headquarters in Virginiaand had a meeting with the president of FNH USA and some ofhis staff on our findings.

My thoughts on the FNAR? It is a very interesting conceptthat should prove very able when it reaches maturity. When the

Shown here in its light barrel configuration, the FNAR sports 1913 rails on thefore-end to allow easy mounting of accessories like tactical lights, lasers, etc.

The buttstock features a full pistol grip that is nicelycontoured and fits the hand well. Also note the conven-tional pushbutton safety and magazine release button.

The buttstock features different height cheekpieces andspacers to adjust length of pull. The butt is also slottedto accept a sling. It has most features police require.

FNH USA’s new FNAR

Thanks to a fairly short 20 inch fluted barrel (available intwo weights) the FNAR is fairly compact and easy tomaneuver. This counts more than pure accuracy potential.

Cont. to page 8

accuracy issue is resolved it will offer LE marksman a viablealternative to the traditional bolt-action tactical rifle.

Downside in my opinion? Its sporting rifle heritage means it isnot as robust as a military arm, as is apparent in relatively light-weight parts like the bolt release. It’s harder to field-strip thansomething like an M4.

I would also like to see the muzzle threaded for a flash/soundsuppressor or muzzle brake. Lastly, I am not fond of two-piecestocks on precision rifles and would have employed a one-piecedesign that allowed the barrel to be free-floated.

Strong points of the design? Compact,reliable, high magazine capacity, very fastfollow-up shots, very easy to engage mul-tiple targets with, comfortable to shoot andeasy to operate. It will be interesting to seehow FNH USA’s new AR turns out. Theaccuracy requirement for this design is togroup into 1 moa maximum, and they planon it doing quite a bit better than this. Ilook forward to having a chance to test aproduction model when they become avail-able.

In the big picture I feel FNH USA isahead of the curve and we are likely to seeadditional companies offering semi-auto-matic precision rifles in the future. Not tobe outdone, FNH already has plans for amilitary grade semi-auto sniper based upontheir SCAR-H. Perhaps the bolt-action tac-tical rifle’s unchallenged reign is finallycoming to an end.

The red headed step-child of US military sniping

Although semi-automatic sniper rifles are hardly new in theUnited States, they can best be described as the “red headed step-child” of the sniper community. For decades the RemingtonModel 700 bolt-action rifle, for good and bad, has reignedsupreme as the precision rifle of choice for both the U.S. militaryand law enforcement.

A simple and easy-to-accurize sporting rifle, it was originallyfielded by the USMC in Vietnam merely because there was noth-ing else available. Winchester, the USMC’s first choice, had justceased production of the pre-‘64 Model 70. So the USMC pro-cured Model 700s, in the form of the original M40, fromRemington for service in Vietnam. Adoption by the USMC even-tually led to the United States Army adopting its own version ofthe Model 700, designated the M24.

With both USMC and Army fielding Model 700-based sniperrifles it was only a matter of time before this model became thelaw enforcement standard. Without a doubt, it has gone on to per-form well in the LE role. The Remington does have severalstrong points; chiefly it’s relatively inexpensive, capable ofexcellent accuracy when properly modified, is easy to work onand has a host of high-quality parts and accessories readily avail-able. This means it is relatively simple for your average gunsmithto build an extremely accurate rifle using a Model 700 action.

However, as good as a tuned Remington 700 can be, it willnever be anything more than a 1960s-vintage bolt-action sport-ing rifle at heart. Despite being the darling of American shooters,there are more modern bolt-action rifles better suited for militarysniping than either the M24 or M40 family.

One example is England’s Accuracy International AW whichwas built from the ground up specifically for hard military use.

Another is Sako’s well-respected TRG series. Military snipinghas continually evolved since the 1960s with sound suppressors,modern day/night optics, detachable box magazines and largercaliber rounds coming into play. As technology continues toprogress Model 700 based systems become ever more datedlooking.

In addition, recent combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistanhas brought semi-automatic sniper systems back into vogue.While semi-automatic sniper rifles are hardly new to the U.S.military, they fell out of favor decades ago with the demise of theM21.

In reality though, the problems the U.S. military encounteredwith semi-automatic systems was in large part its own doing.Historically the U.S. military has placed very little emphasis oneither sniping or sniper equipment. Rather than develop provenmilitary-grade equipment specifically for sniping, the U.S. mili-tary has preferred to suddenly come up short while engaged in aprotracted conflict.

It then simply bought commercial off-the-shelf items that wereavailable in sufficient quantities to meet its needs. This happenedduring World War II, Korea, Vietnam and we are seeing it againtoday. Rather than fielding the best, the military simply fieldswhatever it can buy.

There is no doubt that the M1 Garand rifle was the finest bat-tle rifle fielded during World War II and Korea. However, it madefor a very poor sniper rifle. The issue scopes were not only ofpoor quality and low magnification but they were also awkwardto use, due to being offset to the left of the receiver.

In addition, accuracy of the M1C and D sniper rifles was lessthan spectacular unless they were brought up to National Match

The heavy barrel model is noticeably larger in diameter.Both barrels are fluted to reduce weight and feature 1:12inch twist rifling to accommodate most bullet weights.

The 10- and 20-round magazines supplied with the proto-type rifles were handmade. FN’s magazine (center) isseen alongside the magazines for the G3 (l.) and M14 (r.).

The 10-round magazine protrudes quite a bit less fromthe aluminum mag well. The release buttons are bilater-al, while the bolt release is on the receiver’s right front.

FNH USA’s new FNAR

The FNAR utilizes the BAR sporting rifle’s well-provenshort-stroke gas system. This design is similar in somerespects to the one that was used in the M1 carbine.

Here’s a look at the light barrel. Both barrels offered are match grade and feature a recessed target crown. Barrels are also drilled and tapped at the muzzle.

Here’s a look at the light barrel. Both barrels offered are match grade and feature a recessed target crown. Barrels are also drilled and tapped at the muzzle.

Fortier and shooting buddy Gus Norcross found both pro-totypes handled well, were very comfortable, offeredfast follow-up shots and proved reliable in 20° weather.

Fortier and shooting buddy Gus Norcross found both pro-totypes handled well, were very comfortable, offeredfast follow-up shots and proved reliable in 20° weather.

Cont. from page 5

standards. If a rifle was accurized to National Match standards itthen required a fairly skilled armorer to maintain it at that level.

All in all the M1C and Ds made poor sniping rifles and anysuccess American troops had is more a testament to the manbehind the rifle rather than the rifle itself.

The M14-based M21 sniper rifle, on the other hand, per-formed well in Vietnam and racked up impressive kill ratios.When teamed with the then state-of-the-art AN/PVS2 nightvision sight and early Sionics sound suppressors, the M21 madeboth the VC and NVA fear the night. However, like the M1Csand Ds, the M21 had some significant weak points.

First off, the Leatherwood Adjustable Ranging Telescope(ART) gave problems and proved inadequately rugged for mili-tary use. The scope mounts also gave their share of headaches aswell. In addition, due to its National Match-type bedding, M21srequired the careful attention of a skilled armorer thoroughlyfamiliar with this system. Lastly, but also quite important, theM14 was designed as an infantry rifle. Due to this the issuestocks provide more of a chin weld rather than a proper cheekweld when using an optical sight.

Eventually the lessons of Vietnam were forgotten and theArmy grew tired of the problems associated with the ART-toppedM21. It wasn’t long before they began lusting after the longrange accuracy of the Marine M40A1. As to be expected, a shorttime later the Army had a new girl, in the form of the bolt-actionM24.

Throughout the rest of the Cold War U.S. Army and Marinesnipers were quite enamored with their issue sniper rifles andoptics. They were, after all, simple to maintain, fairly rugged andquite accurate out to 800 yards or so.

Not only that, but the USMC Unertl and Army Leupold M3scopes were a significant improvement over the older Redfieldsand Leatherwoods previously issued.

The first real test of theM40A1/A3 and M24,though, didn’t come untilthe invasion of Afghanistanand Iraq. It didn’t take long,especially in the target-richenvironment of Iraq, for theinherent weakness of a five-shot hinged-floorplate bolt-action rifle to appear.

Soon semi-automatic M14s, with whatever mount and opticunits could be found, were being put back to work. Although notas inherently accurate as an M40A1 or M24 (especially at longrange), the M14 was found to have other virtues. The ability toquickly engage multiple targets and suppress enemy fire; alongwith its high magazine capacity and ease of reloading, alltrumped straight accuracy 90% of the time.

After years of idleness, the U.S. military had suddenlyrelearned the simple fact that most military sniping takes placeinside of 600 yards, with a surprisingly large amount inside of400 yards. At these distances the M14 performed well.

Were these cobbled-together M14s and left-over M21s per-fect? Hardly, but they are respected and liked by the men whocarry them. During my time in Iraq I interviewed numeroussnipers from a wide array of units and almost all of them pre-ferred a semi-automatic for their bread and butter work.

To be honest, I am not surprised by this. Years ago I heard thevery same comments made regarding sniper rifles from Russiansnipers who had served in Chechnya and Afghanistan.

In my opinion the U.S. military, and especially the LE, snipercommunity is not only narrow, but often, closed-minded.However, it’s obvious that there has been an awakening due to theongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Long ignored words ofmen like Special Forces and Vietnam vet Chuck Karwan (whoworked on the M21 project) have been validated once again incombat.

The recent adoption of the M110 Semi-Automatic SniperSystem shows the U.S. military hasrealized the potential of semi-auto-matic sniper rifles and is moving inthe right direction. Is the M110 theanswer? Time will tell, but I doubt it.The SR-25 has always had problems

regarding reliability. Hopefully the U.S. military will eventuallyadopt a reliable semi-automatic rifle designed from the groundup specifically for military sniping, like the Russians did 44years ago.

Combat experience in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to a resurgence of interest inself-loading sniper rifles like this M14 mounted in a modern stock. (U.S. Army photo)

FNH USA’s new FNAR

The U.S. military is no newcomer to self-loading sniper rifles, having fielded M1Garands. While a great battle arm, the M1 was a poor foundation for a sniper rifle.

The Vietnam-era M21 sniper rifle was based on the M14.While effective, its chief drawback was the failure-proneLeatherwood scope/mount and fragile glass bedding.

The Vietnam-era M21 sniper rifle was based on the M14.While effective, its chief drawback was the failure-proneLeatherwood scope/mount and fragile glass bedding.

FNH USA has concocted anew application for theproven BAR sporting semi-auto, transforming it into aFNAR, a tactical rifle aimedat law enforcement users.The cover gun, in .308 Win.with 20-round magazine, isfitted with a Kahles L312 3-12x50 scope in PrecisionReflex 34mm rings. The ensemble is camouflaged inDuraCoat in the Belgian pattern. Photo by David Hicks.

First the USMC and then the Armyreplaced their self-loading sniperrifles with Model 700-based bolt-actions like this M40A1 seen inBeirut in the 1980s. (USMC photo)

Sources

FNH USA

(703) 288-1292 / www.fnhusa.com

Angus Arms Co.

gusnor@roadrunner.com / www.angusarms.com

Black Hills Ammunition

(605) 348-5150 / www.black-hills.com

Leupold

(800) 538-7653 / www.leupold.com

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