Gentle reader,
Once again, thank you for taking the time to look over my blog. Nice to know I'm not wasting my time. This one falls outside my usual subject of collecting.
If you follow my blog, you have seen the airsoft gas pistols I had: Two versions of the venerable
Colt 1911 45 automatic and two Beretta M9 9mm military automatics.
I sold three of them, well all of them, but one guy never paid for the GI version of the 1911 so I kept it.
My wife is a gun owner. She five semi-automatic pistols, a 357 magnum revolver and a pump shotgun. The latter for home defense. Something we pray we will NEVER need!
I too am now a gun owner. I like to punch holes in targets, (thus the reason for buying airsoft guns)
but am not interested in hunting (her either) nor shooting anything that is alive. So, I decided to go with 22 caliber guns.
One of Nancy's is a 22 caliber version of the 1911. It is made in Italy by Chiappa Firearms. Many companies sell 1911 pistols in various calibers: 45, 40, 9mm and a number of 22 LR (long rifle).
She really bought it for me to shoot. I wasn't ready to be a REAL gun owner until recently.
Being a guy, I played army as a kid. I joined the Air Force, but they found a heart murmur during the physical. It has since disappeared. So, naturally, I think military styled rifles are the ones to have. The latest trend is 22 LR caliber versions of the AR-15 and just about any military-type rifle. One of the more expensive AR-type rifles in full caliber, in this case (The SCAR 17s / SCAR-H fires a 7.62x51 NATO round. Also designated as .308 Winchester, is made in Belgium by Fabrique Nationale. I'm told by my nephew, who owns the civilian version, that it too fires NATO 5.56mm or civilian 223 rounds.) is called a SCAR. Note the width of the ejection port above the magazine in the image below. Long empty shells come out of there.
Below, courtesy of Google, are some images of a FN SCAR:
As you can see, the butt stock folds to one side. Also, as seen in the second image, the butt stock has a "cheek weld" that can be raised. Called that because your cheek should be tight against it.
Now, images of the 22 LR version made in Germany for ISSC-Austria:
Left side view. Below is the magazine loaded with 22 LR rounds.
I bought mine from a New York gun dealer via gunbroker.com. It was shipped to my local gun dealer where I went through the background check before being able to take it home.
What I did not know, is that New York has similar laws to California: 10-round magazines maximum and non-adjustable stocks. So, my butt stock does not fold nor extend or collapse.
Below is a comparison photo of a full-sized airsoft Viet Nam era M16 rifle (with orange tip) verses the ISSC which is much shorter in length.
So, you can see while the 5.56mm (civilian version is .223 inches in diameter) is sharper and has a huge cartridge. Here is a link to an excellent web page comparing 22 LR verses 223 rounds:
Below, are the 22 LR Chiappa 1911 and Airsoft 6mm 1911. Plus their magazines. 1911 pistols are usually "single stack" magazines, although some are "double stack" using 9mm rounds. It requires a wider grip. The airsoft pistol is double stack as you can see. The vast bulk of the magazine contains the pressurized gas that propels the 6mm ball rounds.
The real pistol on the left came with a "fake suppressor" which screws on the barrel extension. Using rifle rounds in a pistol can upset the accuracy, but with the device attached it doubles the barrel length which improves accuracy.
Below, courtesy of the above web page link is a photo of:"From left to right: 45ACP, 9mm NATO, .22LR, .223, 7.62x39mm" The SCAR 17s / SCAR-H fires a 7.62x51 NATO round.
Also designated as .308 Winchester.
Which is different from the fat one on the right.
I stand corrected. Thanks Matt!
Note the huge size difference of the 45 ACP on the left
and the 22 LR in the middle! Holding their empty
cases it is even more impressive a difference.
Scott
PS: I just read the linked web page from top to bottom including the MANY comments. The last commenter stated this:
"223, in .223 Remington, does not denote the diameter of the bullet. .223 Remington and 5.56x45 NATO use .224" (5.7mm) bullets. Other cartridges that use .224" bullets are .221 Remington Fireball, .222 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .224 Weatherby Magnum and 5.7x28."
PPS: My nephew, Matt, a SCAR owner, has sent me photos of his VERY customized SCAR:
Matt, is former US Army soldier extrordinaire. I don't know exactly what he did in the Service, BUT, do know that he is one of those brave (some might say crazy, or as said here in the South:
"tecthed") souls that went to Iraq then Afghanistan working as Security protecting our Military Service members and other US Citizens. He is extremely good at what he does and I know of no one that is more of an expert in weapons and their effective use than is Matt. He's the kind of guy that would not only walk down a dark alley in the worst part of town, at night, he'd LEAD the way.
He also forwarded "a short "consumer report" paper I wrote for my first English writing class that gets to the nuts and bolts of the weapon system without too much technical jargon."See below:
"Fabrique
Nationale Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR)
The SCAR effort
emerged in early 2003 as Belgium owned and operated Fabrique
Nationale d'Herstal entered into the competition when U.S. Special
Operations Command (USSOCOM) opened competitive bidding and
design submission for a new combat assault rifle specifically
designed for the operational needs and environments of the various
Special Operations Forces operating around the world. The chosen
weapon would replace the currently issued M4 5.56 carbine and
therefore would need to be designed for compatibility with nearly all
components of the SOPMOD (Special Operations Peculiar Modification)
accessories. The chosen company would “…provide the first
21st-century modular assault rifle designed and built from the ground
up for the finest fighting forces in the world." (Gourley 2006)
Of
the nine major weapons manufacturers that submitted multiple designs
for testing, the Fabrique Nationale (FN) SCAR design was the only
weapons to successfully pass the rigorous testing phase and be
unanimously chosen by the selection board of every Special Operations
Forces (SOF) component. With a test phase including over two million
fired rounds, in a wide range of extreme environments and conditions,
the SCAR weapons system is one of the most heavily tested weapons
systems in small arms history. ("Defence Review Asia" 6)
Fabrique Nationale
is not just sticking with the military market, and through its US
division, FNH USA, is now offering the same reliability, accuracy,
and versatility of the U.S. SOCOM newest service rifle in a
semi-automatic only version available on the civilian market.
Designated the FN SCAR 17S and chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO (308
Win.), the FN SCAR is designed to the exact same military standards
and has been through the exact same testing trials. The FN SCAR 17S
is a short stroke piston gas operated semi automatic assault rifle
for the civilian sport shooting enthusiast or collector, with a
magazine capacity of 10 or 20 rounds.
Although also
offered in 5.56x45mm NATO, and designated as the FN SCAR 16S, the 17S
packs a more robust and hard hitting round, and while tipping the
scales at just less than 8lbs unloaded, the SCAR 17S is one of the
lightest full sized 7.62x51mm rifles available on the civilian market
today. The side folding telescoping stock is constructed of rugged
polymer and is fully adjustable for height, and six separate
positions for adjusting the length of pull, making this rifle not
only light, but adjustable to the shooter in almost any position, and
collapsible for easier transportation to and from the range.
Additionally, the
SCAR 17S also features a 1 in 12 twist rate, free floating, cold
hammer-forged 16in barrel with a hard chromed bore that is
interchangeable with a shorter 13in barrel1
within minutes, should the need arise. The gas system is adjustable
for use either with a suppressor or without, and the reciprocating
external charging handle can be switched to either the left or the
right side, depending on the preference of the shooter.
1
Requires separate purchase and proper BATF SBR licensing/tax
compliance
The
relative weight of the bolt carrier and rotating bolt to the rest of
the system balances the rifle, and results in a “softer shooting”
rifle for a full sized 7.62x51mm platform, which combined with the
specially designed muzzle brake, allows for quicker target
reacquisition and re-engagement.
Along with the
shooter being able to swap the charging handle to his or her
preference, the safety selector switch is ambidextrous to equally
accommodate either left or right-handed shooters. The receiver
integrated optical rail and accessory rails give the rifle a solid
feel while maintaining the light weight of the rifle, and gives the
shooter the option of adding accessories as needed.
A
proven performer in military trials, and now offered in a semi
automatic version, the SCAR 17S is a full sized, light weight,
individually adaptable, and highly accurate weapons system now
available on the civilian market, for the collector or sport shooting
enthusiast.
Works
Cited
"The Fn Scar Reaches Final Milestone." Defence
Review Asia 4.3 (2010): 6. International Security &
Counter Terrorism Reference Center. Web. 6 June 2012.
Gourley, Scott R. "Special Operations Forces Combat Assault
Rifle." Army 56.5 (2006): 73-4. ProQuest
Military Collection; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 6 June
2012. (Gourley 2006)"
Once again, THANKS, MATT!
