“SCAR KILLERS” AND NEXTGEN RIFLES

FNH SCAR-L

CALIBER: 5.56 NATO

BARREL LENGTH: 16.25 inches, 10 inches (shown)

WEIGHT (UNLOADED): 7.25 pounds

OVERALL LENGTH (16-INCH BARREL): 27.5 inches (folded), 37.5 inches (open)

MSRP: $3,299

URL: fnamerica.com

The AR-15 family of weapons is no stranger to controversy. From the early days of initial fielding during Vietnam to modern-day Afghanistan, there have been detractors highlighting faults (real or perceived) about the AR.

With more than a half-century of real-world use, the AR is the most mature rifle in human history. Seemingly every year, a new caliber or configuration hits the market. There’s an endless chain of products for every single part of the system, down to individual springs and pins. Barrel lengths run the gamut from a tiny 4.5 inches all the way to 28-inch monsters. You can nab a black powder muzzle-loader AR, and even attach uppers that are crossbows and soda launchers; at the other end of the spectrum are belt-feds. After the M-16, Eugene Stoner tried his hand at making a universal, modular rifle with the Stoner series — not fully realizing he already achieved his goal.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t real, tangible downsides. As the role of the AR expanded, so did what we can’t necessarily call “design flaws,” since they’re well outside the original intent of the rifle, but “engineering challenges” instead. Once you transform the system from a 20-inch rifle to the myriad of applications we mentioned, Ole’ Murphy rears his ugly mug. A bolt lug breaks off under pressure it wasn’t designed for, extractors need to be beefed up, recoil systems require further refinement, and on and on.

In 2010, it looked like the M4 might finally be replaced as the mass-issue service weapon for the United States military when they announced the Individual Carbine trials. While that’s an article in and of itself, the end result was that while many rifles