Front to back: Kryptek Mandrake, Vista Pink, Muddy Girl and Vista FDE and Black. (Photo: Ares/Facebook)
Ares Defense is getting ready to roll out an updated lineup of SCR, or Sport Configurable Rifle, with new camo finishes on the stocks and handguards. The SCR carbine is a hybrid traditional rifle that uses standard AR-15 upper receivers. Like most ARs, standard SCR models are chambered for 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington.
While the SCR is popular in states that restrict rifle ownership based on tactical rifle features, the SCR has been a big hit with shooters across the country. It’s an ultralight, minimalist design that in its stock configuration weighs a little over 5.5 pounds, making it a great brush gun with the reliability of a modern fighting rifle.
These new SCR offerings will be available in Kryptek Mandrake, Next Pink, Flat Dark Earth and Black Vista print and Moon Shine Muddy Girl. Like the SCR these finishes blend time-honored camo colors and prints with advanced patterns and the fresh style people want in today’s hunting and target-shooting rifles.
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The standard SCR is sold with plain black synthetic furniture. The SCR has two stock options, a compact straight sporter stock and a more classically-styled Monte Carlo stock. The combination of conventional stocks with advanced AR-15 upper receivers makes these rifles popular with gun owners and shooters of all types.
Ares sells lowers separately for people looking to break the mold. (Photo Ares/TracerX/Facebook)
The heart of the SCR is its bolt carrier system. Instead of a straight, cylindrical bolt carrier the SCR has a short half-carrier pinned to a hinged tang that tilts into a canted recoil assembly inside the stock, similar to many semi-automatic shotgun actions. It uses standard AR-15 bolts and will work with any MIL-SPEC-compatible upper receiver.
Apart from the obvious differences SCR carbines are still built using military rifle standards and components. Parts include Carpenter 158 bolts, 4140 Chromoly steel barrels with M4 feed ramps and manganese phosphate finishes on the steel components and MIL-A-8625 Type III Class 2 hard-anodized finishes on the alloy receivers.
Complete rifles ship with a Magpul MOE polymer handguard and low-profile carbine-length gas block. They In this configuration users can mount scopes and optics directly to the flattop receiver without needing risers or cantilever mounts. They’re “featureless” rifles, designed to work around most state-level gun bans. These models ship with a 16.25-inch light profile barrel with a faux flash hider contour at the muzzle and 10-round magazines.
SCR rifles run in the $800 to $900 range and we expect the camo finish models to be right up there, too. Ares also sells lowers with matching bolt carrier separately for around $500 or less for anyone looking to assemble a rifle to suit individual needs. If you’re looking to put together a rifle that’s not just another AR then check out the SCR. It might be the start of your next project.