Question For FNFNAR Owner

[Cyborg]

Anyone here own an FNAR? I have a couple of questions about the feasibility of some upgrades/modifications I am considering to mine. Please PM me if you will.

Please note that I am NOT interested in Tacti-Cool alterations. My questions are in regards to the possibility/feasibility/ADVISABILITY of adding a flash suppressor and/or some sort of basic iron sights.

Thanks in advance.

 

[G27RR]

You can add a flash or sound suppressor if you have the barrel threaded, no problem. Not sure about adding irons. The picatinny works for the rear but there's nowhere to mount the front without 'smith work.

 

[Bill_Rights]

Did you mean "FNAR"? If so G27RR has it about right. Front iron sight is the problem. It has been done, but not totally satisfactorily, yet. Check/search here: http://www.fnforum.net/fnar-f99.html

 

[Cyborg]

Thanks G27RR and Bill_Rights.

Yeah, I meant FNAR. Danged fingers get tangled up sometimes. Sad thing since I OWN an FNAR - and love it. Post edited to correct dumb****e mistake.

OK, so I'll look at B_R's link. Was hoping someone here owned one of the beasties and had considered the changes I'm considering.

Anybody else reads this, I'm still looking for input.

 

[G27RR]

I may not have been clear but I do own an FNAR (heavy barrel version), and will have it threaded at some point, I just haven't done it yet. I haven't seriously considered adding irons due to the difficulty involved.

 

[Cyborg]

I figured you owned one. I was hoping someone might know of a bolt-on solution. Been reading over at the FN Herstal forum Bill_Rights provided the link to. Getting the same story.

About "threading" the barrell. I trust that is something a gunsmith would need to do? Again I was originally hoping to find a bolt/clamp on solution. But from what I read on the FN forum a flash suppressor/muzzle break would help a lot to increase rate of fire at longer ranges. Since I expect to eventually work up to shooting at a shooter's quarter mile, anything to keep the muzzle on target would be VERY useful indeed.

 

[G27RR]

I don't think a plain flash suppressor is really needed or much benefit on this rifle, unless you shoot in low light conditions. A muzzle brake on the other hand can help control recoil so you stay on target. You either need a gunsmith or a good machinist friend to thread it.

 

[Cyborg]

Thanks, G27. It is definitely on my "to do" list for after I earn my Rifleman patch from RWVA. If conditions are such that I need to send lead a quarter mile down range, I will need to be able to reacquire targets as quickly as possible.

Please forgive my ignorance, but don't muzzle brakes also operate - at least somewhat - as a flash suppressor? Not that I have any desire to do much shooting under low light conditions but sometimes the "availability" of targets is the determining factor concerning what time of day one shoots. Or are Tangos like Movie Injuns and never attack after sundown?

 

[G27RR]

It depends on the design how well they also suppress the flash, but they may help. If you really want to kill the flash, sound and recoil big time, a sound suppressor and the tax stamp needed for it is the way to go.

 

[TexAg]

I own an sx-ar, the Winchester version. Frankly, I bought this rifle never expecting to put irons on it and do not think it's practical or advisable. I did see a picture of an FNAR at SHOT set up with target sights for a competition gun. You might check in on that. However, if you don't trust your scope or want sone sort of back up sight, what about an offset or on top mini-red dot like a Burris Fastfire II? You could put it on top if your scope or at an angle off the pic rail with one of the mounts made for that. Other than that, I think if you really want irons on an accurate semi .308, you need to get an AR-10.

 

[frayluisfan]

re: open sights

I have an FNAR, and have open sights on it. There's a couple ways to go.

1. (my choice)--Magpul MBUS sights mounted on the factory picatinny rail. They are only about 6" apart, but that's as good a sight radius as you get on a 6" revolver. For what I wanted, which was emergency back up out to 100 yards max, this works OK. I can hit a piece of notebook paper at 100 yards without a problem if I do my part. Probably would be better if I had more experience with that type of sight and practiced more. If you then mount a scope on top, like I did for short range hunting and/or 3-gun type matches, you have to use ultra high rings and a low power scope, but it works fine for me. I got the Warne quick-detach ultra highs and a Weaver 1-3 scope. I can use the scope for anything from 0-300 yards, and if I get a wild urge to shoot open sights, I can just yank the scope off and do it. And when I put the scope back on, it doesn't come back *close* to the same point of aim, it comes back to *exactly* the same point of aim.

2. Have a gunsmith mount a sight somewhere on the end of the barrel. Expensive. Will it affect accuracy? Will it match up with a rear sight on the back of the picatinny rail, or will the gunsmith have to drill and tap for the rear sight too? Never asked those questions myself. Just went with #1.

Does this help any?

 

[Bill_Rights]

I didn't do it, but here's what I'd do...

I own an FNAR (and love it), and I ended up with the decision TexAg made.

I went through a lot of thought to get iron sights on my FNAR, and the best front sight option seemed to be to tap screw holes out near the muzzle to hold a front sight base. This is critical work, only to be done by a gun smith carrying at least $1500 worth of "malpractice" insurance. But since you're going to have a gunsmith cut threads for suppressor, brake or flash-hider, then it wouldn't be too much more of a big deal to have the 'smith tap a couple of holes. Here's what I'd do:

Flat-bottom-tap a couple of holes like this:


and then buy something like one of these to screw on:

The base on the left is Midway P/N 740588, fits a Marlin 60 and holds any dovetail front sight you want. But it has only one screw hole and the curvature of the underside may need to be machined to match the FNAR muzzle (about 0.75" diameter, both light and heavy barrel). The base on the right is Midway P/N 387944, also for some Marlin or other, has holes 1" apart and an adjustable-height sighting post. There are many other front sight base options that could be made to work, but none purpose-built for the FNAR.

 

[G27RR]

The FastFire II that TexAg mentioned is a good close-up/backup option if you decide not to install irons. I use one in an offset mount on an 18" AR-15 I have setup primarily for mid to longer range shooting (mounting on top of the rings put it too high for my tastes, and you need low turrets so they don't block it).