Wow! Somehow this thread has devolved into a cow patty sling fest with no manufacturer on the "safe list."
So far we've heard that FN and their SCAR 17 isn't battle proven. In reality, the '17 has been putting in work with USSOCOM for several years now.
We've heard that LMT has no track record in the military arena. The real world data is that they have long since been a provider to the US Military (Mk18 & M203 anyone?). The British SAS chose the MWS (.308) to fulfill a DMR role, and like the SCAR 17, it too has been putting in work in some very unfriendly parts of the world.
THR has a long history of slamming HK on account of price, just as it does any rifle with a price tag over $600. Now, we are arguing that they are all hype and marketing to get civilian buyers in the US to buy their way into "Operator status." In the same breath, albeit another thread, it will be argued that HK doesn't care about the US consumer, they don't want us to have cool toys, etc., etc. The honest to God truth is that the US Civilian market is NOT HK's primary audience, and it never really was. At the end of the day, while HK's civilian offerings may not be congruent to their military offerings, it is undeniable that HK weapons continue to be chosen in dangerous, high risk scenarios in the very same aforementioned hot spots.
The one thing that seems to be widely agreed upon is that the SCAR 16 (5.56) doesn't offer significant improvement over the currently issued AR type rifles. When the focus shifts to .308, the landscape changes dramatically. All of the newer .308 offerings deliver excellent reliability and accuracy. Weight, cost, and minute variances in accuracy are what's left to pick over.
My LMT MWS with a NF 2.5-10, an Atlas and an eMod is easily 12 lbs or more. If I had to grab a rifle to head out the door, it would not be the one I'd grab, and weight is a big part of the reason why. This is where the SCAR 17 excels. The new SR25s follow close behind in terms of weight, and then there's the rest of the heavy pigs...