Please explain what it does so much better than modern AR, FAL or M1A platforms that justifies it's price tag. I've played with all of the 7.62 carbines, and just can't see what makes the SCAR so great.
Surely. For starters, out of the box, the SCAR is more accurate than any of them. I know firsthand that after accurizing the M1A that you can easily get into $3k territory just to achieve the same accuracy that the SCAR delivers box-stock. As BSW pointed out, factor in a decent railed forend and watch the weight (and price) tally keep going up. If you want the ergonomics of a pistol grip, factor in another $500 for the M1A, but then you've still got the garand safety and not the safer, more modern selector. The FAL and G3 platforms can't even compare from the accuracy standpoint alone; no sense talking about them. The AR10 has no real build/spec standards as a Mil-Spec arm, save for some of the extremely specialized KAC guns, but at that point we're no longer talking about your $1200 Armalite.
It has the sharpest recoil impulse, save for the G3, the reciprocating charging handle is a total afterthought (or was designed by a man with no fingers), and the gun honestly just feels cheaper in construction than an AR-10, FAL, M1A, etc.
I couldn't disagree more. The SCARs I've fired have had much less recoil and muzzle rise than any of the 50s era Battle Rifles. That reciprocating handle is also present on the M1A, so if you are complaining about it in the context of the SCAR, then all I can assume is that you're holding it wrong. You need to adjust your grip or put the CH on the other side. The newest iterations of the SCAR will have a non-reciprocating CH. Can't stop change.
We also did a side-by-side with an AR-10 carbine. Several shooters, none of whom owned a 7.62x51 carbine themselves besides myself and the SCAR owner. Everyone but the owner of the SCAR preferred the AR-10, and even he admitted that the Armalite was softer shooting.
What you will find is that people tend to cling to what they know. Everyone and their granny knows how to use an AR. Tell them that they need to charge the rifle in a different manner and watch their whole world fall apart. The SCAR-H remains as the most heavily tested and developed 7.62 carbine, and there's a reason why it is the one currently being used by SOCOM and not the AR10, FAL, M1A or G3.
Nostalgia is great and all, but with rifles like the SCAR17s, OBR and HK MR762 available, the 50s era Battle Rifles are obsolete. They are still
effective, but they are
obsolete.
It's hardly a Porsche vs. Honda argument. More of a Rolex vs. Timex. One has prestige and a high price tag, the other just works.
Not hardly. Rolex watches keep terrible time, losing up to 20 minutes over the course of a year, due to an outdated automatic movement. A huge part of the expense of a Rolex is the gold used in the watch. Rolex movements are not the result of any strenuous scientific methodology or contract demands. What you are proposing
really is a Porsche at Honda prices. Ain't gonna happen.