Viewer Requested video on how to clean the FN SCAR 16S.  Click the READ MORE below to read the article and watch the Video Portions.

How to Clean the FN SCAR 16S

by Jessie Indracusin

Introduction

First off, I want to say, the way this weapon was designed, it is nowhere near as finicky as an AR/M4 direct impingement system.  I fire TONS of dirty Wolf Ammo (yeah, strike me down with a lighting bolt, but I am a cheap ass when it comes to ammo) through the gun without any issues.  I am a bit of a neat freak when it comes to gun maintenance, so it is definitely well maintained too.  I’ve heard of soldiers in the field that have used this gun that really put it through the ringer without any issue.  I had a viewer write in over the weekend asking for this and since my camera man was unavailable for doing the videos I was planning on doing, the request fit perfect for me.

Cleaning the Gun

First off, disassembly of the gun is a little different than an AR.  You actually remove the lower receiver from the gun versus swinging it down like you do with an AR and remove the stock from the rear.  This allows the entire bolt carrier to slide out (of course after removing the charging handle on the side.  After all this is done, your gun should look like below:

This Bolt Carrier and components below are what you need to spend your time cleaning.  You will use a cleaning solvent over every part listed below (with the exception of the charging handle).  Keep wiping it down with cleaning swabs until the build up on the cleaning swabs is to a minimum.  The rest of the gun should be wiped down with a cleaning solvent on the inside of the upper and try to pick up any powder that is loose anywhere else on the gun.  The importance of this on the rest of the gun is secondary to making sure the bolt and bolt carriers are clean.  As far as the exterior of the gun goes, I like to use a synthetic spray cleaner to handle that.

Getting It All Wet and Ready

The key with keeping the FN SCAR 16S in good working order is to ensure that pretty much all of the above compents are lubed up pretty good, that brings us to the gun oil/lubricant.  I like to make my bolt coated with gun oil so that it is a wet to the touch.  Keep in mind, the bolt is probably the most critical part of a rifle to keep lubricated.  A wet bolt means a greatly reduced chance of malfunction.  When you put the bolt back into the carrier and insert the cross pin to lock it to the carrier, you should almost hear a squishing sound as it slides back and forth.  I also recommend before you go to the range, drop a few more drops on the bolt before firing if it has been in storage for a long time.  I tend to keep my guns at a constant ready firing mode and some people will comment on how my guns are almost dripping with oil (but then no one tends to complain about my guns ever jamming, unless it is a Beretta without match grade ammo). 

After the Bolt is back in the carrier with the cylinder cross pin secured in the bolt, make sure you push that sliding cylinder towards the front wtih the “fin” running parallel to the bolt.  Afterwards, you will want to put in the firing pin, also cleaned and lubed up, back into the bullet carrier with the cross bolt inserted to lock the firing pin in position.  After the whole bolt carrier is done, I run a line of gun oil along the side of the carrier along the top half and bottom half of the bolt carrier, this would be on both sides of the bolt carrier.  When I re-assemble the gun, I should be able to operate the charging handle over and over, releasing any loose oil and the motion should be incredibly smooth.  At this point, you know the gun is ready for it’s next trip to the range.

Conclusion

Hope this helps anyone who is curious about cleaning this gun.  Since it was kind of an exotic gun when I first got it, I didn’t bother writing this article since not too many people owned one at the time.  Now that the price has come down significantly, I am sure more and more people are seriously considering this gun and possibly owning it.  For me personally, I tend to bring this gun to the range every time I want to have a little outdoor shooting fun.  It is a highly addictive gun to shoot, especially when you look at the recoil differences between the FN SCAR 16S and any AR platform weapon.

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