Earlier this year I was looking for a new black rifle to replace my AR. Somewhat unexpectedly, I ended up with an FN FS2000 for reasons explained here. I picked up mine -- a Tactical Model -- from Kodiak Outpost last month. The Tactical Model differs from the Standard Model in that it has a full length rail and does not have the factory 1.6X optic. I wanted to mount my own scope anyway so it was perfect for me. Here are my impressions of the rifle and how it performs after my first shakedown at the range.
Overview
My FS2000 has the standard 17.4" barrel, making this a restricted rifle. Kodiak Outpost and Questar also sell a non-restricted version, but since I only shoot at a range the restricted model works OK for me. The fact that it's also $600 less might have factored into it as well
.
The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box is that it's much smaller than it looks in pictures (to me, at least). Have a look here compared with a 10.5" LMT (with the stock partially collapsed) to get an idea of its size.
Here it is next to a Dominion Arms Grizzly with a 12.5" barrel:
It's very well-balanced, with the balance point right at the pistol grip (you can even use the thumbhole of the pistol grip as a carrying handle, although I don't know if that's designed in or not).
The rifle with scope weighs about 8.5 lb, and there's no tendency towards butt-heaviness that I've heard other bullpups have...probably due to the fact that there's not a whole lot of steel in the rear half of the rifle. I haven't held a bullpup since I fired a Steyr AUG once in the mid-1980s so I can't really compare with any others.
There's no ejection port on the rifle to check the chamber; instead, there's a little hatch (called the "toilet seat cover" by some) that you can flip up to check the chamber.
The FS2000 does not lock open on an empty magazine. I've read a couple of reasons for this -- one, that it's common for European rifle (such as H&Ks apparently) not lock lock open, or that due to the weird ejection of the rifle (see below) the bolt needs to go forward to push the last empty down the ejection tube. I believe it's the latter; overall I would have preferred that it locked open on an empty mag.
There's no traditional ejection port on the FS2000. Instead, fired rounds are extracted from the chamber by the rearward action of the bolt, lifted up and shoved down an ejection tube above the barrel by the forward motion of the bolt. It sometimes takes a few rounds for the first empty case to pop out the end, although other times the first empty was ejected. It sounds weird, but it worked OK with all ammunition types I fired. It will be appreciated by shooters to my right on the firing line, I think -- no hot 5.56mm brass down their necks! Plus, picking up empties is a snap, and the brass comes out with no dents, too. You can see an empty just in front of the port in the picture below (right above the sandbag).
Here's a closer-up picture of the ejection tube above the chamber:
Here's the chamber with the bolt forward.
Now here's the empty case extracted and partially ejected down the tube (I held the bolt release partway open for this shot)
The white plastic piece (the "switch") rotates backwards when the bolt goes back and then forwards when the bolt returns, shunting the case down the tube.
The trigger pull is a challenge, to be honest. It's kind of a two-stage affair, with the lengthy first stage feeling to me more or less as heavy as a double action revolver pull, but not as smooth--there is definitely some "crunchiness". However, once you're used to it, you can feel the increased resistance where the second stage starts. Surprisingly, the second stage is very short and very crisp, even moreso than two-stage ARs that I've tried, with a nicely positive reset as well -- you don't have to let the trigger go all the way forward, just to where it resets at the start of the second stage.
I think a lot of the problem with the heaviness of the first stage is due to the two heavy trigger return springs -- I'd say these are to prevent an AD in the event the rifle is dropped on its butt. I've read of other shooters removing one of the springs with good success but it's not something I want to try just yet.
Disassembly
Disassembly of the rifle starts off easy enough but then gets a bit finicky. The upper and lower can be separated by pushing out the silver rectangular pin above the pistol grip and sliding the two assemblies apart. The hammer assembly can be removed by sliding off the rear butt pad. Bolt group group disassembly is definitely trickier than with an AR -- you have to fight with a few springs, but now that I've done it a few times I'm getting the hang of it.
Field stripped:
Close up of bolt (not too different from an AR's):
Hammer assembly with the hammer cocked (there's a lot of plastic here -- even the hammer !)
Hammer forward:
Complete bolt carrier and slide rod :
My Optic
I first had an Elcan C79 sight on the rifle -- I originally had it on my 20" AR HBAR. I liked it on the AR but it made the FS2000 too top heavy (the mount and scope weigh almost 700g) and it mounted up too high for a perfect cheek weld.
I picked up an ACOG TA33R-8 off the EE. It came with a nice LaRue 105 QD mount that is apparently a little lighter than the original mount (and also about 1/4" lower for better cheek weld, too). Altogether the scope and mount are very light -- about 230g, or 1/3 the weight of the Elcan. What a difference to the rifle's balance!
It's a 3X scope with a red chevron reticle with crosshairs to allow for ranging up to 600m. There's a 30mm objective for a nice big exit pupil of 10mm. One other really nice feature is the eye relief -- it's a generous 3.6 inches so there are lots of choices on the rail to mount it. I must admit I had not heard of this model ACOG until I saw it on the EE -- it seems the TA11, TA01 or TA31 get all the attention. Those models have a bit higher magnification but also lower eye relief and higher weight. Here's a picture of the reticle -- the red looks pinkish here but the real reticle is a true red. It's very crisp and bright without any of the "sparkliness" of the holosights.
I think this is a very good scope for this rifle -- a bit lower magnification and long eye relief makes for quick acquisition at close range, but a precise reticle, excellent optical quality and sufficient magnification for longer ranges. My view of this rifle is that despite its short overall length it's still intended more as a regular infantry rifle and not as much as a CQB rifle (a 10.5" or so AR is better for that role, I'd say) so I like to try an optic that will improve the rifle's efficiency out to a few hundred meters.
Magazines
It's like the LAR-15 10-round pistol magazines combined with CProducts Tactipul Floorplate were made for this rifle. There's a gasket inside the magwell (ostensibly to keep dirt out of the rifle) that prevents magazines from dropping freely. That, combined with the release in front of the magwell makes for awkward changes with 5/30 magazines. but, with the ten rounders you can keep a firing hold with your right hand, then depress the release with your left thumb and grab the magazine with your index and middle finger. Very slick.
Not as quick as an AR for sure but for once I'm glad to have the shorter magazine -- it also does not protrude much below the frame of the rifle--just enough to grab the ring.
The only way I could figure out how to extract a 5/30 is to use the fingers of my right hand to depress the release and grab the mag with my left. This requires re-positioning of the firing hand and is not as quick. I'll be sticking with the 10 rounders, I think.
At the range
I took the rifle today with my Dad (CGN member Bluebell) to NSRA's Bull Meadow 'C' Range -- a 100m handgun/rifle range in Rawdon, NS. Conditions were great with light winds and temperature around 20°C. I first sighted it in at 25m with some ancient American Eagle 55 grain ammo to make sure I was on the paper.
(it's easy to look good at 25m!)
After that I tried a few rounds with some 69 grain Winchester Match and 69 grain Lapua Aficionado ammunition. The rifle is easier than you'd think to shoot from the bench, and the chevron reticle of the ACOG was excellent for precise aiming. I found that the rifle was easily affected by what I was resting on the bench--it seemed sensitive if I rested my support hands on the bench. On the advice of my Dad (who's a better rifle shot than me, especially from the bench) I just rested the front on the stock on the sandbag and used my support and to hold the butt.
After I got the hang of the trigger it was easy to get consistent groups about 2" -- the best for me was my last of the day, a 1.7" five-shot group with the Lapua ammunition, for about 1.5 MOA at 100m. (don't forget 100m equals 109 yards). For my Dad, his best was the first he time fired the rifle -- a three shot 1.4" group with Winchester Match.
My best five shot group:
My Dad's best group:
Conclusion
Overall, I'm quite pleased with the rifle. It's compact, handles well, 100% reliable so far, plus it's fun to have something a little different than the run of the mill AR15 that most NSRA Service Rifle competitors use (not that there's anything wrong with that!) I like how the LAR-15 mags work great in the rifle as well, too. Things I'd change? I would prefer if the trigger was a bit better, especially the first stage. It'd be nice if the mag changes were a bit easier, and I'm hoping I can tighten the groups up a bit as I practice more with it.
Overview
My FS2000 has the standard 17.4" barrel, making this a restricted rifle. Kodiak Outpost and Questar also sell a non-restricted version, but since I only shoot at a range the restricted model works OK for me. The fact that it's also $600 less might have factored into it as well
.The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the box is that it's much smaller than it looks in pictures (to me, at least). Have a look here compared with a 10.5" LMT (with the stock partially collapsed) to get an idea of its size.
Here it is next to a Dominion Arms Grizzly with a 12.5" barrel:
It's very well-balanced, with the balance point right at the pistol grip (you can even use the thumbhole of the pistol grip as a carrying handle, although I don't know if that's designed in or not).
The rifle with scope weighs about 8.5 lb, and there's no tendency towards butt-heaviness that I've heard other bullpups have...probably due to the fact that there's not a whole lot of steel in the rear half of the rifle. I haven't held a bullpup since I fired a Steyr AUG once in the mid-1980s so I can't really compare with any others.
There's no ejection port on the rifle to check the chamber; instead, there's a little hatch (called the "toilet seat cover" by some) that you can flip up to check the chamber.
The FS2000 does not lock open on an empty magazine. I've read a couple of reasons for this -- one, that it's common for European rifle (such as H&Ks apparently) not lock lock open, or that due to the weird ejection of the rifle (see below) the bolt needs to go forward to push the last empty down the ejection tube. I believe it's the latter; overall I would have preferred that it locked open on an empty mag.
There's no traditional ejection port on the FS2000. Instead, fired rounds are extracted from the chamber by the rearward action of the bolt, lifted up and shoved down an ejection tube above the barrel by the forward motion of the bolt. It sometimes takes a few rounds for the first empty case to pop out the end, although other times the first empty was ejected. It sounds weird, but it worked OK with all ammunition types I fired. It will be appreciated by shooters to my right on the firing line, I think -- no hot 5.56mm brass down their necks! Plus, picking up empties is a snap, and the brass comes out with no dents, too. You can see an empty just in front of the port in the picture below (right above the sandbag).
Here's a closer-up picture of the ejection tube above the chamber:
Here's the chamber with the bolt forward.
Now here's the empty case extracted and partially ejected down the tube (I held the bolt release partway open for this shot)
The white plastic piece (the "switch") rotates backwards when the bolt goes back and then forwards when the bolt returns, shunting the case down the tube.
The trigger pull is a challenge, to be honest. It's kind of a two-stage affair, with the lengthy first stage feeling to me more or less as heavy as a double action revolver pull, but not as smooth--there is definitely some "crunchiness". However, once you're used to it, you can feel the increased resistance where the second stage starts. Surprisingly, the second stage is very short and very crisp, even moreso than two-stage ARs that I've tried, with a nicely positive reset as well -- you don't have to let the trigger go all the way forward, just to where it resets at the start of the second stage.
I think a lot of the problem with the heaviness of the first stage is due to the two heavy trigger return springs -- I'd say these are to prevent an AD in the event the rifle is dropped on its butt. I've read of other shooters removing one of the springs with good success but it's not something I want to try just yet.
Disassembly
Disassembly of the rifle starts off easy enough but then gets a bit finicky. The upper and lower can be separated by pushing out the silver rectangular pin above the pistol grip and sliding the two assemblies apart. The hammer assembly can be removed by sliding off the rear butt pad. Bolt group group disassembly is definitely trickier than with an AR -- you have to fight with a few springs, but now that I've done it a few times I'm getting the hang of it.
Field stripped:
Close up of bolt (not too different from an AR's):
Hammer assembly with the hammer cocked (there's a lot of plastic here -- even the hammer !)
Hammer forward:
Complete bolt carrier and slide rod :
My Optic
I first had an Elcan C79 sight on the rifle -- I originally had it on my 20" AR HBAR. I liked it on the AR but it made the FS2000 too top heavy (the mount and scope weigh almost 700g) and it mounted up too high for a perfect cheek weld.
I picked up an ACOG TA33R-8 off the EE. It came with a nice LaRue 105 QD mount that is apparently a little lighter than the original mount (and also about 1/4" lower for better cheek weld, too). Altogether the scope and mount are very light -- about 230g, or 1/3 the weight of the Elcan. What a difference to the rifle's balance!
It's a 3X scope with a red chevron reticle with crosshairs to allow for ranging up to 600m. There's a 30mm objective for a nice big exit pupil of 10mm. One other really nice feature is the eye relief -- it's a generous 3.6 inches so there are lots of choices on the rail to mount it. I must admit I had not heard of this model ACOG until I saw it on the EE -- it seems the TA11, TA01 or TA31 get all the attention. Those models have a bit higher magnification but also lower eye relief and higher weight. Here's a picture of the reticle -- the red looks pinkish here but the real reticle is a true red. It's very crisp and bright without any of the "sparkliness" of the holosights.
I think this is a very good scope for this rifle -- a bit lower magnification and long eye relief makes for quick acquisition at close range, but a precise reticle, excellent optical quality and sufficient magnification for longer ranges. My view of this rifle is that despite its short overall length it's still intended more as a regular infantry rifle and not as much as a CQB rifle (a 10.5" or so AR is better for that role, I'd say) so I like to try an optic that will improve the rifle's efficiency out to a few hundred meters.
Magazines
It's like the LAR-15 10-round pistol magazines combined with CProducts Tactipul Floorplate were made for this rifle. There's a gasket inside the magwell (ostensibly to keep dirt out of the rifle) that prevents magazines from dropping freely. That, combined with the release in front of the magwell makes for awkward changes with 5/30 magazines. but, with the ten rounders you can keep a firing hold with your right hand, then depress the release with your left thumb and grab the magazine with your index and middle finger. Very slick.
Not as quick as an AR for sure but for once I'm glad to have the shorter magazine -- it also does not protrude much below the frame of the rifle--just enough to grab the ring.
The only way I could figure out how to extract a 5/30 is to use the fingers of my right hand to depress the release and grab the mag with my left. This requires re-positioning of the firing hand and is not as quick. I'll be sticking with the 10 rounders, I think.
At the range
I took the rifle today with my Dad (CGN member Bluebell) to NSRA's Bull Meadow 'C' Range -- a 100m handgun/rifle range in Rawdon, NS. Conditions were great with light winds and temperature around 20°C. I first sighted it in at 25m with some ancient American Eagle 55 grain ammo to make sure I was on the paper.
(it's easy to look good at 25m!)
After that I tried a few rounds with some 69 grain Winchester Match and 69 grain Lapua Aficionado ammunition. The rifle is easier than you'd think to shoot from the bench, and the chevron reticle of the ACOG was excellent for precise aiming. I found that the rifle was easily affected by what I was resting on the bench--it seemed sensitive if I rested my support hands on the bench. On the advice of my Dad (who's a better rifle shot than me, especially from the bench) I just rested the front on the stock on the sandbag and used my support and to hold the butt.
After I got the hang of the trigger it was easy to get consistent groups about 2" -- the best for me was my last of the day, a 1.7" five-shot group with the Lapua ammunition, for about 1.5 MOA at 100m. (don't forget 100m equals 109 yards). For my Dad, his best was the first he time fired the rifle -- a three shot 1.4" group with Winchester Match.
My best five shot group:
My Dad's best group:
Conclusion
Overall, I'm quite pleased with the rifle. It's compact, handles well, 100% reliable so far, plus it's fun to have something a little different than the run of the mill AR15 that most NSRA Service Rifle competitors use (not that there's anything wrong with that!) I like how the LAR-15 mags work great in the rifle as well, too. Things I'd change? I would prefer if the trigger was a bit better, especially the first stage. It'd be nice if the mag changes were a bit easier, and I'm hoping I can tighten the groups up a bit as I practice more with it.
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