FNH USA makes some of the most-loved and most-used military grade firearms in the world. And now you can own one yourself. The US arm of Belgium-based FN Herstal has announced their new FM Military Collector Series military grade rifles. The first three they’re making available: the M4, the M16 and the FN M249S SAW. Here’s their press release . . .
(McLean, VA – November 11, 2015) FNH USA is excited to announce the launch of the FN Military Collector Series, a product line that will feature commercial variants of FN’s most iconic and historic military designs. The initial products to be featured in the series will be the FN 15™ Military Collector M4 and M16 as well as the semi-automatic FN M249S™, a replica of the fully-automatic M249 SAW or Squad Automatic Weapon in service with the U.S. Military since the 1980’s. Full product specifications are available in Figures 1-3, below.
“This new line of products allows us to showcase FN’s battle-proven legacy of producing firearms for militaries world-wide and passing this technology on to our commercial customers,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO for FN America. “We’re excited to bring these semi-automatic versions of the world’s most iconic products to America’s gun owners.”
The first three variants of the FN Military Collector Series will be shipping to distributors this winter and available to consumers in early 2016. Future product offerings under the series will be introduced at a later date.
Figures 1-3, FN Military Collector Series Product Specifications:
Figure 1, FN 15™ Military Collector M4 SKU / Product Number 36318 Caliber 5.56mm NATO Barrel 16” Button-broached, chrome-lined, alloy-steel w/ pinned and welded compensator Twist Rate 1:7″ RH Muzzle device A2-style compensator Sights A2-style front (F height), Back up iron sight Stock Collapsible butt-stock 6 positions Forearm Knights Armament M4 RAS Adapter rail w/ rail adapter covers Weight 6.64 lbs Length 30.75″ – 34″ Length of Pull 11″ – 14.25″ Magazine (one each) Aluminum 30-round magazine Trigger Pull 4.75-7.75 lbs MSRP $1,749 Figure 2, FN 15™ Military Collector M16
SKU / Product Number 36320 Caliber 5.56mm NATO Barrel 20” Button-broached, chrome-lined, alloy-steel Twist Rate 1:7″ RH Muzzle device A2-style compensator Sights A2-style front (F height), Back-up iron sight Stock Fixed stock Forearm Knights Armament M5 RAS Adapter rail w/ rail adapter covers Weight 8.29 lbs Length 39.7″ Magazine (one each) Aluminum 30-round magazine Trigger Pull 4.75-7.75 lbs MSRP $1,749 Figure 3, FN M249S™
SKU / Product Number 56400 Caliber 5.56x45MM NATO Barrel 20.5″ Cold hammer-forged, chrome-lined, alloy-steel Twist Rate 1:7″ RH Color Matte black non-reflective finish on all surfaces Operation Semi-automatic, closed bolt Sights Primary sights graduated to 1000 m., MIL-STD 1913 rail system Stock Fixed, ergonomically-shaped polymer butt stock with pistol grip Weight (with empty magazine) 17 lbs. (empty) Length 40.75” Height 9.5” Magazine (one each) Belt-fed or standard AR magazine Trigger Pull 4.5-6.5 lbs. MSRP $7,999
To learn more about FN America, LLC and FNH USA-branded products please visit us at www.fnhusa.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You know how something is not worth collecting? It’s marketed as collectible.
Like those “gold clad” replicas of gold Buffalo Nickels at $9.95/ea. But hey, they do come with a certificate of authenticity, verifying they are replicas.
You mean like the “one of one thousand” Winchesters?
Also brought to you by FN marketing team. 🙂
“Most-loved AND most-sued”? Now that’s what I’d call a love-hate relationship. 🙂
I get the m249 in semi, but to label existing fn ar15’s as a military collection is in poor taste. I wish I had $8,000 to spend on firearms, I would probably just buy 2 hi-powers, a nice deer rifle, and a few 1911’s.
That SAW..$7,999 MSRP…damn. If they would have come down, I may have considered one. But I can’t see myself putting down anything close to that. I am sure some will..but damn. Oh well.
I’d rather buy the browning machine guns that that place in Ohio sells.
Sans giggle switch…. no….not for that price
I’ve come to terms with the probability that I will never be wealthy enough to afford anything with a giggle switch, and I think that it probably isn’t worth it when I can buy several high end guns for the cost of one machine gun. I might rent a giggle gun out at a range sometime or other though.
I’ve shot the holy crap out of it, but I’ve never been a fan of the 249. I loved the 240. But alas, after shooting the IWI Negev, the 240 now seems kind of 80 proof.
I’ve never shot a Negev, but I love the M240. Especially the coax 240 with the adjustable gas settings and a ground mount kit.
I can’t afford the ammo to shoot full auto, and I can’t see paying for anything “semi-auto/belt fed”.
I was a 240 gunner, lugging it around sucked but it was worth it when the 7.62 started flying.
Never a big fan of the 249, I’d rather carry an M4 than the SAW.
I think 8 grand for a semi auto belt fed gun isn’t worth the price of admission by a long shot, but if you have the money for it more power to you
I was an M2/249/240 gunner in my past life, and had the opportunity to run a few belts through a Bundeswehr MG3 during Schützenschnur qualifications. I’d have gladly given up my 249 or 240 for an MG3, but nothing comes close to the M2 .50.
Coax, bro. I never carried it either – the tank did.
Although I did carry an M60 as a scout when we did dismounted patrols. But we’ll skip over that 🙂
#anaxis
or the 20mm on Uncle Sam’s Cobra he lent to me.
The 249 is cool. Pointless in semi-auto. Expensive. I’m not buying one. Still cool.
No it isn’t cool. It’s an unreliable boat anchor that’s been neutered. Also the costs of the gun have long since been amortized, so just why exactly does this thing still cost more than most motorcycles?
Possibly because the FN sales reps are used to dealing with government buyers and mistakenly think the average Joe has as much money to waste as government’s do. What they don’t seem to grasp is that you and I are not spending other people’s money (unless we’re living on welfare).
I kind of like it for purely trolling purposes. I mean, the only thing more trollish than this would be the M2HB, semiautomatic edition.
Single point harness, lunch at Chipotle… Nah, just nah. fuggedaboutit
failure
Huh? I’m completely missing the point.
Know that expression on a dog’s face when he hears his mistress’ voice coming out of a cell phone held up to his ear? The head tilted to the side, the look of astonished worry?
That’s my expression right about now.
Like the RCA dog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipper
$8K for a semi-auto SAW??? No thanks.
The point is to be the only kid on the block to own one…if you can afford it. Which I can not. Alas. I will have to do with my AR15.
Can you imagine the double-takes you’d get at your local gun range when you dragged that thing out and loaded in a belt from the 200-round M27-linked ammo drum {https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Light_machine_gun_soft_pack.jpg}? 🙂
Can you imagine the double-takes you’d get at your local gun range when you dragged that thing out and loaded in a 200-round M27-linked belt of 5.56 from the ammo drum { https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Light_machine_gun_soft_pack.jpg }? 🙂
8 grand?!? As much as I want one, 8g’s for no giggle switch? No thank you. I’d rather spend that money on an 82A1.
And who in thier right mind is gonna pay 1700 for a better than average, but still run of the mill AR? Collectible my @$$….
Oh, but it says FN on the receiver! And it was made at the same factory! On the same [worn] tooling! That’s right, step right up to pay top dollar for medium-grade AR15 with a ten year old outdated accessories pack and shitty trigger.
What will FN design next? A first-gear-only Ferrari? You’d have to be an idiot to buy a semi-auto rifle, based on a belt-fed machine gun. You’d have to be even worse to pay $8,000 for it.
And what kind of tard pays 250k for an M240 that goes “pew pew” instead of “pew?” A belt fed homebuilder PKM semiauto sells for over 10k all day every day. Considering a shredded and worn out M249 parts ‘kit’ runs well over 2k, 8k for a brand new, warranted, low production rig is not awful at all. Just not a non-rich man’s game is all.
There is no niche.
The SAW price is a joke. (As in, I SAW it and laughed.)
And there is no way in hell I’m paying nearly 2k for an M4 with a 16 inch barrel when they could just as legally just pin and wield the flash hider onto an actual 14.5 m4 barrel.
Did M4s change since I was in? I don’t remember the ambidextrous selector, railed forend, or 16″ barrel on the one I was issued. Also seems to be missing a (quickly replaced but part of the firearm) carrying handle. Not a great replica if a bog-stock M4-gery from any of 100 other manufacturers is closer to the actual weapon.
Apparently yes, the only rifle I’ve used with a carry handle was the M16. Every M4 was a flat top with a quad rail. Haven’t seen a ambi selector and the barrel is to keep it off the NFA lists
Wow semi-auto belt-fed for the low,low, low price of only $8,000. Where do I sign(the loan application)? If I’m spending $8,000 on a gun I’m getting a Barret, which is itself over-priced.
FYI, if you want a squad automatic get an RPK with slidefire OR get an Ares AR15 belt-fed upper with slidefire. You get just as much gun for a quarter of the price.
Seems like you are really just paying for the rollmark in the case of the M16/M4 replicas.
What I don’t get though is the huge increase in price? I have a Colt LE6920 with the “M4 CARBINE” rollmark. It’s as close to military-issue Colt M4 as you can get without being an SOT or in the military. I paid around a grand for it, new. Is the FN M4 that much better? Or is FN literally hoping people are going to pay a massive premium for the rollmark?
In the case of the semi-auto SAW? I only see that selling for people with $8K burning a hole in their pocket.
We were issued brand new (unissued) FN M4A1s for my last deployment. They were good rifles. Whether they were $1,800 rifles is up for discussion (I have some that are as good, albiet SA only, that cost a lot less).
Great insight. I don’t think anyone doubts the FN M4s are quality, I think the argument is, as you say, is whether a neutered version for us mere mortals is worth $1800.
I’m not an expert at the moment but I could put together quite the AR build for $1800.
That SAW is overpriced to hell. Even the Army never paid that much, and those came with a spare barrel and rails.
I would have wanted one just to have and remember, but this is ridiculous.
Most likely, it’s to offset the engineering work and tooling required for the semiauto-only fire-control components. Not to mention an admission that very few will be sold. Now, if they ran around $3k, in the same range as a SCAR-H, a lot more folks would be interested.
I was a big fan of the C-9 (the Canadian version of the SAW) that I carried on and off for a few years in the early 1990s. Mine were always reliable.
I would happily pay $10k-$15k for a fully operational SAW. For this semi-only abortion? Maybe $100. Actually scratch that. it’s not worth the loss of space in an increasingly crowded safe.
If you have to worry about space in the safe you’re doing it right.
I would love a SAW, but not at $8k and semi auto. I am thinking of building a Yugo RPK and then getting a slidefire just for the hell of it. Inrange did a video with one that I found funny. It worked OK.
You can buy a semi-auto belt fed Ares MCR (Shrike replacment) for about 1/2 what they want for the M249… And the MCR fits on a standard Ar-15 lower so you could actually use the lower to shoot a normal upper. Hell they are doing pre-orders for a belt fed 9mm upper for under 2 grand, all that sweet sweet government money hath gone to FHN’s head.
Given that I don’t get anything “special” or even the highest quality in the AR rifles, not sure why I would spend that much for them.
The SAW, hell I wouldn’t pay 8K if it were full auto. The 240 is a beast and is easily one of the best LMG style weapons on the planet. The 249 on the other hand always felt like a waste of ammo to me. Granted I formed that opinion before the last couple of versions came out and they fix a bit of the weight issue, making it more of a useful option.
During my time playing in the sand the 249 didn’t seem to add any real capability when we were mobile. It does however make a decent defensive gun that is still small enough to toss one in each truck, pull out when you have to hunker down.
Bah, don’t need to turn this into a white paper on the effective use, pros and cons of the M249. It isn’t worth the money to me. Though I do have difficulty with any belt fed non select fire.
I expect we’ll at least see an adapter for a SlideFire stock, if not a Tac-Con 3MR trigger. With some aftermarket bump-fire (semi-auto!) accessories, it could be quite interesting. I agree with some of the other comments that the M249 isn’t so hot anymore and I’d rather have an IWI Negev.
Look! Our marketing department has found a new way to hype stock AR-15’s! And for that really special fool who hasn’t been parted from his money yet, we have an overpriced SAW forgery!
So a semi M249 costs 2x what a fill auto one does? Choke on a dick FN. Bring it out at 2.5-3K and we can talk.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned this already since this is FN and they have a collector series why don’t they bring back the friggin’ FAL!!!
Everyone and their mother builds AR’s they are not collectible at all. Only one company still builds new FAL’s, DSA. They hold a virtual monopoly on it. If FN came back into the fold with FAL’s they would sell like crazy considering they are still quite popular to gun owners.
While they are at it why don’t they also bring back the FNC too, maybe even a FN-49, and some of their classic pistols like a Hi-Power, etc.
Just to add to this I would market the FAL with:
– classic version, wood furniture
– classic version, black plastic
– same as both above but with rail system on top of dust cover
– side folding model
– tactical mall ninja version with latest upgrades like M-LOK or KEYMOD rails, enhanced ergonomics, etc.
And offer the buyer a choice of hammer-forged chrome-lined or hammer-forged nitrided barrel.
You are welcome, FN.
+1, exactly what I came to say!
When I saw the headlines I was thinking FAL.I knew the price would be out of my range but I still wanted to see what the number was. Now I’m disappointed like everyone else here, just for a different reason.
So, for the two FN-15 guns, they added $300-400 worth of parts and a sticker then raised the price by $650? Ya, I’ll pass.
I’m in for the SAW for a more reasonable price–I think the “free market” (that is what POTUS has left of it…) will dictate the price drops significantly.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
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