FN SCAR 20S NRCH 6.5 Creedmoor Drops to $2,700: $2,300 Off at PSA

Last updated May 28th 2026 · By Nick Hall, tracks live retailer pricing across the FN SCAR family for USA Gun Shop’s deals database

Quick take: Palmetto State Armory just dropped the FN SCAR 20S NRCH in 6.5 Creedmoor to $2,699.99, down from $4,999.99 MSRP. That is a 46% discount, $2,300 off on FN’s precision-rifle variant of the SCAR platform. PSA is listing the black-finish SKU 38-100542-2 with a single 10-round magazine. Buy it here now.

• What it is: FN SCAR 20S NRCH 6.5 Creedmoor. 20-inch hammer-forged free-floated barrel, non-reciprocating side-folding charging handle, two-stage match trigger, fully adjustable Geissele-licensed buttstock, MIL-STD-1913 monolithic upper. SKU 38-100542-2, black finish, 10-round capacity.
• Deal price: $2,699.99 at Palmetto State Armory.
• MSRP: $4,999.99.
• Why it matters: Deepest discount we have tracked on the 6.5 Creedmoor SCAR 20S NRCH SKU. Street pricing across major distributors has hovered around $3,800-$4,200 for the past twelve months. PSA is now $1,100 below street on a halo precision rifle.

The 46%-off-MSRP claim is worth checking against street pricing because nobody really pays MSRP on the SCAR 20S. Brownells, GunBuyer, and Gun Mag Warehouse have all listed this SKU in the $3,800-$4,200 range over the past year. So the real-world discount against street is closer to 30% than 46%. Even at 30%, this is the cheapest 6.5 Creedmoor SCAR 20S NRCH we have tracked in our deals database and the deepest cut on this specific SKU in 2026.

What’s In the SCAR 20S NRCH Box at $2,700

The 20S NRCH is the precision-rifle configuration of FN’s SCAR platform. Barrel is 20 inches, hammer-forged with a 1:8 twist, chrome-lined chamber, target crown, and a free-float handguard. The action is short-stroke gas piston, which is the SCAR’s signature reliability feature versus direct-impingement AR-10 alternatives at this price tier. Overall length is 41.7 inches with the stock extended. Empty weight is 11 pounds.

The NRCH abbreviation in the SKU stands for Non-Reciprocating Charging Handle. That is a meaningful update from the original SCAR 20S. The reciprocating handle on the legacy SCAR was a known ergonomic complaint that ate fingers on the support side. The NRCH eliminates the reciprocation and adds a side-folding option that lays the handle flush against the receiver when not in use.

The trigger is FN’s two-stage match unit. Published pull weight is 3.5 to 4.5 pounds with a clean break and a tactile reset. The buttstock is the Geissele-licensed precision adjustable, with a length-of-pull range and an adjustable cheek riser that’s usable without tools. Sights are not included — this rifle ships bare. Plan to budget another $1,000-$1,500 for the optic and mount.

The 6.5 Creedmoor chambering puts the SCAR 20S in a different conversation than the .308 Winchester variant. 6.5 CM with 140-grain ELD-M shoots flatter, bucks wind better past 600 yards, and recoils noticeably less than .308. The 20-inch barrel is the sweet spot for 6.5 CM velocity. Federal Gold Medal Match 140-grain Berger Hybrid chronographs at 2,790 fps from a 20-inch SCAR barrel, which is duty-precision territory.

Where the SCAR 20S Sits at $2,700

At $2,699.99 the SCAR 20S NRCH 6.5 Creedmoor crosses an interesting price line. It’s now cheaper than the Larue PredatAR in 6.5 CM ($3,200), the LMT MARS-L6 ($3,800), and the Knights Armament SR-25 EMC ($5,400 and up). The closest mainstream-priced competitor at this number is the Christensen Arms MPR 6.5 CM at $2,200, which we covered in our best sniper rifles roundup. The SCAR 20S brings the gas-piston durability and FN’s 922R-compliance check that the bolt-action MPR cannot match.

For broader context on what a semi-auto precision rifle gets you at this price tier, our best .308 rifles guide covers the trade-offs between gas-piston SCAR-class rifles, direct-impingement AR-10s, and bolt-action precision rigs. Our military sniper rifles guide covers the SCAR 20S’s adoption history with US Special Operations Command as the Mk 20 Sniper Support Rifle.

The optic decision is the immediate follow-up question if you buy at this price. The 1:8 twist 6.5 CM barrel with the two-stage match trigger is precision-rifle hardware. Pairing it with a sub-$1,000 optic wastes the platform. The Vortex Gen II Razor HD 3-18×50 at $1,800 is the value choice. The Nightforce ATACR 5-25×56 F1 at $3,300 matches the rifle’s ceiling. Either pushes total package cost over $4,500, which is still under the original MSRP on the rifle alone.

Why This Deal Probably Won’t Last

Palmetto State Armory inventory data on the SCAR 20S NRCH 6.5 CM has shown the SKU at 15-25 units in stock for most of 2025-2026. At the current $2,700 price point this is going to move. FN’s distributor allocation on the SCAR 20S is tight — the rifle was never high-volume to begin with. Once PSA clears the current allocation, the next dealer fill is unlikely to come in at this price.

If you have been waiting for a SCAR 20S in 6.5 CM specifically — not the .308 variant — this is the lowest documented street price for the FDE finish or the black finish in the last 18 months. Direct buy link to PSA while it lasts.