Ares Defense is now selling its complete Sport Configurable Rifle lower receiver separately in three configurations after months of customer requests. The SCR is a lower that uses a traditional swept stock in combination with AR-15 uppers.
The receiver comes with a singular hinged bolt carrier group, the main proprietary part.
Ares will be selling these lowers with the user’s choice of straight stock, for use with red-dot sights and other low-profile optics, a Monte Carlo stock for use with a raised scope or low-profile iron sights and with a short stock for people looking for a more compact package.
Users have been flogging Ares for a lower sold separately, because while their default “featureless” uppers had a certain appeal to certain markets, the lowers have so much more potential with such a wide audience that many people were prepared to buy a complete firearm with every intention of flipping the upper on the open market just for the opportunity to build their ideal rifle using their new lower.
The standard SCR lower. (Photo: Ares Defense)
The Monte Carlo stock. (Photo: Ares Defense)
The short stock. (Photo: Ares Defense)
While the original intent may have been to develop a rifle that complies with local legislation, the final product is one that appeals to shooters everywhere. By combining a traditional rifle stock with the outstanding flexibility of AR-15 uppers Ares has created an extremely appealing product.
Probably the nicest thing about these lowers, apart from their completely unique combination of the tactical and the traditional, is the price: $499. For just a hair under five Benjamins you can get the perfect lower for your next build, including the tanged bolt carrier, which uses a strut to work the angled recoil assembly.
Unlike regular AR-15 lowers, which have a straight buffer assembly, the SCR uses an angled recoil system that moves in-line with the downward-swept stock, similar to semi-automatic shotguns. The design incorporates a bolt-hold open although an external bolt release is modular and optional. This allows for closing the bolt quietly if desired, which can be a plus in the field, as well as normally with any other AR, by slamming the bolt home with a slap of the hand.
The bolt catch is sold separately for $29.
Thanks to this announcement, customers are free to start building their perfect upper-lower combination, in whatever caliber and cartridge they choose. The bolt carrier uses standard AR-15 bolts and is drop-in-ready to work with MIL-SPEC AR-15 uppers.
That being said the lower is begging to be combined with non-standard uppers more than anything else. The design lends itself to side-charging uppers just as much as it does to uppers with extended, monolithic rails for scopes.
There’s a reason customers wanted more from Ares when it came to the SCR — people had alternate intentions for the design.
Fundamentally it remains mostly compliant with certain regulations that try to ban AR-15s, but that’s not what the SCR is really about.
The SCR blends shooting tradition with modern technology, in a way that has never been tried before. With an SCR a shooter can take the perfect target AR-15 to the bench rest and have the perfect stance, and the multi-gun shooter can work the same body mechanics with their rifle as they do with their shotgun and the hunter can have a rifle that’s as accurate as the most forward-leaning AR and comply with every local law.
The SCR changes the way many shooters will approach AR-15 rifles. And unlike any other AR-15 lower, it has the potential to introduce shooters to the AR-15 platform. And that’s something truly special about the Ares Defense SCR.
For more information on getting an SCR lower or complete rifle visit the Ares Defense website.
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