Last year FN came out with a semi-automatic version of their world famous Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) dubbed the M249S. We reviewed that firearm about six months ago and one of the main complaints I heard was that the Para version of the gun was better, not only because of the improvements to the stock but also because that’s the version currently in most common use with the military. The original M249S was geared towards the best looking version of the M249, not necessarily the most accurate. It looks like FN has decided to fix that with the release of a Para version of that same gun.
The firearm ships with a 16.5 inch barrel, but that can quickly and easily be swapped out for the more common SBR-length barrel once you have a tax stamp in hand. The only real change between this firearm and the M249S we saw last year seems to be the addition of the Para buttstock, a simple change that raises the price of the gun by a full $800 — MSRP on this bad boy is $8,799.