At the heart of the FNAR is Browning's BAR sporting rifle action, which has been redesigned to meet the needs of precision tactical shooters.

Barrel length on both models is 20 inches, and they share the same .308 Winchester chambering and 1:12 inch twist. The FNAR's hammer-forged barrel is also chrome lined for long life, corrosion resistance and easy maintenance, and it's finished with a recessed target crown.

Initially FNARs will be built using aluminum alloy receivers, but the company plans on offering models with steel receivers down the road. To allow easy mounting of optics the receiver is topped with a MIL STD 1913 rail. No iron sights are offered, but the barrel is drilled and tapped for an additional MIL STD 1913 rail to be mounted near the muzzle if iron sights are desired.

Although the outside of the rifle looks quite different, the BAR's basic operation remains unchanged. The bolt features seven locking lugs that rotate 60 degrees to engage recesses in the barrel. The bolt rides in a compact steel carrier and is rotated by a cam pin after the carrier moves approximately 3/16 inch rearward.

The spent cartridge case is withdrawn by a hook extractor on the right side of the bolt head and ejected by a plunger on the left. Operation is via a short-stroke piston system similar to that of the M1 carbine.

Upon firing, propellant gasses pass through a port in the barrel and drive a captive piston rearward. This in turn impinges against a heavy inertia piece that connects to the bolt carrier via dual action bars. Gas pressure is regulated by a screw passing diagonally into the right side of the cylinder.

While the rifle operates the same as its sporting cousin, its feed device is completely different. Cross-pinned to the bottom of the receiver is an aluminum magazine well assembly. This has magazine release buttons mounted on both sides for easy ambidextrous operation.

The FNAR feeds from steel 10- and 20-round detachable box magazines. These insert straight up into the magazine well; no rocking motion is required to lock them into place.

Like the feed mechanism, the FNAR's furniture has been radically changed to make it suitable as a tactical rifle. The synthetic fore-end is equipped with short MIL STD 1913 rails at three, six and nine o'clock. In addition a sling/bipod stud is mounted in the six o'clock rail. The rails allow easy mounting of accessories such as a sling, bipod, white light or IR laser/illuminator

The synthetic stock sports a full pistol grip and is adjustable for length of pull via spacers. It also accepts bolt-on cheekpieces of varying height to ensure a proper cheek weld. Three cheekpieces are included with each rifle.

The bolt-release lever is mounted at the right front of the receiver. After the last round of a magazine is fired, the magazine follower presses the lever up into engagement with the right action bar, locking the bolt assembly open. Pressing the lever down disengages it, allowing the bolt to slam home. Unfortunately, due to its sporting rifle heritage, this piece is a bit on the flimsy side.

One important piece of any precision rifle is the trigger pull. Here FNH USA did a good job. The trigger pull on the FNAR has been reworked to be both light and smooth. The trigger assembly, riding in a polymer housing, is removed by driving out a pair of crosspins.