I think we should have a scout rifle pic thread to see how everybody set's theirs up.
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I think we should have a scout rifle pic thread to see how everybody set's theirs up.
Where's yours? :meeting:
tax refund is just around the corner and I can't make up my mind about what kinda rifle I should buy. So I don't have one but might soon if I see enough pics.:D
It all depends on what you want I guess. Of course there's the purist who sneer at anything other than the forward mounted scope.
Remember, it's "your" need that dictates the set up.
Light carbine with low power scope is a good general start.
Ok
Ruger GSR with XS Rail, Badger rings, Trijicon Accupoint - Shoots well and fast on target with the Accupoint.
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/IMG_6040.jpg
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/IMG_6046.jpg
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/IMG_6043.jpg
Not a Scout due to the scope placement and a whole bunch of other details, but it's my light and handy .308 "practical rifle" that fills the same role for me:
http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac123/HDF62/200.jpg
Stevens 200 with a Nikon 1-4x African.
Just add this with some Talley lightweights and you are done.
http://www.winchesterguns.com/produc...asp?mid=535126
ColdDeadHands - great idea for a thread, a lot of us are thinking about this now that deer season is over.
Mark5pt56, what are your thoughts comparing a used Winchester Ranger Model 70 with the Featherweight model you mentioned? I believe the Rangers are not in production any longer, but I found a used one in VG condition. The crown is intact, and appears unmarked under a 10x loupe. The bore looks good, although I have not had it scoped. The trigger feels decent from a professional adjustment, and breaks right at 3.2 pounds.
I appreciate the advice about the Talley rings. I'm also looking at some used Leupold scopes on the various forums.
If this should be treated as a separate question rather than a post in this thread, I will be happy to move it or take it to PM's.
Thanks again for your assistance.
My stock RGSR, one of these days I'll get around to putting an optic on it, and maybe a muzzle brake. I really like this rifle, it shoots well and I have found it to be pretty accurate.
I need a better camera than my Droid. :(
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/IMAG0109.jpg
As I understand they are a base gun, nothing wrong with them. The stock finish may not be as "pretty" but if it's a good price, why not? Internal mag I believe?
Check Natchez and others on the Leupold's because there will be a lot of clearances on them with the new models coming in.
Yes, it is an internal mag. I'm fine with the stock on the gun, I do not lose sleep over the glossy finish on a hunting rifle. I prefer the glossy finish on the venison packages in the freezer. ;)
Ah, good tip on Natchez for the scopes. I signed up for their email alerts. I'll keep an eye what they offer, and do more reading.
Thanks, and have a safe weekend.
Savage Scout with Burris 2-7 pistol scope with BDC. Found out about the pistol scope via the Lightfighter forums and even though I was skeptical, the eye relief does work out. I had a Steyr with the "correct" Scout scope and it didn't have enough magnification for my taste. I turned that Scout into this one and left a bunch of money in my pocket.
http://i42.tinypic.com/2nsrw5y.jpg
Around 3x (this is a very hard shot with an iPhone, BTW)
http://i39.tinypic.com/104jl8x.jpg
I could probably use a better sling but considering how often I shoot this (never), I'm in no hurry.
http://i39.tinypic.com/24q97p5.jpg
Mine is simply a "practical rifle" as well.
Tikka T3 Lite stainless .308 chopped to 20"s.
VTAC 2-point sling.
Talley lightweight rings
NightForce 2.5-10x24 w/NPR-2 reticle
I killed my elk with it last month. It is a sweet little tack driver. I have a bunch of 5 round mags from varmint models. They are durable and reliable like a Glock mag.
Overall, it has proven to be a stellar little lightweight carbine for everything from coyotes to elk.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...oop/001-10.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...roop/013-6.jpg
Steyr Scout .308
Leupold Scout Scope
Ching Sling
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/...8/IMG_0167.jpg
Lost River, that is a very nice rifle and some beautiful photos. Congratulations on your elk, may it not be your last.
I am envious of you, sir. Thanks for posting the photos, it gives something to aspire to.
I have a Tikka Big Boar in 308. They do not import them anymore. I love the way it moves and feels in the hand. I have to look and see if I have some pictures.
Here's a picture of a stock photo of one:
http://www.thegunsource.com/item/581..._BOAR_308.aspx
I played around with a Winchester 94 "scout" a few years ago, but don't have any pictures.
At the time Burris made a mount and rings that mounted in front of the reciever by replacing the rear sight with a treaded base and drill / tapping the barrel band for the front base attachment point. Of course this took away the BUIS option unless you mounted Lyman or other peep sight on the receiver.
If I remember correctly I got the idea from when Ted Yost was at Gunsight and was building a "tactical" lever gun during the bad ole AWB period. I always wanted to ask him what he did to make the loading gate smoother / faster to allow speed loading on the go, which was a part of what was advertised in the tactical lever gun package, besides the Burris forward mount and a Galco butt cuff and a Ching sling.
Anyway, sold the 94 for some other project but kept the Burris mount / rings just in case I ever want to try it again.
my savage....
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/1...d17c330e91.jpg
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Steyr Scout in .223
http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/t...yr_scout_3.jpg
Purists do get a little carried away sometimes.
There are a few basic characteristics that define a scout. Purist forget that they aren't as rigid as you would think.
Here is the key characteristics http://www.steyrscout.org/project.htm
And as mentioned above, the forward mounted scope is NOT required to be a "scout".
It is my impression that Cooper felt over all weight, length, accuracy potential, and caliber was much more important to the concept of what made a rifle a "scout" verse just being another rifle.
According to Cooper, there are some good reasons to go with a low powered, forward mounted scope. his arguments for such a setup are worth of consideration.
While the forward mounted scope is an encouraged characteristic/feature, it's not defining one. simply having a forward mounted scope does not make a rifle a scout any more than not having one mean you don't have a scout.
This is my Ruger GSR. No optic as of yet because I have been a bit strapped for cash. I threw on a spare BFG Vickers sling which works great in this application, and a Battle Comp BBAC. I hope to get a Burris or Leupold scout scope fairly soon, along with a ching sling to round out the package. I love this rifle, very light, short and handy. It is my only bolt gun and really is an "all purpose" gun.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac335/4N20/GSR.jpg
CZ 452 Scout (22lr) in a military trainer stock - the squirrels nightmare...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6...f69f4668_c.jpg
Thanks! Whats nice is that I can swap the stock back to the original (in 30 seconds) so I have a gun I can lend out to kids or women who can't deal with an adult LOP.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6...6ac43aafa5.jpg
I first read heard of a Scout rifle when I was in high school and Jeff Cooper was modifying Remington 600s. I truthfully thought it was kinda goofy. When the Steyr Scout came out, I thought it was silly.
Then several years later, I looked at a Steyr Scout in a gunshop since I'd not seen any before, snapped it to my shoulder, and said "Hey, this is kinda nice." I shot one a couple years later and had to have one. I got mine, have been messing with it for a few years now, and love it.
Sometimes, I have to try something to get it.
Here is the Steyr:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...all/002-27.jpg
Before the Steyr, I had cobbled together this Near-Scout, a Yugo Mauser action with a Spanish FR-8 barrel.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...l/IMG_0994.jpg
It meets the Scout criteria except for weight, and might come close if I'd hollow out the stock. There is a lot of wood there.
And the Johnson Scout:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2.../003-3-2-1.jpg
OK, it's faked by sitting a scope on top, but it's a handy pic to show people that a forward scope alone does not make a rifle a Scout.
I had a Scout built back in the 90s and hunted exclusively with it for several years. I also exchanged several letters with Cooper and Finn Aagaard about the Scout. You're absolutely right that the characteristics are flexible--basically, it's just a short, light rifle with a good sling and a trigger job.
The best part is that an M-4 with a red-dot sight is a LOT closer to being a Scout than the die-hards are willing to admit.
Okie John
Accept that it's not bolt action and half a dozen other characteristics (including caliber) that he, Cooper, wanted to see in a scout rifle. Not that it matters to me mind you. I have a Mini-14 in a pseudo scout set-up and love the way it handles. No purist here, but I do believe that there is something to be appreciated in the parameters Cooper set forth. It seems to me that what Cooper thought about the Scout Concept did vary and evolve on occasion but the fact that he endorsed the Steyr version says something about what he felt was most important. http://www.scoutrifle.org/index.php?topic=971.0 http://www.scoutrifle.org/index.php?topic=24.0
Nothing I've found that he wrote says a Scout has to be a bolt action. They ended up being bolts to meet the weight limit he proscribed, since a bolt action is usually the lightest repeating action for a specific cartridge class. Perhaps it could be done with an AR-10 action now. I would like to see how close it could get.
I personally love the simplicity and handling of a short powerful bolt gun such as the Ruger GSR.
Still - It does seem that an AR10 16" carbine in .308 would fit the performance criteria perfectly. A Knight's SR25 Carbine can hardly be called a poodle shooter. Its light, powerful, fast to pull off a quick shot and accurate.
I know we all view this differently but I for one like the Scout Rifle concept but do not hang onto Jeff Cooper's words like gospel. He has a brilliant common sense but life moves on.
To me its the performance, capability and concept that is interesting.
Col Cooper would touch on semiautos in his Commentaries, but I think only because people kept asking him about them. He would say a semiauto Scout should be OK if they could meet the weight limit, but I think he in fact didn't like the thought of a semiauto Scout.
With the exception of the original 1950s AR-10s that were pretty scarce, there was probably no semiauto action light enough to get very close to the weight when he was cooking this up, so I suppose it was a valid point at the time.
Regarding how closely the specs are followed, the Scout is probably the only thing of his I follow rigidly. As far as I know, it is the only "class" of firearm he created and guarded the "rules" seriously. It seemed to annoy him greatly when someone threw a pistol scope on a 10 pound .223 and called it a Scout, which I can understand because it missed the point entirely.
I figure that if he could spend three decades, travel to two or three continents testing, and lay out unknown dollars towards experimenting to get it where he wanted it, I can respect that by not calling a rifle "Scout" if he wouldn't.
In my mind, a rifle has to meet certain criteria to be a Scout, but another rifle that comes only reasonably close can still be one heck of a rifle.
On a somewhat related note, it seems like a lot of people miss the point of them, or don't know what a scout rifle is for. I get the impression they seem to think it was an attempt at a standard issue military rifle. The comments I hear about mine from other shooters at the range indicate that. If that person is a hunter, his comment will be something like "That's interesting I guess, but I like sportin' rifles". If more "tactical minded", the comment will be something like asking why Jeff Cooper thought we should go back to bolt actions for regular issue. When I slip in a comment about hunting with it, they get a look like they'd give me if I suggested using a .22 pocket pistol.
I don't know what makes them think it is anything other than a hunting/general purpose rifle. The plan was that it could be pressed into service against people if it was what you had, which is where the rapid reloading part came from, but not as it's main purpose.
Maybe it's the similarity to the Enfield Jungle Carbine. Maybe it's from seeing more M1A "Scouts" than anything else. I'd say it was from people hearing "Scout" and thinking "Scout-Sniper" but I think most people who know of the term scout in the military sense know enough to not jump to the conclusion he was trying to rearm the world's armies with bolt guns.