Do you own a scout rifle? Is it worth getting one?

[Brian in Montana]

I think a Scout Rifle is an interesting idea, but it's also kind of unnecessarily over-specific. One is probably better off taking some of it's aspects and leaving others as suited to your own needs/applications. You can get any number of rifles these days that you could call a "mountain rifle" designed to be light weight and utilitarian. A Scout Rifle is pretty versitile, but probably a little more spartan than necessary and I doubt I'd want to try shooting more than about 200yds with it under most circumstances. I think the main advantage a Scout Rifle would have over a, let's say, a T3X Ultra-Lite would be it's more set up for close range jump-shooting in the brush.

 

[Doublegunner]

I think a Scout Rifle is an interesting idea, but it's also kind of unnecessarily over-specific. One is probably better off taking some of it's aspects and leaving others as suited to your own needs/applications. You can get any number of rifles these days that you could call a "mountain rifle" designed to be light weight and utilitarian. A Scout Rifle is pretty versitile, but probably a little more spartan than necessary and I doubt I'd want to try shooting more than about 200yds with it under most circumstances. I think the main advantage a Scout Rifle would have over a, let's say, a T3X Ultra-Lite would be it's more set up for close range jump-shooting in the brush.

They are pretty fast for sure but surprisingly easy to hit with at longer ranges. I have no problem hitting steel plates out to 300-350 yds and steel rams to 550. Just takes a little practice. Mine only has the 2.5x scope. As time has gone on we have put larger and larger scopes On our rifles and I'm not immune from it. I think many would be just as surprised how well they can do with those lower power scopes.

 

[Knight.54]

I’ve got a Ruger m77 scout in .243 with the leupold 2.5 scope on the barrel.
Thought I would use it for still hunting on the ground for eastern whitetails and hogs. End up using the 12 gauge for whitetails more and don’t really mess with hogs.
It’s a handy little gun, I think the barrel is 16”. Fits in the Tacoma front seat well.
It rides in my truck some for coyotes but spends a lot more time gathering dust.

 

[Brian in Montana]

My understanding was that a Scout Rifle, by definition, is a .308. I believe the benchmark is a .308 that will shoot a 150gn bullet at least 2700fps.

 

[Knight.54]

My understanding was that a Scout Rifle, by definition, is a .308. I believe the benchmark is a .308 that will shoot a 150gn bullet at least 2700fps.

Apparently that was Jeff Cooper’s definition. I guess Ruger took poetic license when they started making theirs.

 

[Doublegunner]

My understanding was that a Scout Rifle, by definition, is a .308. I believe the benchmark is a .308 that will shoot a 150gn bullet at least 2700fps.

308 was the traditional round but I've seen steyr's in 223, 308, 376 steyr and I think 7mm08. Ruger has also had several caliber options. Mines 308.

 

[antelopedundee]

Was Cooper's "baby" a Scout rifle? Seems that I recall it was some sort of .400 caliber thing.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

For 28 years I lived at 5,550’ in elevation in mountains the went up to 9,000’. All national forest land and loaded with marijuana plantations supposedly funded by the Mexican Mafia.



It was a lot of fun to be on a high ridge and shoot up their back plastic irrigation pipes freeing up water that was denied to wild life.



Given that these mountains had two excellent mast crops. acorns and pinyon nuts, the black bears were some of the biggest in the country, with official weigh ins by Fish and Game recording fat old males at the 500 to 700 pound range.



On one side there was vast desert, otherwise I was surrounded at lower elevations by brushy hills and grassy plains filled with wild boar which could be hunted year round.



My quest for a light handy do it all rifle went on for decades. I was a licensed hunting guide then and was doing endless “scouting”



The rifles I carried included a model 94 in 30-30, which was fun but really did not have the power for big boar which could go to 350 to over 400 pounds weighed on the ranch scale, nor did it have the range/accuracy for the open plains.



I carried a .223 scoped mini mauser for awhile but ran right into a huge boar bear with a head the size of a dry wall bucket, up close and personal in the willows. Never brought the min--.223 again.



I carried a Ruger mine-30 but it so lacked accuracy I sold it, and I never was fond of semi-autos.



I thought a Remington model 7 in 260 was the best of the best until the trigger pull got real heavy one day. The trigger was just cheap white cast metal with a hard plating which I worn through shooting it a lot. I decided Remington's were “beer can quality”, sold it, sold all Rem’s



For some years I carried the coolest Argentine Mauser carbine with an 18 inch barrel in 7x57 with the heavy bullet twist. I had it drilled and tapped for high quality peep sights and that worked well till my eyes got old.



Back in those days all boar where just shot on site there were so many and they did so much damage.

I saw a 300 pounder across a small canyon shot him with the 7x57, took the back straps and left the rest for the scavengers and bears.



Big boars are terrible table fair.



I always just hated that front mount scope of scout rifles, ande also hated a non flush magazines that are used on some "bolt action scout rifles. They interfere with a natural carry


Finally I bought a used Sako Finnlight in .308. I had a front sight installed, found a Sako peep site, and bought two sets of original Sako optilock rings, one in low for a 2-7 scope and the other set in extra low for a straight front fixed 2.5 X scope.

I could go back and forth with all of these with no more than a ½” change in POI at 100 yards.

My Sako mags are flush and I have an extra when I think appropriate.

That light little Sako carbine is my “go to” rifle for all hunting now, even Elk unless I am in very open country. Then I will take my 280I in my Kimber hunter with a 24 inch barrel

The Sako match grade barrel in my Finnlight is 20 inches but gets better velocity that my friends 308 with a 22 inch barrel with the exact same load.


That little rifle is a winner all around. I have shot desert deer with it and loved getting into group of wild boar with it and shooting a 40 pounder that I could throw over my shoulder and bring home.

Plus with 30 caliber I can down load some cast bullets shoot a cottontail in the head.

Actually it is the only rifle I need for everything.

 

[tjones]

Now I can take the scope off, slip it in the leather bag I made for it, drop it in my daypack, pop up the rear leaf sight, and I'm ready to go.

This Nikon's 9x is handy for a better look at a buck's horns but I usually keep it on four power.

Gems like this keep me coming back.

 

[noharleyyet]

As an aside, I'm sending the 1895 SBL to Grizzly Custom as soon as Lew catches up some backlog and beacons.

 

[Don Fischer]

Fact about a scout rifle for me. It's whatever I say it is. If I choose to call a 243 with a 24" barrel and a 4-16x scope my scout rifle then that is what it is. Whatever someone else want's to call it I could care less. Actually at this time I only have about 8 rifles. I call them my rifles. I am not a scout. Imagine your an army scout and they tell you that you have to use a certain rifle even though you don't handle it as well as another!

 

[Mustangs Rule]

For 28 years I lived at 5,550’ in elevation in mountains the went up to 9,000’. All national forest land and loaded with marijuana plantations supposedly funded by the Mexican Mafia.



It was a lot of fun to be on a high ridge and shoot up their back plastic irrigation pipes freeing up water that was denied to wild life.



Given that these mountains had two excellent mast crops. acorns and pinyon nuts, the black bears were some of the biggest in the country, with official weigh ins by Fish and Game recording fat old males at the 500 to 700 pound range.



On one side there was vast desert, otherwise I was surrounded at lower elevations by brushy hills and grassy plains filled with wild boar which could be hunted year round.



My quest for a light handy do it all rifle went on for decades. I was a licensed hunting guide then and was doing endless “scouting”



The rifles I carried included a model 94 in 30-30, which was fun but really did not have the power for big boar which could go to 350 to over 400 pounds weighed on the ranch scale, nor did it have the range/accuracy for the open plains.



I carried a .223 scoped mini mauser for awhile but ran right into a huge boar bear with a head the size of a dry wall bucket, up close and personal in the willows. Never brought the min--.223 again.



I carried a Ruger mine-30 but it so lacked accuracy I sold it, and I never was fond of semi-autos.



I thought a Remington model 7 in 260 was the best of the best until the trigger pull got real heavy one day. The trigger was just cheap white cast metal with a hard plating which I worn through shooting it a lot. I decided Remington's were “beer can quality”, sold it, sold all Rem’s



For some years I carried the coolest Argentine Mauser carbine with an 18 inch barrel in 7x57 with the heavy bullet twist. I had it drilled and tapped for high quality peep sights and that worked well till my eyes got old.



Back in those days all boar where just shot on site there were so many and they did so much damage.

I saw a 300 pounder across a small canyon shot him with the 7x57, took the back straps and left the rest for the scavengers and bears.



Big boars are terrible table fair.



I always just hated that front mount scope of scout rifles, ande also hated a non flush magazines that are used on some "bolt action scout rifles. They interfere with a natural carry


Finally I bought a used Sako Finnlight in .308. I had a front sight installed, found a Sako peep site, and bought two sets of original Sako optilock rings, one in low for a 2-7 scope and the other set in extra low for a straight front fixed 2.5 X scope.

I could go back and forth with all of these with no more than a ½” change in POI at 100 yards.

My Sako mags are flush and I have an extra when I think appropriate.

That light little Sako carbine is my “go to” rifle for all hunting now, even Elk unless I am in very open country. Then I will take my 280I in my Kimber hunter with a 24 inch barrel

The Sako match grade barrel in my Finnlight is 20 inches but gets better velocity that my friends 308 with a 22 inch barrel with the exact same load.


That little rifle is a winner all around. I have shot desert deer with it and loved getting into group of wild boar with it and shooting a 40 pounder that I could throw over my shoulder and bring home.

Plus with 30 caliber I can down load some cast bullets shoot a cottontail in the head.

Actually it is the only rifle I need for everything.

Also I have loaded this Sako .308 with 130 grain Barnes TTSX and with the tight match grade barrel I and getting a bit over 3,000"/sec. which takes it almost to the .270 Winchester level !

I have not loaded them yet but have a box of 170 grain round nosed Lapua naturalis which has gottem great reviews from African Professional Hunters even on rear angling shots on plains game, so they should be fine for rear angling shots at elk and deer close up in thick cover.

I have not shot grouse in the head in trees with the light lead lead loads but they should be fine for such use too.

My go to load for everythingis the 150 grain TTSX.

Lastly the fixed 2.5 x scope on thise ultra-low rings is one of the fasted shootong rigs I have ever had and just wicked for moving game at closer ranges.

The bolt throw is low with the Sako action and allows the use of such a low mounted scope. So rigged it is as close as I could ever get to usng iron sites and also I have the peep sites which like the rings just mount right into the tapered dovetail grooves right in the receiver.

This is a great rig, light, short, fast, tack driver accurate with exceptional velocity with match grade barrel, and magazine fed for fast reloading in a pinch.

 

[longbow51]

Even Steyr now makes them in...6.5 Creed.

 

[MThuntr]

As an aside, I'm sending the 1895 SBL to Grizzly Custom as soon as Lew catches up some backlog and beacons.

Oh...what are we having done?

 

[noharleyyet]

Oh...what are we having done?

The goodie bag stuff

 

[MThuntr]

The goodie bag stuff

I've been thinking of having him hone down the sharp edges on my SBL but it's a pricey venture.

 

[noharleyyet]

I've been thinking of having him hone down the sharp edges on my SBL but it's a pricey venture.

...worth it for the skill and experience involved.

 

[Don Fischer]

...worth it for the skill and experience involved.

The only time anything is worth it is if you can afford it!

 

[T.R.]

This is my well used .308 Remington carbine. - TR

 

[pilsner]

My understanding was that a Scout Rifle, by definition, is a .308. I believe the benchmark is a .308 that will shoot a 150gn bullet at least 2700fps.

7mm-08 was also "allowed" for folks in locales that banned military calibers.
Also a 376 Styer loading... For science or something.