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

[YellowCreek]

I have a CVA Scout in .35 Rem. Does that count? Not sure what the definition of a scout rifle is?

Research Jeff coopers scout rifle concept

 

[95tigerbill]

I didn’t understand the second part of the OP question? Obviously if you don’t own one it is worth getting….

For whitetail in Michigan we are limited use of a strait wall cartridge in my area. So .308 wouldn’t be legal. A 350 legend in an AR platform with a red dot is pretty handy though.

 

[Ought Six]

The Christiansen Arms Scout in 6.5CM is a pretty sweet little gun.

 

[T.R.]

I bought this Remington carbine in 1973 and it has slain much game for me. TR

 

[YellowCreek]

I bought this Remington carbine in 1973 and it has slain much game for me. TR

View attachment 329678

Awesome! Love those rifles

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

That new Canadian Ranger Tikka T3x is sweet. Not a classic scout with that forward mounted scope rail, but everything else. Can’t get it in USA for now. This T3x Drover is next best thing. I think if a guy is set to blow $1,000 on a 308 anyway, make it a Tikka (Sako).

https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x...Green-Blued-10rd-Ranch-Rifle-JRTXWV31620.aspx

 

[noharleyyet]

That new Canadian Ranger Tikka T3x is sweet. Not a classic scout with that forward mounted scope rail, but everything else. Can’t get it in USA for now. This T3x Drover is next best thing. I think if a guy is set to blow $1,000 on a 308 anyway, make it a Tikka (Sako).

https://www.eurooptic.com/Tikka-T3x...Green-Blued-10rd-Ranch-Rifle-JRTXWV31620.aspx

Drover looks like a slick ranch tool...

 

[Wind Gypsy]

A lightweight bolt action rifle with a short barrel, sure. An actual “Scout rifle” seems like some prepper/Jeff cooper LARPer ideal that doesn’t have much for real benefits though.

 

[huntnpack]

I think with relatively light magazine fed semi autos and red dots/LPVOs, the traditional scout rifle is obsolete for its original use case.

The closest thing I’m interested in buying (outside of a handy lever action or pretty standard t3x) is a Shuff’s Mini-G in .35 whelen.

 

[338win]

The scout rifle was a solution to a problem that never existed.

 

[OntarioHunter]

My son-in-law-to-be has a .308 Ruger Scout Rifle. He couldn't give it to me. With composite (correction: LAMINATE) stock it is not light. Muzzle jump and blast are awful. Rough action. I hate that dinky scope mounted on the barrel.

I have no trouble acquiring animals quickly and accurately with my heavy WWII 30-06 Springfield with 3x9x40 Nikon.View attachment 2209242019: Gemsbuck shot twice on the run in thick cover. First in the chest through the heart incoming at fifteen yards. Second shot through the heart as it ran by at twelve yards.
View attachment 2209262019: Muley buck shot on the run at 65 yards. Dropped dead. Hit him where the neck meets the shoulder.
View attachment 2209252020: Fifty yards on the fly through the heart. Exactly where I expected the bullet to hit this coyote.
View attachment 2209272021: Hartbeest shot a second time on the run at about seventy yards. Hit too far back. Fresh bedding shrank after rebarrel a few days earlier. I put the Springfield away after that. This was the only animal taken with my rifle of eleven that trip.
View attachment 2209282021: Buffalo shot with borrowed CZ .375 with older 3x9 Leopold. First shot hit him on the run at 65 yards behind the shoulder almost quartering away. Both lungs shot out. Follow up shot in the chest as it was facing us ready to charge. View attachment 220929
Learn to shoot moving targets at a shotgun range and you'll have no trouble taking running big game with a "normal" rifle. One thing you learn shooting trap and skeet is heavy guns swing better than light ones. One thing you learn from spending a lot of time at the range with a lightweight short barreled big game rifle ... how to flinch.

When I built my 404 Jeffery on a 98 Mauser last year I brought out of retirement the old 1972 Weaver K3 formerly on my Springfield.

It was fast to acquire ... until the first shot at the range took a piece of meat from my brow. I moved the scope ahead which made it less quickly acquirable (is that even a word?). So this year when I restocked it, I picked up a new Bushnell 1-4x with 30mm tube. It's a "tactical" scope without all the silly tacticool crap (i.e. no Christmas tree incriment lighted reticle or exposed turrets). This scope has an added inch of eye relief and much wider field of view, especially at 1x. I changed bases to a long discontinued Weaver 1-piece base that is significantly lower than the semi p-rail on it last year (which, curiously, is exactly the same height as the Weaver 2-piece bases formerly on my Springfield). The lower base, lower magnification, and thicker tube all make for instant acquisition. I close my eyes, quickly mount the gun, and when I open them the full field of view is there and crosshairs vertical to the front sight (which is visible 1-3x). Perfect for quick shooting ... at something running ... towards me ... with bad intentions.

I don't agree with Jeff Cooper re lightweight rifles. They point like crap, kick like hell, and typically have terrible muzzle jump. None of that equates to fast accurate shooting. This gun weighs just over ten pounds but it is perfectly balanced at the forward action screw. A well balanced heavy gun is not hard to carry and it points much better than a light rifle or one that is butt heavy. And of course, one does not want a lightweight elephant gun unless there's an orthopedic surgeon in his family.

Oh, and that old Weaver K3, I gave it to my son-in-law. He tossed the goofy forward mounted scope that came on his Ruger Scout 308. He is delighted with this modest upgrade.

 

[Don Fischer]

This is my well used .308 Remington carbine. - TRView attachment 221518View attachment 221519

HUH! Looks like my old 660 Rem 308. Loved the thing but somehow it ended up with my son! That old 660 was my go to rifle for a lot of years. I had a 2 3/4x Redfield widefield on mine! I miss the rifle!

 

[FairWeather]

I owned a Ruger scout for a little bit a decade or so ago. At the time it was my only rifle and I really liked it. Its hard to find a bolt action hunting rifle that comes stock with iron sights, and the long eye relief scope was nice for how natural it was to get a sight picture.

If I had the cash burning a hole in my pocket, I’d probably get one again, I just don’t really need it. My savage 11 does the 308 thing, and my 336 does the compact/close-in shooting thing. The real benefit of the scout was that it served both functions.

 

[yakimanoob]

A lightweight bolt action rifle with a short barrel, sure. An actual “Scout rifle” seems like some prepper/Jeff cooper LARPer ideal that doesn’t have much for real benefits though.

this. And the comment that the scout rifle, per se, was a solution to a problem that never existed.

A lightweight rifle capable of engaging human and game-sized targets from close range to 300-ish yards, absolutely. Enter the AR platform in any of the various legal calibers, the Sig Cross (especially the new trax version), a traditional bolt action with a short-ish barrel and modern medium power scope, or any number of other weapon systems that meet the functional (if not the aesthetic) criteria.

I don't mean to detract from the simple fact that shooting various types of guns is fun. The Scout Rifle is cool. If you want one, get one. But the idea that the scout rifle is the one-rifle-to-rule-them all solution is bonkers.

 

[Ought Six]

This is my well used .308 Remington carbine. - TRView attachment 221519

That looks like a Montana muley

 

[Boarmaster]

I am an eastern hunter so climbing and ladder stands , blinds and shooting houses are a way of life. I like a bolt action with a straight comb stock and a barrel no longer than 22 inches. They are more handy in my opinion than either of my two lever guns.

Guys that like and shoot levers will tell you they prefer those. They are short and handy there is no doubt about that.

I wouldnt find any advantage in a scout rifle for myself.