Scout Rifle madness...

[artech]

OK, it's been a long winter up here in Maine and we get a little stir-crazy when the range is under several feet of snow. So what's a guy to do?

How about building an unusual scout rifle? This one is almost finished. First I found a Carcano in 6.5x52 that did NOT have the gain-twist rifling, so I could cut the barrel without losing ballistic stability. Then, just to be different, fit an ATI Mossberg folding stock to it. Get an XS scout mount and finish it with an NC Star 2.5x scope and there you have it! Yet another rifle project with absolutely no resale value!

I chose the Carcano for several reasons:
First off they are cheap. Not too many people go through the hassle of figuring the carcano's quirks out, so they ain't popular. Cool, means more for me!

Second, the 6.5x52 is darn near the equal of the 6.5x55 ballistically, but operates at a lower pressure-should make the barrels last longer, doesn't kick much.

Third, I really like the feed system; it feeds from a steel clip like the Garand. Stuff the whole thing in the action and start shooting. Load the last round and the empty clip falls out the bottom. Very quick to load with the scout-mounted scope.

Fourth, it's just different! So there!

Anyway, it's a good little shooter, doesn't kick much, has good downrange manners, and fits in my truck. With the 16.25" barrel it puts out a pretty good fireball, so I'm hunting down a flashhider of some type for it. That and a camo paint job will finish it up.

People might laugh at it, but it works! Just goes to show ya- where there's a will, there's a way!

 

[MS .45]

Interesting. What type of coating is on the rifle?

 

[Third_Rail]

.... Interesting.


Kind of unsightly, though.

 

[Just_a_dude_with_a_gun]

That is quite unsightly! but interesting nonetheless.

Yes, carcanos are cheap, but their ammo is not. You using Norma,
or loading your own?

 

[Dravur]

Wow!

Im buying stock in Krylon....

 

[carnaby]

Interesting, kinda looks like a gun for a plastic army man.

 

[Drue]

Well, that's one that won't get lost on the rack at a crowded range. How does she shoot?


Good Job

Drue

 

[JShirley]

They laughed when I brought out my shovel!

I LOVE MY SHOVEL !

 

[Thefabulousfink]

It is definitely different... yes, different is a good term for it.

It is not the ugliest rifle I have ever seen, but that paint job gives it a shot at the title. I'll have to wait for a range report before I give it a thumbs up or down, but with a nice camo job I suppose it wouldn't look like a plastic army man's gun.

 

[Mannlicher]

Artech,
Looks like another gun idea that even though it makes little sense, is sure fun to play with.
The 6.5 Carcano is indeed fairly close in performance to the 6.5 Swede, with the same weight bullets. Both are running around 2250 with the 160 or so grain bullet that was standard. Pressure is about the same though, not less in the Carcano. These 6.5 cartridges are in the 42,000 to 45,000 range. The Carcano suffered less throat erosion due to the Solenite double base propellent, not lower pressure.

 

[shootinstudent]

I like it, but it's missing a few things you might want to add before it's a true scout:

Tac-light

Laser sight

Night vision scope on top of the scout scope

Storage for 100 extra rounds "just in case"

And a combo bolt-cutter/flash hider attachment at the muzzle

 

[rero360]

so I have to ask you, do you have the kung fu grip to go with the gun I have to hand it to you, that is one interesting rifle you have there.

 

[dfaugh]

Interesting and neat concept... but WHAT IN H*LL possessed (and I mean that in terms of exorcism!) to paint it that color Think it's crying out for a camo job myself.

 

[Janos Dracwlya]

I'll second the person who said it looked like a gun for a plastic army man.

Nonetheless, I like it. I can't say why, but I like it.

I just got my wife her first rifle, an unissued (supposedly, though it does look like it) Mosin-Nagant M-44. Owing to vision problems (her dominant eye won't focus on anything more than about three feet away), she is really into the idea of replacing the rear sight with a long eye relief scope. Guess we'll see how that works out when she has the extra money to buy the scope and mount.

Janos

 

[stevelyn]

Overall pretty cool.
What's with the color? Plan on shooting your TV with it during Miami Dolphin home games?

 

[Firehand]

I take it the stock was for a Mossberg shotgun and you modified it to fit?

How?

 

[enichols]

If it weren't that color, I would buy the thing. Looks like a fun, handy rifle.

 

[homeka45]

You sir are certainly an original thinker.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Is that thing a legal length? When you have a folder on a rifle, isn't the folded length suppose to be no shorter than 26 inches ?


Ugly. But I like the idea. A nice bolt action with scout scope is very cool. Sometimes the most handy, most useful and practical things aren't pretty. I'm all for utilitarian firearms. Also affordable.


You get all the practical accuracy you need, along with hard-hitting power, and with a low magnification optic for increased accuracy, but maintain speed. Take a deer - no problem. Pierce a kevlar vest - no problem. Take out some looting thug from 300 meters - no problem. Get through automotive window glass with terminal performance left over for the target - no problem.

 

[artech]

The butt-ugly color is just the base coat. It's a Krylon product made just for painting over plastic, so adhesion won't be a problem like it might with other paint products. The final paint job will be something like either a tiger-stripe camo or maybe a digital-type camo.

Fitting the stock was kind of interesting. Since the Mossberg grip/reciever portion was the closest match to the existing stock, that's what I started with. I had to weld two grade 8 nuts together so that one of them would take the stock bolt, and the other was inletted into the wood stock so that the rear action screw would pass through it. That nut was then epoxied in place, since the Carcano uses steel sleves to guide the action screws. Kind of tricky, but not too bad. By the way, it is 26 3/8" folded.

The rest of the rig was pretty easy. I had to make a cheekpiece for the stock because of the drop, and then had to relieve the cheekpiece so the butt could fold flat to the stock. I used some plastic electrical conduit of a 'comfortable' size for the cheekpiece and just screwed it on. It clears the bolt so it can be worked with the stock folded.

I reload for the 6.5 Carc, so ammo cost isn't an issue for me. I'm still tuning the load, but right now it will stay inside 4" at 200 yards all day long from a rest. I'm pretty sure I can cut that down some. I think I've got a flashhider that will work, so I'll get that installed and start over on the load development. That and the paint job will probably keep me out of trouble for most of the summer!

 

[MartinS]

Lovely. An odd and evil artifact and a glimpse into the basement of a truly twisted mind. The pistol grip is a masterstroke.
If you do not post a picture of the final color coated beast, I will find you.

 

[redneckrepairs]

roflmao i am " scouting out " an m44 mosin , i had not thought of the pistol grip thanx i belive ill borrow that idea for it , ill leave the paint idea tho lol

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

By the way, it is 26 3/8" folded.

Wow, talk about cutting it close. From the picture of it folded, it looked mighty short by my eye. I have a pretty good eye for that and figured it was pretty darn close.


Just make sure the BATFE doesn't find a way to measure 7/16" less than your results

 

[brianc]

Or how about a mosin?? homemade scout mount and all

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah, that's cutting it waaay too close for my tastes. I also have to wonder why you guys feel a need to hack, slash and paint the poor rifle. IMHO Aquilonia, with no permanent mods, looks much finer and will certainly outshoot either one. The vintage tactical of the Finnish pine tar oil looks better than spraypant, and holds up a lot better over time.