Is the ruger scout worth it?

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Skillet

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before I start I would like to make a small intro to myself. I recently joined the US Air Force, and have been a gun nut for a while, but being young, (19yrs old) most of the guns i shot before were my father's. I recently purchased my first lever action (wanting a model 94 since i was a fetus) and I am on the lookout for a good hunting rifle, (i don't have one of those for my own yet) specifically one that can take down an elk, maybe at long distances (I live in NM). I was in the gun shop the other day, and I noticed a Ruger Scout LH .308. It looked like an awesome rifle, with a pad on the stock that was like 55 inches long and it handled very well because of how small and light it is. But, It was 1000 bucks! I just want to know if it is worth it. It had a very short barrel and I didn't know if that would sacrifice accuracy. Maybe I should just stick to my original plan (savage 110LH in 30-06), but any input on THR would be appreciated, it would be nice to learn from all you old timers :neener:
 
I paid around $800 for mine after tax and I felt that it was a good buy at that price. That was last summer and so the market has changed where price is concerned. I love mine and feel that it will suffice for most of my rifle needs for hunting and range use.
 
I have had for a while now and really like it. It is very accurate, has a decent trigger, and packs easy. I like to take mine on family camping trips and when I am off in the desert by myself. It is fast up close and hammers well at distance. It is an overall winner in my book.
 
There are dozens of real quality reviews of this rifle on YouTube. The reviews are very impartial. Well, the ones I have seen. I don't own one, and so I can say from experience, but the video of reviews in action, were very informative. Check out the reviews by "hickok45" and by "Nutfancy".

Geno
 
Here we go again. :)

Been a couple of lengthy threads on this in recent memory. (Here's one.) Folks either seem to love it, or don't get it. I'm in the first category. In fact, I had my GSR out to the range just this morning.

As for your questions, the short barrel doesn't seem to be a significant negative as far as accuracy is concerned. (Here's a classic read on the subject.) The gun shoots better than I can. As for the price, I don't know if you could get one right now for less than list, but I got mine less than four months ago for $900 (that includes about $70 in tax), NIB, from a dealer, at a gun show. I jumped on it.
 
I am on the lookout for a good hunting rifle, (i don't have one of those for my own yet) specifically one that can take down an elk, maybe at long distances (I live in NM). I was in the gun shop the other day, and I noticed a Ruger Scout
The Ruger Scout is by its design a compromise gun. Try googling "scout rifle" to find out more about the idea behind the design

As such, it's not an optimum choice as a hunting rifle. Not to say it can't do it and do it well, but for hunting there are better choices available for less money like Savage. On the other hand if you have the cash to spend for $800-1000 you can get a very good hunting rifle like the Winchester 70.


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Not to me. The 16" barrel is going to hurt perfromance more than I'm willing to give up. While you think it is light, it is actually pretty heavy. The short barrel and balance point make it seem lighter than it is. 10 round magazines are not needed on a hunting rifle and they are expensive.

$1000 is too much for that gun. All I've seen have been $750-$800.

A standard All Weather Hawkeye is several hundred dollars cheaper and a better hunting rifle. As would be many others.

http://ruger.com/products/m77HawkeyeAllWeather/models.html


If you have $1000 to spend I'd buy this. Street prices will be $900-$950

http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/detail.asp?family=001C&mid=535110

If you really want to experience lightweight and have just about $1,100 buy this.

http://www.kimberamerica.com/rifles/model-84m/montana

The Kimber is almost 2 1/2 lbs lighter than the Ruger, both will be far more accurate.
 
Not with those sights, especially that rear sight. I'd really like to see Garand or M1A sights on the gun. I'll probably get one anyways, but I really want to improve the sights.
 
The rear iron isn't great, but it is robust and I was getting three inch groups at 100 yards, which is good enough for me. I love mine, and it is my main and practically speaking only hunting rifle. I have other rifles I have and could hunt with, but I genuinely can't imagine choosing one of those rifles over my scout to take afield. Not thats its a highly technical performance review, but of 5 shots in the field, I have taken four animals with it, and the miss was my fault. Obviously, thats highly indicative of my confidence in the rifle as opposed to a truly good review of how this rifle performs in general or in comparison to other similar rifles, but there you have it.

I do agree that a grand is too much. I paid 800 after tax for mine, though to be fair there was a sale going on at the time.

sent from my Galaxy Note II.
 
+1 for Nutnfancy's youtube review. That should be all the info you need LOL.

Personally I would rather have a Ruger American rifle instead. I think the Gunsite Scout would have features that wouldn't be useful for what you need a rifle for, and that is why it costs so much.
 
Roadkill:

I came to the very same conclusion. That's a nice little rifle.

Geno
 
When I wanted a light 308 and being a lever fan I got a BLR which is the perfect rifle for me
 
Its worth it if you like the Scout Rifle Concept. I like my GSR and it comes close to Col. Coopers concept,many have debated this to ad nauseum that its a little heavier or doesn't have a bipod,but I believe the Scout rifle is a concept in flux.
Gunsite and Ruger worked together on the project and yes,certain compromises were made,it was based of Rugers M77 action and their methods of manufacturing.They could not get the M77 action to work with M14 mags so a proprietary one was made.

Mags are not just limited to 10 rounds,3 and 5 rounders are available for hunting or a more clean appearance.

I personally do not get people buying the GSR and running the optic over the receiver,why not get a regular rifle??I like the fact I have two mounting options should one fail,the Ruger system was already in place on the M77.

The GSR is not a sniper rifle,it is not a bench rest rifle,it is a Scout Rifle,for making hits out to medium range quickly and decisively with a full power cartridge.

Yes,you either like the GSR or do not. I love mine.
 
+1 for Nutnfancy's youtube review. That should be all the info you need LOL.
Yeah, well, "nutnfancy" doesn't seem to know what a scout rifle is all about, or even how to use a bolt action. Anyone who bases their opinion of the GSR solely upon this video is getting a biased opinion of the gun. Lots of people like the gun, for one reason or another. And others do not. To each his own.
 
nutnfancy's review leaves a lot to be desired.

i really like my gsr. it's one of my current favorites, simply because it does so many things quite well. i've added an a2 flash suppressor, the xs full rail, and a good sling. i also have a 1-4x illum. reticle scope on quick release rings available, but generally shoot with irons. the accuracy is great (about moa), the trigger is really nice for a factory unit, and i like the stock. some claim it's too heavy, but the weight doesn't really bother me being that it's so compact and balances well.

the 1k price tag for the one you found is too steep. i paid $720 for mine, and just saw one in a shop the other day for $750. there's one on gunbroker for $850 right now.
 
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I am torn here. I love the M77 rifle series (really like the old tang safeties) but the GSR just does not cut the mustard for $1000. For that kind of money your getting into M1A territory (new M1A basic or used Scout). The M1A can do everything the GSR can, but better (higher capacity, likely more accurate, better sights, etc) . The GSR would be a great $600-$700 rifle.... Heck, even a Garand can be a viable alternative to the GSR. You lose 2 rounds, but gain semi auto fire, better sights, cheap clips, walnut stock and a battle/hunting proven rifle. Enblocs are easy to get and about $1 each while GSR mags are $60 each.... I'll take 60 8rd Enbloc clips over one GSR mag anyday.
 
for my purposes, both the m1a and the garand take a back seat due to being semi auto. this is where one really needs to determine what they want from the rifle. some see semi as a plus, where as i see it as a minus.
 
I am torn here. I love the M77 rifle series (really like the old tang safeties) but the GSR just does not cut the mustard for $1000. For that kind of money your getting into M1A territory (new M1A basic or used Scout). The M1A can do everything the GSR can, but better (higher capacity, likely more accurate, better sights, etc) . The GSR would be a great $600-$700 rifle.... Heck, even a Garand can be a viable alternative to the GSR. You lose 2 rounds, but gain semi auto fire, better sights, cheap clips, walnut stock and a battle/hunting proven rifle. Enblocs are easy to get and about $1 each while GSR mags are $60 each.... I'll take 60 8rd Enbloc clips over one GSR mag anyday.

I paid $29 for my 10rd Polymer GSR mags and $759 for the rifle. Why keep quoting the most expensive prices you can find on it? If you don't like it don't buy it....
 
I generally like nutnfancy, but that review was horrible. It was almost like he was trying to screw up with the rifle. I would not base my impression of the rifle off that. Here is an old review of mine. I will do an update this spring on a trip up near Death Valley.

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From another site I post on:

This is a follow up to my original thread posted here:

http://rugerforum.net/ruger-bolt-ac...essions-my-ruger-gsr-i-finally-got-shoot.html

I now have about 350 rounds through the rifle with no problems related to the rifle. I have found it is very accurate and recoil appears to be on the mild side.

I have added a scope and finally got to shoot it for some groups. The scope has proved to be a challenge because I am used to a high magnification/fine cross hair varmint type scope. The scope is a standard Leupold Scout scope with heavy duplex. I am really warming up to this type of scope however. It is very fast and provided and good sight picture.

So I headed up to my range north of LA. I belong to a hunting club and we have a couple of trap ranges and a rifle range on our property so this provides a quiet and relaxed place to shoot.

bench.jpg

I got the rifle on paper at 50 yards and then moved back to 100. It was challenging for me to shoot at this distance because of the low magnification and the heavy duplex reticle. Here is a picture of a typical 100 yard group:

100c.jpg

I then came up with an idea to shoot a little bit tighter groups. I would first split the pie or cut the circle into four even pieces in the scope. Then I would cover the red dot in the center with the cross hairs and press the trigger. This is my best group using that method:

100b.jpg

I realize that this is not how the rifle was intended to be shot, but I need to confirm my zero and make sure my load was grouping correctly.

Next I went to 25 yards (top) and shot as quickly as possible from a low ready position and then moved back to the 50 yard line (bottom) and did it again. Here are the groups:

CloseRange.jpg

The one thing I learned from this is that beyond 25 yards, I need some type of rest or position change to hit. At 50 I knelled down and used a pipe for support. Although it slowed me down a bit, I was able to hit the target with much better accuracy. I have a lot of practicing to do.

Finally I loaded up the rifle and went for a walk to check the back fence to see if anyone has been coming on to our property. It took about an hour and I enjoyed hefting the rifle. It carries well for me and is easy to carry through the light bush we have up there. Here are some random shots I took of the rifle on this walk:

GSR3-1.jpg

GSR1-1.jpg

Final thoughts:

C-Products mags continue to suck. Do not buy them or any from the new company. They have bugs.

Muzzle blast is a non issue. It is not louder than the other two rifles I was shooting yesterday.

Accuracy is very good. With a conventional scope it would be possible to shoot some great groups. Don't believe the "Ruger's Can't Shoot" myth.

Overall this is a great little rifle and works exactly how I hoped it would. It is prefect for protecting my rural property and it very fun to shoot.

Hope this was informative.

Matt
 
The gun shoots as well as I can (and could probably do better). The following "groups" were shot yesterday as I was sighting in at 100 yards:

19kv82.jpg

The first group of five was pulling to the right, so I adjusted the windage on my scope (Leatherwood Hi-Lux ATR 2-7x, needed for my aging eyes) and then fired six more shots, five of which are in the "10-ring" (3 1/2"). I was shooting off a bench using a Harris bipod, but no rear bag or rest. I did change mags and ammo* during the eleven rounds shot. Since the goal was to tweak the sight picture of the scope, and not to shoot impressive groups (which I make no claim to be able to do), I was happy with the outcome. I'm shooting minute of deer and hog, and that's what matters.

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*The first mag had some Winchester NATO White Box 147 gr left in it, and the second mag was Wolf (which may account for the wider pattern). Next time out, I'll see how the sight picture holds using some .308 168 gr ammo.
 
... I am on the lookout for a good hunting rifle, (i don't have one of those for my own yet) specifically one that can take down an elk, maybe at long distances...

Regardless of whether people love or hate the concept of the scout rifle, that debate doesn't really address the OP's situation.

Regarding the original post... I would suggest that a 308 fired through an 16.5" or 18" barrel, while sighting your target with the typical low power scout scope, isn't exactly the optimal choice for a long distance elk rifle. Will it work? Maybe. But there are certainly much better choices out there for this use, especially in the $1000 range.

I would consider something like a Tikka T3, and a classic long action hunting cartridge, like a 30-06, in a 22" or 24" barrel. (I scooped up my T3-Lite in 270win when it went on clearance this past winter for $350 at my LGS, and I also took advantage of a rebate from Burris to mount a 3-9x40 Fullfield E1 scope on it for $150.) But, whatever brand you choose, there are plenty of rifles available that would be better than a Ruger GSR for long range elk hunting.
 
qwert65 said:

When I wanted a light 308 and being a lever fan I got a BLR which is the perfect rifle for me

Wow, I could not have said it better. The only reason I didn't purchase this dandy little Ruger was, it wasn't the right rifle for me. It is a very cool rifle, for some, just not me. Then, a lot of folks would say that they couldn't imagine carrying my M1A SOCOM...just too heavy. I like heavy. I like very heavy. :D So much of firearms purchasing is subjective. I think that is what most of us firearms aficionados would do well to keep in mind...what is the perfect rifle for me?

Well said, Sir.

Geno
 
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