SCORE: ruger GSR content inside.

I read on another forum of a guys getting sub MOA accuracy out of the stainless model with a scope and match ammo.

^ that wouldn't surprise me. my blued version will shoot darn near MOA with factory loads. i'll post a few pics when i get a chance. r.w.dale, i also have to use a stock pack/cheek pad with my 1-4x mounted. i have the xs full length rail to retain irons, and for a good cheek weld the pad is necessary. small price to pay for such versatility though.

I took mine to Gunsite for their Scout Rifle Class in May of this year. It was a great learning experience, and after five solid days and one evening of shooting from multiple field positions, numerous often repeated handling drills, and over five hundred rounds fired in dusty, breezy conditions in warm temperatures, the rifle never once gave any hint of problems.
Bench accuracy with good ammunition using proper form gives repeated sub m.o.a. regardless of how hot the barrel gets; the brake works very well, especially at night. I use Sierra 168 Match Kings with H-4895 powder and Federal 210 primers. Barnes 168 Tipped TSX bullets with H-4895 also shoot extremely well. My rifle has the 16.5" barrel.
For an optic I prefer the Leupold VXR 1.5-5X Scout Scope w/FireDot Duplex reticle. The main tube is 30mm. While larger than the 2.5 fixed, it works better for my aging eyes. Rings are Leupold quick detachable, so I can use the excellent iron sights. Return to zero has been within an honest inch, so I am confident in the system. You can order that optic from SWFA in Texas. Their service was outstanding.
The sling I have got the best use from is the Galco Safari Ching. It helps in various field shooting positions.
At times I have a Harris bipod mounted; it came in handy when I slammed two large hogs within a few seconds of one another two weeks after I went to class. Distance was 156 yards for both. One shot for each was all it took.
I have put several thousand rounds through this rifle at this point, with zero problems of any kind. Like most production rifles, things have smoothed up quite a bit. The factory trigger is just fine as is, and the magazines (steel and plastic) work as well. I did purchase a few Alpha Mag ten round magazines, as they are shorter than the factory steel mags produced for Ruger by Accurate Mag. I also tried a few AI mags that worked as well.
One mod I did make was to add a very short section of Magpul plastic rail to the left front of the stock, for holding a Streamlight TRL-1 light for night shooting.
Beware that once you start to really use the GSR, the others likely wont move much out of the safe much. Have Fun!

Nice reports. My son is waiting to buy one of these soon. I've been preparing a care package for him, including as much reloading equipment I can find and put together for him.

R.W.Dale said:

In the meantime please post about your GSR exploits and especially post pics.

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Congrats on the new GSR, RWDale!

No real exploits since I bought mine just to have and to shoot. The way I have it set up now I really like the length, handling balance, and how it feels lighter than it is. It currently measures right at 36" long, so I've nicknamed it my "yard gun".

The trigger out of the box is perfect for me. It's not too light or too heavy, and it breaks very nicely. If you miss the target, it's not because of this trigger. The open sights are very nice for 100 yard shooting and can turn in almost scope size groups at that distance. What helps is how the rear aperture brackets the front sight ears nearly perfectly.

One thing I did is install some thumbscrews in the rear sight and slotted them so I could adjust them with a coin. In concept it should be a nice upgrade, but in practice not so much. I've noticed that when I adjust the elevation by turning the rear sight up or down, windage is affected. Since I move only one thumbscrew to free the aperture, you would think this wouldn't be a big deal. Unfortunately, it seems the rear aperture threaded post has uneven flats cut into it, which means windage changes when turning the rear sight 180 degrees. Bummer.

Oh well, these screws shake loose under recoil anyway so Loctite is required. That kinda makes the rear aperture a sight in for one load kind of sight. Not a deal breaker at all for me.

Here's a few pics of the three configurations I've had the gun. When new, when scout scoped, and the current short and handy configuration with the stock spacers and flash hider removed. It might as well be a lever gun in the current set up. In a 10 round .308 kind of way.

Excellent thread gents, a good read.

I'd love to hear more about that gun site scout class also. Was anyone else running the GSR besides you?

Just noticed Ruger was making these Scout type rifles yesterday. Are the trigger guards on these plastic?

Hey nice looking rifles guys, what would ya'll equate the barrel contour with? It is like a basic sporter? Varmit/Bull? Palma?

Thanks,
P.B.Walsh

outerlimit said:

Just noticed Ruger was making these Scout type rifles yesterday. Are the trigger guards on these plastic?

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The trigger guard is made as one piece with the mag well and yes they are some fancy schmancy modern polymer (aka plastic). The mag release lever appears to be steel as well as the pin and spring it pivots on.

P.B.Walsh said:

Hey nice looking rifles guys, what would ya'll equate the barrel contour with? It is like a basic sporter? Varmit/Bull? Palma?

Thanks,
P.B.Walsh

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The barrel is profiled in two different diameter steps starting at the receiver before tapering in the last section towards the muzzle. It is heavier than a sporter, but lighter than a bull barrel. I guess it could be called a mid-weight barrel.

At this website it shows the barrel profile pretty well. As well as the trigger guard/magwell assembly. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2010/12/ruger-introduces-gunsite-scout-rifle-in-308-win/

R.W.Dale said:

This post is coming to you LIVE from the range.

These are the very FIRST shots out of the rifle. The pasters are 3/4" and are covering the first three rounds sent down range. All at 100yds working towards getting my POI where I want it.

175g nosler CC HP over varget in a lapua case.

View attachment 187363

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Nice.

Love my GSR. It is going on a cross country trip with me this week! Super accurate, reliable, and fun to shoot.

Here was my latest photographed foray with the GSR:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=719814

I took it up near Death Valley last week, but we had heavy rain, so I did not get to play with it as much as I wanted.

That SS Version looks great!!!

Shrewd, the class at Gunsite was attended by nine of us using the GSR, and two more who used the Steyr Scout. The students with the Steyr rifles were very experienced, and could easily make hits on multiple moving targets in short order. While the Steyr is much smoother in operation, I will opt for the Ruger; if it ever gets stolen, lost or destroyed it will be much cheaper to replace.

Thanks, that's what I suspected from close scrutiny of some pictures I saw in Guns & Ammo Sept. issue. Pretty unfortunate, it doesn't exactly compliment the nice looking stock or the rest of the gun at all.

here's mine in it's current configuration. xs full rail, 5 round polymer mag, and an armalite a2 flash hider. during hunting season, the 1-4x scope will go back on in the traditional position. i've been shooting it mostly from field positions with irons lately with only the sling for support. my last range trip i was keeping 100yd groups shot off hand within a 3-4" circle with cheap prvi fmj. i've had this for about a year now, and the longer i have the more i like it.
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back40 said:

here's mine in it's current configuration. xs full rail, 5 round polymer mag, and an armalite a2 flash hider. during hunting season, the 1-4x scope will go back on in the traditional position. i've been shooting it mostly from field positions with irons lately with only the sling for support. my last range trip i was keeping 100yd groups shot off hand within a 3-4" circle with cheap prvi fmj. i've had this for about a year now, and the longer i have the more i like it.

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What sling is that??

it's a riflecraft rs2 (google riflecraft sling). fantastic sling! i have two of them. simple to use and offer great support with no fiddling.

splithoof said:

Shrewd, the class at Gunsite was attended by nine of us using the GSR, and two more who used the Steyr Scout. The students with the Steyr rifles were very experienced, and could easily make hits on multiple moving targets in short order. While the Steyr is much smoother in operation, I will opt for the Ruger; if it ever gets stolen, lost or destroyed it will be much cheaper to replace.

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Split,

Thanks for both the rifle and class review. I'm also a Gunsite alumni but only pistol classes. Will try and take a carbine class next unless I score a GSR in SS soon.

Who were your instructors?

No pics or remarks about my stainless GSR. I will only say I would buy it again. It replaced FIVE rifles that I sold after shooting it.

I've seen some reviews of the GSR where it's pointed out that the bolt is kind of rough and that the feeding is not really mauserlike, although it is marketed as such.

Any comments from the happy GSR owners?

axxxel said:

I've seen some reviews of the GSR where it's pointed out that the bolt is kind of rough and that the feeding is not really mauserlike, although it is marketed as such.

Any comments from the happy GSR owners?

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Yep, the bolt is rough when factory new. I would guess most people that have Mauser experience tend to have that experience from a well broken in mil-surp or commercial Mauser. I know my Mauser experience is all from rifles built from 1900 to the 1930s.

So what that means is the Ruger isn't quite broken in or worn in when you unbox it and the bolt is pretty rough when cycled. In my case I wore mine in before I ever fired the first live shot.

The process is fairly known on the internet. Lube the bolt, cycle the bolt until the lube turns black, clean the bolt, relube, cycle again, etc. etc. Throw in some limited dry firing to smooth out the cock-on-opening, too. It took me several hundred bolt cycles to get it where I was satisfied.

After all that, I can't claim it to be Mauser smooth, but it is sweet to cycle in a rugged kind of way. You can't baby the GSR with a full 10 round magazine. You gotta give that bolt some forward pressure to strip off the top round. You also gotta bring that bolt all the way back to catch the next round correctly. If you short stroke it and the bolt rides the top of the brass instead of getting behind the brass you will have a feed problem.

Regarding controlled round feeding the bolt is built for it. The magazines make it a semi-push feed system though. What I mean by that is the cartridge will not be captured by the bolt until the bolt has stripped the cartridge from the mag. That is after the bolt is at the halfway point in the receiver opening. Then the cartridge is held by the bolt. This is with the newer magazines with shorter feed lips. The early Ruger poly mags had long feed lips which interfered with control round feeding and reportedly fed more poorly.

Just for heck of it, I have cycled the bolt while holding the gun upside down through a whole magazine and it didn't drop a single cartridge. Slow or fast.

chicharrones:

Well explained. My GSR finally smoothed out after a hundred or so cycles, and firing a hundred rounds of ammo. I removed the dirty lube, relubed and it's pretty slick, but not a Mauser.

Geno