igoodnessi
Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2010
- Messages
- 12
I've recently become enamored with the Scout Rifle concept. I like the idea of a gun that can be taken hunting for an all-purpose 'bug-out' tool. Having once made the mistake of tracking humans thru mountains with a Remington 870 Police Magnum, body armor and a Camelback with extra gear in it I certainly appreciate the weight constraints that Mr. Cooper put on his idea of what a Scout rifle should be. .308 will be the caliber. Here is what I've been looking into:
Ruger GSR Scout:
Initially, I thought the Ruger was ugly as sin and didn't investigate it but, once I got into the idea of the scout rifle I gave it a fair shot. According to this fella's review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnWDaTTQHyU&list=PLE5B21BB8CA4C8B56&index=70&feature=plpp_video
It seems that the 16.5'' barrel allows that 'fire cracker' effect that make shooting the gun uncomfortable AND the Ruger is only getting 1.5 MOA from what I've seen so far. Aside from the accuracy and the need to hand load to make the rifle more pleasant to shoot it has ALL the features I would want. Iron sights and multiple optics mounting options from the factory. 10 round mags and after market mags as well as other accessories sure to come. Reliability and durability I would imagine to be good as most Ruger pistols and rifles I've come across are beefy and overbuilt. Price tag is between $750 and $850 from what I've seen.
Savage Scout:
From what I've read the Savage Scout has the finest iron sights being offered on a scout platform. The 20'' barrel inherently will be more pleasant to shoot than the 16.5'' on the Ruger and I'm told will achieve sub-MOA out of the box with proper ammo and marksmanship. The only downside to the Savage is that it does not have many options for aftermarket or higher cap. mags AND I recently had the old Marine who owns my local gun shop tell me that he wouldn't trust his life to a Savage. He seemed to favor the Ruger for reliability/durability but, wasn't pushing me to buy a certain gun. Aside from those things I'd jump on a Savage Scout (or Hog Hunter if it weren't for inferior sights) in an instant.
Savage Scout it going for between $650 and $800 from my brief inquiries.
Weatherby Vanguard Carbine or Compact:
Nutnfancy recommended the Weatherby Carbine and showed that it had a smoother bolt than the Ruger and superior accuracy. It DOES NOT come with the bells and whistles (sights, forward optics mounting options, detachable mags) but, it priced nearly half of what the competition is charging. For that I could buy nice sights and a forward optics mount or just run with a normal eye relief scope. I found a Vanguard Compact .308 at Cabela's for $380 and the Vanguard with a 22'' or 24'' inch barrel is $350. The Compact would require me to modify the stock to increase the length of pull which could be accomplished as simple as adding a slip-on recoil pad.
The More Involved Option:
I have been toying with the idea of shortening the barrel on a Weatherby, Savage Axis/Edge or even a Remington 7600 in .308 but, the tools are a bit pricey. I bought my dad a 760 carbine in .308 but, those are proving quite difficult to find nowadays and are probably a little heavier than I was hoping for.
Ultimately, I'd like to have a .308 with a 16.5''-20'' barrel and iron sights. Forward mounted optics would be a plus as would detachable magazines. If I found a steal on the Ruger I would jump on it and just hand load rounds with less powder to keep report down to an acceptable level, call me a sissy but, it makes a big difference to me. I keep coming back to the Ruger because I won't achieve 1.5 MOA while hunting or performing 'social work' so it doesn't really matter in those situations and I'll likely be reloading most of what I shoot to address the loudness issue. If the Savage's durability hadn't been called into question I would grab it as my first choice. If anyone has any informed input on these matters please feel free to share. I AM going to get a light .308 rifle in the very near future and I'd appreciate any wisdom shared.
Ruger GSR Scout:
Initially, I thought the Ruger was ugly as sin and didn't investigate it but, once I got into the idea of the scout rifle I gave it a fair shot. According to this fella's review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnWDaTTQHyU&list=PLE5B21BB8CA4C8B56&index=70&feature=plpp_video
It seems that the 16.5'' barrel allows that 'fire cracker' effect that make shooting the gun uncomfortable AND the Ruger is only getting 1.5 MOA from what I've seen so far. Aside from the accuracy and the need to hand load to make the rifle more pleasant to shoot it has ALL the features I would want. Iron sights and multiple optics mounting options from the factory. 10 round mags and after market mags as well as other accessories sure to come. Reliability and durability I would imagine to be good as most Ruger pistols and rifles I've come across are beefy and overbuilt. Price tag is between $750 and $850 from what I've seen.
Savage Scout:
From what I've read the Savage Scout has the finest iron sights being offered on a scout platform. The 20'' barrel inherently will be more pleasant to shoot than the 16.5'' on the Ruger and I'm told will achieve sub-MOA out of the box with proper ammo and marksmanship. The only downside to the Savage is that it does not have many options for aftermarket or higher cap. mags AND I recently had the old Marine who owns my local gun shop tell me that he wouldn't trust his life to a Savage. He seemed to favor the Ruger for reliability/durability but, wasn't pushing me to buy a certain gun. Aside from those things I'd jump on a Savage Scout (or Hog Hunter if it weren't for inferior sights) in an instant.
Savage Scout it going for between $650 and $800 from my brief inquiries.
Weatherby Vanguard Carbine or Compact:
Nutnfancy recommended the Weatherby Carbine and showed that it had a smoother bolt than the Ruger and superior accuracy. It DOES NOT come with the bells and whistles (sights, forward optics mounting options, detachable mags) but, it priced nearly half of what the competition is charging. For that I could buy nice sights and a forward optics mount or just run with a normal eye relief scope. I found a Vanguard Compact .308 at Cabela's for $380 and the Vanguard with a 22'' or 24'' inch barrel is $350. The Compact would require me to modify the stock to increase the length of pull which could be accomplished as simple as adding a slip-on recoil pad.
The More Involved Option:
I have been toying with the idea of shortening the barrel on a Weatherby, Savage Axis/Edge or even a Remington 7600 in .308 but, the tools are a bit pricey. I bought my dad a 760 carbine in .308 but, those are proving quite difficult to find nowadays and are probably a little heavier than I was hoping for.
Ultimately, I'd like to have a .308 with a 16.5''-20'' barrel and iron sights. Forward mounted optics would be a plus as would detachable magazines. If I found a steal on the Ruger I would jump on it and just hand load rounds with less powder to keep report down to an acceptable level, call me a sissy but, it makes a big difference to me. I keep coming back to the Ruger because I won't achieve 1.5 MOA while hunting or performing 'social work' so it doesn't really matter in those situations and I'll likely be reloading most of what I shoot to address the loudness issue. If the Savage's durability hadn't been called into question I would grab it as my first choice. If anyone has any informed input on these matters please feel free to share. I AM going to get a light .308 rifle in the very near future and I'd appreciate any wisdom shared.
