Scout Rifle!!

[Arizona_Mike]

Nice handy rifle.

Cooper actually credited the handling of the FR7/FR8 as an inspiration for his Scout concept.

Mike

 

[ifit]

pump action scout rifle? Thoughts...
I have 2 sitting in safe and might consider one for a project

 

[johnnydollar]

Nice handy rifle.

Cooper actually credited the handling of the FR7/FR8 as an inspiration for his Scout concept.

Mike

Very interesting, Mike. I did not know that, though I do know that Cooper experimented with Mausers during the evolution of the scout rifle concept (one of the reasons for the forward mounted scope was to facilitate reloading via stripper clips, as one could do on a Mauser military action).
For those asking about the weight, the unloaded rifle without a sling weighs 8 lbs. Too heavy per Col. Cooper's standards, but about what one can expect with a Mauser military action and a short but stout FR-8 barrel.

 

[johnnydollar]

.
Or if you don't want to add a third sling swivel, you can loop up with a Rhodesian sling from Andy's Leather.

200Apples, I've got a similar pair of rifles, my FR-8 scout rifle in 7.62 X 51mm and a CZ-527 in 7.62 X 39mm. Given that my FR-8 is quite a bit heavier than my CZ, I'm left wondering if the CZ-527 (in 7.62 X 39mm--Cooper wasn't a fan of the poodle shooting calibers and neither am I) might not be closer to Cooper's original idea of a general purpose rifle. My FR-8 is 8 lbs, my CZ is considerably lighter (6.75 lbs, with scope and sling). The CZ is short enough, light enough, and handy enough. The 7.62 X 39mm chambering is not as powerful as the .308, but it's not bad either. I just got my FR-8 together and haven't had the chance to try them out side by side yet. What are your thoughts about the Ruger GSR vs. the CZ-527 as a general purpose rifle? Anyone else with experience with both rifles should feel free to comment as well.

 

[Panzerschwein]

pump action scout rifle? Thoughts...
I have 2 sitting in safe and might consider one for a project

That might be quite awesome.

What do you have in mind?

 

[ifit]

Actually have 2 Romanian AK type rifles par-1 and par-3, 5.56 and 7.62x39

 

[Catshooter]

Nice work.

That straight bolt handle begs for offhand shooting practice.

Try that with a bent one before you "fix" that one.


Cat

 

[35 Whelen]

Great job, Johnny and we must think alike, only about 20 years apart. I bought an FR-8 back in the '90's built my Scout. The XS scope mounts are truly great pieces of hardware, and anyone who sees no need in the forward mounted scope either has never tried one and/or they don't understand the concept. Anyhow....

Before:



After:



100 yd. targets:



My wife really liked it and wanted one of her own soooo.....

Before (stock picture):



After:



100 yd. target:



By far, most labor intensive part of both projects was making the military stock into a usable Scout stock by removing the metal hardware. But very rewarding!

35W

 

[200Apples]

I've got a similar pair of rifles, my FR-8 scout rifle in 7.62 X 51mm and a CZ-527 in 7.62 X 39mm. Given that my FR-8 is quite a bit heavier than my CZ, I'm left wondering if the CZ-527 (in 7.62 X 39mm--Cooper wasn't a fan of the poodle shooting calibers and neither am I) might not be closer to Cooper's original idea of a general purpose rifle. My FR-8 is 8 lbs, my CZ is considerably lighter (6.75 lbs, with scope and sling). The CZ is short enough, light enough, and handy enough. The 7.62 X 39mm chambering is not as powerful as the .308, but it's not bad either. I just got my FR-8 together and haven't had the chance to try them out side by side yet. What are your thoughts about the Ruger GSR vs. the CZ-527 as a general purpose rifle?

Ah, nice!

My thoughts are that the little CZ in X 39 would be near-perfect with a forward-mounted optic, but lacking in ultimate range due to it's cartridge. Every time I shoulder this little carbine, I usually utter some positive expletive. If only the 527 action might withstand the additional powder and bullet weights of the 7.62 X 51! That would be THE rifle right there.

Cooper liked the Winchester 1894. He may have referred to it as a Grandfather Scout... but said it didn't stand up to use as a prybar or as a battering ram. The CZ, on the other hand... would probably suffer greater abuse.

The .30WCF and the 7.62 X 39 have been compared often; they share a similar effective range, but the .30-30 wins with it's higher impact energy.

I love the CZ but I also like the horsepower and range of the .308... it's tough to say which carbine I like more.

 

[johnnydollar]

200Apples, I like my 527 a great deal, too. First shots with the FR-8 and its new scout scope, after bore-sighting it, yielded a 3 shot group at 50 yards that measured 1 inch. I'm happy so far.

 

[200Apples]

.
Outstanding.

These things are just too much fun... in addition to being valuable tools.

 

[Hook67]

I built a similar scout in the 80s using a Chilean 1912 7X57. I modified the rear sight base and attached a Weaver base to it. It shot really well and I had much success with it on running deer during our mid-day walk drives. I haven't used the rifle for many years so let a young man that has been helping out on my property have it. I thought I had a photo of it but can't seem to locate it.

I have been trying to sell my Krag since I can no longer use open sights for hunting purposes. Sure hated to let it go.....then it occured to me that it would make a good scout. I modified another Weaver base to fit on the bbl using the two holes and screws from the original rear sight base. It worked out pretty good so far as scope alignment, but I still need to clean it up and paint it. Used JBWeld to mate the base to the bbl.

 

[henschman]

We're gonna have to get our two FR-8 scouts together at some point, seeing how they are virtual twins. The only real difference between ours as far as I can tell is that you went with the Hogue stock, while mine has the Fajen. How much relieving did you have to do to your stock to get it to fit around the XS mount? I had to do quite a bit of hogging on mine, even though it is the F54 version set up for a bull barrel.

I took the Aimpoint off mine after the Pecos Run 'n Gun... it is riding with irons only for now. It sure is a handy little carbine. It is one of those you can hold by the pistol grip with your arm straight down at your side, and it won't drag the ground. It is a great little walking around gun. I hope to get some deer and/or hogs with it over the next year.

I like all the different sling setups y'all are running on your Scouts. There are definitely a lot of setups besides the over-complicated Ching that allow for quick slinging up in the field. I personally have gone to a 2-point tactical sling like the padded VCAS on just about all my rifles, after I discovered how well a "hasty" sling works with them when set up for front side, across-the-chest carry.

Mine barely eeks under the maximum scout weight at 7.6 lbs. when it has irons only. The only real way to reduce weight at this point is to cut it from the barrel, or the stock. Apparently the Choate Mauser stock is about the lightest one out there, and I have thought about trying it. It gets rid of the bottom metal, and supposedly cuts over a pound off the weight of a factory Mauser. That might even get me to the magic number of 6.6 lbs. even if it doesn't, I doubt I will ever mess with replacing the barrel. It just opens too many cans of worms. If I want to take a Scout project that far, I will just start from a bare K98 barreled action and go from there.

Anyway, here is my FR-8.

 

[johnnydollar]

Hensch, yeah, we certainly do need to get together sometime and talk FR-8 scout rifle shop. I didn't have to do much work at all with the dremel tool getting the scout mount to fit the Hogue stock. Speaking of stocks, the Choate does save some weight, primarily by getting rid of the Mauser bottom metal. You end up with a blind magazine and a plastic trigger guard. I have the Choate stock on a Swedish Mauser build, and I'm not convinced that the blind magazine feeds as well as the standard Mauser unit. In fact, I'm in search of some Swede bottom metal and a new stock for that one.
Now, speaking of a light, handy little carbine, that CZ-527 of mine weighs 5.6 lbs empty, in 7.62 x 39mm. It is an absolute joy to carry! It doesn't hit as hard as the .308, but it is a wonderful little rifle.

 

[johnnydollar]

I took the FR-8 out to 100 yards this morning. After a few sighters, here is the first 5 shot group, from the bench. Five rounds of American Eagle 168 grain OTM, Leupold 2.5 x scout scope. I'm very pleased.

 

[Hook67]

I had the young man bring my old Chilean Scout by so I could take some pics of it. It served the purpose for me for years using 175 gr RN Hornadys at 2300 fps. I was proud to let the young man have it. He's a senior in high school, hard working, and wanting to learn all about reloading, which is a part of the deal I made with him.

Anyway, here is my 'used to be' scout: