The Coolest Rifle I've Ever Seen

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Cosmoline

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I've found my next rifle:

280H.gif


It's the Ruger Mk II Frontier in their patented target grey stainless. I have an SP-101 with that same finish and I've been extremely happy with it. It's been in very rust-prone environments all fall and winter and shows no sign of oxidation.

I'm getting one of the Frontiers in .308 as a companion piece. Between the two there's really no need for any other firearms.

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdResults?function=famid&famid=56
 
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i've been considering one of the Frontiers in .243 for my next bolt action hunting rifle. they look like a handy little gun.
 
I wish the barrel came in at 18". I couldn't find a weight on the Ruger website, anyone happen to know (I probably just overlooked it.)
 
I've had one in my hands a couple of times as my usual dealer has had them in stock. They strike me as being a light handy kind of carbine. I've thought about getting one in .243Winchester as I figure it'd make a nice compact kind of truck gun. A small problem for me, being left-eye dominant, is they don't make a left-handed version. So my Savage M11GL's place in the .243 department is safe.
 
The M-77's have a pretty good reputation in these parts as skookum rifles, but on balance I've gone for the CZ as a Mauser '98 type rifle over the years. These scout style jobs are really something else, though. I've handled them a few times and they're nearly perfect. Like others I would like to see an 18" barrel, though. Those two inches make a big difference in performance.
 
I could never call a bolt rifle the "coolest rifles". However, it is certainly not what I expected this thread to be about.
 
I have one...

in .308 I can stay in a 3 inch group easily from 100 yards (usually 1-1.5) and I am still doing load development.

I was dissapointed in the amount of height adjustment I had to put into the leupold scout scope.

Lightweight, solid, accurate and fun-it is my favorite gun and is perfect for the southeastern deer woods where super long shots are not common anyway. Super easy to carry through those woods.

Brandon
 
I kept looking at the .243 and 308 as well.

Personally I guess I like shooting smaller stuff at longer distances, and the "scout" scope concept doesn't really work for that.

Mike
 
That one just looks painful to me. My sense of coolness is deeply tied to my sense of practicality. Besides, the steyr scout never impressed me. It has an outrageous sticker price and is too bulky. It has what I can old describe as a "puffy" feeling in the hand. It's no easier to manipulate than a full size hunting rifle. And I don't care for the feel of the new-age stock or the Steyr action. Cooper is wedded to it morally and probably financially, but then again he can afford to buy one. The M-77 and its Mauser '98 action is far better suited to this state and the amazing punishment it can dish out.
 
Cosmoline - I handled (fondled) one of the Mk II Frontiers recently and really, really liked the way it handled. I thought it would have been just about perfect for deer hunting around here... except that I switched to a shotgun-only region last year.
 
How can you post that pic and not post a link to where it is on Ruger's website?

You expect lazy bums like myself to actually dig all the way through the site to find it?

Now, I just have to go see if it comes in 6.5x55 or 7x57...
 
Now, I just have to go see if it comes in 6.5x55 or 7x57...
Click to expand...

It comes in .243Win., 7mm-08, .308Win., and IIRC .300WSSM.

Personally, for what I do with a rifle and my own taste in ammo, I'd stick to .243Win. in this one. It's a lighter more compact rifle and that means it's gonna kick harder in the other chamberings. While I'm looking for a .308/7.62mm rifle, it ain't this one. I believe .243 in this one would probably do about anything I might need to do around the farm.
 
You can find relatively inexpensive surplus 308 that would probably be great for the ranges you'd use a rifle like this.

I agree it would be more fun in 243 though.

Mike
 
I like the looks of this rifle. I liked the steyr also, but the more traditional looks of the ruger strike a chord in me. The question I have is what would be the best caliber for this gun? As people have said it is a scout rifle and not an elephant gun. Not being a ballistics guru I was wondering how .243, 7mm-08, .308, and .300 will perform out of a 16" barrel?
 
Ruger's M77 RSI with the Mannlicher stock is one of the neatest rifles I handled in my 20's... CZ's 550FS is a sweet feeling rig too.

The 'scout' concept isn't new... they just used to have express sights instead of a scope. One of these days I'd like to pick up a short barreled full length stock rifle in 30-06.

But the coolest ever is still the B.A.R. (which is a rifle, it just happens to be an automatic rifle).
 
It also apparently comes in .325 WSM. Sounds like a right handy brush gun for elk and moose, although I'd guess it'd kick pretty well.

I agree, though, that an 18" barrel would be nice.
 
That Ruger will do nearly anything you could ask of a rifle in the field. Post pics after you get 'er all set up!
 
I made the mistake of handling one in .300wsm. I nearly had to buy it. If it had been 7x57 I don't think I could have stopped myself.
 
I've been toying with the idea of getting it in .325 WSM because I love 8mm bullets, but I've decided to ease up on my poor shoulder. Also, I've been wedded to weird calibers for a decade now. It's time I got to enjoy the abundance of .308" bullets.
 
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