The Uses of a Rifle: What is 'General Purpose'?

[Kendal Black]

You could do a lot worse than a M1A Scout Squad Rifle and mount optics as needed.
Actually I think the need for a light rifle is actually a need for more push ups.

I'm pretty fit for my age. I could carry teh then and I can carry it now. Pretty common joke: You don't need a rifle that is three pounds lighter. You need to lose ten pounds yourself. And it is likely true in my case, but the story does not end there. A light rifle is quicker, not just lighter. This relates to the laws of momentum: the laws of starting and stopping. The more nearly a rifle points like a magic wand, the better I like it.

Short, light and with an appropriate length of pull for my clothes. Hmm.

 

[jamesjames]

With weights from 7.9 to over 11 pounds, it seems that some lighter/shorter variant of an M1A with 10 round box magazines gets the scout rifle job done.
Put a mini red dot on it and you have combat effectiveness out to 300 yards and CQB ability too. hunt in brush or open field. Just don't try to stop a charging Kodiak Bear. The scout rifle will do almost anything, but it can't do everything.

I'm a levergun fan myself, so my scout is an 1894 Marlin. But this sure is a fun game to play.

 

[Kendal Black]

[...]
I'm a levergun fan myself, so my scout is an 1894 Marlin. But this sure is a fun game to play.

Right. That is just what I am after. On with the game! We need a further thought experiment. In the Commentaries, Cooper wrote that the scout was what he would grab if alerted to an emergency requiring arms, but not aware of its nature.

Most people can be sure that the unnamed problem is not a rapist rhinoceros ruining the roans. I am mainly worried about short range to medium range targets, for you can hide from the others. But I would like to be able to reach out a bit.

The Army answer to short, light and fits the user's clothes is an M4 with adjustable LOP on the stock, but we all know those guys get everything wrong. There is that miniature bullet to consider.

 

[jamesjames]

I just went cruising around to see if there was a sporterized semi-auto something in 7x57. The best round for an all purpose rifle is the flat-shooting 7mm Mauser. I was just trying to find something more interesting than a bolt gun. Other than a Browning BAR, there's just not much to choose from.

 

[Maverick223]

I just went cruising around to see if there was a sporterized semi-auto something in 7x57.

What about a BAR ShortTrac in 7mm-08Rem.?...it duplicates the 7x57mmMauser pretty well, and does so in a short action.

 

[Onmilo]

Maverick, there are Belgian FN49 rifles chambered in 7mm Mauser that occasionally come up for sale.
About as heavy as an M1 Garand but they can also be stripper clip loaded, are easier to scope, and the recoil and muzzle blast are not as pronounced.

 

[Maverick223]

Personally I'd rather do without the additional weight, but to each their own. Neither are bad rifles, or a bad chambering.

BTW the BAR is pretty easy to scope as it comes D&T'd.