want a scout rifle, cant afford the steyr...

[praharin]

i dont really like the look of it anyway, especially when the price tag is visible. anyway, im looking at the ruger frontier, and the savage scout. im not dead set on these, so feel free to add anything, but keep it to new production, and i dont want to have to add too much to get it where i want it. i will be mounting an aimpoint on the rail, and foreward is a must for this to me. as i see it, the pros and cons of each are:

ruger:
pros: controled feed. more compact, more reliable trigger and i like how it looks
cons: must add iron sights. heavier than it should be

savage:
pros: completely ready to go. smoother triger (out of the box w/ accutrigger)
cons: i dont like the feel of the detachable magazine, and must fit new ones. longer than i would like

right now im leaning toward the ruger, and getting sights fitted. and in all honesty i might do that anyway. i thought about cz, but for any of the ones i can find around here i would have to get both sights and mounts added. im looking for imediate gratification here people can anyone help talk me into something please?

thanks

Jesse

 

[fal 4 me]

If you havn't seen it yet, look for the thread where a 10 round M-14 mag is modified to work in the Ruger Frontier rifle. That might help you decide.

 

[praharin]

ive seen it, but its really irrelivent to my decision. it doesnt address any of my conserns, though it is a good mod.

 

[Gator]

Is the Savage still in production?

 

[ec-10]

praharin, I will throw in my vote for the Ruger Frontier. It is a little bit heavier than a true scout rifle but not so much to create a problem. If you are wanting to add IBUS to the Ruger have a look here. If you are planning to add an Aimpoint, the Ruger comes with a Picatinny rail in the box.

If you wanted to add a synthetic stock, Bell and Carlson makes one that looks pretty good. I found this out from Bobby Sixkiller over at zombiehunters.org. He added one to his Frontier and I think it looks pretty good. Just be warned that the laminated stock on the Frontier is already very light. I don't think that adding a synthetic stock would bring the weight down that much.

As for the Savage, I have no hands on experience with them. This page gives some info on them.

 

[George Hill]

I looked at the Ruger option in 7MM-08. Very nice. I'd have a hard time picking something different in this category.

 

[plexreticle]

I've always thought of the Steyr scout as an overpriced novelty.

I think you're on the right track with the Ruger.

 

[Ironballs]

good luck, others will be fun, but will never measure up...

 

[praharin]

Is the Savage still in production?

it is again in production, as of this year.

i just cant get past the looks of the steyr. even if it was half the price (still too much) i wouldnt get one. im sure its comfy, but there is too much useless stuff added to it. like that bipod

 

[Ironballs]

well, I loved my FP10. I bought it, loved it, sold it, bought another, loved it, and sold that one too. The same story with my PSS (bought and sold 2). I always buy in good times, and sell in times of need or when in difficult situations. There is a reason this Steyr has never been advertised- in the 12years or so since i got it... It is so far beyond... the accuracy is a laser just like the others, but the light weight, speed of target, and light kick.. it WOW'ed me and continues to. Everyone loves their honda civic until they get a mustang, which they love until they get a vette, which is flawless until they know Fararri.

that said, I hope you love whatever you get...

 

[thereisnospoon]

I've owned a Savage Scout rifle and they were fine. Did the job they were intended to do. However, unless you handload and are patient, do not expect .25 MOA accuracy and all that. It's a rig designed for fast sight acquisition and quick moving targets, among other general purpose uses. I also had trouble with aftermarket mags not seating properly and they took some dremel work to make it right.

I built several of my own from both Spanish Mausers and British Enfield 2A rifles. Both shot as well as the Savage with handloads.

The Ruger Forntier holds promise, especially after seeing the M1A Magazine modification, however, it is still a top loader and not a mah change.

The Steyr is awesome, but way overpriced. If I could get one for around $750.00 I'd take it, otherwise, it just isn't worth the price to me. Ironballs will probably attest to the smooth action and accuracy of the Steyr. Everyone I know that had one is a fanatic about it, but like you I can't justify that much on a scout.

YMMV

 

[Molasses]

I'm w. Ironballs (long)

I had the Ruger. They do a really evil thing and include a cardboard tube in the box that's printed up on the outside to look like a scope for store display purposes. That gives you a chance to try out the forward mounted scope thing and see how naturally it works. Which is why I just had to have one.

Like the other folks said; it was heavy for its' size. Not the end of the world, but not conducive to bliss, especially while carrying it hunting. A bigger issue for me was the wing safety of the "Mark" M-77 actions. It just doesn't fall naturally under my thumb and when I was in a hurry, I either found my hand wandering forward off the grip to ensure it went off safe or not being 100% sure it wasn't in the intermediate safe position. Didn't appreciate that in a rifle which had snap shooting as a strong suit... Accuracy was pretty darned good with the 1.5-4X Burris pistol scope I stuck on it instead of a proper scout scope; ran about 3/4"-1.5" at 100yds with the majority of decent ammo off the bench.

Somewhere in the timeframe when I was deciding I really liked the forward mounted scope but was becoming more aware of the Ruger's not being a perfect fit for me, I got into a Springfield Armory M1A Squad Scout and set it up with a Burris IER scout scope. Nope. Big step in the wrong direction. 'Way heavier, ergonomics of the forward base and the stock shape didn't work out for "natural pointability", doesn't group anywhere near as well and it's on consignment back at the shop it came from.

Finally realized that I just wasn't going to be happy until I did it:

(took 5 tries to get that picture to work out and then I'm gawping at the blinking light on the camera timer :banghead
>>Yup, THIS one's light!!<<
The safety is much, much better. The Ching sling is as quick to get into as advertised (I like using a shooting sling when I can't use a proper rest, so this was of importance to me). Having the spare mag storage in the stock is great. I've even used the bipod at the range once when I forgot to bring the bags and can see potential for it sometimes in the field. It isn't just the sum of the features, though. This rifle just "feels right" in my hands.

Expensive? Heck, yes!! But I've sold a number of other guns that are now redundant to pay for it and I'd be even farther ahead on that account except for the sheer amount of stuff in the safe with sentimental value or that's just too "cool" to part with. Sold the Ruger to my shooting buddy that was along when I bought it and also at the range with me a bunch of times when I was shooting it. Took about one half heartbeat to sell to him...and then he sits in my kitchen fondling the Steyr and calling it "the ultimate deer rifle".

I dunno. Maybe the Savage would be worth it and maybe if I got one now I'd be gnashing my teeth over wasting money on the Steyr. I have my doubts; I looked at them a couple of times back right after the first iteration was introduced and wasn't sold on 'em then.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

There is no perfection - I like the original tang safety Ruger very much but not the MarkII.

I bought a Steyr nicely setup, 10 round magazines and adapter, Leupold lever detach rings and a fine cross hair scope because it was relatively cheap at half price and I wanted to see what the fuss was about figuring I wouldn't lose too much if I "rented" it for a while and turned it over. I liked it so much I went back to the dealer and ordered a Dragoon from CDNN at what was a fair price at the time. I wouldn't have paid sticker list for either of mine.

I consider them each a great rifle for an old man. For a young man who would cheerfully hike all day with an uncut military and hunt with original iron sights the Steyr or any other scout doesn't fill a need but a want. Myself, I can't see iron sights and I can't heft the weight and I like the Steyr.

I'd suggest the Ruger, it's nicer but see Fr. Frog on the Savage.