Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle

[DeanC]

You guys can make all sorts of other recommendations and that's fine. The point is, Jeff Cooper developed the Scout concept and this particular rifle is being marketed under the Gunsite name as a "credible rendition of Col. Jeff Cooper's Scout Rifle concept".

Departures from that concept are fine, hey it's a free market. The point I'm making is, does this rifle really meet up with Cooper's concept?

You can either read this:


Or, read through all of these to see what he was talking about:
Jeff Cooper's Commentaries

[Squib Joe]

I'd rather have the real thing than a rendition.

[DeanC]

Good news - spare mags are $64 for a 5 round and $70 for 10rd from Ruger.

[BC98]

Good news - spare mags are $64 for a 5 round and $70 for 10rd from Ruger.

Isn't that about the price of replacement AI mags anyway?

[DeanC]

Good news - spare mags are $64 for a 5 round and $70 for 10rd from Ruger.

Isn't that about the price of replacement AI mags anyway?

Yeah. But I was thinking it's a lot in comparison to Savage mags which run about 2/3 that price ($40).

[Squib Joe]

Yeah. But I was thinking it's a lot in comparison to Savage mags which run about 2/3 that price ($40).

Not all of them. Savage BA110 mags are 120 bucks a pop

[DeanC]

Yeah. But I was thinking it's a lot in comparison to Savage mags which run about 2/3 that price ($40).

Not all of them. Savage BA110 mags are 120 bucks a pop

I was thinking of the ones that fit the Savage Scout.

[gogopher]

OK Gent's, I took the bait and ordered one of these. I got it the other day and have had a chance to fondle it, but have not had it out to the range yet. My initial impressions are...

1. It's solid and not "to light." Some have posted concerns about recoil, which I think are going to be unfounded concerns. Again, I have not had it to the range yet so I could be singing a different tune later.

2. Fit and finish are a little rough. The bolt feels a little gritty. I tried cleaning and good lubrication, but it still feels rough. The plastic spacer(s) for adjusting the length of pull don't all align smoothly, making the buttstock look as though it has a stack of Lego's under the recoil pad.

3. I was dissapointed that the trigger gaurd and magazine well are plastic. I might not matter for practical purposes, I just would have preferred steel. Ruger clearly lists this on the product information.

4. I like the removable magazines. I purchased extra, since I intend to use it on Prairie Dogs, and I like to roam around the towns. This way I can carry loaded magazines rather than a pocket full of spare ammo. Yes, the extra magazines are expensive.

5. Overall I am pleased with the way it feels, and it does look good. I will post an update after I have been to the range. I can't decide if I want to mount an extended eye relief scope or a standard scope. The rifle comes with rings and bases for a standard scope.

[goalie]

OK Gent's, I took the bait and ordered one of these. I got it the other day and have had a chance to fondle it, but have not had it out to the range yet. My initial impressions are...

1. It's solid and not "to light." Some have posted concerns about recoil, which I think are going to be unfounded concerns. Again, I have not had it to the range yet so I could be singing a different tune later.

2. Fit and finish are a little rough. The bolt feels a little gritty. I tried cleaning and good lubrication, but it still feels rough. The plastic spacer(s) for adjusting the length of pull don't all align smoothly, making the buttstock look as though it has a stack of Lego's under the recoil pad.

3. I was dissapointed that the trigger gaurd and magazine well are plastic. I might not matter for practical purposes, I just would have preferred steel. Ruger clearly lists this on the product information.

4. I like the removable magazines. I purchased extra, since I intend to use it on Prairie Dogs, and I like to roam around the towns. This way I can carry loaded magazines rather than a pocket full of spare ammo. Yes, the extra magazines are expensive.

5. Overall I am pleased with the way it feels, and it does look good. I will post an update after I have been to the range. I can't decide if I want to mount an extended eye relief scope or a standard scope. The rifle comes with rings and bases for a standard scope.

Let me know if you want to throw one of my extra scopes on it to try it out with a "regular" one.

The weather is about the usual for us to go shooting, isn't it?

[mnblaster]

The cooper "scout" rifle original criteria:

chambered in .223,.243, 7mm-08,.308 and .376 Steyr.?
Removable box magazines with "magazine in reserve" setting for manual loading.
Second magazine stores in the butt of the rifle.
Light weight due to aluminum receiver housing, hammer forged fluted barrel, and extensive use of polymers.
Top and bottom integral Weaver/Picatinny rails.
Roller tang safety with "Locked Safe", "Loading", and "Fire" positions.
Bolt handle locks downward against receiver in "Locked Safe" mode.
User-adjustable trigger factory set at 16 N (3.5 lbs).
Reserve flip-up "ghost ring" iron sights.
Integral folding bipod.
Third attachment point for a 'Ching Sling'.

There are a couple things with the new Ruger rifle that will prevent it from being a success IMHO, this gun should have taken the concept to the next level. It costs too much, the magazines cost too much, too much plastic and as far as bolt action rifles go there are many choices in "out of the box" rifles that are more accurate than a Ruger 77.

Bill Ruger lost me with his policy of not selling "high capacity" magazines to the public (mini-14) when he was running the show.

I might buy the LC9

[gogopher]

I finally got a chance to take the Ruger Gunsite rifle out to the range. I chose not to mount any kind of optics at this time. All shots were off a bench rest. I have ordered a Ching Sling for the rifle but it has not arrived yet, so I opted to shoot offhand another day. I arranged targets at 25, 50, and 100 yards. Using the factory open sights I was amazed to find the rifle already preset to impact just above point of aim at all distances. 1 1/2" high at 25 yards, 1/2" high at 100. I began with 165 Grain soft point factory ammo from Winghester. Then shot 175 Grain HPBT Sierra Match King handloads. The HPBT Sierra bullets were slightly more accurate in their gouping, but all shots were in a 3" circle at 100 yards. While no "tack driver," the rifle is more accurate out of the box than my old eyes can match.
The trigger is not quite as nice as the triggers on my savage rifles. Slightly heavy, but clean trigger pull.
Felt recoil was negligible, although after 50 rounds I was beginning to feel it. The weight of the rifle and the recoil pad did a good job of making it comfortable to shoot.
The 10 round magazine was sort of a pain to load. When pushing down on the front of a round in the magazine to load another, the round already in the magazine wanted to slide out the back, getting hung up in the process. The solution was to push down on both the front and rear of rounds already in the magazine while loading each additional round.
Despite it's "gritty" feel the bolt operated well and the were no failures to feed or eject. I suspect the bolt will smooth out with use.
I'm happy. I look forward to topping it off with nice optics and going hunting.

[Pinnacle]

The cooper "scout" rifle original criteria:

chambered in .223,.243, 7mm-08,.308 and .376 Steyr.?
Removable box magazines with "magazine in reserve" setting for manual loading.
Second magazine stores in the butt of the rifle.
Light weight due to aluminum receiver housing, hammer forged fluted barrel, and extensive use of polymers.
Top and bottom integral Weaver/Picatinny rails.
Roller tang safety with "Locked Safe", "Loading", and "Fire" positions.
Bolt handle locks downward against receiver in "Locked Safe" mode.
User-adjustable trigger factory set at 16 N (3.5 lbs).
Reserve flip-up "ghost ring" iron sights.
Integral folding bipod.
Third attachment point for a 'Ching Sling'.

There are a couple things with the new Ruger rifle that will prevent it from being a success IMHO, this gun should have taken the concept to the next level. It costs too much, the magazines cost too much, too much plastic and as far as bolt action rifles go there are many choices in "out of the box" rifles that are more accurate than a Ruger 77.

Bill Ruger lost me with his policy of not selling "high capacity" magazines to the public (mini-14) when he was running the show.

I might buy the LC9

Yes and you will notice that the Mini14 is about the only semi auto rifle that you CAN own in an unfriendly gun area - Everyone seems to forget that the Mini 14 is one hell of a real defensive rifle. Hell it is a mini M1 Garand (or an overgrown M1 Carbine)

Bill Ruger cared more about selling rifles for the long run than the worry about selling high cap mags when you could buy the same ones after market anyhow.

[mnblaster]

I'm sorry that you remeber the 1994 gun ban this way. Bill Ruger himself was the first to suggest a ban to congress outlawing high cap magazine sales to civilians, go back and research it yourself if you don't believe me.

A famous Bill Ruger quote:
"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possesion of high capacity magazines. By a simple, and complete, and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty in defining "assult rifles" and "semi-automatic rifle" is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single ammendment to the Federal firearms law could prohibit their possession or sale and would effectively implement these objectives"

If you agree with this statement, you sir are a socialist.

I have two Mini-14, both bought used.

[EJSG19]

I'm sorry that you remeber the 1994 gun ban this way. Bill Ruger himself was the first to suggest a ban to congress outlawing high cap magazine sales to civilians, go back and research it yourself if you don't believe me.

A famous Bill Ruger quote:
"The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possesion of high capacity magazines. By a simple, and complete, and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty in defining "assult rifles" and "semi-automatic rifle" is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single ammendment to the Federal firearms law could prohibit their possession or sale and would effectively implement these objectives"

If you agree with this statement, you sir are a socialist.

I have two Mini-14, both bought used.

Well... now that we got a Commy accusation out of the way...

Put yourself in Bill Ruger's shoes. You own a huge company which deals in firearms manufacturing and sales.

You have political idiots up your backside clamoring for some type of gun control with little or no common sense. Something has to go.

What do you, as Bill Ruger, decide to go with. Firearms themselves? Or the magazines that feed them? Which one hits your bottom line harder? The answer is incredibly simple, when the situation is framed up that way. Maybe he thought taking the initiative on magazines would take the spotlight off what he made his living from. Just a thought. Who knows what really went through his head, apart from what the media told us...

[Holland&Holland]

I finally got a chance to take the Ruger Gunsite rifle out to the range. I chose not to mount any kind of optics at this time. All shots were off a bench rest. I have ordered a Ching Sling for the rifle but it has not arrived yet, so I opted to shoot offhand another day. I arranged targets at 25, 50, and 100 yards. Using the factory open sights I was amazed to find the rifle already preset to impact just above point of aim at all distances. 1 1/2" high at 25 yards, 1/2" high at 100. I began with 165 Grain soft point factory ammo from Winghester. Then shot 175 Grain HPBT Sierra Match King handloads. The HPBT Sierra bullets were slightly more accurate in their gouping, but all shots were in a 3" circle at 100 yards. While no "tack driver," the rifle is more accurate out of the box than my old eyes can match.
The trigger is not quite as nice as the triggers on my savage rifles. Slightly heavy, but clean trigger pull.
Felt recoil was negligible, although after 50 rounds I was beginning to feel it. The weight of the rifle and the recoil pad did a good job of making it comfortable to shoot.
The 10 round magazine was sort of a pain to load. When pushing down on the front of a round in the magazine to load another, the round already in the magazine wanted to slide out the back, getting hung up in the process. The solution was to push down on both the front and rear of rounds already in the magazine while loading each additional round.
Despite it's "gritty" feel the bolt operated well and the were no failures to feed or eject. I suspect the bolt will smooth out with use.
I'm happy. I look forward to topping it off with nice optics and going hunting.

Thanks for taking the plunge on this, if I might ask in rough figures what are these going for out in the real world right now? Next year I will be upgrading my oldest from a youth model to a gift deer rifle that hopefully he will have to pass on to his grandchildren someday. I could see this being a good multi use, compact, gun that could serve as a nice MN deer set up as well as have other handy uses and be kind of modern and techie looking while really being good old reliable technology. Does it come with both a 10 and 20 rd mag standard?