Let me preface this with the fact that this is preliminary and I just wanted to check out the Scout for fit and function. For this test I purchased Winchester Factory 140 grain soft point ammo. The range was my home bunker @100 yards. The temperature here in Cheeseville was 24 degrees. I eyeball boresighted the rifle and have a Redfield Revolution 2-7x33mm w/ standard plex reticle mounted in the Dead On Factory supplied one piece mount and rings.
I fired a total of six shots to get the scope settings near the bullseye and then fired three more shots after I finished tweaking the scope settings. The Redfield preformed well and the scope adjustment indeed worked, as some have reported the adustments were finicky and non repeatable. I did not have those problems.
The cartridge inserted into the chamber fairly easily and extraction was positive after each shot with no troubles. The breeching lever was somewhat "stiffer" after the shot than before but worked 100%. Possibly this will work easier after a break in period as the case looked ok and primer was in the "usual" range as far as flatness goes, and the case dimension did not expand much either. The Crush Zone recoil pad made each shot kinda melt into your shoulder and recoil was not a factor. I suspect though that with the 7mm-08, recoil is not a factor even for a sub 6lb. rifle. Trigger pull was at 3.1 pounds on my RCBS trigger pull guage, and the trigger was smooth and crisp with no creep.
I posted some pics with this including my last 4 shots. The one in the white was the first shot , then I moved the scope again and fired the last three shots and I couldn't be more pleased. ( I'm not as efficient on the bench as I used to be) Further testing with W760 and Big Game propellants is to follow and hopefully a little better weather surfaces to facilitate better shooting conditions. I did not take my chronograph out but if the temp goes over 30 I'll get it out. While the weather doesn't always hold me back the cold keeps my Chrony on the sidelines.
I'm very happy with the weight, length and preformance of this rifle. Hopefully my handloads will shoot this good or better as ammo is $25 per box for this caliber.