Author Topic: Scout Rifle (Read 3053 times)

jeager106 · « **on:** December 17, 2004, 05:44:33 AM »

Seems the 'scout rifle' of Col. Copper fame has kinda fallen out of fashion.
I wanted to build one and have a Burris Scout Scope, but lost interest.
I still have the scope and once again am thinking of making up a scout.
I need advice, hopefully from some with one.
Do I want a bolt action?
I have a 7400 in .308, but doubt it would make a good platform for the scout.
Suggestions?
I want to stick with the .308 as it's a well balanced ctg. and inherently accurate and I have plenty of Fed. match brass.
How does the scout scope afix to the barrel?
I suppose I could get a marlin 30.30 as mounts are very available, but the round is a bit anemic.
I'm not knocking the 30.03, have one, good deer gun to 100 yards, but the 308 will reach a might further.
What platform do I want to build this scout rifle around?
Comments welcome.

DEPUTY · « **Reply #1 on:** December 17, 2004, 02:34:25 PM »

i have a 223 and a 308 scout one is built on a model 7 action and the other a remington 660 i got at gunsight! awesome guns,
a few yrs ago i built a camp carbine 9mm scout neat toy long since gone!

i also have a 303/30 using ashley sights and mounts and an aimpoint with a surefire set up on it quite nice and the 30/30 is almost equal to the 7.62x39 round quite effective as anti bg round!

i even had a shotgun scout gun set up for slugs only! neat as all heck
ruger is bring out a scout model this year including some of the short mag calibers!
the 7400 can be done shorten barrel to 16 inches or legal length, shorten stock down about 1 inch, good local gunsmith can install mount blocks on the barrel for you add a few 10 rnd fitted mags and have fun with the barrel blocks being mounted you will then add a weaver rail to them use ashly or williams peep sights as a back up system

papajohn428 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 22, 2004, 11:38:26 PM »

If you're considering a levergun, I'd opt for a 35 Remington over a 30-30. It has a lot more punch, and a similar trajectory. As a Scout it would make a terrific woods gun, but if you need longer range capability I'd go with a 308 bolt gun. Savage seems to have a good following, but you'd have to check with them about a mounting system. Custom scope mounts can get real pricey, real quick. HTH

Papajohn

DEPUTY · « **Reply #3 on:** December 23, 2004, 05:45:46 AM »

savage still offers there scout in 308 and 7-08

as for blocks and mounting a local gunsmith can do it for about a 100 bucks and under. mine was done for 75 bucks.

my buddy just did a scout on a 45/70 nice set up

jeager106 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 24, 2004, 05:31:11 AM »

O.K. talk to me about these 10 round magazines for the 7400.
Do they work? Where do you get 'em? Major work to get them to fit?
Any comments welcome.

DEPUTY · « **Reply #5 on:** December 24, 2004, 07:24:18 AM »

http://ruger-mini-14-firearms.com/cust_remington_7400.html

MAGS CAN BE BOUGHT FROM EAGLE OR CDNN ETC...... NO FITTING NEEDED SO THEY SAY! THE ABOVE LINK THE GUYS DO SOME OF THE BEST CUSTOM WORK AROUND I HAVE A MINI 14 BY THEM AS WELL

coopershooter · « **Reply #6 on:** September 06, 2005, 06:06:07 PM »

I MADE UP A SCOUT RIFLE OUT OF A SWEDISH MAUSER, IN 6.5X55.
I GOT THE SCOPE RAIL FROM ASHLEY OUTDOORS(NOW XS SIGHTS). PUT ON A BURRIS 2-7, AND A TIMNEY TRIGGER. IT SHOOTS ABOUT AN INCH AT 100 YDS. BUT WHERE IT REALLY SHINES IS OFFHAND! THE BALANCE IS PERFECT! AND THE WEIGHT IS JUST OVER 7.5 LBS.
ITS MY (GO TO GUN)
IF I WERE IN THE MARKET, I WOULD LOOK AT THE SAVAGE. ITS A LOT OF GUN FOR THE MONEY. AND THE SCOUT SCOPE MOUNT IS ALLREADY THERE.
THE FORWARD MOUNTED SCOPE IS HARD TO GET USED TO, BUT VERY FAST, WHEN YOU DO! I HAVR REGULAR SCOPES ON RIFLES THAT I HUNT, BUT THE SCOUT RIFLE COMES OUT WHEN I WANT MEAT IN THE FREEZER!
COOPERSHOOTER.

slink · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2006, 03:18:53 PM »

nor a long range deer gun, nor a match gun (neither High Power nor "combat-style", nor a dangerous animal gun, nor a fighting gun, so it's a pretty lame, specialized thing, in my book. An AR-15 is far more versatile, given a few different upper receivers. Say, a 10" barrel with a sound suppressor, for smg-type work, a 26" barreled upper for sniping and long range matchs or varmints, a .22lr unit for small game and training (especially on indoor ranges) and maybe a .50 AE upper if you are a fan of 45-70 type performance (I'm not). The original Steyr Scout is the most outrageously overpriced hunk of clunk I've ever seen or heard of in firearms, but the number of brainwashed fools Jeff has in his thrall probably make it a valuable "collector's item".

mt3030 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 26, 2006, 07:39:54 PM »

When I made up my scout, I stayed away from the commerial actions because I wanted to be able to use some form of stripper clip for fast reloads. I finnally settled on the Spanish Model FR-8. It used my desired cal (308 Win) and was based on a proven strong action. The one I found had a mint bore and I kept the factory flash suppressor. Only thing left to do is get rid of that metal butt plate!

Old Griz · « **Reply #9 on:** July 09, 2006, 08:39:51 AM »

Just change this red dot with a scout scope, and ya got the best .308 scout rifle you can buy. (IMHO)

scout34 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 03, 2007, 02:11:35 PM »

Quote from: slink on April 16, 2006, 03:18:53 PM

nor a long range deer gun, nor a match gun (neither High Power nor "combat-style", nor a dangerous animal gun, nor a fighting gun, so it's a pretty lame, specialized thing, in my book.

Slink, I have to disagree. Take any old M98 Mauser and slap a choate plastic stock on it, an XS Sight Systems scout mount, trim the barrel to 20" and put on some ghost ring sights and you have a first class workaday weapon for all seasons. 8x57mm can be loaded just as hot as the 30-06 and will in a pinch take down dangerous game with heavy bullets. Very high power I would say.

With practice the scouted Mauser becomes a formidable weapon. Very nimble in the hands and very quick on point with a round that does serious damage. It has the capability of holding 20 rounds in the magazine with the addition of trench magazine repros, and the stripper clip guides allow very fast reloads. With practice and aimed fire it can be just as fast as an M14 or M4. I have qualified on the army alternate qualification course with one. 40 shots in 4 minutes.

As a hunting arm it is utilitarian but effective. I would not be taking shots at game out to 500yds with it(perhaps this is what you meant by high power), but it will work in the deer woods. Especially effective for running shots. All this without changing uppers.

The only dangerous game I would take on with an M4 would be the enemy, and for that I would choose an M14 if I could.

This is a good combination for under $500 that will let you spend a whole lot of money on ammo, which is where you will get good.

mt3030 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 03, 2007, 05:56:21 PM »

Quote from: Old Griz on July 09, 2006, 08:39:51 AM

Just change this red dot with a scout scope, and ya got the best .308 scout rifle you can buy. (IMHO)

Old Griz:

Are you refering to my scout above? It in fact has a Burris 2 3/4x scout scope on it.

cetme · « **Reply #12 on:** January 06, 2007, 08:15:40 PM »

I own a steyr made scout in 308 and the only people I know of that bad mouth them have never shot them. Expensive yes overpriced no. Very accurate, easy to carry all day, and great for off hand shots in the thickets. Anyone who understands still hunting would realy like this rifle.

My Dad also has a #4 mk1 psuedo-scout. Very nice but not a steyr. 22" bbl bead front sight, redfield base and optic, bishop sporting stock, 5 rnd golden state arms mag. We use it for 215 grain RN bullets (a little more punch than 308/150's)

mt3030 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2007, 06:27:18 AM »

Quote from: cetme on January 06, 2007, 08:15:40 PM

....We use it for 215 grain RN bullets....

Are you refering to jacketed or cast 215 gr RN pills? If jacketed, what is your source? I prefer them in my 303s but have not been able to find them. Thank you

cetme · « **Reply #14 on:** January 13, 2007, 06:22:23 PM »

we found a bunch of old norma 215 rn bullets on auctionarms a bit ago. I think hawk bullets also makes 215 303 bullets but they are expenisive.

mt3030 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 15, 2007, 12:41:11 PM »

Quote from: cetme on January 13, 2007, 06:22:23 PM

....we found a bunch of old norma 215 rn bullets on auctionarms a bit ago....

You luck guy!! I would love to fall into some.

scout34 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 04, 2007, 03:18:05 AM »

I just got a Steyr in .308 and boy is it sweet. Waiting for the scope mounts to get here so I can punch holes in stuff.

RaySendero · « **Reply #17 on:** February 04, 2007, 05:07:01 AM »

Quote from: jeager106 on December 17, 2004, 05:44:33 AM

Seems the 'scout rifle' of Col. Copper fame has kinda fallen out of fashion.
I wanted to build one and have a Burris Scout Scope, but lost interest.
I still have the scope and once again am thinking of making up a scout.
I need advice, hopefully from some with one.
Do I want a bolt action?
I have a 7400 in .308, but doubt it would make a good platform for the scout.
Suggestions?
I want to stick with the .308 as it's a well balanced ctg. and inherently accurate and I have plenty of Fed. match brass.
How does the scout scope afix to the barrel?
I suppose I could get a marlin 30.30 as mounts are very available, but the round is a bit anemic.
I'm not knocking the 30.03, have one, good deer gun to 100 yards, but the 308 will reach a might further.
What platform do I want to build this scout rifle around?
Comments welcome.

jeager,

I've seen scout set-ups on both a bolt and a lever action rifles.

A friend has two lever action rifles with scout set-ups; a 30/30 and a 45LC. He hunts deer with both. His longest shot so far is less than 90 yards. He's never lost a deer shot with either rifle.

I prefer a bolt. Had a scout set-up on an old Vz-24 mauser (8x57) and currently have a scout set-up on my 7.5x55 Swiss straight pull bolt. The Swiss K-31 is now MY FAVORITE carry around deer/hog rifle. The scout set-up is the fastest "get-on-target" sight system I've used and it complements the very quick straight pull bolt on the Swiss great! Also I was supprised at how accurately one could aim a 2.5X scout rifle scope at the longer distances!

scout34 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 02, 2007, 01:33:07 AM »

Took my Steyr out for a spin the other day. Shooting 147gr reloads on one of Fred's http://www.fredsm14stocks.com/Default.asp quick AQTs. Shot 206, 3 points shy of expert rating 209. One clean miss at 300yd target didn't help. Putting a sling on would help. This is one fine shooting gun.

scout34 · « **Reply #19 on:** May 07, 2007, 11:10:21 AM »

Love my scout, don't love trying to find additional mags. Used my Speedy Stitcher to sew up a Ching Sling. Took the gun out for a spin this weekend and got admonished by the range officer for rapid fire. When he saw that it was a bolt action I was shooting he looked pretty confused.