Building a Ruger Scout Rifle help.

Buzzballer

Buzzballer

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Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has experience with, or suggestions for, my next build.

I'm looking to put together a scout-style rifle that will serve as a hunting rifle for deer in the Ontario bush, a general-purpose survival rifle, and hopefully something I can eventually take to New Zealand for a hunting trip or two.

The plan is to run a Vortex Crossfire Scout scope, but I can't decide on the rifle.

My original plan was a Ruger American Ranch Gen II in 6.5 Creedmoor with a Skinner Sights scout rail. The ballistics of the 6.5 CM are really appealing, especially since I already own several .308s. With the new Peak+ 6.5 CM ammunition available, a 16" barrel seems like it could make for an excellent lightweight bush/survival rifle. I also have to admit, the fluted barrel on the Gen II Ranch looks fantastic.

Now, though, Ruger has released the new Ruger Scout Rifle. It's already set up for a forward-mounted optic and iron sights right from the factory, which is a big plus. On the downside, it isn't fluted and it's only available in .308. I'm also not a huge fan of the large front sight post, although it's probably more functional than the small backup sights built into the Skinner rail. Realistically, the rifle will almost always be wearing the scout scope anyway.

So what would you do? Would you go with the Gen II Ranch in 6.5 Creedmoor and add the Skinner rail, or choose the purpose-built Scout Rifle in .308?
 
Buzzballer said:
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I'm looking to put together a scout-style rifle that will serve as a hunting rifle for deer in the Ontario bush, a general-purpose survival rifle, and hopefully something I can eventually take to New Zealand for a hunting trip or two.

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My shooting experience is littered with projects and experiments. What I've come to realize too late is my physical abilities aren't what they used to be. Youth is wasted on the young. The idea of a scout rifle for snap shooting is appealing, but am I good enough in the bush to sneak up on something edible? Maybe not.
 
First thing is forget the Vortex. Not because I don’t like Vortex, I do. (I own more Vortex than any other brand). Unfortunately, owning several rifles over the years set up as scout rifles, I can positively say that the Vortex Scout is my least favourite. Probably the best “Scout Scope” is the Burris. Even the cheap Hi-Lux from Wolverine outperforms the Vortex. And if you need a little more magnification Burris actually makes a pistol scope in a 3-12X that works well in a scout configuration.

As far as scout rifles. Of course the best is still probably the Steyr - which comes in 6.5CM now. I owned the original Ruger Gunsite in 308. Good rifle, and I liked it, but at some point it went down the road. The Mossberg was actually pretty good, for a Mossberg, but it did feel cheap and plasticy. Haven’t tried the Ruger American yet. I’ve still got the Savage Magpul Scout. So far I’m liking it the best for the ergonomics, but it’s a little heavier than some. Probably my favourite, and the one I’ll always keep is actually an old Remington 760 set up with a forward mounted rail.
 
For a "scout" rifle, I started with some research - Richard Mann's book and various writings by the "Colonel": Jeff Cooper. To find out what it was like, I bought a used Savage "Scout" in 7.62x39 and installed a Burris 2.75 power Scout Scope. I would say, based on the readings, that Savage missed about everything significant about the Scout design as espoused by Cooper, although it did have a "forward" mounted scope apparatus. I was "underwhelmed" - I could not find anything that outfit would do that a conventional scope mount rifle could not do, but it appeared to be an improvement over using iron sights. I still can not find to buy replacement factory made magazines for that rifle. I would suggest to learn to shoot with both eyes open, and then try various rifles - I suspect you will discover that a "Scout" rifle is probably a good solution to a problem that never actually existed - but obviously it sells - so somebody makes money.
 
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I totally agree with Potashminer. For some reason I’m in love with the “Scout Rifle” concept, and I keep justifying having/building another one. With all of the LPVO’s that are now available on the market, there is nothing a forward mounted optic will do that an LPVO mounted in the traditional position won’t do, and probably do better. The only place that I’ve truly found a scout scope setup makes sense (to me) is on a takedown rifle where the scope is sighted with the barrel and you don’t get a POI shift, an older Winchester 94/Savage 99 where the scope interferes with top eject, or a milsurp where you are using the clip guide. Having said that, I will probably always have at least one that solves a problem that never really existed. LOL.
 
KePet said:
First thing is forget the Vortex. Not because I don’t like Vortex, I do. (I own more Vortex than any other brand). Unfortunately, owning several rifles over the years set up as scout rifles, I can positively say that the Vortex Scout is my least favourite. Probably the best “Scout Scope” is the Burris. Even the cheap Hi-Lux from Wolverine outperforms the Vortex. And if you need a little more magnification Burris actually makes a pistol scope in a 3-12X that works well in a scout configuration.

As far as scout rifles. Of course the best is still probably the Steyr - which comes in 6.5CM now. I owned the original Ruger Gunsite in 308. Good rifle, and I liked it, but at some point it went down the road. The Mossberg was actually pretty good, for a Mossberg, but it did feel cheap and plasticy. Haven’t tried the Ruger American yet. I’ve still got the Savage Magpul Scout. So far I’m liking it the best for the ergonomics, but it’s a little heavier than some. Probably my favourite, and the one I’ll always keep is actually an old Remington 760 set up with a forward mounted rail.
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And the 760/7600s can have legal 10 round magazines.

If there is a problem that I can't solve with 10 .308 softpoints, I think it's time to run........
 
geologist said:
And the 760/7600s can have legal 10 round magazines.

If there is a problem that I can't solve with 10 .308 softpoints, I think it's time to run........
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I would echo this sentiment, but there really always comes a point where the magazine is empty - I hunted whitetail many years with a Win XTR in 308 Win and 165 grain Soft Points - I can only recall one deer taken from the magazine - the third or fourth round fired - all the rest fell down at the first shot. That means that I carried extra weight in the rifle for miles and years, that I never did use. So, when our son left home and took that 308 Win, that was my "excuse" to get a No. 1 in 7x57 - I took many dozen deer with that one - one particular mule deer buck stands out - 13 shots - it fell down at the first shot and stayed down on the 13th shot - in between, there was a lot of running up and down gullies, huffing and puffing, and missing, going on - all with a single shot rifle. The last deer I took with that rifle was a white-tail doe - hit squarely between the eyes - the top of the skull cap was gone and the brain pan was empty - my wife brought the truck around and helped me to field dress and load that one into the truck box.
 
KePet said:
First thing is forget the Vortex. Not because I don’t like Vortex, I do. (I own more Vortex than any other brand). Unfortunately, owning several rifles over the years set up as scout rifles, I can positively say that the Vortex Scout is my least favourite. Probably the best “Scout Scope” is the Burris. Even the cheap Hi-Lux from Wolverine outperforms the Vortex. And if you need a little more magnification Burris actually makes a pistol scope in a 3-12X that works well in a scout configuration.

As far as scout rifles. Of course the best is still probably the Steyr - which comes in 6.5CM now. I owned the original Ruger Gunsite in 308. Good rifle, and I liked it, but at some point it went down the road. The Mossberg was actually pretty good, for a Mossberg, but it did feel cheap and plasticy. Haven’t tried the Ruger American yet. I’ve still got the Savage Magpul Scout. So far I’m liking it the best for the ergonomics, but it’s a little heavier than some. Probably my favourite, and the one I’ll always keep is actually an old Remington 760 set up with a forward mounted rail.
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Thanks for this suggestion on optics KePet. I live 5 minutes from the vortex warranty office so its hard to not want to buy from them. They are really awesome to deal with. But i will absolutely look at the Burris and hi-lux and see what they have to offer.

I have a Ruger American gen 1 in .223 and I am amazed at how dependable of a firearm it really is. Nothing special but surprisingly good for the price range. Ill dive into this more shortly.
 
Love all the feedback guys, thanks!

Stepping into the way back machine I fell in love with my m14 back before we lost those and I have always wanted to find a replacement that would be a one rifle solution to a lot of problems (hunting, survival, camping or easy to put in the truck gun). For the last number of years I've humped a .308 Remington 700 16" in a KRG chassis with both a Vortex Viper 5-25 and then a 1-8LPVO. It was decent but hauling a 11lbs gun around the bush leaves a lot to be desired.

Enter the drive to the Scout Rifle. I really like Col. Jeff Coopers original idea but as potashminer suggested, times have changed and the scout rifle might be a solution to a problem that never really existed. However, The idea of a 6-7lbs rifle, magazine fed, short barrel with irons and optics, that has some ability to be modular would be awesome. The thing I really like about the scout design with the long rail is that I can pickup a scout scope and try that, and if the solution really is a LPVO, that is an easy switch back to that.

It sounds like .308 really is the direction most people end up going. I have attached a picture from an American hunter guide CadeCole. I love his content and he is all about designing and using a rifle that builds fast target acquisition through developing muscle memory. It seems the more relaxed eyebox of the scout scope really lends well to this, as well as it seems shooting with two eyes open is easier because the optic is further away. (I will admit i do kinda squint half closed my less dominant eye)
 

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There has been several mentions of "pistol" scopes. The proper reference for a hand gun scope is Extended Eye Relief Scope (EER) - this is about the distance of your outstretched arm - that used to be circa 20". Then a "scout" scope used to be Intermediate Eye Relief Scope (IER) about 12 to 16" eye relief. A "normal" centre fire rifle scope used to have 2" to 4" Eye Relief. Eye Relief is the distance to your eye to get full view through the scope - no black visible. I have a couple really old rimfire Weaver scopes - I am sure their eye relief is 1/2" to 1" or so.
 
Tell us about the .308's you mentioned in your first post. Maybe all you need is a barrel chop and an LVPO in QD on a rail. Pop the optic off and use a red dot instead of irons for short range?
Years ago I tried the scout setup with a used Steyr then a Gunsite. My crummy eyes did not like the view through a scout scope at low light.
 
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these are the real scouts for starters

SteyrScoutCreedmoor-F.jpg
 
I agree with the others , a LPVO will perform better than a Scout scope in almost every way. The only advantage is in the mounting which allows slim Scout rifles to be carried at the natural carry point when a scope is mounted forward. . That does't much matter as most scouts have protruding magazines that prevent carrying this way. I have 2 Ruger GSR's one in 308 and one in 5.56 plus a 308 Frontier and not a day goes by that I don't wish I had a Steyr . If i was thinking about a new Scout rifle I would save my money and get the Steyr.
 
38'55 said:
I agree with the others , a LPVO will perform better than a Scout scope in almost every way. The only advantage is in the mounting which allows slim Scout rifles to be carried at the natural carry point when a scope is mounted forward. . That does't much matter as most scouts have protruding magazines that prevent carrying this way. I have 2 Ruger GSR's one in 308 and one in 5.56 plus a 308 Frontier and not a day goes by that I don't wish I had a Steyr . If i was thinking about a new Scout rifle I would save my money and get the Steyr.
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That was about the only thing that I liked about the Savage Scout - it has a flush fit detachable magazine that makes the thing REALLY nice to carry one-handed. However, the mag has to be removed to top it up - you can not top it up while it is in the rifle. The mag latch is a very flimsy looking piece of plastic that I am sure will snap off in the cold - and I can not find factory replacement mags for that rifle - even Savage does not list them!
 
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