I like it,the AR platform is overrated also.

savage scout rifle! savage model 11 lightweight hunter. Howa ranchland! If a person likes ruger they like ruger. Let them love their ruger. I will stay away from them but that's just me. Hope it shoots for you.

Here's what I have and it was way cheaper and it is suprisingly accurate and I haven't even worked up loads yet (yes hornady has started selling the bullets and powder for it)

Marlin 308 Express

Same weight, same overall length, nearly identical ballistics and is available in stainless.

I put a leupold 3-9 scope on mine and I easily shoot 1" groups at 200 yards with factory ammo.

Pig/Coyote killer for sure!

well, I messed with one today at the lgs... nice rifle, but just didn't do it for me... I brought a stainless tikka in 7mm-08 home!

You will love the 7/08.

I hope so, seems like big gun ballistics with out all the recoil to me...

Bought one for my daughter in December put it in Ti stock with Zeiss 3x9x40 and now I want one loaded with 120gr Tsx it is an awesome rig you will be glad you bought it

Well I have been waiting for a good scout for a long time. I tried the savage but the one I had had a faulty trigger that was very dangerous and adjusting it didn't help. If you hit the buttstock with your hand the gun would fire so i sent it to savage and they just gave me my money back.

Everybody seems to be pretty split on their opinion of my gun. Thats cool, to each their own. I must say though I don't get what redchevy is saying, it doesn't look like an AR at all and its not trying to be. It is a short barrel bolt rifle that is set up for general purpose. you can hunt with it, good truck gun, brush gun and battle carbine all in one gun. at least thats the idea. But it sure is making for a good discussion.

How can you say it doesnt look like an AR?

That is all it is is a bolt gun with several of the same features of an ar... making it look like one. Im sure it will function just fine, just isnt my cup of tea!

Jeff Cooper had the idealogy of a Scout Rifle as such to be used by such. His specs required the gun to be
38" or less
7 pounds or less
Iron sights with the adition of foward scout style scope/red dot optic
Either magazine fed or reloadable via stripper clips
Capable of engaging man size targets from 100-350yds

Ruger actually made a better scout rifle a few years ago called the Mark 77 Frontier, it was lighter weight and more compact which was what the rifle was all about. They have tried to take more features from the AR and apply them to this rifle and have fubared the IDEA in the process. I for one think its weighted horribly, it uses AI mags which are expensive to say the least, I think they could have come up with something, I have also never been fond of flas hiders on bolt rifles unless its used to atach a supressor. I think the idea was beat to death and gunsite designed a poor substitute for a AR-15 or Ar-10.

The best scout rifle was the Steyer Manlicher that Jeff actually had a hand in designing, But it was priced about 3 times to high.

Savage made a really nice Scout rifle that was priced right.

I have seen several good builds using Remington 700 Youth models, Thats what I did used a foward scope mount and utilised a red dot, works great on Hogs and Coyotes.

I wouldn't buy a rifle on a gunblast review. Do your own research.

+1, On every gun purchase. Reviews are nice, but so is the swag the reviewers get from the manufacturers.

Oh crap new gun on the wish list, thanks! lol

I agree about Gunblast, what can you say negative about a rifle that is sent to you by the manufacturers...."it"s a piece of crap" it would be the last time you got a rifle for free use. just like the TV hunting shows, seems like most host use a Thompson rifle, Swaroski optics etc. you sure aint gonna slam em if you got a gravy train. get free hunts at great "managed" game ranches (canned hunts). what a nice way to make a living, too bad I got to work for mine.

Why not just get a Spanish FR8 whole lot cheaper and will most likely out shoot the Ruger. I was told by a very good rifle builder from the Hill Country of Texas that Ruger uses the very best $25 gun barrels!

I think Ruger would have done better my making a .308 version of the Mini 30. Why they decided to go with 7.62x39 I'll never understand.

well psychosmurf, the savage scout is horrible, at least the one i owned was. And this new ruger scout rifle is so much better than the frontier and so much closer to coopers specs. The frontier did weigh a little less but it has no back up iron sights and no detachable magazine, two very crucial characters that make a rifle a cooper "scout" rifle. And yes the steyr is a great concept of a scout but it also cost $1700- $2000. The frontier was not a scout it just had a forward mounted scope rib and tried to claim it was a scout. But Ruger went back to the drawing board and figured it out this time.

I'm a ruger fan and I like that but not sure I like te whole "scout rifle" set up

yeah, its not some folks cup of tea. My dad started talking about them back in the early 90's when i was a kid so I grew up hearing about Jeff Cooper and his scout rifle concept so i guess it just stuck with me and I really like this one a lot. I am a big Ruger fan as well. They make good bolt rifles, a great AR-15, great single actions (I love the vaquero), the 10/22 is great, all their .22 pistols (revolvers and the mk series). The only thing I think they don't compete in is semi auto pistols, but maybe the sr9 will work for them. Overall I think they make a great variety of quality firearms.

Who gives a dang what Cooper thinks the ideal rifle was. Cooper didn't live in Texas and probably didn't hunt the things you do. Get what you think is the best suited to your needs...

I have no use for a detachable magazine on a bolt gun, just another thing to lose. If you are going to use a detachable magazine, why not use an AR-10 or FAL mag that can be had in any decent gun store instead of a proprietary mag that costs $50?

I agree- I would rather have seen them come out with a "Maxi" 14 in 308 for around $500 that would hold 2 moa. That I would be excited about...

They went with 7.62x39 because of pressure levels. They'd have to re-design the action to get .308 levels safely...

Well KC, Jeff Cooper was widely considered to be one of the foremost experts on firearms throughout the gun community. so yeah I think his opinion means something. I know Jeff Coopers opinion isn't near as important as yours, You post your mighty opinions on this little hunting forum WOW! All Cooper did was found Gunsite, write several books on firearms, and write for the nationally circulated Guns and Ammo magazine,I don't know if you've heard of it. But Im sure he would have given all that up to follow in your all knowing footsteps.

The whole point of this post wasn't for you to tell me why I should or shouldn't have bought this gun, I buy all the time without your input and Im just fine. The point was to open a discussion about what people PERSONALLY thought of the gun, some like it some don't and that ok but you wandered way off topic and have shown your true colors. Next time try and keep up please?

Wow, easy there cowboy... I've read everything Cooper ever wrote and know quite well his impact on the industry. Never said he wasn't an important man or that he didn't contribute to the firearms industry in great ways. However, his opinion as to the perfect rifle has little bearing on what my opinion is. You see, I have this nasty little habit of making up my own mind based on my experiences and observations. I've also read everything Keith wrote but I don't cary a 6" N-Frame when I hunt.

Hugh Hefner and I would probably disagree about what the ideal woman should look like as well- does that mean I'm not entitled to an opinion? If all we did on this forum was agree with each other it would be a mighty boring place.

As to Ruger being a bastion of innovation and variety I am moved to cough and say "bs"...

Precisely what was the point of your post? Wanna roll over and have us scratch your belly for buying a rifle built to another man's specifications?

Please tell me what it is in your opinion that makes this the best general purpose rifle ever built. Wanna talk guns? Let's talk em then...

Remington's new Model 750 Carbine length in 308 would be a great choice too, smaller, faster, magazine fed, and a good shooter.

I'm a big fan of Rugers as most on here know, but that thing looks like it was built in somebody's garage. Bulky and combersome looking with a mag hanging down thats going to snag everthing. Then they put it in the one caliber I don't like. Not my cup of tea I view it as more of a novelty item.

A Don't take stuff you read on the interweb personal, you posted something about a rifle on a public forum. I listed a few criticisms I had for the rifle, I'm not on any Manufactures Payroll unlike half the people reviewing equipment these day, I'm paid to know firearms and what works and doesnt, like I said this was just a few problems I had with the gun. Again if it works for you run it, but theres better options.

I have shot and sold several and have been very pleased with them, and I HATE SAVAGE.


A detachable magazine that is proprietary and cost what AI mags do is a mistake, sticking that far below the rifle is also a con as you can not prone out for more accurate fire. Iron sights with a scope in the way are useless anyways, if your in so much S^^^ that your scope fails you would want an auto anyways.Having a laminate stock is also a downside, should have used a kevlar renforced or likewise decent synthetic stock. Again Im not a fan of Flashhiders on boltguns.

If you re-read my post I mentioned the Steyr was double if not tripple overpriced of what it should have been. Again having shot both I would actually take the frontier as light/scout rifle, as the only time I would use such a rifle is during long hikes hunting. If I was in any sort of Scenerio that Cooper Described for the entended purpose of the Rifle I would use any number of AR, AK or FAL platform rifle.