RUGER GUNSITE SCOUT RIFLE
I've got one.
It's my favorite .308 caliber bolt action rifle. The short barrel is a little tack driver and I plan on using it for most game animals that I would use the .308 for. For me that's deer, elk, antelope, mountain lion, and bear. I'll go with a larger caliber for moose, caribou, bison, and alaskan bears. I find the rifle to be very versitle and handy. Like the AR it is adaptable. I've removed the forward rail and turned it into a more traditional scoped rifle. That's because long shots are the norm for deer season here. I'd venture that 300 Yard shots are the "norm", thus a higer powered scope.
I've been very impressed with the rifles accuracy and "handiness". It is a rifle that I like to carry and port around. The Scout Rifle was designed as a General Purpose Rifle that one can defend, carry, and bring home the meat with. I'm a big fan of this rifle in a short period of time. If I go to hunting heavy timber I'll put the rail back on the rifle and put my red dot on it. The only reason I'm not using a scout scope right now is because I plan on taking longer shots this fall, and thus favor a more traditional scope set up at this time.
Prior to deciding to do some longer range hunting I had a red dot on my rifle and was comfortable out to 250 yards with it in the scout rifle mode. Before this rifle I was never much of a fan of packing a bolt action rifle. This rifle is easy to pack in the desert, can get the game, and in a pinch defend. That's what the Scout was designed to do. There are a few manufactuers of after market magazines, and the in line 10 round magazine, while looking like a midship rudder is actually very handy. I pack mine with a 5 round magazine in place and carry two 10 round magazines as spares.
The only negative to this rifle, according to some, is that you can't top off your ammunition supply with stripper clips. Hey guess what, you can't do that with an AR either! So for me that makes it a moot point. That's what spare magazines are for. This is a light, easy shooting, adaptable rifle that can function in many roles much like the AR can function in a variety of roles. It's not "perfect" in any role, like the AR isn't perfect, but it's dang good at a variety of roles.
With iron sights, and the ones that come on the rifle are dang good, it's a sweet shooter. With a scout scope it's mo' betta. With a traditional scope it's the cat's meow in a long range role. I liked the red dot scope on mine for traditional packing and humping, and brush shooting. The short barrel favors the brush too. The short barrel also favors the longer range stuff, as it's a tack driver. That's one thing that seems to be said often about this rifle, "It's a tack driver."
If you have need or want of a .308 caliber rifle, one would look long and hard to find a rifle that will fill more roles than this rifle, and do a better job.
Biker
PS: I've never been a fan of bolt action rifles for myself. They were fine for other folks until now. Now I'm a fan. That's said as a left handed rifle shooter shooting a right handed bolt.