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15K views 55 replies 26 participants last post by  ront1 
#1 ·
#4 ·
as far a a niche i dont know. i did not buy it because i am a preacher of the scout rifle concept. i thought it looked cool. i wanted something with more punch than a 223. it is a light, short handy rifle. everyone who shoots it falls in love with it. come on up to ohio and you are more than welcome to put some rounds thru it.

as far as quality goes it is a ruger and i have always had good luck with ruger quality. i have many examples in my safe and all are good shooters.
 
#7 ·
what did you pay?? i was just over 800 out the door.
the gunsite is one of those rifles you have to shoot to understand. the haters say its on old concept the purists are mad cause it does not use stripper clips (the new ruger poly mags are able to be top loaded). none of them have shot it. magazine and internet reviews are great but you are still going by what the author thinks of the gun.
 
#8 ·
the haters say its on old concept the purists are mad cause it does not use stripper clips (the new ruger poly mags are able to be top loaded).
I am having a problem figuring out what niche the scout rifle serves?

The idea of a bolt action rifle with a detachable magazine is appealing, but not $800 appealing.

If the Ruger Scout rifle cost in the $400 - $500 range, it would probably get a lot more love.
 
#10 ·
Why would anyone pay $800 for a gun?? Its because we want too! I sometimes wonder why people pay 4k on 1911 pistols, to each their own. But one last thing, I think its a good bargain mine shoots Sub MOA .875" groups with premium ammo.

I paid $800 out the door as well. I have seen them here in NC anywhere from $775 to $999. I think I got lucky that I found one in LH
 
#11 ·
Why would anyone pay $800 for a gun?? Its because we want too!
Its a cost to reward thing.

Why pay $800 for a bolt action rifle, when you can buy a lever action 30-30 and a remington shotgun for the same price?

If you want to spend $800 on a rifle, that is fine with me. I spent $1,200 on my FN/FAL. I wanted an FN/FAL, so I bought one. But that is an FAL.

What makes the Ruger Scout Rifle stand out over other bolt action rifles on the market?

With the FN, I can say its the military experience of the rifle. Over the past 4 decades the FN/FAL has served in conflicts all over the world. It has a reputation of being a quality firearm.

With the Scout rifle,,,, its a bolt action rifle with a magazine.
 
#14 ·
I would like to have a Ruger Scout rifle in 308 winchester, but the $800 price ticket is a little difficult to swallow.

For me, the rifle would be used for hunting at ranges around 125 yards and less. For that range a Marlin 336 in 30-30 would do the just probably as good as a 308. And a Marlin 336 cost a lot less then the ruger gunsite scout rifle.

If I had $800 laying around and nothing better to buy, I would grab one.

I just think the scout rifle is a little over priced. But I am sure there are people who disagree.
 
#15 ·
For me, the rifle would be used for hunting at ranges around 125 yards and less. For that range a Marlin 336 in 30-30 would do the just probably as good as a 308. And a Marlin 336 cost a lot less then the ruger gunsite scout rifle.
.
For that purpose, I would buy a 336 over the GSR as well. However, If I were to buy one, it would be set up as a mid range rifle, (200-600m),with the possibility of also using it as a suppressor platform much later on. YMMV

as to the poly mags, form follows function! they are far more useful than the steel mags
 
#18 ·
I have looked at them, held them and even shot one. I just can't justify the cost. I already have a Ruger 308 Compact that shoots very well. I like short compact rifles and find the Ruger has become my go to rifle. The GSR offers a bit heavier barrel, iron sites, removable magazines and scope mounting options. On the downside it is heavier, the plastic trigger guard bothers me, and the design if the front site seems odd (the center post should be protected and it seems to be at the same height as the two wings).

If I look at how I use a my rifle I don't see any advantage to the GSR. Also the Ruger Compact is about 150 to 200 dollars less.
 
#23 ·
Still going back and fourth on purchasing this rifle. I have a M1A Scout that I truly love but it is a little heavy. I have not shot a the Gunsite Scout but I shoot the M1A Scout on a regular basis.

I like the weight, look, magazine feed and size of the Gunsite Scout.

Just keep trying to justify the purchase.

I am glad they came out with cheaper polymer mags. I was hoping they would go with M1A mags. When I asked why they did not I was told that M1A mags where not reliable, I almost fell over laughing.
 
#26 ·
Still going back and fourth on purchasing this rifle. I have a M1A Scout that I truly love but it is a little heavy. I have not shot a the Gunsite Scout but I shoot the M1A Scout on a regular basis.

I like the weight, look, magazine feed and size of the Gunsite Scout.

Just keep trying to justify the purchase.

I am glad they came out with cheaper polymer mags. I was hoping they would go with M1A mags. When I asked why they did not I was told that M1A mags where not reliable, I almost fell over laughing.
i really want one as well but the mags have me hung up as well, along with the barrel, i wish it was just 18" like the aussie model
 
#24 ·
Even at $750-800, the value just isn't there IMO.

I mean, if you just really want a "scout rifle" I guess you have limited options. I have never really been sold on the concept, and can't justify the cost for what it is.
 
#28 ·
XR750:
If you enjoy milsurps, you might be familiar with the Spanish FR8, Not to be confused with the small-ring FR7.
The FR8 has the strong, large-ring 8mm Mauser action and seems to be about the size and general shape as the RGS. Coincidence?;)
Among other issues most people don't realize this, but the weaker, Spanish version of the 7.62 NATO round was developed for the much weaker, much older actions of the Spanish 7mm Mausers, which were also converted to NATO 7.62.

It was Not developed, nor needed for the much stronger FR8.

The 100-yard sight is an open sight and does pretty well at 50 yards. The other three settings which rotate on a flat disc, similar to the HK, are for 200, 300 and 400 yards.
Examples now often sell for $425-450 with excellent bores, and quite often matching bolts. After the 5-rd. mag. is empty, either the animal has been hit or likely has left the area.
 
#29 ·
Like some of the others, I have had my GSR for over a year. It is simply a great little rifle. I have wanted a .308 with GR sights for some time. I pondered getting the compact M-77 for some time, but by the time you buy the sights and have them installed, you have eaten up the $200 difference. I have been using the Leupold Scout Scope on mine and have grown to like it. I ran the iron sights for the first few month, because I could not afford the scope; I really like the irons as well. My gun will shoot under an inch at 100 yards all day with my handloads, is easy on the shoulder, and very portable. I understand that some have an issue with the price, but I have tried for some time to build up a similar rifle and always ended up well over a grand. I got my GSR for $720 bucks plus tax and reg; I think that is more than fair for what you are getting.

AWMP- the problem with the M-14 mags was not that they were not reliable, but rather were difficult to feed from a bolt action. I converted some M-14 mags to work in my Ruger Frontier rifle and they were a pain. You had to really shove the bolt forward for reliable feeding. There is no comparison between the M-14 mags and the AI mags. I really like the M-14, but the mags just don't blend well with a bolt action.
 
#30 ·
I bought my Ruger Scout two years ago. It is #159 of the first production run. I put a 1-5x Leupold on it and have used it mainly to shoot long and short range silhouette, and some 3 gun matches.

The gun has exceeded my expectations by 500%. It is sub MOA with my Standard reload of 45 gr of IMR4895 and 147gr FMJBT Recycled M80 ball bullets at 2600fps, as well as my cast boolit loads at 1750fps. I have ran @700 rounds of FMJ thru it and another 300 cast boolit loads. It didn't shoot cast well until the barrel was well broken in, now they are sub MOA as well.

The gun is about to get an XS Scout rail installed along with a Leupold VX-R Patrol 3-9x Scope Mil/Mil with Firedot in one of my new custom mounts. I want to be able to change optics on this gun for different purposes without losing zeros.

The whole purpose of the new scope is that there is more accuracy in this gun than I can achieve with a 5x scope. If I can hit Rams at 500 meters offhand with a 5x scope then it should be pretty easy to hit a man sized target at 600 yards with a 9x scope off a rest. Also the scope will allow shooting deeper into the dusk times with the firedot illumination feature.

I paid $725 for this gun and the dealers cost is $652, so I figure it was a good price. There are guns which are less expensive however they don't offer the features that this gun has, and it is pointless to compare them to the Scout. The GSR is available in 2 versions, Regular 16.5" barrel with flash hider, and 18" barrel without the FH/Canadian version. Also right and left hand models in both styles..

I was fortunate to be given polymer mags by Ruger to Beta Test. They come in 3,5,10 rounds versions, and are far superior to the steel mags and feed much smoother. You can load them while in the gun but it is easier to just take the mag out load it and put it back in. They are also < half the price of the steel mags which do not feed as smoothly. Midway has them on sale right now for $30 each as opposed to $70 each for the AI mags the gun comes with. I have several of both kinds but only use the plastic mags now. The feed stroke is night and day difference with the poly mags.

I read posts from several nay sayers in this thread. I am here to tell you that until you have actually used one you can't possibly understand the value of the concept. This gun is a home run in every sense of the word. It will hunt game as well or better than any .308 caliber rifle out there, and it will kill people better than most. You would not be at any disadvantage if you had to survive with this rifle, or could only have one gun to hunt or fight with.

I can't recommend this gun enough. I have a thread over at Castboolits.com that has been running for over a year and a half and has had several thousand views . Many people have bought this gun based on my recommendation.

NONE HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED IN ANY WAY!

This gun is just that good!

Randy
 

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#31 ·
Well I finally did it. Was walking around the PX (post exchange) and walked to the gun counter and they had a Ruger Scout. I handled if for sometime and then bought it.

As mentioned in this thread months ago I have an M1A Scout as well and love it but the Ruger is sweet as well.

The Ruger is lighter and has a great looking stock.

My wife bought me several Poly Mags for Christmas.

Now I just have to find a good scope to put on it. I'm going to use the Ruger Rings.

I would like something that is compact and with a magnification to at least 9, ideas? (budget 400.00)
 
#33 ·
Well I finally did it. Was walking around the PX (post exchange) and walked to the gun counter and they had a Ruger Scout. I handled if for sometime and then bought it.

As mentioned in this thread months ago I have an M1A Scout as well and love it but the Ruger is sweet as well.

The Ruger is lighter and has a great looking stock.

My wife bought me several Poly Mags for Christmas.

Now I just have to find a good scope to put on it. I'm going to use the Ruger Rings.

I would like something that is compact and with a magnification to at least 9, ideas? (budget 400.00)
Nikon Buckmaster BDC 4-14x40 or the Bushnell Elite 4200 4-16x40. The Bushnell has as good if not better glass as the VX3's, and has a reputation of very good durability. It has the Bausch and Lomb lenses with Rainguard. Check Cabella's
 
#32 ·
I have the Ruger GSS and love it. It's a great handling rifle and mine is very accurate now that I have put 70 rnds thru it. I have a Nikon Buckmaster 4-14 BDC and can shoot 1 inch at 200. Haven't tried it at any longer distances except for a crow at apx 275 or so. Nothing but feathers. I got my scout for $750 out the door. I can't believe all the comments about the price justification for this great handling 308 brush gun. To me it is worth every penny. Someone was using the Marlin lever 30-30 as some sort of match for the Scout. NO WAY, get serious. I have both. The Marlin is a great little lever rifle but it's no match for the .308 Scout. I have a Sako and a Tika. and the quality of the Scout is on par with those as far as I'm concerned. Just trust me, "if" you owned the GS Scout rifle, and used it, you would feel differently. The trigger is excellent, right out of the box. Cabels's had the new Bushnell Elite 4200 on sale. Bought it for $299.00. What a steal. It may be going on my Scout, and the Buckmaster may go on my Mach2.
 
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