Click pictures for a larger version.
Buttstock spacers.
Magazine latch / release.
Barrel is free-floated for most of its length.
Three-position safety.
Massive extractor assures positive extraction.
Accurate Mag ten-shot detachable box magazine.
|
|
It sure does not seem to me like it has been
four years since I first wrote about
the then-new Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle. I certainly do not
remember four years' worth of stuff between then and now, but I
do remember firing and writing about different
versions of their dandy Scout rifle during that time. The
Gunsite Scout Rifle has proven to be very successful for Ruger,
as they are producing the best example of Colonel Cooper's
original concept to date.
This latest version of the Gunsite Scout
Rifle is the subject of this brief review, as there is no need
to plow the same ground that I covered in the earlier reviews of
this weapon, but instead refer the reader to those previous
reviews for details.
The latest version of Ruger's Gunsite Scout
Rifle is, in my opinion, the best yet, as it wears a polymer
composite stock, instead of the laminated wood stock of the
previous versions of the rifle. Ruger offers the laminated wood
versions in nine different configurations, including both left-handed
and right-handed actions, chambered in either 5.56x45mm
or 308 Winchester. What I like about the composite-stock version
is that it drops a significant amount of weight from the rifle.
Ruger lists the 308 sixteen-inch wood-stocked rifle as weighing
in at an even seven pounds, but my sample weighed three ounces
more. This composite stock Scout rifle weighs in at six pounds,
five ounces on my scale, and the balance feels just right in my
hands. That is getting pretty close to a full pound lighter,
which really changes the handling dynamics of this rifle.
The stock on this Scout rifle is not a cheap
plastic unit built to a price point. In fact, the price on this
rifle is sixty dollars higher than the comparable wood-stocked
version, but this new composite-stocked rifle also has an
effective radial port muzzle brake, instead of just a flash
suppressor as on the other versions of the Gunsite Scout Rifle.
The stock features a textured finish on the exterior where
needed, and has aluminum pillar bedding blocks to fully support
the action. The 16.1 inch barrel is free-floated from the
chamber forward. All of the metal except for the bolt and
trigger are a matte black finish. The trigger and bolt are matte
stainless. The trigger guard is integral with the stock. The
stock has the excellent recoil pad and adjustable length common
with the wood-stocked Gunsite Scout rifles, allowing for
adjustment of the length-of-pull and overall length of the
rifle.
The medium weight barrel is rifled one turn
in ten inches, and measures 1.15 inches diameter at the
receiver, tapering to .64 inch just rear of the front sight. The
muzzle is threaded standard 5/8x24 TPI for attachment of the
removable brake, or the addition of a sound suppressor, if
desired.
I
fired a variety of ammunition through the Gunsite Scout Rifle to
test for reliability and accuracy. Reliability was flawless,
with every cartridge feeding smoothly from the ten-round steel
Accurate Mag magazine. Ejection was positive, and there were no
failures to fire with any ammo tested. Velocities are listed in
the chart below. Velocities were recorded at twelve feet from
the muzzle, at an altitude of 541 feet above sea level. Air
temperatures hovered around the forty degree Fahrenheit mark,
with a relative humidity in the fifty-five percent range.
Velocities are recorded in feet-per-second (FPS). MK is a Sierra
Match King bullet. SP is a lead-core jacketed soft point bullet.
DPX is a Barnes homogenous copper hollowpoint bullet. SST is a
polymer-tipped lead-core jacketed bullet. FMJ is a full metal
jacket bullet.
Ammunition |
Bullet Weight |
Velocity |
American Tactical FMJ |
150 |
2604 |
Buffalo Bore MK |
175 |
2363 |
Winchester Supreme Match |
168 |
2433 |
Buffalo Bore SP |
150 |
2677 |
Hornady SST |
165 |
2559 |
Cor-Bon DPX |
168 |
2453 |
Accuracy was superb, as expected. Ruger
hammer-forged barrels shoot very well, and I expected no less
than match-grade accuracy from this Gunsite Scout rifle. For
accuracy testing, I mounted a Leupold 8.5 to 25 power Mark 4
Target/Tactical scope, firing three-shot groups at one hundred
yards. The best and worst groups fired are pictured. As
expected, the match-grade ammo turned in the best groups, but
even the imported FMJ ammo did really well, with sub-two-inch
groups.
While on the subject of accuracy, I want to
offer a short explanation of how and why I shoot rifles to test
for accuracy. Nobody reads my reviews to see how well Jeff Quinn
can shoot. They read to glean as much information as possible
about the subject of the review. That is why I use the best
equipment that I can afford to eliminate as much of me from the
shooting equation as possible. I have a variety of rifle rests
built by Target Shooting,
Inc. to hold the rifle as steadily as possible. I use the
Leupold 25 power scope to assure that I am aiming the rifle as
accurately as possible. I use the best ammunition that I can
find. The goal is to get as close as possible to the potential
accuracy of the weapon being tested. If you are laying a
rolled-up jacket across the hood of a pickup and firing the
cheapest ammo that you could find, do not expect to achieve the
same accuracy as I show here and in my other reviews. If you are
using a Lead Sled on a wooden bench, do not expect the same
level of accuracy. I am trying to show you what the rifle can
do, by eliminating as much of my input as possible.
After accuracy testing, I removed the target
scope and mounted my 2.5 power Leupold Scout scope forward of
the receiver on the Picatinny rail. This type of scope mounting
fits with Jeff Cooper's original plan, but I greatly prefer a
scope mounted atop the receiver myself, so I swapped the Scout
scope out for a Leupold VX-6 in 1 to 6 power. Set at no
magnification, or even at 2 power, the VX-6 allows for shooting
with both eyes open,
for a wide field of view, but the scope can be quickly cranked
up to six power for longer shots, if needed.
There were two reasons for the original Scout
rifle design having the scope mounted forward. One was to allow
quick loading with the use of stripper clips through the top of
the receiver. The use of a detachable box magazine eliminates
that need. The second reason for the forward-mounted scope was
the wide field of view with both eyes open, and the low-powered
VX-6 does the same thing, so I see no advantage to mounting the
scope forward on this Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle. Using the VX-6
has the advantage of a much brighter image in low-light
conditions, such as in early morning and late evening hunting,
so in my opinion, there is no downside at all in using the scope
mounted atop the receiver. However, for those who prefer the
forward-mounted scope, the Ruger comes supplied with the
Picatinny rail, and also with Ruger rings to mount a scope atop
the receiver.
The other details of the Ruger Gunsite Scout
Rifle can be found in my previous reviews, as my goal here was
to show the features of this latest version of the Ruger rifle.
As stated above, I believe that this composite-stock version is
the best to date of the Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle. As of its introduction on December 16th, 2014, MSRP on the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle with polymer composite stock is $1099.00 US.
Check out the Gunsite Scout rifle online at www.ruger.com.
For
the location of a Ruger dealer near you, click on the DEALER
LOCATOR at www.lipseys.com.
To order the Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle
online, click on the GUN GENIE at www.galleryofguns.com.
For a look at the extensive line of quality
Leupold optics, go to www.leupold.com.
For more information on Gunsite Academy and
the training that they offer, go to www.gunsite.com.
To order high quality 7.62x51mm and 308
Winchester ammunition, go to www.buffalobore.com,
www.lehighdefense.com, www.midsouthshooterssupply.com,
and www.luckygunner.com.
To
order extra magazines or 30mm scope rings for the Gunsite Scout
rifle, go to www.shopruger.com.
Jeff Quinn
 
Got something to say about this article?
Want to agree (or disagree) with it? Click the following link to
go to the GUNBlast Feedback Page.
|
|
Click pictures for a larger version.
Rifle comes with Ruger scope rings.
Leupold 2.5-power extended eye relief Scout scope.
Leupold VX-6 scope.
Variety of ammunition used in testing.
Smallest and largest groups fired with the Ruger
Gunsite Scout Rifle.
Aluminum bedding blocks in stock.
|