FWIW, I agree with TAK and Gmoats - Jeff Cooper 'owns' the term "Scout Rifle", so different ideas need simply need to come up with a different name. IIRC, Jeff Cooper called a .223 version of the Steyr a "poodle scout".
Comparing the M4 to the Scout Rifle is fair on a shootout-themed thread, but it only tells a fraction of the story. Cooper used terms such as general-purpose and utility to describe his concept. Cooper's concept was a rifle that a man could hunt the earth with, and also useful should a fight happen to break out. To be a better mousetrap, the M4 would have to do
everything better than the Scout Rifle. On those terms, I'd probably pick his Scout Rifle.
