Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics scope for Ruger 77 scout rifle

New member of our hunting group has a ruger 77 scout rifle in the 308 offering currently with open sights. He is wishing to put a scope on it to come west and hunt elk this fall in CO. I'm not familiar with the scout rifle so I ask here, what would the collective wisdom here recommend? My small knowledge base would lean toward a Leupold 2.5x8 with just enough ring to clear the existing sights but I'm open to all suggestions and any reasoning behind it. Thanks in advance.
tmax264

I have been shooting rifles with IER scopes for about 16 years and have tried most of the scopes available...my money now goes to the Burris 2-7 with the Ballistic Plex reticle. A little more money but WELL worth it.

They are mounted in Leupold QRW quick release LOW rings...

Sight in dead center at 200 and you have sure aiming points out of almost 600 yards...

I usually only use two powers..2 and 7... 2X is for close fast work. 7X for long range from a steady rest. The drop reticle is just used at 7X so only one set of drops have to be memorized..

Bob


Ruger Frontier .358 Winchester







Ruger GSR...





If he wants to go conventional scope...a Leupold 2.5-8 with the B&C reticle is what I would use...just remove the receiver sight.

Bob

..and you can shoot at distance with a "scout scope"...this is 400 yards with a Savage Scout in puny 7.62x39...

Where in Colorado, how well altitude acclimated is he?

I like the Scout concept; I have a Steyr Scout with a light duplex Leupold Scout Scope and lever QD rings and Steyr Dragoon with heavy duplex Steyr marked Leupold Scout Scope and Steyr as fixed as possible rings. I wouldn't hesitate to take either one out to harvest an elk. In fact one would be my first choice.

But that's on or around family land where I know the terrain and likely have a first choice animal in mind before I start. Out of season I've watched 3 bulls go down hill in the morning and come back up hill at night most of the year.

Richard Mann is the most active current evangelist for the Scout concept. See e.g. https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2015/11/20/hunting-with-scout-rifles/ I read him as suggesting a Burris variable or possibly the semi-custom Leupold 2x7 with Scout Scope eye relief.

The Scout Rifle Study
August 8 · Check out the August issue of Gun Digest to see a run down of Scout Scopes and see my pick of the litter. Burris Optics Company Vortex Optics Leupold Optics Weaver Optics #scoutrifle #riflescopes

I would strongly suggest that what is needed here is not a general purpose rifle but light handy Elk specific trophy mountain game rifle. I'd ignore the label Scout and it isn't a Steyr anyway.

My suggestion is a Swarovski Z8i with a 30mm tube and 1x8 or 2x16. The Scout scope can't hold close to the setting sun and doesn't gather light nearly so well as the Swarovski - what the Scout scope does for snap shooting clay birds won't matter nearly so much as all the many qualities of the Swarovski for hunting trophy game in the mountains. Given a Swarovski for the hunt as described I can't imagine anyone saying I wish I had a fixed power Scout scope forward mounted.

Depends on what kind of scope he wants to use.
If he wants to use a long eye relief scout scope, I'm very impressed with the 1.5-4X Leupold VX2. 4X is plenty for elk out to 400 yds., at least. At 2.5X, the scope will work in any light.
If he wants to use a conventionally mounted scope, then the 2.5-8 or a 6X would work fine. E

I don't particularly care for the scout scope, although I tried to like the Burris I understand the concept and like short rifles or carbines, but I prefer conventionally mounted scopes. They are no more trouble to remove than a scout, if they are similarly mounted, i.e., levers or slotted screw heads/jam nuts. The big difference is that the rear receiver sight can not remain in place with the scope receiver mounted, but it can be quickly installed.

My recommendation is a receiver mounted scope of at least 1-4 and not more than 2.5-8.

Good hunting,

Jack

On my Ruger Scout I use a 2.75 Burris scout scope. It works well. Hard to explain it, but zero at 200 and 400 can be done easy. Up close or out far, hard to beat it.

Also, I believe Colorado allows a red dot during rifle season. Very simple, forward mounted, light weight.

If he wants a scope conventionally mounted, anything goes really. A 2.5-8 is good, so is a 4x or a 6x, or a 2-7, or 3-9...........

SC

I had a 2.7X Burris Scout Scope on my first scout rifle. Didn't care for it. Not nearly as bright and clear an image as my 3X Leupold, for instance.
The 1.5-4X, VX2 is a much different animal. A better image, sharper, brighter than the Leupold VX-R 1.25-4X Patrol I have for instance. Not quite up to that of my 4X, FX2's, but at least as good as my old M8, 4X.
That's probably because the eye relief is on the order of 6-6.9 inches, not the 9-14 inches of the Burris.
The dials work perfectly as well. I've gone through several sessions of rezeroing for different ranges or loads and they have never failed to move the zero as they should. E