It matters because Jeff Cooper coined AND DEFINED the term, and that is part of the definition. You don't have to like it or agree with it, but you can't argue what the definition is 'cause you didn't originate it.
A little dogmatic, don�t you think? I don�t know if Jeff Cooper had a trademark on the name �Scout Rifle,� but I can make up my own definition of �scout rifle� anytime I want to. From a dictionary standpoint, �scout rifle� means a �rifle� a �scout� can use. That would seem to vary with the �rifle� the particular �scout� would need to use. A scout in Miami doesn�t need the same thing a scout in the middle of nowhere in Africa would need.
