I have been jonseing for one of these for a while. I did a search for this subject but found nothing. Does anyone have experience with one?
The frontier? Yes
The abortion "gunsite"...
Nope
I've fondled but not shot one. If you are considering one, be advised the newest version with a 16in barrel and a much lighter synthetic stock will be out this year some time.
Also, if a LW/handy 308 is what you are looking for, Steyr has finally lowered the price on the original Steyr Scouts, still not cheap, but not $1800 any more. IIRC, wholesale is around $1200.
Bought a new Ruger Frontier in '07. I have seen a few here and there on Gunbroker.
Here is a link to a very in depth article on one. I have this same one;
www.gunblast.com/Ruger_FrontierRifle.htm
just get a Ruger SR-762 and put the scope in the regular place.
Lots of stuff on You Tube about them.
One of the really interesting things I discovered on You Tube's posts, is the Safari Ching Sling.
The best idea to come out of the Scout Rifle Concept was the development of some faster, easy to use shooting slings. That and some pointers as to how to go from rifle on shoulder w/ sling to shooting quickly and smoothly.
I've got a Safari Ching Sling on it's way to me. I'll report on it after a try it out for a while.
The Ruger Scout Rifle is simply a short barreled, bolt action rifle that allows one to do things most other rifles don't provide for. You can change the lenth of pull. You can replace the flash hider with a muzzle brake, or, in the case of the stainless versions, you can cap the threads and shoot w/o the flash hider. You can use either conventional or scout style scopes. You get a very practical set of iron sights as well. E
PVT-
I owned one for about a year. It came with a great trigger and was a very accurate rifle. However, at over nine pounds all up, it failed the core requirement that the Scout be handy. In the end, I sold it with little regret and have found that my trusty Marlin 30-30 can do most of the work of the Ruger GSR in a much trimmer, lighter, handier package.
Hope that helps.
PS- Ruger is unveiling a synthetic stock version. Perhaps it addresses the weight issue?
Picked up a 16.5� Scout a couple months ago. The factory magazine was annoyingly long for my purposes so I purchased a used 3-round and 5-round mag. Much better.
My daughters like it and #1 wants to use it for elk hunting this fall. If she doesn�t, I might. I don�t care for forward mounted scopes and went with a standard placement. Had to use a higher than standard ring set so the scope would clear the forward rail.
Some folks would ask �If using a standard scope and reduced mag capacity, why bother?� The reason is simple � the rifle is light, handy, a lot of fun and it can do everything I want within 400 yards. For elk hunting I have 208 grain A-MAX loads that run about 2300fps. MPBR zeroed for a 6� target, drop at 400 yards is about 29� with 1917fps and 1698fpe retained. That is over 400fpe more than my .280 Rem/140g TTSX loads deliver at that range, although the .280 delivers with half the drop and an additional 300fps. Also, I plan to get a can and develop subsonic loads for the Scout. Should be fun.