773PPVM
Bearcat
Ok, I broke down and built myself a sort-of scout rifle. It's no longer truly a "scout rifle" by Colonel Cooper's definition, but it's my concept of a general-purpose bolt-action rifle suitable for recreational or survival hunting of up to deer-sized game and defense against two-and-four-legged predators. When we move to Arizona, it will serve alongside one of my AR-pattern rifles as a camp gun/Jeep rifle.
Base rifle is, of course, a Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308 with a 16.1" barrel. I dropped it into the same MDT LSS chassis I used for my Remington 700 based precision rifle, which I really like. Since they use the same chassis, my Gunsite Scout takes the same 5-or-10-round AICS magazines as my precision rifle. I replaced the short forward rail with an XS Sight Systems full-length rail so I could mount a standard eye-relief scope rather than an intermediate eye-relief scope. The selection of intermediate-relief scopes is very limited, and they're fixed-power while I'm a big fan of low-power variables (1-4x, 1-6x, and 1-8x). Scope is a Trijicon AccuPower 1-8x28 with MOA reticle (red illumination) in Nightforce X-Treme Duty Ultralight 34 mm rings.
I replaced the stock flash hider with an ACC compensator/flash hider/adapter so I could use my 762SDN6 suppressor. That's one reason I picked a 16.1" barrel, so the length wouldn't get out of hand with the can attached. Stock is Magpul CTR with a 3/4" riser. I borrowed the Atlas bipod from my Remington-based precision rifle, and I'll swap it freely between the two. Weight is just a tad over 9.5 lbs with the optic (it's a fairly heavy optic) but without the bipod and suppressor.
I'll soon have the bolt threaded for a Precision Armament TBK-10 mini bolt knob and also have the bolt Cerkoted (using Cerakote Elite black), since the entire assembly including the bolt handle is stainless which looks a bit out of place on a FDE-and-black rifle.
So far, I've only zeroed the scope and tested two different types of .308 ammunition. I learned a couple of things. First, it doesn't group well with Winchester Super-X 150-grain PowerPoint. Second, it does group very well with Federal Gold Medal Match 175-grain Sierra Matchking. After a rough 1-inch-low zero at 50 yards, I ran it out to 100 yards and immediately shot a 0.75" 5-shot group with GMM. I adjusted my zero by 0.5 MOA left and up, and immediately shot another 0.75" 5-shot group, with two shots going through the dead center of the target. All groups were fired from a Caldwell rest and toe bag, since I was trying to test the rifle and ammo rather than test my own shooting skill.
After shooting these groups, I put on the AAC 762SDN6 suppressor and confirmed that it shoots just as accurately with the can as without, and the can doesn't change point of impact!
Remember, this isn't intended to be a long-range precision rifle. Sub-MOA is pretty darn good for a general-purpose rifle!
Base rifle is, of course, a Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308 with a 16.1" barrel. I dropped it into the same MDT LSS chassis I used for my Remington 700 based precision rifle, which I really like. Since they use the same chassis, my Gunsite Scout takes the same 5-or-10-round AICS magazines as my precision rifle. I replaced the short forward rail with an XS Sight Systems full-length rail so I could mount a standard eye-relief scope rather than an intermediate eye-relief scope. The selection of intermediate-relief scopes is very limited, and they're fixed-power while I'm a big fan of low-power variables (1-4x, 1-6x, and 1-8x). Scope is a Trijicon AccuPower 1-8x28 with MOA reticle (red illumination) in Nightforce X-Treme Duty Ultralight 34 mm rings.
I replaced the stock flash hider with an ACC compensator/flash hider/adapter so I could use my 762SDN6 suppressor. That's one reason I picked a 16.1" barrel, so the length wouldn't get out of hand with the can attached. Stock is Magpul CTR with a 3/4" riser. I borrowed the Atlas bipod from my Remington-based precision rifle, and I'll swap it freely between the two. Weight is just a tad over 9.5 lbs with the optic (it's a fairly heavy optic) but without the bipod and suppressor.
I'll soon have the bolt threaded for a Precision Armament TBK-10 mini bolt knob and also have the bolt Cerkoted (using Cerakote Elite black), since the entire assembly including the bolt handle is stainless which looks a bit out of place on a FDE-and-black rifle.
So far, I've only zeroed the scope and tested two different types of .308 ammunition. I learned a couple of things. First, it doesn't group well with Winchester Super-X 150-grain PowerPoint. Second, it does group very well with Federal Gold Medal Match 175-grain Sierra Matchking. After a rough 1-inch-low zero at 50 yards, I ran it out to 100 yards and immediately shot a 0.75" 5-shot group with GMM. I adjusted my zero by 0.5 MOA left and up, and immediately shot another 0.75" 5-shot group, with two shots going through the dead center of the target. All groups were fired from a Caldwell rest and toe bag, since I was trying to test the rifle and ammo rather than test my own shooting skill.
After shooting these groups, I put on the AAC 762SDN6 suppressor and confirmed that it shoots just as accurately with the can as without, and the can doesn't change point of impact!
Remember, this isn't intended to be a long-range precision rifle. Sub-MOA is pretty darn good for a general-purpose rifle!
