Rebarrled a Scout?

[Fujicon]

Scout rifles, as originally envisioned by Jeff Cooper back in the 1980s, were supposedly to be .308 Win but he was open to 7mm-08. Of course, nowadays we have vastly more cartridge choices to consider, so just as a matter of curiosity I thought I'd check with the membership here to see if anyone has rebarreled their Ruger Scout Rifle into something other than what came from the factory (which today includes the 450 Bushmaster and 350 Legend). If so, which alternative did you choose?

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

IF I were to do so...I'd keep it relatively simple with just a rebore/rechamber, and go with the excellent, but underappreciated 358 Winchester.

 

[Fujicon]

That would seem to be a rather perfect change-up, from 308 Win to 358 Win.

 

[gunzo]

For 308 to 358, or a 338 Federal might be neat.

A rebore might be in order. A new barrel with front site, threaded muzzle, & tapped for a scout rail might cost more.

Smaller calibers? look for a dealer special in 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[Fujicon]

Just as follow-up, I took the advice from Bull'sEye and got a brand new one of these rechambered to 358 Win (and lovin it!):

Follow-up question for the brain trust here...
Which scope recommend for this set-up? Or if not scope, which red dot sight? With 358 Win we're talking 200 yards or so max, and I'll usually be using it in fairly heavy brush (west of the Cascades) for hunting big game, namely bear and elk. Iron sights are grand, but not my hunting go-to. Thanks.

 

[el caminero]

When i was young and learning, one thing that stuck was variable power is good, low as you can get, higher on the top is always nice, widefield is best, but none of these old coots were snipers.
That was before l.e. r. was std. on scouts, which was pre-scout...
Havent looked into the idea for a scout; dont recall noticing any widefield in l.e.r., since the one scout i was going to do had a light 2.5x to go with the lightweight everything else it was going to have done. I recall as a kid one fellow had a tall set of "iron-sighter" scope mounts he used as a carrying handle, but im a hasty-sling guy with too big a hand to make that a comfortable handle.
Nice pic, tho, of a gun i wouldnt turn down.

 

[kmoore]

When I had a .358 win in a BLR. My use was for the same as you. Western Oregon Elk. But really a 100 yd shot is a long way where I hunted. That was back in the 1980s and scope/sights have come along way. I went with a Leupold 1x4. I would still go with that or a real close scope like a 1x6. Why? light weight, small overall, excellent brand. Fast, yes extremely fast to mount, sight and fire. Elk/Bear no reason to have a large scope with more magnification when shooting close up.
On 1x you can shoot with both eyes open and that gives you a larger field of view. With practice you might be able to on 2x or 3 power also. 4x was mostly used at the range, 1x was my carry/hunt setting.
When/if you need more magnification to glass over a hillside. 7-8 or 10 power binoculars is the tool not a rifle scope in any power. Glass and stalk, I bet you already do that.
BTW, I quit hunting all big game in Western Oregon. That rifle sat unused for about 10 years. It was sold. I loved the rifle more than the caliber and finally found an early Browning BLR in .308 win. I placed a 1x6 scope on it to hunt mule and whitetail deer in Idaho mountains where I want a light weight fast handling rifle to take on a walk.
I don't under estimate the .358 win caliber and would buy one in a heart beat if in a LH bolt action at a fair price in great same. I handload and that gives that cartridge a lot of potential.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I think you all might be onto something here. I've looked at and debated the Ruger Scout rifle but haven't "pulled the trigger" on one. My hesitation is that while I like some of the features of the rifle, (like the detachable box mag, all-weather, rugged design), there's two things I don't like - (1) I don't want a barrel quite that short. I've shot a 16.5" .308 and to me it's very unpleasant. 18.5 or even 20" is just as handy, much more pleasant to shoot, and gets a lot more performance out of the cartridge, whether that's. 308 or anything on that case. (2) i don't like the LER scope setup. I know that's part of the scout concept, but I dont have to like it. I would remove the rear sight and stow it for use if needed, maybe in a pouch on a sling, and mount a low powered variable scope (1.5-5x Leupold or 2-7x VXR Patrol) in the traditional location. I think one of these in .338 Federal would be awesome.