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I love Rugers! I have more Rugers than any other manufacturer. My gripe about them is that they too often avoid giving their customers the best service that they can! My wife - OK! my dog - maybe! My Ruger - NEVER in a million years!
 
Ruger has, and will continue to make good rifles. They have held their own against the likes of Winchester and Remington for many years, and to state that they have always sucked and always will (as posted earlier, you know who you are) is laughable:s0112:

I have many, many rifles from huge double guns to small bore plinkers, and the Rugers that I own ALL are dependable, good shooters.

Will I run out and get one of these new ones? Time will tell I guess, but all manufacturers have rifles and handguns that can be picked and kicked at, and we all have our favorites.:s0155:
 
What's not to like about this rifle? If it's like any other Ruger that I've ever owned it will go BANG every time the trigger is pulled. I'll definitely own one of these....hopefully soon!!;)
 
Stopped in Fisherman's in Oregon city this morning and one of these was on the rack.
Wow! That didn't take long from the time of announcement to actually being able to get my mitts on one.
The Mag does look like it is a single stack, but it's definitely wide enough to be a double stack. In fact, it looks like the lower part of the mag staggers the rounds. If the aftermarket steps up I'm sure we'll see mags that are higher capacity without being much longer.
Besides the fact that the stock looks strangely proportioned at the butt plate, this is a very nice looking and feeling rifle. It has a very nice set of sights, but also has the rail and comes with good ol' Ruger rings.

The price at Fisherman's was $729.99. I walked out of the store wondering what I had that I could trade in.:cool:
 
They have one at the Hayden Island Fishermans also. I've heard the the magazine is the same as the AI AICS ones. Probably the best magazine system out for bolt action rifles.
 
I couldn't resist and bought one.
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I've had it to the range a few times testing a wide variety of loads, both cast and jacketed. The Hornady 165 gr JSP Interlock seems to shoot well regardless of the powder or charge.

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Iron sights, 50 yards, front rested, five shots.

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Two grains below MAX powders like Varget and IMR 4064 velocities top 2500 fps with the 165 grain bullets. 150 grain bullets seem to prefer being driven faster, >2600 fps, to get respectable accuracy. A couple of cast bullet loads have stood out too. One is the Lyman 311008 over enough Bullseye to get 850-1250 fps, looks like a good Grouse getter / plinker.

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Overall I'm pleased.
 
I like some aspects of this rifle, but all of those aspects are also found in my much less expensive FR-7 Rifle.

.308, bolt action, short bbl, flash hider, good iron sights, 5 round capacity, accepts stripper clips, and ludicrous reliability.
:s0155:

Me like!!! Where have these been all my life? Just finished checking into them, and will be adding one to the collection soon,, thanks!
 
To me this whole discussion has a bit of irony. A few years ago I spent a lot of time on gun boards (mostly The High Road). There were several long discussions about "Scout Rifles", and people were going to great lengths to turn other guns into scout-type rifles, everything from a Mosin Nagant M44 to a Marlin lever action. And then there were the purists, trying to stick to Cooper's definition and using bolt actions. Other parallel/overlapping threads were discussing the ultimate "truck gun"; a carbine length versatile gun that would be competent at most tasks, rugged, accurate, and reliable (the downfall of the truck gun was that it also needed to be inexpensive, that seemed to narrow the field dramatically).

So here we are a couple of years later and Ruger has stepped up and answered the Internet call for this type of rifle... and people are complaining that its not specific enough or great at anything.

On the web page for this gun, it says: (I added the bold)
Beware the man with one gun, for he probably knows how to use it. Never has this been more true than with the Ruger® Gunsite Scout Rifle, the one rifle to have if you could have only one. It is the perfect lightweight, hard-hitting, do-it-all bolt-action rifle.

This gun is meant to be the rifle you grab when for what ever reason you are going to be far from home and can only have one rifle. It is inherently going to be a compromise. Personally, I think its a great idea and a decent first edition. I'd probably opt for a synthetic stock, and different flash hider, and prefer stainless steel... but still, they did a good job at listening to what I was hearing people ask for.

As far as detachable magazines go, I converted my 700P LTR to detachable mags from a floorplate design, and I feel it is a completely superior solution. It was a PITA to feed rounds in under a low scope, and I can top off the mag with a round in the chamber if I want to. Obviously, its also easier to load, unload, and reload the rifle. No, I don't plan on having a half dozen mags on me, I only need one. I just like the way they function better.
 
I like some aspects of this rifle, but all of those aspects are also found in my much less expensive FR-7 Rifle.

.308, bolt action, short bbl, flash hider, good iron sights, 5 round capacity, accepts stripper clips, and ludicrous reliability.

Yeah, this is pretty cool, and quite possibly a fair amount less than a BRAND NEW rifle. But, it's not easy to find, either. (I've already seen three times the Ruger in person than I could find FR-7s online) What if you want a scope? What kind of options do you have then? Not much would be my guess.
I suppose if I already had an FR-7 the Ruger Scout would not offer much for me. Except a spare mag, or mounting a scope, or the fact that it's not 50 years old and parts (if needed) are available, plus there is nothing to doubt about the Ruger 77 MKII's reliability.

So, I'd have to say that the new Ruger offers all but the stripper clip loading and lower price, but does offer things this admittedly cool FR-7 lacks.

Another comparison piece could be the "Jungle Carbine" SMLE. I always loved the look of those. Has a 10 round removable mag and is stripper clip friendly, too. The .303 British isn't quite a .308, but it's not too far off either. But once again, we're talking about an old rifle.
 
I took mine for a walk this last weekend just to get a feel for it in the woods.
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It has been while since I walked around with a bolt gun in the woods. Did a little plinking, mostly with a 115 grain cast bullet (Lyman 311008) over 3 grains of Bullseye, and had a great time with it. Very accurate and shoots pretty close to point of aim out to 50 yards using the Jacketed bullet zero. Rimfire-like report and recoil.

For this gun to really be handy I need to find a better way to carry the extra magazines. A pouch is a must as these are too bulky to comfortably carry in your trouser or shirt pockets, especially when loaded.

While not quite as handy as a Winchester 94 for packing around in your mitts, it is better than any bolt I've ever escorted in the woods.
 

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