Scout Rifle 2.0

[ExurbanKevin]

I had a blast talking with Micheal this week about this build.



Parts list: Aero Precision lower, upper and mount, JP Rifles BCG, Faxon Barrel, Mission First stock, Ergo grip, Magpul BIUS, Sig Sauer Suppressor (not the titanium one) and a Swampfox 1-4 low power variable. Total cost retail (without the can): $2300.

Full writeup on the build and the thought processes behind it will show up next month on the Ammoman blog.

[les snyder]

I believe as you have shown with your low power variable optic (LPVO) scope selection that that the 3 gunners have done a service to further the development of the Cooper practical rifle concept....I started shooting serious (for me) 3 gun in 1995 with my first of four North Carolina Tactical matches put on by SMSgt Kyle Lamb...at the time, my sight was a 1x holographic sight, and pretty typical... but in the next year or so, some of the guys like Jeff Cramblit were playing with 1-4 power optics, and more of the top name shooters were paying attention... during the 2005 Ft Benning 3 gun Challenge, my 4x32 ACOG was handled by quite a few National Guard and Reserve NCO's looking to equip their troops gearing up for Iraq, but by 2010 a fixed sight 4x was sadly looking out of date on a multi gun game rifle, even though the Bindon Aiming Concept worked well on close targets, and it's ruggedness and bullet drop compensation was not really appreciated in lieu of the additional cost.... and by the last of those matches I shot in 2010 all the top shooters were using illuminated 1x4/6 LPVO,

my first attempt at a Scout Rifle was with a Mini 14 in the middle 80s, with the addition of a scope mount by Ranch Products that allowed a Bushnell 2 1/2x EER pistol scope to be mounted on the top of the gas block....

[alfsauve]

Very Nice.   You tell Bonnie that it was $230?

BUT:   And a point I've maintained (recent article about this-don't remember where, sorry)  that what it boils down to is the distinguishing characteristic of Cooper's Scout Rifle is the long relief, forward mounted scope.

“a conveniently-portable, individually-operated firearm, capable of striking a single decisive blow on a live target of up to about 440 pounds in weight, at any distance at which the operator can shoot with the precision necessary to place a shot in a vital area of the target.”

A lot of rifles fit that description.  Then he added that it needed to have a 1x-3x scope forward mounted.   It's the scope that makes it different.

Interestingly even the Styer Scout that he approved of doesn't meet all the requirements. 


BIAS:  I don't like the forward mounted scope.  Bad balance and heft, both carrying and shooting.  A compromise in viewing.    But then that's just me. 

[tombogan03884]

Never really saw the point .
Is it supposed to be a military rifle ?
 Or a hunting gun ?
Because it isn't set up to do either very well.
Since the end of the Bush wars it's been an idea looking for a reason.

[Big Frank]

A forward mounted scope makes perfect sense on a bolt action rifle IF you can load it with stripper clips. Other than, that my "never been there, never done that'" completely irrelevant opinion aligns 100% with what Alf said. Wasn't the Steyr Scout overweight? And I don't mean in a zaftig kind of way.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

The concept has been useless since the end of the Bush wars.

[Big Frank]

Since people stopped carrying rifles with built-in clip guides, sometime post-WWII anyway. Detachable mags more or less made scout rifles obsolete IMO. I don't know about scouts anywhere else but cavalry scouts are the eyes and ears of the U.S. army. Their job is to gather and share combat intelligence etc. They might be in an M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle or dismounted and patrolling on foot. Either way the best way to gather information on the enemy isn't by announcing their presence with gunfire and they aren't all issued suppressors. The kind of rifle they have isn't anything special, they generally carry whatever M16s and M4s are standard issue at the time. They use anti-armor weapons and pack more of them than the infantry does, but a modern day scout rifle is something like an M16A4. Slap a LPVO on it and call it good.

https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/browse-career-and-job-categories/combat/cavalry-scout.html

[tombogan03884]

The only place it would be of any use would be in Africa where your "Safari" might run into guerilla's or poachers while hunting.
It's supposed to be a "Do it all" gun and suffers for it.

[alfsauve]

...I don't know about scouts anywhere else but cavalry scouts are the eyes and ears of the U.S. army. Their job is to gather and share combat intelligence etc. They might be in an M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle or dismounted and patrolling on foot.

The USAF has invested heavily in drones.  There are gumblings in the Navy about unmanned ships.  I would guess that using drones for scouts could be the next "thing" in the Army, both for airborne aerial surveillance as well as land based mechanized scouting vehicles.

[Big Frank]

Yes, they have a couple of different sized man-portable drones. There's a small one that you rev the motor and throw like a paper airplane, and another that launches like a water balloon slingshot. But I don't know if they're a general issue item or they're still experimenting with them. Not to mention Global Hawks, Predators, etc.