bolt guns

[madHatter]

The old high standard when it comes to rifle designs.

What is your favorite one?

I like the ruger m77 gunsite scout.

.308 with a wide variety of applications, 3, 5, 10 round detachable box magazines. Smooth operating bolt. Ejects brass (and steel) like a boss, medium weight (7 lbs is hefty) for wood walks, pig felling deer taking target shooting joy.

Not to mention that it has the ability to be a battle rifle. Forward mounted long eye relief scope (or traditional glass option if you so wish), peep sited standard. What guns now a days come with any sights?!
16" barrel or 18 in the stainless color. The stock has laminate, polymeric, or traditional wood options.

Basically if I were to have any one rifle to grab I would grab this one. For the reasons stated above, and just for how utilitarian it can be.

If you see one, go pick it up and dry fire it. And you could be instantly smitten with it.

 

[Shemp]

From a practicality standpoint the Gunsite Scout is hard to beat. It all depends on what you want to do with it. For hunting I'd prefer a bit longer barrel, but then you lose the handiness of the Scout rifle as Jeff Cooper specified.

I'm a sucker for laminated stock M77s....in either .30-06, .308, or 300 WM

 

[madHatter]

From a practicality standpoint the Gunsite Scout is hard to beat. It all depends on what you want to do with it. For hunting I'd prefer a bit longer barrel, but then you lose the handiness of the Scout rifle as Jeff Cooper specified.

I'm a sucker for laminated stock M77s....in either .30-06, .308, or 300 WM

Realistically.. A longer barrel would be better suited in mountains and open grass lands. For the woods, this rifle is perfect. Average shot is going to be less than. 200 yds... Well within the capabilities of a 16" barrel

 

[Shemp]

Realistically.. A longer barrel would be better suited in mountains and open grass lands. For the woods, this rifle is perfect. Average shot is going to be less than. 200 yds... Well within the capabilities of a 16" barrel

True....and if you where the type of guy with an adenoid you could spend the time figuring out which bullet is best suited to you barrel and lose very little in the way of distance to a 20" barrel. That would likely require hand-rolling though.

I think an 18" barrel is about perfect for .308. It may not be the most efficient as far as powder burn but it doesn't lose much to 20-22" barrels but it significantly handier. Realistically most people won't be making shots past 500 yards anyway, if that.

 

[Laufen]

Realistically.. A longer barrel would be better suited in mountains and open grass lands.l

Why?

 

[Shemp]

Why?

Squeeze a bit more velocity out of the cartridge. In an open area one might be less concerned about an extra 4-6" of barrel sticking out .

 

[madHatter]

Why?

Longer shots, won't have to use as much compensation. I am terrible with dope cards.... So I try not to shoot over 300yds if I do t have to.

And art, said why... See above

 

[Laufen]

Squeeze a bit more velocity out of the cartridge. In an open area one might be less concerned about an extra 4-6" of barrel sticking out .

Yeah, that's what I hear from a lot of people. Honestly, knowing the ballistics and corresponding trajectory of the bullet is all you need. I grew up in the midwest with a lot of our stands on the edges of alfalfa and bean fields. I always preferred shorter barreled guns even out there because they were handier, and accuracy potential is a touch better. An extra 60-100fps was never really a big deal or I would have just gone with a faster round. That 165 grain bullet had plenty of oompf once it got there, regardless of distance. Most of my shots were inside of 150 yards, even on the plains. My longest ever was 440 on a doe and she didn't take a step. I was dealing with a good bit of drop, but knowing where my bullet would go made it totally doable. I'm not sure an extra bit of velocity would have helped at all.

 

[Shemp]

Yeah, that's what I hear from a lot of people. Honestly, knowing the ballistics and corresponding trajectory of the bullet is all you need. I grew up in the midwest with a lot of our stands on the edges of alfalfa and bean fields. I always preferred shorter barreled guns even out there because they were handier, and accuracy potential is a touch better. An extra 60-100fps was never really a big deal or I would have just gone with a faster round. That 165 grain bullet had plenty of oompf once it got there, regardless of distance. Most of my shots were inside of 150 yards, even on the plains. My longest ever was 440 on a doe and she didn't take a step. I was dealing with a good bit of drop, but knowing where my bullet would go made it totally doable. I'm not sure an extra bit of velocity would have helped at all.

Well you have a lot more experience with it than I do so I must demure. Like I said before, most people won't be making shots outside of 500 yards anyway so have a 16" barrel wouldn't be too bad.

There are guys that make 800 yard shots with 16" barreled SCAR 17s...so I know the round and barrel length are capable.

 

[Laufen]

How many times have you been hunting by yourself or with someone else, see a critter in the brush off in the distance and struggle to find it in the scope. Either yourself, or trying to describe to the shooter where to look. With a scout rifle it's so much faster and easier to pick up targets like this, simply because you can more accurately point toward your target as you are shouldering the rifle. I can't imagine not owning a scout rifle in a place like GA, where hunting in dense brush is usually the norm.

 

[Laufen]

Well you have a lot more experience with it than I do so I must demure. Like I said before, most people won't be making shots outside of 500 yards anyway so have a 16" barrel wouldn't be too bad.

There are guys that make 800 yard shots with 16" barreled SCAR 17s...so I know the round and barrel length are capable.

It's more of a psychological issue for a lot of guys I think. When I was first married I worked in a gun shop. Guys would agonize over ballistics between calibers, making a huge deal out of a couple hundred feet per second velocity potential without even knowing how or if that velocity would translate into anything real or measurable in the field. If they would have just picked a caliber, and spent as much time shooting it as they did researching pros and cons they would have been much better marksmen, regardless the 100fps difference.

 

[madHatter]

How many times have you been hunting by yourself or with someone else, see a critter in the brush off in the distance and struggle to find it in the scope. Either yourself, or trying to describe to the shooter where to look. With a scout rifle it's so much faster and easier to pick up targets like this, simply because you can more accurately point toward your target as you are shouldering the rifle. I can't imagine not owning a scout rifle in a place like GA, where hunting in dense brush is usually the norm.

Same goes in the woods in ohio

 

[Bypass]

How many times have you been hunting by yourself or with someone else, see a critter in the brush off in the distance and struggle to find it in the scope. Either yourself, or trying to describe to the shooter where to look. With a scout rifle it's so much faster and easier to pick up targets like this, simply because you can more accurately point toward your target as you are shouldering the rifle. I can't imagine not owning a scout rifle in a place like GA, where hunting in dense brush is usually the norm.

I agree. Scout rifles are the way to go in thick brush like we have in GA.

 

[Bigr hamr]

How many times have you been hunting by yourself or with someone else, see a critter in the brush off in the distance and struggle to find it in the scope. Either yourself, or trying to describe to the shooter where to look. With a scout rifle it's so much faster and easier to pick up targets like this, simply because you can more accurately point toward your target as you are shouldering the rifle. I can't imagine not owning a scout rifle in a place like GA, where hunting in dense brush is usually the norm.

I should have owned one, the freezer would have been full quicker.

 

[madHatter]

I should have owned one, the freezer would have been full quicker.

Never too late... Just saying