The Rebirth of Colonel Cooper’s Scout Rifle (video)

December 30, 2010 | Category: Featured,Online Video | By: Marshal Halloway

A couple of years ago Michael Bane, Dave Spaulding (2010 Law Enforcement Trainer of the Year), Ken Jorgensen from Ruger and Ed Head from Gunsite sat down in a conference room to put together the “wish lists” for what they called a “sport/utility rifle,” the heir to Col. Jeff Cooper’s scout rifle project. Steyr came out with their version years ago, but they missed a key element which is affordability. The new Ruger Scout Rifle got this covered as well.

Video part 2:

Reference Links:

DRTV Discussions on the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle

Ruger Scout Rifle (Press Release)

Ruger Scout Rifle (Product Page)

GunBlast.com Review

Gunsite Academy

Burris Scout Scope

Galco Safari Ching Sling

The Classic Ching Sling (NEW 2011)

The Scout Rifle Community

19 Responses to The Rebirth of Colonel Cooper’s Scout Rifle (video)

Robert Farrar

December 30, 2010 at 4:11 pm

I like it…

However,

One of the Colonel’s main points was the sling. Not one word about that!

Bob
MD Willington

December 31, 2010 at 12:29 am

You know what it looks like to me, Spanish FR8 with detachable magazine and forward scope mount, last one of those I saw had a price tag of 2-Benjamins.

We know that it takes very little work to make an M14 magazine fit into a similar Ruger rifle, so why does it cost nearly 1K ?

I have 3 children, a wife, and car & house payment… no way I can afford something like that.
Jim

December 31, 2010 at 5:31 am

Is the mini 14 in 308 far behind.
Rick

December 31, 2010 at 11:20 am

Cooper envisioned the Scout as a do-it-all rifle that pretty much negated having a rack full of rifles. If this rifle is as advertised you’d only need a good .22lr, a decent varmint rifle and a heavy to hunt the whole World. And Ruger makes perfectly suitable versions of all of the above.

At half again the price of a Savage and half the price of a Steyr this rifle is right in the Scout niche. The only “problem” I see is that it may not be possible to top off the single stack magazine with loose rounds.

I’m saving my lunch money for one of these. 🙂
John M. Buol Jr.

December 31, 2010 at 12:05 pm

>> One of the Colonel’s main points was the sling. Not one word about that!

Indeed! The video had demos of Eric Ching’s later-designed Safari Sling but I think his original CW sling improvement, the Ching Sling, is still tops. I’d vote that the Ching Sling is the best single part of the scout rifle idea and could be used on any field/hunting/tactical rifle.

This rifle does not appear to have the needed third attachment point. Considering this is about twice the cost of Savage’s scout offering, which also comes with decent iron sights, forward scope mount and detachable magazine, I’m going to pass.
David

December 31, 2010 at 12:59 pm

I want one yesterday! When will they be available? Will they only be sold through Gunsite or through the regular Ruger network?
Juan C.

December 31, 2010 at 3:00 pm

I agree with MD Willington. Just cause it is a scout rifle doesn’t mean it has to cost so much. Yes Ruger makes some great firearms. But I believe that Bill Ruger started out to make sure all his creations would be affordable to all American hunters and shooters alike. So why is Ruger following in the footsteps of the high priced makers. Such as Winchester, Remington, Weatherby and so forth?? Does Ruger have an answer for this or will they just brush my question aside cause I am an average American whose pockets are not deep like thiers? I have a house mortgage, car payment, wife, and work 8+ hours a day 6 days a week. And I don’t make hundreds of dollars an hour
cmblake6

January 1, 2011 at 5:21 am

That looks stone a$$ SWEET! I’d been looking at a Savage Scout for the economy of it, and I have several suitable rifles already, but this thing makes me drool!

Put that sucker in the $650-750 range and they won’t be able to build them fast enough.

One glitch in these photos re: the Colonels design, a L.E.R. scope. That was a part of the original concept.
cmblake6

January 1, 2011 at 5:26 am

Actually, it was the pics @ Gunblast that showed the wrong scope on the new Ruger. 20 rd stick looks nice though!
Brian

January 1, 2011 at 10:28 pm

I note in video #1 the lady instructor exhorting the troops to work the bolt from the shoulder, despite the rifles being new (which I infer to mean the rifles are rough as cobs.) She demonstrates working the bolt on an empty rifle, unfortunately where she is grasping will be filled with protruding sheet metal when the rifle is actually loaded.
MSRP is $995. Before getting a scope ($300), a good sling ($50) a spare magazine ($70) a case ($50), a bipod ($50 plus yet more weight). In other words, you are already halfway to the price of a Jeff Cooper Steyr Scout package.
This is Ruger’s second try at building a Scout. Maybe in 2015 they’ll get it right.
Dave

January 5, 2011 at 11:51 am

I disagree with the comment that there “never was a Scout Rifle concept” in Col. Cooper’s writings.
In Col. Cooper’s book, “To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak The Truth”, he has a chapter on “The General-Purpose Rifle”. In that chapter he explicitly references “scout rifle” and mentioned the ’83 and ’84 “Scout Rifle Conference”(s).
While it’s clear in Col. Cooper’s writings that “Scout Rifle” and “General-Purpose Rifle” are interchangeable, most shooters will recognize ‘scout rifle’ and what it stands for.
Nolan

January 6, 2011 at 7:14 pm

Sorry, I just can’t get too excited about a bolt action “Scout” rifle. Just go out and purchase a Model 7 Remington, and do a little “customizing.” 😉
Jason

January 7, 2011 at 8:44 am

Buy the Savage and spend the savings on ammo! Ruger centerfires (and some of the rimfires) are so tempermental about shooting without some custom fitting of the action to the stock that I would never buy one even if they were cheaper than a Savage. There is no significant advantage to using an LER scope vs. a low magnification rifle scope if the rifle fits you correctly. Buy a Marlin or Savage, outfit with good optics and work at getting used to that rifle!
scout338

January 8, 2011 at 5:00 pm

My two favorite things about scout rifles, the Ching sling,… and you can grasp and carry them around the bolt/receiver. This rifle has neither. I won’t be buying one. You guys blew it.
Harold S

February 4, 2011 at 6:23 am

Look like a bolt action Socom 16,
sean

April 5, 2011 at 4:59 pm

Yeah, it looks cool but I would rather Ruger concentrated on a 308 based on the mini 14/ Mini 30 (like an actual M14) and make various versions including a scout version. I am sure they would need to beef up the action of the mini 14/30 to handle 308 but look at how well Springfield Amory is selling their Socom 16s… Ruger would have a huge hit if they made a semi auto 308 with various options for magazines, at a decent pirice, like $750-$800, (NOT $1500) then most of these naysayers would buy one…. I would..and SA would have to lower their prices….
Andre

August 3, 2011 at 9:13 pm

Am I missing something? As a defensive rifle an AR10 or 15 can get off 5 shots to 1 compared to the bolt -action Scout rifle. Speed and firepower are a no- brainier in a firefight..
Jeremy Douglas

July 8, 2012 at 6:27 pm

I’ll stick with my AR 10
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