Ruger Scout .223 first impression

[smle-man]

I picked up a barely used and customized Ruger Scout .223 from a Calgunner recently and had about 1/2 an hour of range time to put about 20 rounds through it today. I'll have a lot more time next week to sit down and sight it in but I thought to share my initial impressions of the rifle - or more correctly a carbine due to its 16" barrel.

The previous owner mounted a laminated M1 rifle handguard to the forward scope rail and also installed a longer flash hider to replace the factory installed flash hider.

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The .223 version of the Scout uses the same action and barrel diameter as the .308, just rigged to feed and shoot the .223. The rifle has a nice heft to it and the action works very smoothly. When the bolt is opened smartly the fired case ejects dead right for a good distance. Feeding and extraction of my 62 gr and 55 gr handloads was sure and smooth. The sight picture is great. the rear sight is not adjustable expect with a hex (allin) wrench which I didn't have with me and the rifle shot to the right at 100 yds so I didn't bother shooting for groups. I instead shot the steel plates from 100 to 250 yards and once I figured out the Kentucky windage needed, I got consistent hits on the plates.

The magazine is the .308 magazine lined with plastic to shrink it to size to feed .223 rounds. I have an Accuracy International polymer magazine on order to try. The AI magazine is 2/3 the price of the Ruger magazine and also appears to be shorter than the factory magazine.

All said, at this point I am a happy guy with the .223 carbine. I could live with this carbine as my only centerfire rifle if it came to that.





The scout at the range today for its quick inauguration.

[russ69]

Pretty nifty.

[2shotjoe]

Now I want one, nice mod. Reminds me of the m1a.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[splithoof]

Interesting.
As a user of three Ruger GSR's, all in .308, I have come to depend on those for nearly all of our hunting and ranch work. I have found them to be highly reliable, accurate, and well suited for both vehicle and field use. Shortly after acquiring the first one, I took it to Gunsite for their Scout Rifle class, and learned a lot about the platform, how to best use it, and some of the history behind the development. Also beneficial was that a Ruger representative was also enrolled in the class with other industry reps as well. That whole experience was excellent.
As for the .223 version, I will pass, as for my needs in .223 bolt rifles there are much lighter options. I am curious though, as to why the first owner installed that overly long flash hider, as I think it defeats the utility of a shorter barrel.
If you can find some shorter magazines, you will find them much more practical for field shooting.

[RAMCHARGER]

I had one in 308. Really liked it. I'm hoping they come out in X39.

[juelz919]

Did i misread the site or are these msrp at 1100+

[RAMCHARGER]

More around 800 retail

[smle-man]

Interesting.
As a user of three Ruger GSR's, all in .308, I have come to depend on those for nearly all of our hunting and ranch work. I have found them to be highly reliable, accurate, and well suited for both vehicle and field use. Shortly after acquiring the first one, I took it to Gunsite for their Scout Rifle class, and learned a lot about the platform, how to best use it, and some of the history behind the development. Also beneficial was that a Ruger representative was also enrolled in the class with other industry reps as well. That whole experience was excellent.
As for the .223 version, I will pass, as for my needs in .223 bolt rifles there are much lighter options. I am curious though, as to why the first owner installed that overly long flash hider, as I think it defeats the utility of a shorter barrel.
If you can find some shorter magazines, you will find them much more practical for field shooting.

I like a rifle with some weight to it, it helps steady my shooting. I have a CZ mini mauser in .223 that is lighter than the Ruger but the Scout feels better for range shooting at least. So far I'm a happy guy.

[splithoof]

I like a rifle with some weight to it, it helps steady my shooting. I have a CZ mini mauser in .223 that is lighter than the Ruger but the Scout feels better for range shooting at least. So far I'm a happy guy.

It will last a long time. Like you said, brass ejection is very positive. You might be surprised at how accurate it is with good loads. Those stiff barrels seem to help that.

[BHP FAN]

Well, I'm jealous. Nice find!

[alpha_romeo_XV]

Looks better than the stock one to me. I like the unique package, laminated stock, added handguard, and m14 FH. I don't have any .223 bolt rifles at this time. Had a scoped CZ 527 Varmint a few years back that was very accurate and low recoil for when my kids were younger. I'm curious if these Ruger Scouts feed steel cased ammo smoothly. Could be a good plinker shooting cheap ammo that kids don't go through ammo as fast as with a semi-auto.

[splithoof]

I had one in 308. Really liked it. I'm hoping they come out in X39.

Have you had a chance to try out a CZ-527? Once you do, you will be hooked. There is no plastic/polymer on those; wood to metal fit is done very well, magazines are all steel, and the set trigger is user adjustable. The bolt throw is short, action very smooth, and with decent ammunition mine shoots like a target rifle. For making quick off hand snap-shots, it is hard to beat.

[offrdmania]

Thats a good looking carbine ; )

[ronrichards64]

What type of 223 ammo . Is 5.56 GTO or just use 223 .

[mlevans66]

Congrats!