Ruger Gunsite Scout

[Dagga Boy]

Good stuff Corey. I probably own the very first Ruger Scout. It is a full house Brent Clifton gun built on a Ruger UltraLight in .308 and meets every "Scout Criteria" of the day. It is one of my favorite guns that doesn't have as much use as I thought I would. It has been carried and shot a lot, but then I started buying more specialized guns for specific purposes. I definitely have the "romantic notion" attachment to the gun and all the Milt Sparks leather on it (butt cuff and Ching sling).

I wanted one of the newer Ruger Scouts when it looked like I was going to be staying in California while my evil guns went to live at my houses in Texas and Arizona. I ended up going with the evil guns to places where they are good guns again and then never found the need for the newer Ruger Gunsite Scout, considering I have a "Real" Gunsite/Cooper Scout.

I do think for those in ban states, these things make a TON of sense. I would rather have the Gunsite Scout than a truly "legal" AR in places like California with either an abortion of a setup, or tool required mag removal for 10 rounds of 5.56.

[GJM]

Good stuff Corey. I probably own the very first Ruger Scout. It is a full house Brent Clifton gun built on a Ruger UltraLight in .308 and meets every "Scout Criteria" of the day. It is one of my favorite guns that doesn't have as much use as I thought I would. It has been carried and shot a lot, but then I started buying more specialized guns for specific purposes.

I have had a number of Clifton stocks over the years. Darryl, my guess is your Ruger Scout doesn't make weight, as Brent's stocks were heavy. I took a Clifton stocked Ruger .375H&H and Clifton stocked .460 G&A to Africa on my first trip there.

[LHS]

I actually had not heard the term "Brooklyn Special" until a few years ago. We marked both calibers as a GPR when I was there. We only did Winchesters in those two calibers as a complete rifle from the gunsmithy. On customer supplied guns we did both Winchesters and Marlins and did .45-70 as well and marked the barrels with the GPR markings.

Nice rifles, if I get a chance to take some pictures of my GPR this weekend I will post them up.

One of my friends had Gunsite do his Marlin 1895 in .444 Marlin with ghost-ring sights, 16.5" bbl and enlarged lever loop back in the mid/late 90s. It was kind of a Guide Gun before Marlin even thought up the term. He referred to it as "Thumper".

[Corey]

One of my friends had Gunsite do his Marlin 1895 in .444 Marlin with ghost-ring sights, 16.5" bbl and enlarged lever loop back in the mid/late 90s. It was kind of a Guide Gun before Marlin even thought up the term. He referred to it as "Thumper".

Very cool. He probably had it done not long after I left Gunsite (1996).

I do think for those in ban states, these things make a TON of sense. I would rather have the Gunsite Scout than a truly "legal" AR in places like California with either an abortion of a setup, or tool required mag removal for 10 rounds of 5.56

I agree. While we know what kind of firearm is used should not make a difference (as long as it is legal) we also no that in some areas and with some prosecutors it can make a difference. In those areas one could do a lot worse than a Scout rifle or a Gunsite Police. Good ballistics, good handling, and to non-gun people it looks like grandpa's old hunting rifle instead of evil incarnate.

Back onto building Scout rifles, I'll give another history lesson. The barrels on the Gunsite Scouts were part of what made them special, particularly the scope bases. On the Ruger GSR and the Savage Scout and most other rifles, the barrel is drilled and tapped, and a scope base screwed on. The Gunsite Scout used a pedestal barrel where the scope bases were machined into the barrel itself. The barrel blanks came from Steve Wickert. They were made with single point cut rifling and rough finished. He started with large diameter steel for the blanks. After deep hole drilling and rifling, the barrel was turned to rough shape except in the two spots where the bases would be which were left full diameter. We would turn the barrel shank and thread it for the action it was going into, install it on the action and chamber it. Then we indexed off the receiver and cut flats on the full diameter portions. The barrel was then removed from the receiver and set up on mill in a dividing head and the bases machined and excess material removed as best as possible. Then the barrel was put back in the lathe and the final taper done except at the bases. Final cleanup was done by hand with files, sanding blocks, and polishing. The end result was sight bases that looked like they were growing right out of the barrel and could never come loose. It was a lot of work as the shop had a manual lathe and mill without even a DRO. A four axis CNC mill could turn out a very nice pedestal barrel in a fraction of the time it took us to do it. Could be a business opportunity if the market were there.

[GJM]

I had a pseudo Scout, on a Springfield .30-06, built by Sam Trevino, that had the Wickert barrel. Wickert built my .460 G&A, a .416 Rigby, and a pair of .338's for my wife and I, using those pedestal barrels. The aperture rear sight used on the GPR, and Gunsite shotguns was developed and manufactured by Steve Wickert.

[phidelta308]

Evan Hill of Hill People Gear documented his scout rifle built around a Mexican Mauser action in this thread on their forum. It's interesting to see the design choices he made, as well as the work arounds he had to do to implement them.

It's a nice looking rifle, and built to his specs, but in the end, he said if he were to do it all again, it's a toss up for him between a custom build or just buying a Ruger Gunsight Scout. Personally, I've been lusting after a Savage Hog Hunter.

[JAD]

Corey, as I recall it the GPR was a model 94 in 30-30, where the model 94 in .44 magnum was the "Brooklyn Special."

In Gossip, the .30-30 is the Brooklyn and the .44 mag the Kansas City Special. The latter was a suggestion of Major Doug Smith, actually of Leavenworth, to Ancker and thence to Cooper. I remain unsatisfied as to which came first.

[GJM]

This is more oriented to hunting and general boon docking, but here is my .260. Controlled feed model 70 action, Brown Precision stock, Lilja fluted barrel, cerakoted metal treatment, one piece Tally rings, Leupold 2.5-8 with a Premier style holdover reticle, blind bottom metal, three position sling, reshaped bolt handle, action tuned, etc.

[TGS]

I would rather have the Gunsite Scout than a truly "legal" AR in places like California with either an abortion of a setup, or tool required mag removal for 10 rounds of 5.56.

In those areas one could do a lot worse than a Scout rifle or a Gunsite Police. Good ballistics, good handling, and to non-gun people it looks like grandpa's old hunting rifle instead of evil incarnate.

If I was going down that route, I think I'd go for a Browning BAR or Benelli R1 instead. Semi-auto is a big advantage over a bolt action...

[Chuck Whitlock]

Preface: I don't currently own a GP bolt gun.

To get the most bang for the least amount of $$/effort, I have felt that I want to get a Ruger GSR and just add:
http://www.xssights.com/Products.aspx?CAT=8286 and http://www.burrisoptics.com/mtac1x6x.html in QD rings.

As far as the big clunky magazine, the 10s would go in a pack or pouch, and I would carry the rifle with the 5 rd. poly mag, provided it would hold up:
http://shopruger.com/Scout-308-Mag-M...uctinfo/90354/

I really can't think of any uses I would have that this combo couldn't cover, and everything is easily sourced and not terribly expensive. Obviously, someone else's needs/desired may be vastly different, and that is cool, too.