Scout rifle, circa 2016

[okie john]

I find that list of what they had extremely odd because I would include .270 and .30-30 on my list of "you can find it anywhere" and they are missing as well....

Yep. Also no .243 or 300 WM. Odd to say the least.


Okie John

[Lex Luthier]

OK, so for years, I've believed that you could get decent 30-06 ammo almost anywhere that people hunt, which makes the 30-06 a superb (possibly even morally superior) choice for the general-purpose rifle. But yesterday I ran into a situation that made me question that belief.

On the way to a pig hunt in northern California, I stopped at the In-and-Out Market in Palo Cedro, CA, to buy a hunting license. I always check ammo in little roadside stores, and this place had easily the weirdest inventory I’ve ever seen in one place, to wit:

1 box of 225 Winchester (never seen this in the wild)
1 box of S&B 5.6x52R (Euro name for the 22 Savage Hi-Power, had to Google it)
6 boxes of fresh Federal 25-06
6-8 boxes of Federal 7x57 Mauser 175 RN
10 boxes of fresh Federal 7mm Winchester Short Magnum
6-8 boxes of fresh Federal 7mm Remington Magnum
6-8 boxes of fresh Federal & Fiocchi 308 Winchester
3 boxes of fresh PPU 303 British
1 box of Hornady 32 Special
2 boxes of Federal 338 Winchester Magnum 250-grain Woodleigh
1 box of 358 Winchester 200-grain PPT
2 boxes of 375 RUM
3 boxes of Hornady 450 Marlin

They had plenty of service pistol ammo, rimfire, 7.62x36, 5.56 NATO, and assorted 12-gauge but only ONE, count ‘em ONE box of 30-06. To add insult to injury, this box was American Eagle 147-grain FMJ. There was not a softpoint 30-06 cartridge in the place.

My guide later told me that this place used to have an FFL but gave it up after state laws became too onerous, which explains a lot. As noted, some of the ammo was fresh so that's probably what people use most of the time. The rest must have been NOS. In this area, that makes a certain amount of sense given that you’re probably either shooting pigs inside of 150 yards or blacktail-mule-deer hybrids at fairly long range, but it’s still jarring to see the 30-06 so under-represented. Seems almost unpatriotic...

So I stand corrected on the whole “30-06 wins at logistics” thing.


Okie John

That sounds like Bruno's gas station store in Gerlach, NV after the first two Burning Man events; all of a sudden they were carrying weird calibers to the exclusion of the stuff the locals liked to use...
Makes me wonder if the locals in Palo Cedro like oddball guns.

[okie john]

That sounds like Bruno's gas station store in Gerlach, NV after the first two Burning Man events; all of a sudden they were carrying weird calibers to the exclusion of the stuff the locals liked to use...
Makes me wonder if the locals in Palo Cedro like oddball guns.

Yeah, someone out there has interesting taste in guns. I'd love to hear the reasoning behind stocking the Federal Premium 338 WM with 250-grain Woodleigh Weldcores.


Okie John

[AlwaysLearning]

As someone shooting scout rifles since before 1991, when my wife and I attended Gunsite 270 with Col. Cooper, and has a pile of them, I am curious as to the appeal of the IER scope, other than for heavy rifles and long guns where a conventional scope won't work, given all the awesome 1-X variable scopes available today?

I've only used an IER scope once (on a Steyr I borrowed) and I found the pickup much faster than with a fixed 2x mounted conventionally on an M-70. Didn't time it though. I really liked the Steyr on a square range but I'm told by folks around here that the Tikka CTR is a better option?

[45dotACP]

I've only used an IER scope once (on a Steyr I borrowed) and I found the pickup much faster than with a fixed 2x mounted conventionally on an M-70. Didn't time it though. I really liked the Steyr on a square range but I'm told by folks around here that the Tikka CTR is a better option?

Lets preface this...I'm not a great rifle shooter by any stretch.

I recently fired a Tikka T3 CTR the first time in my life...it produced a no-shit 1/2 MOA group at 100 yards with a Prime Ammunition's 6.5 creedmoor match grade ammo. It's owner took it out to 600 yards and was ringing a man sized steel plate every shot. He let me run a few rounds through it and again...being not a high power rifle shooter at all, I rang it 3/4 times.

This rifle was totally factory stock with a Vortex Razor Gen 1 on it.

I think there is no better rifle for the money...and probably very few better for even more money. Again though...I'm not in the know on rifles. Maybe there's a better deal?

But that was the illest rifle I've ever shot.

A Tikka in .308 with a 1-8x LPV is probably hard to beat in terms of a do-all bolt gun.



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[okie john]

Lets preface this...I'm not a great rifle shooter by any stretch.

I recently fired a Tikka T3 CTR the first time in my life...it produced a no-shit 1/2 MOA group at 100 yards with a Prime Ammunition's 6.5 creedmoor match grade ammo. It's owner took it out to 600 yards and was ringing a man sized steel plate every shot. He let me run a few rounds through it and again...being not a high power rifle shooter at all, I rang it 3/4 times.

This rifle was totally factory stock with a Vortex Razor Gen 1 on it.

I think there is no better rifle for the money...and probably very few better for even more money. Again though...I'm not in the know on rifles. Maybe there's a better deal?

But that was the illest rifle I've ever shot.

A Tikka in .308 with a 1-8x LPV is probably hard to beat in terms of a do-all bolt gun.

I see your point, but you have to bear in mind that you're talking apples and oranges. The CTR is a precision rifle. It weighs a pound more than a Steyr Scout without optics, and optics are a huge part of the general-purpose rifle equation.


Okie John

[45dotACP]

Very true. Precision rifle vs scout rifle is a very different set of considerations. I liked Chris's take on the concept though.

In the meantime, I've been meaning to perform some butchery to my K31 to scout it up....

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[Yute]

My Mini-Scout (5.56 Ruger GSR) is no where near as capable as an AR, but darn if it isn't fun.

[AlwaysLearning]

I see your point, but you have to bear in mind that you're talking apples and oranges. The CTR is a precision rifle. It weighs a pound more than a Steyr Scout without optics, and optics are a huge part of the general-purpose rifle equation.


Okie John

What I liked about the Steyr was that it fit me well after I played with the spacers, and the balance of the weapon meant it felt more like a shotgun. If I get a chance to borrow it again, I'll certainly try it with the conventional rings and see how that goes. Given that I am often in states with severe restrictions on semi-automatic rifles, I like the idea of a bolt gun that I can run like a carbine, and the Steyr seems to be that weapon. Also liked the safety arrangements and the way the bolt worked, and the sling setup. I'd be curious how it would run with an Aimpoint in a conventional mount. It's my understanding that people have had problems with the IER scope in dawn/dusk conditions?

[OlongJohnson]

I see your point, but you have to bear in mind that you're talking apples and oranges. The CTR is a precision rifle. It weighs a pound more than a Steyr Scout without optics, and optics are a huge part of the general-purpose rifle equation.


Okie John

Tikka T3 Lites have a reputation for shooting that way, too. 6.3 lb or so before scope, with a 22-in barrel. Chop it four inches if you want lighter.