As has been pointed out, neither rifle forces you to do anything of the sort. I am less familiar with the Steyr (too expensive for me, and no left hand version), but the Ruger comes with traditional scope rings in the box. (If you want to retain BUIS, that's when things get trickier with the Ruger.) Now if you want to use a forward mounted optic, these two rifles are the most common ones that enable it in stock form, which is why you tend to see these with those sort of optics on them. But they work just as well with traditional scopes, too.
The Ruger Scout magazines are AICS pattern. Several folks have reported success using Magpul magazines.
If it's the same company that makes 10 round T3 magazines, that guy will ship globally. The magazines are, as you said, extremely expensive though.
Over on the scout rifle forum, there has been some discussion on the difficulties of making a bolt action rifle run properly using a magazine meant for a semi-automatic rifle. Not sure how much of that was justification after the fact when the Ruger Scout was released and it did not use AR-10 magazines, though?
As mentioned, the Ruger GSR gives you the option of either forward mounting or traditional mounting for an optic. The Ruger rings require removing the rear sight but you can put on an XS mount that offers both conventional scope placement as well as a back-up ghost ring.
I like mine a lot although I sometimes wish I had opted for the 18 inch barrel. Mine also won't consistently pop primers on 7.62x51. The polymer mags are better in every way than the gargantuan and rough feeding factory metal mags.
I own a .308 caliber Steyr Scout and currently have a Leupold Mark 4 1.5 - 5X20mm MR/T scope in Talley rings mounted in the traditional, over the action position. It works quite well. And so does a Leupold FX-II Scout IER 2.5x28mm scope mounted in the forward position.
I read the Practical Rifle circa 2016 thread forwards and backwards while making a purchase decision with similar criteria that you laid out. The only other thing on my list, and it was a "must have", is a factory threaded barrel for use with a suppressor. I ended up with the 20" Tikka T3x CTR in 308 (JRTXC316).
It does everything you're looking for out of the box without modification, but is a bit heavier than the Lite Compact. The Lite Compact is stated at 6.6lbs and the CTR is listed at 7.5lbs. That said, it has 10rd steel mags and comes with an optic rail. The rail is a must have, so those couple ounces will need to be added to the Lite Compact base weight, making the difference even smaller. The 10rd mags are something I can appreciate as well.
My CTR with Vortex Razor Gen II-E 1-6, Warne Maxima rings, Rhodesian Sling, stock pack, and SilencerCo Omega suppressor comes it at exactly 11lbs unloaded on our digital bathroom scale. It's no mountain gun, but it's absolutely perfect for what I need. I am, however, planning to sell the 21.5 ounce Razor 1-6 and replace it with something lighter.
Last edited by StraitR; 09-16-2019 at 07:49 PM.
Scope rings for Tikkas:
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....l=1#post627816
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Not another dime.
Thanks for the information rich response, I greatly appreciate it.
Regarding shooting at range, what you wrote validates some of my own, but much more limited, experience regarding shooting at distance. My only reference point is from a John McPhee "heavy carbine" class where we shot from 100-600 yards.
I ran a 16" AR platform with a Burris XTRII 1-5X, with Magtech/CBC 77grain Mk262 clones. Reticle hold-overs where used exclusively. I used the scope in 5X exclusively, and on 12x24" targets I was hitting at 450 yards about 70% of the time at least. Probably 90% at 400 yards.
The 500 yard target was in shade in the tree line and I couldn't see the target well enough, including my bullet splashes, to get any hits on it. The 600 yard target was also a no go; it was exposed in sunlight, but I wasn't able to hit it. Two students let me shoot their AR's, one with a Leupold 1-8x, and another with a NF SHV 4-14X I think it was. I was able to hit the shaded 500 yard target repeatedly using 8x and 10x. I didn't have a chance to have a go at the 600 yard target with their guns unfortunately. Wind was pretty low the whole weekend, maybe 1-2mphs, and not much over 5mph I don't think.
But yeah, my conclusion was that for 500 yards I need at least 8X, and preferably 10X, especially if the target is in some kind of shade.