It's a scout rifle, not a sniper rifle. Don't expect it to be one. I use mine for hunting feral pigs and it's pretty great at it. The long eye relief scope is so you can keep both your eyes open and raise the rifle up into your natural eyeline. You'll be on target and aligned with the scope without thinking about it. It surprisingly works. I do wish the original barrels were threaded.
No shyt, who's calling it a sniper rifle. No body. Not even GT they specifically said it wasn't a sniper rifle. So thanks for stating the obvious. You sure are a quick one😂. The US should start doing IQ checks too before selling guns. 😂
On occasion it was whole prides of lions. Man eating tigers, lion, and leopards were a surprisingly common problem in India and parts of Africa and Siberia. There were guys who specifically hunted these "man killers", some of whom had over 150 human kills to the point it disrupted life in the areas where they hunted.
@@markegipto1462 Lions of Tsavo is the book. The movie was named “ The Ghost and the Darkness” which is actually the title of a book about hunting man eating leopards in India.
The "literal 3 safetys" is called a 3-position safety. Those are very popular with hunters, as you can lock the bolt on "super-safe", so it won't accidentally open, while climbing through brush. All the while you can operate the bolt, while keeping the gun on "normal-safe", which is especially important, if you have a set trigger. And we Europeans used to love hair set triggers, often just having pull weights measured in single digit ounces.
Was looking to see if anyone said anything about that…I have a HOWA model 1500 chambered in 6.5 PRC that has the 3-position safety and I love it. I use it for hunting bc if I’m gonna be spot-n-stalking I want that bolt locked so it can’t get caught on brush, and not that I’m scared it’s gonna fall far enough to eject my round or anything, but if that bolt is even slightly outta place that firing pin won’t fall completely. It’ll either be a light strike and the primer won’t go off or it won’t strike at all.
I remember that about 8-10 years ago, in the internal magazine of the company I worked for at the time (shipping), there was a an article that the Steyer Scout was chosen as the weapon for the personnel guarding the security of our ships against pirates. As a CS veteran since 1.3, I accepted it with understanding and sympathy.
From what I heard of this rifle in particular, and what this concept is supposed to be, is basically both a backup rifle a guide or party leader would carry and a lightweight hunting capable carbine that can be legally imported to a variety of countries that have firearm restrictions. The scope location in particular was specifically chosen to prevent the user from getting tunnel vision, so you wouldn’t get clever girl’ed from an ambush predator.
The position and use of a long eye relief scope was so the rifle could be fed from stripper clips. Steyr omitted the clip guide but kept the long eye relief scope for some reason. I'm guessing a lack of understanding of the concept. Personally I think the Ruger Gunsite Scout is the better development of the scout rifle concept.
The intermediate eye relief scope actually works very well for acquiring targets quickly. You should aim with both eyes open. That was the scout rifle concept. Cooper used to write about it extensively in guns and ammo.
I tried it and hated it. Bad weight balance, awkward, and no advantages over a normally positioned scope. I've heard all the lore and I don't agree that it's true. In real life the real "scout rifle" is just an AR-15, everything else is just LARP-ing to justify a rifle purchase. That's what I did anyway.
@@DL-ij7tfdid you use a sling supported firing position? The balancing issue is not very noticeable and ive had my support shoulder rebuilt by va surgeons... It does offer "better" and faster target acquisitions for a much broader fov with the forward mounted optic and 2 eye shooting... its literally observable as you dont have a scope right in front of your face blocking your fov... but it does take some time to get used to. The ar15 is not really good for taking down large game even though it is capable of doing it... a guy took down a grizzly bear in alaska with a glock19 but you wont find many people in bear country recommending a 9mm for bear defense. Coopers scout rifle is a weapon that one could theoretically use for everything from a brush gun, to a safari hunt, and also on the battlefield. Considering were still seeing mosin nagants as well as many other box mag fed bolt action rifles on the modern battlefield it isnt a stretch to say the scout rifle concept has no place on a modern battlefield. Im sure anyone carrying a mosin would much rather have a steyr, ruger, or savage scout rifle. Its not and was never intended to be the best rifle at anything, but a solid general purpose rifle, "if you could only have one rifle, it can do anything you need out of one" outside of running cqb obviously. Im not going to try and convince you to like it, but its a solid concept especially for people on a budget.
They became obsolete when LPVOs were introduced. Have you ever used one? I had a Burris 2-7 scout scope and my 1-4 Trijicon is hands down faster and easier to shoot. And I have more peripheral awareness with the LPVO. I seriously doubt anyone who has used both would disagree.
@@3421958 I have and I agree with you. Fun to play around with and the rifles are usually good (I got a Ruger Gunsite Scout, great for hunting in the woods due to short length and irons are fun).
@@3421958ive used both and disagree. Traditional scope mounting will always obscure more fov because its sitting directly in front of your face, obscuring vision. Most peoples issues stem from it being extremely unfamiliar, which is exactly what one would expect. It takes some time to get used to but most people with enough trigger time get it down and can see the benefits of the larger fov.
As an armchair marksman (I live in England), I've gotta say that if you were out hunting and having to trek a long distance, the scout seems to make a lot of sense.
His problem = for drama clicks he calls it a sniper rifle & puts the military bullshit music to it. It's a hunting rifle and a survival rifle. Of course it would probably do a pretty good job sniping, that's not really what it's built for. This ain't exactly my favorite firearms channel. It certainly doesn't come off looking good next to the soon to be lamented Paul Harrell.
@@theminister1154 super weird take. They're just bagging on it cause the inspiration for the video is its presence in counter-strike. It's clearly a very niche hunting rifle, and it's a weird choice for a sniper in a game about counterterrorism. If it's being used on a long hunting expedition or some shit than obviously it makes more sense, but that's such a rare scenario and you'd be just as well off with countless other rifles. It's too hyper focused for a scenario that is not very common. Most people aren't hunting lions out in the Savanah for an extended period of time
I had a Steyr Scout, and only got rid of it only because I was caught up in a bad period. It was so fast handling, so accurate, that I almost couldn't believe it, IF you used it as a GP rifle and not a "sniper" or dedicated "hunting" rifle. As Cooper noted, it wasn't the perfect rifle for any one situation, but it could handle a lot of situations very well. If you could have only one, it was the one to have. I intend to have another one as soon as I can save up for it.
@@ChevyOldschool-mf7xf I thought that was odd as well. It's the exact opposite of a modern sniper rifle; maybe akin to a WWII sniper, which was essentially just a slightly more accurate infantry rifle with a scope. Modern sniper rifles share nothing with the regular infantry rifles.
I have a Savage Scout which is built to mimic the Steyr and I love it. You can easily load single rounds into the chamber with the mag in, or even without a mag at all. This means if you lose your mags you can still use the gun effectively, and you can also load different types of ammo in between what you have already loaded in the mag. The long eye-relief scope, while a bit difficult to utilize effectively, is designed with the idea of firing with both eyes wide open and maintaining full situational awareness. In theory it should be "better" for hitting fast moving targets or for close-quarters combat. But then as seen in this video, it also provides the ability to hit a target at 500+ yards with some effort. It has a purpose. It might not be a purpose that most people need right now, and maybe it has been superseded since it was originally released, but there was definitely thought put into its design. Regardless, it's a damn cool gun.
_On The Scout_ here on YT has great scope reviews and a video doing just that at 500, was trivial-- one probably ought to have other optical means of identification anyhow.
I've been hunting with a steyr scout for years in the northeast. It's very rare that I can see further than 50 yards in thick woods so the 4x scout scope works perfectly and it's weight is wonderful to hike with.
The mag “connect but not feed” feature exists with these rifles for situations where you might want to shoot one round at a time for an unknown amount of rounds slowly, while still having access to your full magazine. If you’re face to face with something like a bear where you want to fire warning shots you can load them one at a time, then if the bear charges you just click the magazine up and you can fire all your rounds and hope to live
@@fearanarchy if you have the right ammo there’s no reason 308 could reliably kill dangerous game honestly. It’s considered one of the best and most popular black bear rounds on the market
The idea was for the scout rifle to be the ultimate survival weapon, good for hunting and if need be human threats. A reliable, durable weapon for bad situations. If red dots existed when he came up with the idea, he probably would have gone with those instead of a forward optic
@@poisonouslead85 Not really. "It's too light!" Said no hunter or soldier ever. It's a great little rifle. I can see why Garand might not like it because it doesn't have all the rails to mount all the tacticool stuff though.
@@somethinsomethin7243 Yes, I went back to the range to use one of theirs. I'd forgotten about the reason for the sling mounts. They were to use a sling developed for that rifle that allowed you to loop it around your off-hand and add stability. Was suprised how my muscles remembered how to do that given I hadn't shot that rifle for over a decade!
I've had a Steyr Scout for several years now, and it was my understanding that it was meant as a type of bug out rifle, or "survival rifle". Very light weight, a common caliber, hard hitting and meant for inside 200 maybe 300 yards. It's not a sniper rifle and it's certainly not meant for hunting in Africa. The bipod isn't comparable to something you'd add on to a purpose built sniper, but it's intended as a quick support when needed in a pinch. It's light weight, accurate, has an awesome trigger, and hard hitting in .308..........OK I'll get off my soap box now lol. Your still making great videos by the way.
Indeed. Apparently the idea of a general purpose rifle has never occurred to GT & friends. Yes other rifles are better sniper rifles, or better DMR rifles, or better hunting rifles, or better urban rifles (carbines). Maybe when the LARPer situation that he's always talking about training for happens, he'll carry one of each of those instead of one scout rifle.
@WAC_garage Correct. I remember when this thing came out, and read every interview I could find with Col. Cooper. At the time, in the early 90s, there was a huge boom of “scout” concept popularity. 100% is a bush concept.
@@WAC_garage Kinda. His trips to Africa brought his memory back to wartime where assigned scouts carried heavy rifles and ammo and then had to trek long distances on foot and how tiring it was to do it. Those rifles were large, heavy, and used iron sights or massive and heavy scopes with terribly limited eye relief. They were specialized rifles that did one thing or another but were terrible at all else. He then saw that his guides were using modified/shortened rifles with much of the superfluous things removed to make them lighter and with iron sights. Most rifles then started getting manufactured without iron sights if they were meant for scopes. He was a firm believer in ensuring you could work if your gear didn't so a true scout rifle would have a riser on it in order to still use the iron sights. He often stated that glass can break so having access to iron sights at all times was a must. You'd have an intermediate fixed power optic for range and the irons for up close and quick shots. His concept is what's pretty much represented in LPVOs today. He admits to borrowing the bush gun for the scout concept but his intent for the gun was a do it all gun that could fill in a scout role for military/paramilitary settings and personal ones second. He even admits that 308 is not an African big game cartridge and advocated much stronger cartridges for hunting the dangerous game of Africa. He says it's a good caliber for North America and was his preferred caliber for anti-personnel but wouldn't use it first on the Dark Continent. It's why he called it the Scout Rifle Concept and not Cooper's Bush Gun. His purpose was first, to outfit scouts with a proper rifle up to their task that had to be flexible, hit hard, light, reliable, shot relatively flat using a ubiquitous NATO cartridge. Hence, he pushed for 7.62x51 NATO chambering. His reasoning was then that this scout rifle would, by its very nature, fill the role of a general-purpose rifle for civilians as well. Especially in the Americas. His ultimately wish was to find a way to do it and make it semi-auto, but the technology doesn't exist to make a semi-auto .308 that's reliable, light and accurate enough. It's why he went with a bolt action, even though in his books, his wish was for the future that if technology caught up to his ideals, to make one semi-auto. Bolt-action keeps it light, reliable and accurate relative to modern semi-auto designs.
I’ve owned a Scout for 8 years and it is absolutely one of my favorite firearms.. built in bipod+extra magazine compartment+ lightweight+ 308. Chambered… if you don’t have one you don’t know what you are missing
I couldn't agree with you more. Been packing mine in N. Idaho now for close to 20 years and many miles. Killed bear, elk, mountain lion and many deer with it. This year was a 200 heart shot with the 150 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaw. While not a long shot by any means, the confidence to take it was there.
I’ve hunted with a Scout .308 in South Africa for ten years and it’s an incredible rifle when you’re walking & stalking 20 + kilometers a day. Mine is fitted with a more standard Vortex Viper 4 - 16 and it’s yet to miss. Longest shot was on a kudu at about 380m off the built in bipod. The one constructive bit of criticism about the rifle is that the bipod legs are very long, so it can be a bit awkward to get your body high enough. Other than that it’s an absolute beauty
That’s what I though when I saw it too. They should fix that and maybe make the petals the fold out shorter and slimmer and then a telescopic part inside to extend the length maybe
if you are gonna do a bipod, it should be adjustable to fire while prone or kneeling, and it also helps to have it swivel, because you can keep a level scope on a side hill.
@@dothedewinmethey are already flimsy as is, that would make them sure to break. The bipod isn't an integral feature of the gun so much as it's an added bonus. The Steyr Scout 2 has a dedicated MLOK slot up front for people that decide a bipod is important.
As a German who crosstrained with the Austrian Bundesheer I can confirm, jump shots and 360 no-scopes are trained during Austrian basic training and not qualifying in those makes you fail basic training.
The Scout is a really good rifle for what it was designed too do. It was never intended as a military grade sniper rifle or a proper DMR. For hunting though and for all-purpose work it is really really good also the low weight is a big point if you are, for example, in Austria, where large parts of the country are very taxing to pass over due to mountains, hills etc. and lower weight is very useful to have.
The mag well also has a second detent that allows it to sit right below the bolt, so the mag is secure but not feeding the rifle. You push it in all the way to properly feed. It lets you single load into the chamber to bypass the magazine.
That's one feature I wish was more common on lower capacity firearms. You see it on automatic shotguns, but it's usually a bit too fiddly to be used under stress. Simply smacking the magazine fully home to activate it is probably Cooper's best idea on this rifle. I heard a rumor that someone turned the front bottom receiver screw on a Marlin levergun into a detent pin mechanism for magazine cutoff, but I've never been able to verify such a thing exists. Would be awesome though, I'd love to have a magazine cutoff for single loading my lever gun.
Hi GT- great video! Unfortunately the third safety hasn’t been explained to you very well: It‘s a transport safety. In that position you can actually tilt or push the bolt handle towards the rifle just a little bit and you will feel it snapping into place. What this does, is that it locks the firing pin mechanically, meaning that even if you were to drop the rifle with a round in the chamber, there‘s no way it could go off or hit the primer. It‘s really neat for climbing, or getting up on high stands or even walk-in with a slung, loaded rifle. It absolutely makes sense. Also there’s one other neat feature to the magazines: they have two positions to seat them, meaning you can put in a loaded magazine (on position number 1) -you‘ll feel that it will click in and you won‘t lose the mag, but it allows you to chamber an additional round from the top of the rifle. After that, just give the mag a quick tap from below and you’re ready to rock’n’roll. All Steyr rifles have that feature. Also there are versions of the scout that come with 2 10rd mags. You can buy those aftermarket. Those rifles have been used quite successfully in anti-„look -at-me-I‘m-the-captain-now“- scenarios, if you know what I mean. 😉 Also: You’re right, the integrated bipod is quite flimsy, but it’s more of a backup solution. Right behind the button to open the backup bipod you have an attachment point/ rail for a proper metal bipod. On most Scout rifles it’s also not a true Picatinny rail, but a Weaver rail- so buyer beware… Also I don‘t think a lot of people use the wide eye relief scope, for the reasons you mentioned. Anyways: have a good one and keep up the great content.
I believe it was Ian McCollum (of Forgotten Weapons) who said the idea was a rifle that was carried much more than it was shot. It was there as a ‘just in case you meet something mean in the African bush’. For that purpose, it for sure makes sense. You’re not doing long range precision work- you just need something with a big enough cartridge to take down any angry nasty beasties.
A lot of people dont use the scout scope, but id argue its because of a lack of familiarity, as i took the time to learn it (it came pretty quickly, honestly) and i find it to be better than traditional scope mounting by almost every metric aside from the weight imbalance. I like having a larger field of view which gives me better situational awareness.
The Scout is a concept as much as a model of rifle. It isn't intended to be a sniper rifle ever. It's a light field rifle chambered to take any game on this continent and most everywhere else. It's also very effective for hostiles although not its primary focus. Cooper actually had larger caliber Scouts as well. It's a good camp rifle, truck rack rifle, pack rifle, etc. You can get 10rd mags so 2 of those and you have a nice grab and go package. Maybe another box or 2 of shells in your pack. It's also part of Jeff Coopers legacy so it has a place in the hearts and minds of aficionados. If we had the LVPO optics of today in Coopers time I suspect he would have a NF NX8 with daylight bright red dot and grid reticle with FFP to 8x or something equivalent. In the absence of nearly 1x optics he went with the forward mounted optic to improve visibility in fast action. The limitations of these optics were more acceptable in the 70-80s when we didn't have other good options. You were mostly fair in your assessment. If you had done a bit more research on the concept and purpose you could've done a bit better. Given what Cooper did for the civilian firearms training community and modern pistol doctrine he is owed a bit more respect I think. Just because some video game bastardized the representation of the Scout Rifle doesn't mean you should. Although you did make the jump head shot. I find your material generally good with the more resent stuff better than average. I understand controversy gets clicks and clicks =$. A 16" 300BLK AR with supersonic loads and a quality LVPO might have really interested Cooper were he alive to see it.
Thank you, well put. Us old guys 1960's-70's didn't have the nice optics, & other bs, available, back in the day. For a '98 model The Scout was very nice.
@@ibfubar this is true which is where his (in)famous thumper concept came from, which in his book he almost managed to make it sound reasonable, but its a really wild one, especially when looked at from the distance of time today
I remember reading an article Coopers scout rifle idea years ago. It was described as more of a survival rifle for North America. Its supposed to be short and light for portability, but of sufficient caliber to bring down most large animals and to defend oneself with. And the long eye relief scope was so you can shoot with both eyes open and have better situational awareness. I don't remember if a flimsy plastic bipod was his idea though.
Cooper was more of a fan of slings than bipods or shooting sticks. It's actually more disconcerting that we don't see more emphasis these days on the proper use of a sling to help in stability in shooting. The tactical variety use them simply to keep the gun close to the body but don't use it to look up the arms and support the gun when shooting.
@@Gubble-oq6dn It's almost never seen on TH-cam or most online content anymore. Cooper was really the last person to really delve into proper sling usage and most guntubers and influencers today don't really delve into using the sling as a shooting aid. Just a retention aid.
@LongFatJohnston Wait what? Slings were very popular in Cooper's time. Nearly everyone that I know that hunts today, uses a sling. They may not use it as a shooting aid, but they use a sling. The only guy I know who doesn't, straps his to his 4-wheeler to his blind. This is why nearly every rifle I've seen, has sling studs on them. During WWII and the Korean/Vietnam Wars, slings were adopted by the military FROM the hunters as that was where people had experience shooting. Every rifle I have, has a sling on it for at least carrying the damn thing. In the military, my M4 had a sling on it as you were getting hell if caught without your rifle on you unless you were showering and someone else was holding it for you. The common modern rifle grip is now an overly exaggerated c-clamp grip which grips the rifle from the side/top instead of supporting from the bottom. Slings used as a shooting aid would have you drop your elbow and relax the support shoulder to lock in the tension with the sling to stabilize the rifle. You can't do it with a c-clamp grip. There are still folks in the U.S. military that use a sling as a shooting aid and don't use as exaggerated of a c-clamp grip or are able to adjust their grip and not wedded one way or another. As for Cooper himself, several prominent shooters who personally knew him have verified that he's seen combat in the Pacific as a lower ranked officer and in Korea as a Major/Lt. Col. Ayoob is one of those folks. Most of his ideas were from his experience were from his recon/scout days in Korea, which is why the argument that the scout rifle is primarily for hunting isn't actually true. His intent was for a better recon/scout rifle than what he had, it just works out as a hunting rifle if needed. Also, argumentation from authority is a logical fallacy. It shouldn't matter if he's killed a million people or none at all. The idea should be argued and held independently itself, not based on "credentials" of the arguer. Many have tried the different versions of the scout rifle and like it or are able to use it as a base to build what they want from there.
I used a Steyr Scout in .308 as my hunting rifle in the UK for the last 15 years. Just sold. I used a conventional scope rather than a IER scope. Shot something like 100 deer with it. With a big long IOR sniper scope on it, I was reliably taking targets at 800m with it on Orion ranges in Wales. Loved that rifle! I had the same problem with the thread for the moderator... had to take to an engineering firm to mill me an adaptor for an A-Tec mod.
I think that's where this rifle really shines is in a state or country where you can't have an ar10 to hunt with but need something that's reasonably powerful, quick, and light.
When I was a teenager and played counter strike I mentioned this gun to my mothers friend who is into hunting and he was showing me a rifle and I was super shocked to find out he knew of and told me it was well liked in the here in the uk, I was thinking it was more military than hunting. I think he was equally shocked I knew of it and it was in the game ironically because he was thinking of it as a hunting rifle.
@@Digger_TN Yeah I really wish people would mind their own busines. If I already own a .308 ar10 I'm not going out of my way to buy a bolt action because someone finds it scary or unusual. Hell even when I'm hunting deer with my Enfield mk3 I'll get comments for not having a scope.
I think it looks like a perfect hunting rifle for when you have to track long distances. And I like all the safety features and that’s it so lightweight.
You won't regret it. Just check other LER scopes, I found a 300$ Burris one I think, was some years ago, that felt better than the Leupold. Oh and don't get the 10-round mag extender, turns the 5-round mags useless, cause they attach at the bottom. Unless you get a boatload of 10 round mags, ofc. Nice part: The 10 round mag does fit flush in the stock as well 🙂.
The original idea was a handy maneuverable general purpose rifle. Basically a traditional bolt gun, shorter barrel (why .308 was selected as it does pretty well in a shorter barrel), with a box magazine in case you were in a situation of needing to reload a bolt gun faster than normal hunting situations, and the forward mounted scope in low power to shoot at moving targets with both eyes open. My youngest son has the savage version with just the iron sights and it is kind of a handy ranch type of gun.
Having played a lot of CSS when I was younger, I had been very interested in setting up a steyr scout as a SHTF rifle, especially being in the UK as we are limited on what we can legally own. I discussed my thoughts with an RSO the other month who worked closely with Jeff Cooper. He was of the belief that had he been alive today, given the advances in red dot's, he would have actually favoured a red dot on a scout rifle over the long eye relief scope. For the sole reason it would open up the field of view of the shooter while aiming with both eyes open. But with the added advantage of further cutting down on weight.
The point of the scope was to have a magnified optic... cooper likely wouldve wondered why youd want to put another unmagnified optic on when youve got iron sights on the rifle... cooper never intended for the scopes to be permanently mounted either, they were to be used as the needs arise.
About the so funny „Ultra Safety“: You can bring the bolt handle even further down in this position. This narrows the guns profile dramatically, which is helpful while carrying on the back. Furthermore to my knowledge there was a specific Steyr Scout sling design, but it never came to the market. I really like Steyr Scout. Especially if you have to carry it around, then weight is key. Pity I only have the the unthreaded barrel.
Please do videos on the following: -Shotgun Mud & Ice test -What is most effective against combat drones? -Can a .50 Cal/12 Gauge suppressor work on lower calibers (22, 9mm, 45 ACP, 5.56, 7.62)?
I’m gonna show my nerd side…but the Scout was in CS 1.6 and CSS only, the CSGO/CS2 variant shown is the Steyr SSG-08. It’s okay, I’ll see my way out 😂 great video review though, I would love to have a Scout to go with my AUG (which was definitely purchased partially because of my love for Counter Strike)
@592 In a way it has the function of a "scout rifle" within context, so using the name is totally fine. More interesting that that G3GS1 is ubiquiosly known as auto sniper when controlling 7.62x51 full auto is already hard enough, and with a magnifying scope it would be rather useless in full auto. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
@@loder8592Nope the G3SG1 is full auto in the game. A shockingly slow 240RPM fire rate though, a lot of people don't even realise it's automatic and click for each shot but you don't need to, just hold left click
Remember, the Scout came out during the "Black rifles are scary" times. Many gun stores and shooting ranges wouldn't carry or allow "black rifles". That was the birth of the Fudd mentality. Also red dots were just starting to catch on so the Scout Scope was a viable solution (I still have one). When it came out, Guns and Ammo did an interview with Lt. Col. Cooper and the Scout was a blending of his love for combat pistol techniques and close to medium range fast reflex rifles for hunting and combat inspired by the Scouts in South Africa and Rhodesia. It may not be for everyone but in the hands of skilled woodsman, it's still a very capable and deadly weapon.
I feel like Mike could have read at least one article written by Jeff Cooper before doing the video. I don't recall the Cooper scout rifle concept being for hunting- I understood he wanted the rifle to be used by Scout/Recon role
@@FirePirate099 Yes. His inspiration was his hunting guides using modified, shortened and lightened rifles with iron sights. He states that the African military scouts came close, but were still a bit off form his concept. He planned the scout rifle out for military/paramilitary units but then says that a good rifle that works in that role would then make an excellent general-purpose rifle for those living in the Americas but was a bit iffy about trying to use it to hunt big game in Africa. He specifically states his love affair of 7.62NATO being for the two-legged targets primarily that could suffice if needed for nearly any animal in North America.
@@FirePirate099 the scout rifle was always intended to be a rifle that one could "defend the homestead, hunt on african safari, as well as light scouting or recon work at war." A general purpose rifle... idk, ive only got the damn book, "the art of the rifle"
@@g00gleisgayerthanaids56 that’s sounds more accurate to my memory of reading Jeff Cooper. Mike made it sound like the scout concept was solely a hunting rifle
Way back in 1997 I fell in love with the book series "The Deathlands" where the main character Ryan Cawdor carried a Steyr scout. I always wanted one. I finally managed to get one a few years ago. I love it so much.
In the first book, it was a actually a FAPA bullpup assault rifle(which is a prototype Brazilian rifle from the 80s) replaced with a HK G11 for a lot of books. Later ones he has another Steyr, an actual military sniper rifle, the SSG69. I grew up reading random entries in the series as I found them, recently found the 1st 10 original novels and I am working through them. That 1st book though, sucks the author died right after publishing, because that books first chapter was eerily predictive of the 90s in its setup for how the future apocalypse would happen.
If I remember correctly, the sling mounting points were so you could utilize a three point "Ching" sling for increased stability while shooting off hand.
@@yupyup4209 the fanboys lap it up anyway, and the clickbait title etc drags more folks in because they willfully don't understand or research anything
I needed a short very light rifle for my son (8 at the time) to hunt with I was worried about recoil and scope to eye contact. I went with a ruger scout (couldn’t find a styer) with a shorter very light aftermarket stock precision armament muzzle break and the exact same scope. It was lite and handy enough for him to carry recoil was manageable and .308 was enough to get the job done. He took several animals with it. He’s grown into a traditional rifle in 300 win mag but at the time it was the ideal for him. Now it’s a cool looking rifle no one uses that sits in the safe but it definitely had its place for us.
Great rifle for hunting. Being able to lock the bolt is great for anybody that has a branch snag their bolt handle. The light weight is always appreciated when you have to carry it around all day.
One of my good friends at church absolutely loves his Steyr Scout rifle. He is insanely accurate with it with a 2.5x optic on top. It's fun to see it in a video now.
Aye..Jeff's criteria for the Scout is a 2.5x fixed pwr scope..maybe 3x max, to facilitate the both eyes fully open concept. ..well, ppl did have sharper eyes in his era..better nutrition & a more active/healthy generation. I'm 57..I can see how ppls health in general is far less than what it was in the 70's-80's. Nowadays..obesity, drug use..either prescribed, or street stuff..i mean..anxiety/stress are so prevalent, now..allergies..it is crazy. Eyesight has suffered, as well.
The Steyr Scout isn't a ranch gun, or it wouldn't be a sensible ranch gun anyway. I've always seen the Steyr Scout sold as a sniper rifle for SWAT snipers and I suppose in Europe, urban police snipers where observation would be more valuable than being able to "take the shot".
@@MisterNiThe criteria Steyr and Cooper came up with to make the Scout is literally for a ranch or bush gun. Lightweight, mag fed, backup sights, and integrated bipod. The only thing the Steyr rifle is missing from Coopers original works is the guide for a stripper clip which they instead put the spare magazine in the butt stock. It is literally a ranch gun. Whether it's a good one is a different discussion but that's how it was envisioned.
@@TheSlovenlyTactician I don't think you know what a ranch gun is. The Steyr Scout has never been a selling point as a ranch gun, unless you were a police sniper as your second job or something. As a bush gun, that makes more sense but from what I remember throughout the late 1990s to mid 2000s, the Steyr Scout was mostly sold to LE or lightly and rarely used as an spotter rifle, but with probably a much better optic than the crappy optic GT was showing in this video.
@@MisterNithat makes even less sense. It is not semi auto. It does not have a pistol grip. Its 5 round mag is tiny. This looks like a trick shot gun. It is a light gun that allows for weights in the back. This is a back packing gun. Its for a person who prefers to use their pistol for everything but still wants to shoot far away if they have too. Binoculars are way better for observation. If someone in the military uses this they probably have weak hands because this is not a primary.
@@gabriels5105 Try holding a rifle in the exact same position for hours on end then say something as ordinary as a lightweight Steyr Scout is a "trick shot" gun. Well, I suppose if you were a "Scout" then it would make for a good backpack gun. I would definitely put on a better optic though since the Scout is magazine fed so you don't need that long eye-relief scope and you really shouldn't be trying to get a high volume of fire out of a Steyr Scout anyway. Also, binoculars are conspicuous, tend to reflect light and are just another thing to carry when a good optic on a rifle is all someone would need for observation purposes. AFAIK the Scout isn't a military rifle. When the Steyr Scout was popular, it was mostly sold to police units who wanted an affordable sniper rifle that could take someone down with one shot but in a police role, it would've been mostly used for observation anyway.
Mr. Garand Thumb, I just wanted you to know that you have become my favorite TH-cam channel after your 10mm video. I used to think Kentucky Ballistics was the best but your video on the 10mm set me straight. Kentucky used to do comparison videos like which is the best Bear gun 10mm, 44 Mag., and so forth. I really enjoyed those videos but lately he either blows up a perfectly good gun or shoots something no person in America will probably never get. Thank you for the useful videos keep up the great content and don’t start grasping for ideas and trying to flex you nuts like Kentucky!
I'll have you know garand thumb that the steyr scout saved my life when I unknowingly drove into an L shaped ambush while on safari two decades ago. I stood out the sun roof and dropped two of the approaching rhinos nearly instantly. A third got close but I was able to quickly acquire the target due to the steyr's light weight. When the military arrived, they arrested me. Turns out it was a group of locals trying to sell trinkets and I was just tripping balls off the LSD I snuck onto the plane. I got one-hundred and twenty years in prison, but turns out they were using metric. Got out in about two months and now I know Swahili. It was a good trade in my opinion.
Can confirm on the Rocky's. The first thing most of us did when we got to tech school and were told we could buy our own boots was go out and get them. I loved mine, they were comfortable as hell, did pretty decent in cold weather and rain and lasted probably 3-4 years. If anyone's worked in the nuke fields you know comfortable boots are king
It's more of a hunting / survival rifle than a sniper rifle. Also, it makes more sense in countries where civilian access to / hunting with semi-autos is harder / forbidden. Side note: In most countries in Europe civilians have access to military calibers. It's just also available in other typical hunting calibers because it's a hunting rifle - in that context the safeties also make sense.
I own one, love that rifle. Fluted barrel, great bolt movement, super lightweight - if you live in a country where you cannot own a semi-automatic its great
Slight correction: The Steyr Scout was in CS beta4 up to retail 1.6, Condition Zero, and Source. The one in the footage (3:30) is the Steyr SSG 08 from Global Offensive.
@barrupa yee but the Scout from 1.6 and GO are actually from different lines of rifles from Steyr so the distinction is deserved. Now we need a SSG 08 particular "Scout" video 😈
@@tehbone8604 it’s PA, they’ve been signing every letter in support of CAs bans, the house and gov are blue, senate is red. And I don’t see November getting any better. So I’m building and buying like a fiend right now
@@MrEpeeFencer He’s talking about Africa because the colonel who was behind the design of this particular rifle based his requirements off his time in Africa, hunting big game.
Ive dailied my rocky s2v predator boots for several years now. If there's one thing they have mastered, its their break-in. They only become more comfortable, more flexible, and more suited to you the more you use them. The soles are absurdly durable, without being stiff. And the treads wrapping up the side and heel give me purchase on sloped terrain like nothing else. The laces are sturdy and dont compress or stretch, meaning you dont have to tie a bow. Just tie a normal knot and go about your day, the knot can come undone just as easy at you tied it since it doesn't catch or bind. Highly recommend. Ive got two pairs (normal predators and jungle predators for wet conditions) and will be getting another set of predators IF these wear out. I aint sponsored, but lemme say this. Christmas is coming up, get Pops something thatll last till they make it back in their will. You know he goes through a boot a month... These'll stop that cycle.
The Steyr-Mannlicher rifles had some of the smoothest bolts actions ever made, so it tracks that their abomination-Scout rifle has an excellent trigger, too. I think the Steyr Scout is outclassed by the Tikka T3x scout-variant created for the RCMP (Snow Mexican polar bear defense team 🇨🇦). It’s also out-dripped by the River Gunsite Scout, which is probably the best of the 3. But like you said, it’s such a niche rifle that there’s really no use case for it besides “I have something that you don’t.” Fun video I didn’t expect. I’d love for you to do a military style review of the most non-military rifle thinkable, like a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe or a Winchester Model 70 Super Grade. Would be hilarious to watch you bill drill a deer rifle and then slot MOA groups at 500 yards.
Every time he explains how weird it is, I want it more. It was a matter of respect in Counter-Strike to choose to snipe with the Scout even if something else were available.
I used to rock mainly deagle and Scout for a long time. Such a great iconic rifle. So much fun with it. Over 8k kills on the counter, and that is just in CS:GO.
I have a Ruger Scout. Very similar, but I took off the forward pic rail where you would mount a long eye relief scope, and put an LPVO on normal rings over the receiver. Much better.
I used to think a scout rifle would be meh, but then someone had it one at the range and I tried it. The long eye relief magnification with both eyes open. At that moment I got it. Now I really want one. I'm thinking of doing a scout setup with a CZ600 trail in 5.56.
There is a 10round conversion kit . The magazine has 2 positions. All the way in for repeater action. 1 click out for single shot as it won’t pick up from the magazine. To go to reapeater just push mag completely in. There is also a hidden pocket in the pistol grip . 3 point sling mount is for the “Ching sling”
My Steyr Scout is chambered in 308. Added a 10 round mag kit with 2, 10 round Mags. There is a cubby hole at the grip where I keep my bore snake with a cleaning kit. Tough as nails. I love my Scout.
I‘m member of a shooting Club in Austria which had tight connection with Col. Jeff Cooper (Range is named after him). Founding members had personal connections with him - we even got original exponates used by Cooper himself there. He paid Austria some visits back in the days. He was also directly involved in the development of the Steyr Scout Rifle.
@@swissmilitischristilxxii3691I’m pretty sure they allowed to just straight up buy machine guns as long as it’s for collecting purposes among everything else
@@thatjackal74 that‘s true but you‘ve gotta be recognized as a collector, which isn‘t that easy. the requirements for that are pretty steep security wise to begin with ;)
@@swissmilitischristilxxii3691 Yes you can. I‘ve got an AUG / AR-9 / Glock 34 / S&W Model 69. Each with large Magazines (which makes some extra buerocratic effort necessary) except the Revolver. As long as you‘re being recognized as a Sports Shooter, Collector or Hunter, you have good options herr. Hunting Rifles (Class C weapons in the austrian gun law) are even allowed without a permit (background screening / psychological test) and can be owned by austrian citizens over 18 without a criminal record.
Now, I've always said that this rifle seems like it would be quite good ...if you mounted a traditional scope on it, like a Leupold 2-7. Now it's just a really light and handy rifle with a few oddities, but none of them impair usage. A weird bipod is better than none at all.
In a pre-red dot and LPVO world it made a little more sense. As a bush gun you are going to be spending far more time carrying the thing than ever shooting it. priorities.
@@Alpha-Leader I'm still trying to wrap my head around why my Leupold 2-7 is worse than an LPVO. It weighs roughly half of an LPVO, and at a true 2.5 power, it's just a tiny bit slower at point blank range. But, maybe that is offset by being lighter, so maybe not slower at all?
The Vortex Razor 1-6×24 works excellent on the scout btw. The Rifle is my go-to when i hike through north-norway or finland while hunting season is. Enough for bears and moose.
I think it's important to note that the Scout is no longer in counter-strike. It used to be in older games, but it was replaced by the Steyr SSG-08 which is the rifle we see in the short little gameplay clip that was used
I bought the Ruger version (Gunsite Scout) with the laminated wood stock. Replaced the forward mount optic base with a traditional picatinny that still allowed the use of the ghost ring iron sights. Mounted a Redfield (Leupold) 3x9 with MOA reticle which is a little easier to use than Mil-Dot (I'm a retired GWOT Sniper). Also added a 3 round mag for hunting in Oregon (comes with a single steel 10 round mag) and a Harris bipod. Overall, pretty good hunting rifle. My only complaints are that the stock is pretty slippery to hang on to, especially with gloves, and once the barrel heats up I experience significant thermal drift.
The idea for the jump shot was hilarious. Executing the jump shot first try was severely underrated. I haven’t laughed that hard in a minute. Well done boys. Mike and Mikah for president
6:05 that's actually useful for situations when you gotta switch ammo. For example, you planned to shoot a roe deer with your FMJs and then suddenly you've found a moose and gotta switch to heavy SP. Probably you won't have to carry additional magazines in your pockets that way.
@@johnjay1147 you can always adjust the scope. Just have a note with the adjustments for the specific bullet weight. Or just select/load ammo with similar weight and groups. Yes, and in some countries it's still legal to use FMJ ammo for hunting.
@@Anonymous8421 because sometimes people are just stupid and say that they can effectively dispatch softer game that's below 100 kg of weight. Probably same kind of people who hunt capercaillie with rifles loaded with FMJ and Lapua Scenar because they can't sneak close enough with a shotgun
You hit it on the scout scope rifle concept. Years ago, I bought a Ruger Scout rifle. After trying it, I mount a Leupold 1x4x conventional scope. This works on a light. 308 rifle and it does the job without compromises of long eye relief scopes (and with 10 rd mags).
I remember reading Jeff Cooper going on and on in his column about how this was best new concept in rifles, well, ever. Nothing this awesome had ever been conceived of before. It was a bolt action and it was lightweight and fast handling and obviously no one had ever thought of something so revolutionary before this. It reminds me now of the launch of the Segway.
@@user-vg3yc6gk5fI think that's his point, we have dozens of manufacturers making hoverboards and other derivatives of the segway. Basically "it was revolutionary but ultimately a stepping stone to better things".
Having spent many years in the PNW forests hunting/scouting/wandering with a uhm, shortened* 308 bolt gun, I will say having a bolt-lock is extremely handy in scenarios when it gets thicc.
The clip u guys played in the video, is from Counter Strike Global Offensive. And that CS game, it is not a Steyr Scout but instead a Steyr SSG 08. Two completely different rifles. But in the older Counter Strike games like Counter Strike Source and older, it for sure is a Steyr Scout.
While the scout may not be ideal for that super open mountainous terrain, I actually think it's a supper handy gun in a wooded area where you don't need extreme range. Someplace like Michigan or Wisconsin, Only place you will ever see 500 yards strait is across a lake. A super handy lightweight bolt gun with a modern 1-10x LPVO sounds pretty fantastic honestly, quick to get on targets at very close range, and with a full power cartridge and capability to shoot for distance, lightweight integrated bipod is a plus.
Wisc! Can confirm..not many areas where anything more than a 30-30 is needed. ..although my bro has a BAR in 300 WinMag, lmbo. But yes..i see many positives on this Jeff Cooper thang. He knew the efforts of scout/long hunts, where the diff between 6 & 8 lbs was felt! & wanted kind of a survival rifle aspect..simple, rugged, reliable, accurate. electric sights..fine..and yes, they're fairly reliable, nowadays, but nothing as much so as a well made low pwr scope.
@@MM-op6ti Leupold VX-FREEDOM 1.5-4X28 IER SCOUT is probably the best fit, also technically, though on the high end of magnification, is the Vortex CROSSFIRE II 2-7X32 SCOUT.
@@MM-op6ti You aren't, I'm saying you should mount it regularly and use a standard LPVO instead of the forward mount. He mentions in the video it also has mounting points for standard scope rings. The original design did intend for the forward scope, but keep in mind that was before LPVOs were a thing.
Lots of companies developed a "scout rifle", but Styer is the only one who can claim to build an authentic scout rifle. It was approved by Jeff Cooper, the guy who came up with the concept in the first place. The others all modify the design in one (or ten) ways. They end up being handy rifles (the Ruger "scout" is a decent rifle), but this one is the only scout as envisioned by Colonel Cooper. It's actually a very practical rifle. Accuracy is excellent, and it can be used to hunt in areas that do not allow semi-auto rifles for hunting. As a matter of fact this is almost a perfect woods rifle for hunting deer and black bear where ranges will almost always be 100yds or less. It's certainly capable of hitting accurately at/past 300 yds. In .308 it's more than powerful enough to hunt any hoofed game on the continent within range limitations. It's compact enough to be easily stored/transported. Cooper hated the .223/5.56 so he more or less set out design parameters (cleanly take a 400 lb game animal) that would eliminate the .223. AT the time the average AR-10 was way too heavy for his envisioned use, but he was not against the use of a semi-auto if it could meet the weight requirements. You don't have to use a long eye relief scope, and I can understand how the guys in the video had a hard time getting used to it. Once you start using it it becomes intuitive. You keep saying it's "outclassed", but it's in a class of its own and fills a need that a MSR can't.
I use an MRO on mine and love it. It's a great deer rifle. Couple of extra "features". One, in super safe mode, if you push the bolt handle down it will lock in tight against the gun for placing in a scabard to reduce the profile a little bit. Also, the Magazine has a second position where it will lock into the magwell without being fully seated so that if you work the bolt it won't pick up a round.
Thank you for mentioning it. Drives me nuts watching someone review something they don't understand. GT didn't need to like it but he should at least know how to use it.
At sniper school, a guy brought one of these brand new in the box, put on his scope exactly where yours is mounted, and he was shooting 1/4" to 1/2" MOA groups the entire course. He took top shooter. I was shooting a Robar .308 with a Leo Mark 4 4.5-12x50mm. I was shooting 1/2" groups, and this guy was making me and everyone else in the class look like garbage.
It may be an unpopular view but I love the idea of the scout rifle. It is sort of the jack of all trades without necessarily excelling in any one category. A survival weapon if you will
Saw one of these and learned about the design at Cooper’s ranch while getting some training. The design was pretty cool for the time, I think the main issue with it these days is the invention of the LPVO negating the main reasons for having the scope mounted so far forward.
Not necessarily. A proper scout scope has much greater eye relief than any LPVO. GT has his scope mounted a bit closer then usual, but you can mount the scout scope further forward if you want. It is similar to a red-dot with how far forward it is mounted and how it is used with both eyes open. I would love to have a Trijicon Accupoint with 6in to 8in of eye relief, but 3in to 4in is about it.
This right here. The design is absolutely technologically obsolete. It’s awesome and I have one that I run all the time, but it’s technically obsolete for sure.
@@jamesr792 for bolt actions, I wouldn't call it obsolete. Bolt action rifles have barely changed since WW1, so technically Cooper's concept of a bolt action scout rifle is a step forward in bolt action technological concepts as it takes us away from the long barreled unwieldy bolt action hunting rifle with no detachable magazines. Regarding rifles/fire arms in general, there has been very little technological advancement since Stoner brought us the AR series of firearms (which are about as timeless in design and function as bolt actions are in my book). Scopes, sights, lights, etc... are where things have truly advanced technologically.
I think a good way of looking at the scout rifle concept is if you wanted to go hunting, but you're also a little concerned about Red Dawn happening. It's a good, handy, general purpose rifle that's okay in a lot of things and great at none. If you want a hunting rifle that you can also kind of fight with, the scout rifle is where it's at. Is it an extremely niche concept? Absolutely, but I still think it's cool.
@chrism4008 AR's aren't legal everywhere. You could take a scout rifle pretty much anywhere in the world. Not saying AR's aren't reliable, but generally, a bolt action is going to work better in the extreme cold. I think it's fair to say a scout rifle is also a lighter platform that most/all serious use semi-auto 308's. Also, maybe you just prefer hunting with a bolt action 🤷🏼♂️.
I always figured mine was good for hunting and general woods use, while also being pretty good for if Billy Bob the meth cook didn’t want any witnesses. It sure ain’t a combat rifle, but it’ll certainly stand in in a pinch.
@@chrism4008 Adding to what has been said, a decent bolt action will be more reliable in a broader range of environments (sand, humidity, mud, extremely low or high temps) and what little malfunctions occur will be more easily solved. Getting brass over bolt while in the middle of FuckTheresNothingLand with a chance for hostile wildlife close must suck.
I was taught the Cooper concept before the red dot sight and the forward 1x (only, fixed) scope was only for floating the reticle with both eyes open. Meant for fast-acquisition “jump” shots in survival situations. My understanding was that the best shooters at regular distances could shoot as well in fluid situations with iron sights (especially with a rear ghost peep) as they could with a scoped and magnified sight, and the more simple your rig and the requisite training, the better it’s value in a SHTF scenario. I never heard it lauded for long-distance or big game. But then, I never read Cooper’s books, either, although I did stay at a Holiday Inn a time or two….
I was surprised at how comforting it was to see proficient shooters have trouble shooting a gun. Really made me feel good about the troubles I have shooting and drove home HARD how important training is.
lol I felt the same. I've shot quite a lot of with guns in my life, but not so much with bolt action rifles. every time I get one in my hands I kinda struggle a bit with the bolt. Seeing someone else do that too felt nice :'D
Want one! Had a Steyr tactical Elite .308 with the full length top picatinny rail, heavier, longer barrel. Fab trigger. Double mag same as the scout, adjustable cheek piece and butt-pad, extremely accurate out to 1000m with the right ammo when I did my bit , lovely bolt cycle. Loved the safety! Stuck a Harris plate and bipod under it of course.
This rifle is a great option for fairly specific use as a working rifle in the bush in South Africa, sort of like a "ranch rifle" that I can keep in the truck and handle easily, for use for problem animal control on critters like baboons, or take running shots on wounded game in the thick bush. I wouldn't bother with a scope though, I'd just put a dot on it. Our equipment usually takes quite a beating; dust, rain, mud etc and decent quality semi auto rifles are very expensive and a pain in the arse to license so we pretty much use bolt action rifles exclusively for professional hunting work. I'd take this scout rifle all day every day over something like an AR 10 for the kind of work we do.
In the day the Scout was originally designed there was no red dots. Which is why the scope is mounted forward and low magnification to be shot with both eyes open.
Up here in bush Alaska this scout rifle is just a toy. Nice and light, for sure, handy definitely, but some things up here need shooting more than a couple times. It's just too slow for the power it offers.. Different climes, political and geo, for sure.
@JD-tn5lz sure, it wouldn't be my only working rifle, 16 inch .308 is a bit light for dangerous game but if you load it up with monolithic solids and shoot for the brain you can drop pretty much anything. I've never shot an elephant with a .308 but I've dropped a few buff with it. Still wouldn't throw away my .458 lott though, horses for courses.
I can't believe he nailed the jump shot on first try.
NGL, was prettty effing epic
main character for reasons
next he needs to tr the 360 noscope
I come plum off the thunder mug
he's just the main character dawg
Steyr may not have the biggest recognition outside of the AUG, but they've made some really incredible firearms over the last century.
True that they aren't a one trick pony.
On a sidenote did Garand slip up and say divorces in 8:26 ?
@@A_Bag_of_Potatoesyeah I think so 😂😂😂
Right - for example the HS 50.
Styer M9 being another Underrated Firearm from Steyr, the Grip is a bit funky but Super Low Bore Axis and so very low recoil for 9mil
In the european hunting and sporting community they are known. They also make air rifles for competition shooting.
It's a scout rifle, not a sniper rifle. Don't expect it to be one. I use mine for hunting feral pigs and it's pretty great at it. The long eye relief scope is so you can keep both your eyes open and raise the rifle up into your natural eyeline. You'll be on target and aligned with the scope without thinking about it. It surprisingly works. I do wish the original barrels were threaded.
I’m disabled and hunt from my atv or on the ground most of the time. I love my scout rifle
So you´re scouting pigs? sheeesh
I remember shaking my head at that pos in the early 90's. GT run out of Guns to talk about or something?
No shyt, who's calling it a sniper rifle. No body. Not even GT they specifically said it wasn't a sniper rifle. So thanks for stating the obvious. You sure are a quick one😂. The US should start doing IQ checks too before selling guns. 😂
@@elitehacker1416 I suppose you'd be first in line to fail based on the title literally saying "the most bizarre sniper rifle"
If you were battling a rogue lion disrupting the construction of your railway line, you'd wish you had the Styer Scout.
On occasion it was whole prides of lions. Man eating tigers, lion, and leopards were a surprisingly common problem in India and parts of Africa and Siberia. There were guys who specifically hunted these "man killers", some of whom had over 150 human kills to the point it disrupted life in the areas where they hunted.
What's this reference to? It seems familiar
More likely you would want the Dragoon in .376 Steyer.
@@markegipto1462 Lions of Tsavo is the book. The movie was named “ The Ghost and the Darkness” which is actually the title of a book about hunting man eating leopards in India.
@@greggreed3840 You can see the lion's pelt at the Field museum in Chicago.
The "literal 3 safetys" is called a 3-position safety.
Those are very popular with hunters, as you can lock the bolt on "super-safe", so it won't accidentally open, while climbing through brush.
All the while you can operate the bolt, while keeping the gun on "normal-safe", which is especially important, if you have a set trigger.
And we Europeans used to love hair set triggers, often just having pull weights measured in single digit ounces.
Was coming to say the samething 😅
Every Mauser I've ever seen has one.
Was looking to see if anyone said anything about that…I have a HOWA model 1500 chambered in 6.5 PRC that has the 3-position safety and I love it. I use it for hunting bc if I’m gonna be spot-n-stalking I want that bolt locked so it can’t get caught on brush, and not that I’m scared it’s gonna fall far enough to eject my round or anything, but if that bolt is even slightly outta place that firing pin won’t fall completely. It’ll either be a light strike and the primer won’t go off or it won’t strike at all.
17:00
@@ChuckNorrisUltra i feel you man
I remember that about 8-10 years ago, in the internal magazine of the company I worked for at the time (shipping), there was a an article that the Steyer Scout was chosen as the weapon for the personnel guarding the security of our ships against pirates. As a CS veteran since 1.3, I accepted it with understanding and sympathy.
From what I heard of this rifle in particular, and what this concept is supposed to be, is basically both a backup rifle a guide or party leader would carry and a lightweight hunting capable carbine that can be legally imported to a variety of countries that have firearm restrictions. The scope location in particular was specifically chosen to prevent the user from getting tunnel vision, so you wouldn’t get clever girl’ed from an ambush predator.
You're right. My dad got one from a man touring around Africa for big games. It's a good rifle but really odd at the same time.
Cooper also envisioned a military role for this rifle and concept; that's where the eye rolling starts.
Love the “clever girl” reference.
The position and use of a long eye relief scope was so the rifle could be fed from stripper clips. Steyr omitted the clip guide but kept the long eye relief scope for some reason. I'm guessing a lack of understanding of the concept.
Personally I think the Ruger Gunsite Scout is the better development of the scout rifle concept.
@@MKJNS7086 Even our heroes have bad ideas sometimes lol
The intermediate eye relief scope actually works very well for acquiring targets quickly. You should aim with both eyes open. That was the scout rifle concept. Cooper used to write about it extensively in guns and ammo.
I tried it and hated it. Bad weight balance, awkward, and no advantages over a normally positioned scope. I've heard all the lore and I don't agree that it's true. In real life the real "scout rifle" is just an AR-15, everything else is just LARP-ing to justify a rifle purchase. That's what I did anyway.
@@DL-ij7tfdid you use a sling supported firing position? The balancing issue is not very noticeable and ive had my support shoulder rebuilt by va surgeons...
It does offer "better" and faster target acquisitions for a much broader fov with the forward mounted optic and 2 eye shooting... its literally observable as you dont have a scope right in front of your face blocking your fov... but it does take some time to get used to.
The ar15 is not really good for taking down large game even though it is capable of doing it... a guy took down a grizzly bear in alaska with a glock19 but you wont find many people in bear country recommending a 9mm for bear defense.
Coopers scout rifle is a weapon that one could theoretically use for everything from a brush gun, to a safari hunt, and also on the battlefield. Considering were still seeing mosin nagants as well as many other box mag fed bolt action rifles on the modern battlefield it isnt a stretch to say the scout rifle concept has no place on a modern battlefield. Im sure anyone carrying a mosin would much rather have a steyr, ruger, or savage scout rifle.
Its not and was never intended to be the best rifle at anything, but a solid general purpose rifle, "if you could only have one rifle, it can do anything you need out of one" outside of running cqb obviously.
Im not going to try and convince you to like it, but its a solid concept especially for people on a budget.
They became obsolete when LPVOs were introduced. Have you ever used one? I had a Burris 2-7 scout scope and my 1-4 Trijicon is hands down faster and easier to shoot. And I have more peripheral awareness with the LPVO. I seriously doubt anyone who has used both would disagree.
@@3421958 I have and I agree with you. Fun to play around with and the rifles are usually good (I got a Ruger Gunsite Scout, great for hunting in the woods due to short length and irons are fun).
@@3421958ive used both and disagree. Traditional scope mounting will always obscure more fov because its sitting directly in front of your face, obscuring vision. Most peoples issues stem from it being extremely unfamiliar, which is exactly what one would expect. It takes some time to get used to but most people with enough trigger time get it down and can see the benefits of the larger fov.
As an armchair marksman (I live in England), I've gotta say that if you were out hunting and having to trek a long distance, the scout seems to make a lot of sense.
the scout is a very light gun
you got a loicense for that opinion?
@@thecursed01 Don't suggest it, they'll end up putting that in genuine law.
His problem = for drama clicks he calls it a sniper rifle & puts the military bullshit music to it. It's a hunting rifle and a survival rifle. Of course it would probably do a pretty good job sniping, that's not really what it's built for. This ain't exactly my favorite firearms channel. It certainly doesn't come off looking good next to the soon to be lamented Paul Harrell.
@@theminister1154 super weird take. They're just bagging on it cause the inspiration for the video is its presence in counter-strike.
It's clearly a very niche hunting rifle, and it's a weird choice for a sniper in a game about counterterrorism.
If it's being used on a long hunting expedition or some shit than obviously it makes more sense, but that's such a rare scenario and you'd be just as well off with countless other rifles.
It's too hyper focused for a scenario that is not very common. Most people aren't hunting lions out in the Savanah for an extended period of time
I had a Steyr Scout, and only got rid of it only because I was caught up in a bad period. It was so fast handling, so accurate, that I almost couldn't believe it, IF you used it as a GP rifle and not a "sniper" or dedicated "hunting" rifle. As Cooper noted, it wasn't the perfect rifle for any one situation, but it could handle a lot of situations very well. If you could have only one, it was the one to have. I intend to have another one as soon as I can save up for it.
If I could have only one, it would be an AR-15.
Good luck with that now, as prices are about to shoot up if they haven't already.
@@ChevyOldschool-mf7xf I thought that was odd as well. It's the exact opposite of a modern sniper rifle; maybe akin to a WWII sniper, which was essentially just a slightly more accurate infantry rifle with a scope.
Modern sniper rifles share nothing with the regular infantry rifles.
I sold my Steyr scout two years ago and got 2k for it. Was pretty happy with the resale value
Go with the Ruger. Heavier, but a more solid platform.
please do more testing on the jumping accuracy of this rifle
🤣
Especially in low-gravity while carrying a knife.
good idea. would be interesting if it actually developed some sort of tactical technique... unlikely though
I have a Savage Scout which is built to mimic the Steyr and I love it. You can easily load single rounds into the chamber with the mag in, or even without a mag at all. This means if you lose your mags you can still use the gun effectively, and you can also load different types of ammo in between what you have already loaded in the mag. The long eye-relief scope, while a bit difficult to utilize effectively, is designed with the idea of firing with both eyes wide open and maintaining full situational awareness. In theory it should be "better" for hitting fast moving targets or for close-quarters combat. But then as seen in this video, it also provides the ability to hit a target at 500+ yards with some effort.
It has a purpose. It might not be a purpose that most people need right now, and maybe it has been superseded since it was originally released, but there was definitely thought put into its design.
Regardless, it's a damn cool gun.
_On The Scout_ here on YT has great scope reviews and a video doing just that at 500, was trivial-- one probably ought to have other optical means of identification anyhow.
I've been hunting with a steyr scout for years in the northeast. It's very rare that I can see further than 50 yards in thick woods so the 4x scout scope works perfectly and it's weight is wonderful to hike with.
If you've ever used the Scout Elite in Battlefield 4, and then got mad you couldn't use the built in bipod... Go ahead and hit that subscribe button.
Ya… also chambered in 5.56… shameful. But that’s dice for you.
Scout was really good in HC BF4 :)
If you ever played CS:2 and noticed that the AUG has a 40 round Magazine but you only can fire 30 shots from one Mag - hit the curiosity button.
You could, you just had to unlock it.
@@Revilerify yup!
The mag “connect but not feed” feature exists with these rifles for situations where you might want to shoot one round at a time for an unknown amount of rounds slowly, while still having access to your full magazine. If you’re face to face with something like a bear where you want to fire warning shots you can load them one at a time, then if the bear charges you just click the magazine up and you can fire all your rounds and hope to live
Is that viable in .308?
*honest question
@@fearanarchy if you have the right ammo there’s no reason 308 could reliably kill dangerous game honestly. It’s considered one of the best and most popular black bear rounds on the market
@@AJ-oj1xy thanks, I was curious
Well, two .308 rounds ought to certainly kill a bear . . . but faster than they can run up to you?.@@AJ-oj1xy
Is this Joe Rogan's alias?
Every CS player got nostalgic seeing Scout, good old comrade
Yep, scout and cs 1.6 memories hit like a truck.
1.6 was the best
i loved the scouts knives maps
yep when you use a scout you HAVE to do a headshot. recovery is pretty good though
@@i-_-am-_-g1467 In 1.6 you could shoot through stone walls with a usp.
That jump shot was absolutely beautiful, brought a tear to my eye.
He’s just a kid with a mask.
It brought a poo to my butt.
@@olic7266 words of wisdom
The idea was for the scout rifle to be the ultimate survival weapon, good for hunting and if need be human threats. A reliable, durable weapon for bad situations. If red dots existed when he came up with the idea, he probably would have gone with those instead of a forward optic
The LPVO with a true 1x is what really obsoletes the scout rifle idea.
@@poisonouslead85 Not really. "It's too light!" Said no hunter or soldier ever. It's a great little rifle. I can see why Garand might not like it because it doesn't have all the rails to mount all the tacticool stuff though.
It was also designed to be the "one rifle" and the idea was you could become very proficient if you had to use the one rifle for everything.
@@somethinsomethin7243 Yes, I went back to the range to use one of theirs. I'd forgotten about the reason for the sling mounts. They were to use a sling developed for that rifle that allowed you to loop it around your off-hand and add stability. Was suprised how my muscles remembered how to do that given I hadn't shot that rifle for over a decade!
i think something like a G3 with a 2-5x scope would be a great survival gun. semi auto, accurate, powerful, light, and reliable.
I've had a Steyr Scout for several years now, and it was my understanding that it was meant as a type of bug out rifle, or "survival rifle". Very light weight, a common caliber, hard hitting and meant for inside 200 maybe 300 yards. It's not a sniper rifle and it's certainly not meant for hunting in Africa. The bipod isn't comparable to something you'd add on to a purpose built sniper, but it's intended as a quick support when needed in a pinch. It's light weight, accurate, has an awesome trigger, and hard hitting in .308..........OK I'll get off my soap box now lol. Your still making great videos by the way.
Indeed. Apparently the idea of a general purpose rifle has never occurred to GT & friends. Yes other rifles are better sniper rifles, or better DMR rifles, or better hunting rifles, or better urban rifles (carbines). Maybe when the LARPer situation that he's always talking about training for happens, he'll carry one of each of those instead of one scout rifle.
Correct on all counts. Of course the Scout concept won’t hold up when it’s judged by standards that aren’t relevant to its purpose.
It was straight up designed to be a bush gun for Africa tho, that's what led to Jeff Cooper coming up with it.
@WAC_garage
Correct. I remember when this thing came out, and read every interview I could find with Col. Cooper. At the time, in the early 90s, there was a huge boom of “scout” concept popularity. 100% is a bush concept.
@@WAC_garage Kinda. His trips to Africa brought his memory back to wartime where assigned scouts carried heavy rifles and ammo and then had to trek long distances on foot and how tiring it was to do it. Those rifles were large, heavy, and used iron sights or massive and heavy scopes with terribly limited eye relief. They were specialized rifles that did one thing or another but were terrible at all else. He then saw that his guides were using modified/shortened rifles with much of the superfluous things removed to make them lighter and with iron sights. Most rifles then started getting manufactured without iron sights if they were meant for scopes. He was a firm believer in ensuring you could work if your gear didn't so a true scout rifle would have a riser on it in order to still use the iron sights. He often stated that glass can break so having access to iron sights at all times was a must. You'd have an intermediate fixed power optic for range and the irons for up close and quick shots. His concept is what's pretty much represented in LPVOs today.
He admits to borrowing the bush gun for the scout concept but his intent for the gun was a do it all gun that could fill in a scout role for military/paramilitary settings and personal ones second. He even admits that 308 is not an African big game cartridge and advocated much stronger cartridges for hunting the dangerous game of Africa. He says it's a good caliber for North America and was his preferred caliber for anti-personnel but wouldn't use it first on the Dark Continent. It's why he called it the Scout Rifle Concept and not Cooper's Bush Gun. His purpose was first, to outfit scouts with a proper rifle up to their task that had to be flexible, hit hard, light, reliable, shot relatively flat using a ubiquitous NATO cartridge. Hence, he pushed for 7.62x51 NATO chambering. His reasoning was then that this scout rifle would, by its very nature, fill the role of a general-purpose rifle for civilians as well. Especially in the Americas. His ultimately wish was to find a way to do it and make it semi-auto, but the technology doesn't exist to make a semi-auto .308 that's reliable, light and accurate enough. It's why he went with a bolt action, even though in his books, his wish was for the future that if technology caught up to his ideals, to make one semi-auto. Bolt-action keeps it light, reliable and accurate relative to modern semi-auto designs.
I’ve owned a Scout for 8 years and it is absolutely one of my favorite firearms.. built in bipod+extra magazine compartment+
lightweight+ 308. Chambered… if you don’t have one you don’t know what you are missing
It's the most accurate gun in cs for a reason...
I first saw this gun in Battlefield 4. I thought they were cool and I wouldn't mind owning one, but 1800+ $ is hard to swallow.
@@hardlylivin6602 but that is what you have to spend if you want gut. I am a pacifist now, want nothing to do wtih guns.
I couldn't agree with you more. Been packing mine in N. Idaho now for close to 20 years and many miles. Killed bear, elk, mountain lion and many deer with it. This year was a 200 heart shot with the 150 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaw. While not a long shot by any means, the confidence to take it was there.
@@idaho2ndgens240 The 30.06 is a deadly round to begin with.
7:53 omg that sound is just SO clean. the shot, into the echo, into the PLINK of the hit... so satisfying.
I’ve hunted with a Scout .308 in South Africa for ten years and it’s an incredible rifle when you’re walking & stalking 20 + kilometers a day. Mine is fitted with a more standard Vortex Viper 4 - 16 and it’s yet to miss. Longest shot was on a kudu at about 380m off the built in bipod. The one constructive bit of criticism about the rifle is that the bipod legs are very long, so it can be a bit awkward to get your body high enough. Other than that it’s an absolute beauty
That’s what I though when I saw it too. They should fix that and maybe make the petals the fold out shorter and slimmer and then a telescopic part inside to extend the length maybe
if you are gonna do a bipod, it should be adjustable to fire while prone or kneeling, and it also helps to have it swivel, because you can keep a level scope on a side hill.
I think most people would agree that the rifle is great, but the long eye relief scope is now unnecessary.
Mint.
@@dothedewinmethey are already flimsy as is, that would make them sure to break. The bipod isn't an integral feature of the gun so much as it's an added bonus.
The Steyr Scout 2 has a dedicated MLOK slot up front for people that decide a bipod is important.
As a Austrian i can confirm that the Steyr Scout is a very weird but unique gun, and the jump-shot is real
Was it a sky jump shot?
me when the spinbot
G'day mate. Chuck another 'roo on the barbie, strewth !
As an Austrian, Kreike was spot on and made me chuckle.
As a German who crosstrained with the Austrian Bundesheer I can confirm, jump shots and 360 no-scopes are trained during Austrian basic training and not qualifying in those makes you fail basic training.
The Scout is a really good rifle for what it was designed too do. It was never intended as a military grade sniper rifle or a proper DMR. For hunting though and for all-purpose work it is really really good also the low weight is a big point if you are, for example, in Austria, where large parts of the country are very taxing to pass over due to mountains, hills etc. and lower weight is very useful to have.
The mag well also has a second detent that allows it to sit right below the bolt, so the mag is secure but not feeding the rifle. You push it in all the way to properly feed. It lets you single load into the chamber to bypass the magazine.
That's one feature I wish was more common on lower capacity firearms. You see it on automatic shotguns, but it's usually a bit too fiddly to be used under stress. Simply smacking the magazine fully home to activate it is probably Cooper's best idea on this rifle. I heard a rumor that someone turned the front bottom receiver screw on a Marlin levergun into a detent pin mechanism for magazine cutoff, but I've never been able to verify such a thing exists. Would be awesome though, I'd love to have a magazine cutoff for single loading my lever gun.
That’s pretty neat ngl
That mag disconnect is such a cool feature!
I was going to mention that. Good catch!
Hi GT- great video! Unfortunately the third safety hasn’t been explained to you very well:
It‘s a transport safety. In that position you can actually tilt or push the bolt handle towards the rifle just a little bit and you will feel it snapping into place. What this does, is that it locks the firing pin mechanically, meaning that even if you were to drop the rifle with a round in the chamber, there‘s no way it could go off or hit the primer.
It‘s really neat for climbing, or getting up on high stands or even walk-in with a slung, loaded rifle. It absolutely makes sense.
Also there’s one other neat feature to the magazines: they have two positions to seat them, meaning you can put in a loaded magazine (on position number 1) -you‘ll feel that it will click in and you won‘t lose the mag, but it allows you to chamber an additional round from the top of the rifle. After that, just give the mag a quick tap from below and you’re ready to rock’n’roll.
All Steyr rifles have that feature.
Also there are versions of the scout that come with 2 10rd mags. You can buy those aftermarket.
Those rifles have been used quite successfully in anti-„look -at-me-I‘m-the-captain-now“- scenarios, if you know what I mean. 😉
Also: You’re right, the integrated bipod is quite flimsy, but it’s more of a backup solution. Right behind the button to open the backup bipod you have an attachment point/ rail for a proper metal bipod.
On most Scout rifles it’s also not a true Picatinny rail, but a Weaver rail- so buyer beware…
Also I don‘t think a lot of people use the wide eye relief scope, for the reasons you mentioned.
Anyways: have a good one and keep up the great content.
You just saved me a ton of typing.
Well said on those features. Sad they were overlooked.
Here here!
This
I believe it was Ian McCollum (of Forgotten Weapons) who said the idea was a rifle that was carried much more than it was shot. It was there as a ‘just in case you meet something mean in the African bush’. For that purpose, it for sure makes sense. You’re not doing long range precision work- you just need something with a big enough cartridge to take down any angry nasty beasties.
A lot of people dont use the scout scope, but id argue its because of a lack of familiarity, as i took the time to learn it (it came pretty quickly, honestly) and i find it to be better than traditional scope mounting by almost every metric aside from the weight imbalance. I like having a larger field of view which gives me better situational awareness.
The Scout is a concept as much as a model of rifle. It isn't intended to be a sniper rifle ever. It's a light field rifle chambered to take any game on this continent and most everywhere else. It's also very effective for hostiles although not its primary focus. Cooper actually had larger caliber Scouts as well. It's a good camp rifle, truck rack rifle, pack rifle, etc. You can get 10rd mags so 2 of those and you have a nice grab and go package. Maybe another box or 2 of shells in your pack.
It's also part of Jeff Coopers legacy so it has a place in the hearts and minds of aficionados.
If we had the LVPO optics of today in Coopers time I suspect he would have a NF NX8 with daylight bright red dot and grid reticle with FFP to 8x or something equivalent. In the absence of nearly 1x optics he went with the forward mounted optic to improve visibility in fast action. The limitations of these optics were more acceptable in the 70-80s when we didn't have other good options.
You were mostly fair in your assessment. If you had done a bit more research on the concept and purpose you could've done a bit better.
Given what Cooper did for the civilian firearms training community and modern pistol doctrine he is owed a bit more respect I think. Just because some video game bastardized the representation of the Scout Rifle doesn't mean you should. Although you did make the jump head shot.
I find your material generally good with the more resent stuff better than average. I understand controversy gets clicks and clicks =$.
A 16" 300BLK AR with supersonic loads and a quality LVPO might have really interested Cooper were he alive to see it.
Thank you, well put. Us old guys 1960's-70's didn't have the nice optics, & other bs, available, back in the day. For a '98 model The Scout was very nice.
id pay good money to watch the colonel debate gt on the subject and concept of the scout, thatd be glorious to witness
I just wanna say thank you for constructing and polite comment with constructive criticism. More people should be like you. 👍
I don’t think he’d like an ar in any caliber. If my memory is right, he hated ar’s and definitely 9mm.
@@ibfubar this is true which is where his (in)famous thumper concept came from, which in his book he almost managed to make it sound reasonable, but its a really wild one, especially when looked at from the distance of time today
I remember reading an article Coopers scout rifle idea years ago. It was described as more of a survival rifle for North America. Its supposed to be short and light for portability, but of sufficient caliber to bring down most large animals and to defend oneself with. And the long eye relief scope was so you can shoot with both eyes open and have better situational awareness.
I don't remember if a flimsy plastic bipod was his idea though.
Cooper was more of a fan of slings than bipods or shooting sticks. It's actually more disconcerting that we don't see more emphasis these days on the proper use of a sling to help in stability in shooting. The tactical variety use them simply to keep the gun close to the body but don't use it to look up the arms and support the gun when shooting.
The long relief scope lends itself to big game hunting too.
@@Talisharyou’re just not looking hard enough. I see it plenty working at a range
@@Gubble-oq6dn It's almost never seen on TH-cam or most online content anymore. Cooper was really the last person to really delve into proper sling usage and most guntubers and influencers today don't really delve into using the sling as a shooting aid. Just a retention aid.
@LongFatJohnston Wait what? Slings were very popular in Cooper's time. Nearly everyone that I know that hunts today, uses a sling. They may not use it as a shooting aid, but they use a sling. The only guy I know who doesn't, straps his to his 4-wheeler to his blind. This is why nearly every rifle I've seen, has sling studs on them. During WWII and the Korean/Vietnam Wars, slings were adopted by the military FROM the hunters as that was where people had experience shooting. Every rifle I have, has a sling on it for at least carrying the damn thing. In the military, my M4 had a sling on it as you were getting hell if caught without your rifle on you unless you were showering and someone else was holding it for you.
The common modern rifle grip is now an overly exaggerated c-clamp grip which grips the rifle from the side/top instead of supporting from the bottom. Slings used as a shooting aid would have you drop your elbow and relax the support shoulder to lock in the tension with the sling to stabilize the rifle. You can't do it with a c-clamp grip. There are still folks in the U.S. military that use a sling as a shooting aid and don't use as exaggerated of a c-clamp grip or are able to adjust their grip and not wedded one way or another.
As for Cooper himself, several prominent shooters who personally knew him have verified that he's seen combat in the Pacific as a lower ranked officer and in Korea as a Major/Lt. Col. Ayoob is one of those folks. Most of his ideas were from his experience were from his recon/scout days in Korea, which is why the argument that the scout rifle is primarily for hunting isn't actually true. His intent was for a better recon/scout rifle than what he had, it just works out as a hunting rifle if needed. Also, argumentation from authority is a logical fallacy. It shouldn't matter if he's killed a million people or none at all. The idea should be argued and held independently itself, not based on "credentials" of the arguer. Many have tried the different versions of the scout rifle and like it or are able to use it as a base to build what they want from there.
I used a Steyr Scout in .308 as my hunting rifle in the UK for the last 15 years. Just sold. I used a conventional scope rather than a IER scope. Shot something like 100 deer with it. With a big long IOR sniper scope on it, I was reliably taking targets at 800m with it on Orion ranges in Wales. Loved that rifle! I had the same problem with the thread for the moderator... had to take to an engineering firm to mill me an adaptor for an A-Tec mod.
I think that's where this rifle really shines is in a state or country where you can't have an ar10 to hunt with but need something that's reasonably powerful, quick, and light.
@@partyrobbins4690plus it doesn't look "menacing". That's important, apparently.
You’ve shot 6-7 deer per year, every year for the last 15 years? Damn, they hand out tags like candy in the UK
When I was a teenager and played counter strike I mentioned this gun to my mothers friend who is into hunting and he was showing me a rifle and I was super shocked to find out he knew of and told me it was well liked in the here in the uk, I was thinking it was more military than hunting.
I think he was equally shocked I knew of it and it was in the game ironically because he was thinking of it as a hunting rifle.
@@Digger_TN Yeah I really wish people would mind their own busines. If I already own a .308 ar10 I'm not going out of my way to buy a bolt action because someone finds it scary or unusual. Hell even when I'm hunting deer with my Enfield mk3 I'll get comments for not having a scope.
I think it looks like a perfect hunting rifle for when you have to track long distances. And I like all the safety features and that’s it so lightweight.
Steyr products will forever be underrated
The AUG has a cult behind it, I don’t think people consider it underrated
Steyr underrated? They are well known for some of the nicest stalking rifles of the 20th century.
Steyr GB being the exemplar
Their pistols are so good
They make weird stuff and it’s all good. I love them for it
Mike jumpshooting the steel plate successfully on first try made me question reality for a good 5 seconds
Still can barely believe it like wtf.
As someone who hikes a lot in a country without semi-autos, the Scout looks awesome. Just put one on my wish list.
You won't regret it. Just check other LER scopes, I found a 300$ Burris one I think, was some years ago, that felt better than the Leupold.
Oh and don't get the 10-round mag extender, turns the 5-round mags useless, cause they attach at the bottom. Unless you get a boatload of 10 round mags, ofc. Nice part: The 10 round mag does fit flush in the stock as well 🙂.
The original idea was a handy maneuverable general purpose rifle. Basically a traditional bolt gun, shorter barrel (why .308 was selected as it does pretty well in a shorter barrel), with a box magazine in case you were in a situation of needing to reload a bolt gun faster than normal hunting situations, and the forward mounted scope in low power to shoot at moving targets with both eyes open.
My youngest son has the savage version with just the iron sights and it is kind of a handy ranch type of gun.
I've got the Savage 110 Scout too with a Vortex Crossfire LER. Love that rifle, great for hunting hog and deer in brush.
Same. Insanely accurate target shooter iron sights.
Having played a lot of CSS when I was younger, I had been very interested in setting up a steyr scout as a SHTF rifle, especially being in the UK as we are limited on what we can legally own.
I discussed my thoughts with an RSO the other month who worked closely with Jeff Cooper. He was of the belief that had he been alive today, given the advances in red dot's, he would have actually favoured a red dot on a scout rifle over the long eye relief scope. For the sole reason it would open up the field of view of the shooter while aiming with both eyes open. But with the added advantage of further cutting down on weight.
Red dots work quite well on scout rifles. I still use scout scopes on my scout rifles though.
I have the Ruger Scout, it's a wonderful platform.
The point of the scope was to have a magnified optic... cooper likely wouldve wondered why youd want to put another unmagnified optic on when youve got iron sights on the rifle... cooper never intended for the scopes to be permanently mounted either, they were to be used as the needs arise.
About the so funny „Ultra Safety“: You can bring the bolt handle even further down in this position. This narrows the guns profile dramatically, which is helpful while carrying on the back. Furthermore to my knowledge there was a specific Steyr Scout sling design, but it never came to the market.
I really like Steyr Scout. Especially if you have to carry it around, then weight is key. Pity I only have the the unthreaded barrel.
Please do videos on the following:
-Shotgun Mud & Ice test
-What is most effective against combat drones?
-Can a .50 Cal/12 Gauge suppressor work on lower calibers (22, 9mm, 45 ACP, 5.56, 7.62)?
Yes how to fight drones
I’m gonna show my nerd side…but the Scout was in CS 1.6 and CSS only, the CSGO/CS2 variant shown is the Steyr SSG-08. It’s okay, I’ll see my way out 😂 great video review though, I would love to have a Scout to go with my AUG (which was definitely purchased partially because of my love for Counter Strike)
thanks, I was looking for that comment
Due to getting used to we still call it scout tho ;)
@592 In a way it has the function of a "scout rifle" within context, so using the name is totally fine.
More interesting that that G3GS1 is ubiquiosly known as auto sniper when controlling 7.62x51 full auto is already hard enough, and with a magnifying scope it would be rather useless in full auto. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Its semi auto in the game, no?
@@HappyBeezerStudios
@@loder8592Nope the G3SG1 is full auto in the game. A shockingly slow 240RPM fire rate though, a lot of people don't even realise it's automatic and click for each shot but you don't need to, just hold left click
Remember, the Scout came out during the "Black rifles are scary" times. Many gun stores and shooting ranges wouldn't carry or allow "black rifles". That was the birth of the Fudd mentality. Also red dots were just starting to catch on so the Scout Scope was a viable solution (I still have one). When it came out, Guns and Ammo did an interview with Lt. Col. Cooper and the Scout was a blending of his love for combat pistol techniques and close to medium range fast reflex rifles for hunting and combat inspired by the Scouts in South Africa and Rhodesia. It may not be for everyone but in the hands of skilled woodsman, it's still a very capable and deadly weapon.
I feel like Mike could have read at least one article written by Jeff Cooper before doing the video. I don't recall the Cooper scout rifle concept being for hunting- I understood he wanted the rifle to be used by Scout/Recon role
@@FirePirate099 Yes. His inspiration was his hunting guides using modified, shortened and lightened rifles with iron sights. He states that the African military scouts came close, but were still a bit off form his concept. He planned the scout rifle out for military/paramilitary units but then says that a good rifle that works in that role would then make an excellent general-purpose rifle for those living in the Americas but was a bit iffy about trying to use it to hunt big game in Africa. He specifically states his love affair of 7.62NATO being for the two-legged targets primarily that could suffice if needed for nearly any animal in North America.
@@FirePirate099 the scout rifle was always intended to be a rifle that one could "defend the homestead, hunt on african safari, as well as light scouting or recon work at war." A general purpose rifle... idk, ive only got the damn book, "the art of the rifle"
@@g00gleisgayerthanaids56 that’s sounds more accurate to my memory of reading Jeff Cooper. Mike made it sound like the scout concept was solely a hunting rifle
A short, light, handy rifle in common calibers is always relevant any time period.
Great Vlog guys.
Happy Huntin.
Three position safeties used to be very very common. They work great to keep the bolt from opening when moving over terrain and such.
They still are. Winchester Model 70 for one uses a 3 position on the bolt
@@bennwj now they do since they went back to the controlled feed mauser origins. They didn't for a long time
@@dsan94 True. But I am still laughing at these guys bashing this rifle, and they have no concept of why it was made and its usefulness even today.
Way back in 1997 I fell in love with the book series "The Deathlands" where the main character Ryan Cawdor carried a Steyr scout. I always wanted one. I finally managed to get one a few years ago. I love it so much.
I grew up reading those books.
It's where I learned about this Rifle. At my local book store they sell for a penny each since theres something like 150 books in the series.
In the first book, it was a actually a FAPA bullpup assault rifle(which is a prototype Brazilian rifle from the 80s) replaced with a HK G11 for a lot of books.
Later ones he has another Steyr, an actual military sniper rifle, the SSG69.
I grew up reading random entries in the series as I found them, recently found the 1st 10 original novels and I am working through them.
That 1st book though, sucks the author died right after publishing, because that books first chapter was eerily predictive of the 90s in its setup for how the future apocalypse would happen.
@@MandoWookie the first Deathlands book I read was the one where he gets his Steyr Scout. So it has a special place in my memories of the Series.
@@silasskirata I admit, my persistent illogical desire for a LeMat revolver comes almost entirely from its depiction as Doc Tanners primary weapon.
If I remember correctly, the sling mounting points were so you could utilize a three point "Ching" sling for increased stability while shooting off hand.
Ching Chong Tactical Sling haha
NcStar or UTG comes to mind
Im always amazed how little research these TH-camrs do when it's their full time job and they make absolute bank from it.
@@yupyup4209 the fanboys lap it up anyway, and the clickbait title etc drags more folks in because they willfully don't understand or research anything
I needed a short very light rifle for my son (8 at the time) to hunt with I was worried about recoil and scope to eye contact. I went with a ruger scout (couldn’t find a styer) with a shorter very light aftermarket stock precision armament muzzle break and the exact same scope. It was lite and handy enough for him to carry recoil was manageable and .308 was enough to get the job done. He took several animals with it. He’s grown into a traditional rifle in 300 win mag but at the time it was the ideal for him. Now it’s a cool looking rifle no one uses that sits in the safe but it definitely had its place for us.
Great rifle for hunting. Being able to lock the bolt is great for anybody that has a branch snag their bolt handle. The light weight is always appreciated when you have to carry it around all day.
One of my good friends at church absolutely loves his Steyr Scout rifle. He is insanely accurate with it with a 2.5x optic on top. It's fun to see it in a video now.
Is this the next ballad of Steyr Scout man?
Aye..Jeff's criteria for the Scout is a 2.5x fixed pwr scope..maybe 3x max, to facilitate the
both eyes fully open concept. ..well, ppl did have sharper eyes in his era..better nutrition &
a more active/healthy generation. I'm 57..I can see how ppls health in general is far less than what it was in the 70's-80's. Nowadays..obesity, drug use..either prescribed, or street stuff..i mean..anxiety/stress are so prevalent, now..allergies..it is crazy. Eyesight has suffered, as well.
@@gzuzsavz It probably has more to do with screen time then nutrition.
That last piece of advice was golden. Thanks.
If only people knew how much the gun community owes to Jeff Cooper.
Tooonnsss.
Who’s Jeff cooper
Certainly wasn't this abortion of a concept.
The scout rifle is living proof that even a genius is human and has dumb ideas occasionally.
@@Isaihernandez777 are you just kidding or don't really know? Not everyone is going to know who he was.
Nah he can keep the scout. That's a garbage rod of a rifle. Lol
An essential rifle for those who "Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth".
The Steyr Scout isn't a ranch gun, or it wouldn't be a sensible ranch gun anyway. I've always seen the Steyr Scout sold as a sniper rifle for SWAT snipers and I suppose in Europe, urban police snipers where observation would be more valuable than being able to "take the shot".
@@MisterNiThe criteria Steyr and Cooper came up with to make the Scout is literally for a ranch or bush gun. Lightweight, mag fed, backup sights, and integrated bipod. The only thing the Steyr rifle is missing from Coopers original works is the guide for a stripper clip which they instead put the spare magazine in the butt stock. It is literally a ranch gun. Whether it's a good one is a different discussion but that's how it was envisioned.
@@TheSlovenlyTactician I don't think you know what a ranch gun is. The Steyr Scout has never been a selling point as a ranch gun, unless you were a police sniper as your second job or something. As a bush gun, that makes more sense but from what I remember throughout the late 1990s to mid 2000s, the Steyr Scout was mostly sold to LE or lightly and rarely used as an spotter rifle, but with probably a much better optic than the crappy optic GT was showing in this video.
@@MisterNithat makes even less sense. It is not semi auto. It does not have a pistol grip. Its 5 round mag is tiny. This looks like a trick shot gun. It is a light gun that allows for weights in the back. This is a back packing gun. Its for a person who prefers to use their pistol for everything but still wants to shoot far away if they have too.
Binoculars are way better for observation. If someone in the military uses this they probably have weak hands because this is not a primary.
@@gabriels5105 Try holding a rifle in the exact same position for hours on end then say something as ordinary as a lightweight Steyr Scout is a "trick shot" gun. Well, I suppose if you were a "Scout" then it would make for a good backpack gun. I would definitely put on a better optic though since the Scout is magazine fed so you don't need that long eye-relief scope and you really shouldn't be trying to get a high volume of fire out of a Steyr Scout anyway.
Also, binoculars are conspicuous, tend to reflect light and are just another thing to carry when a good optic on a rifle is all someone would need for observation purposes. AFAIK the Scout isn't a military rifle. When the Steyr Scout was popular, it was mostly sold to police units who wanted an affordable sniper rifle that could take someone down with one shot but in a police role, it would've been mostly used for observation anyway.
Mr. Garand Thumb, I just wanted you to know that you have become my favorite TH-cam channel after your 10mm video. I used to think Kentucky Ballistics was the best but your video on the 10mm set me straight. Kentucky used to do comparison videos like which is the best Bear gun 10mm, 44 Mag., and so forth. I really enjoyed those videos but lately he either blows up a perfectly good gun or shoots something no person in America will probably never get. Thank you for the useful videos keep up the great content and don’t start grasping for ideas and trying to flex you nuts like Kentucky!
I'll have you know garand thumb that the steyr scout saved my life when I unknowingly drove into an L shaped ambush while on safari two decades ago. I stood out the sun roof and dropped two of the approaching rhinos nearly instantly. A third got close but I was able to quickly acquire the target due to the steyr's light weight. When the military arrived, they arrested me. Turns out it was a group of locals trying to sell trinkets and I was just tripping balls off the LSD I snuck onto the plane. I got one-hundred and twenty years in prison, but turns out they were using metric. Got out in about two months and now I know Swahili. It was a good trade in my opinion.
😂 wtf? 😅
It’s true, I was the LSD
Glad you came away with a useful skill.
This comment was a trip all the way through, felt like I was there, and now I know Swahili
Most sane Jeff Cooper prodigy
Can confirm on the Rocky's. The first thing most of us did when we got to tech school and were told we could buy our own boots was go out and get them. I loved mine, they were comfortable as hell, did pretty decent in cold weather and rain and lasted probably 3-4 years. If anyone's worked in the nuke fields you know comfortable boots are king
It's more of a hunting / survival rifle than a sniper rifle. Also, it makes more sense in countries where civilian access to / hunting with semi-autos is harder / forbidden.
Side note: In most countries in Europe civilians have access to military calibers. It's just also available in other typical hunting calibers because it's a hunting rifle - in that context the safeties also make sense.
The laugh he has when he said you have to jump and shoot was priceless.
I had one before I lost it in a boating accident… hands down one of my all time favorites! So happy to see this video!
Im finnish and my uncle has one for hunting moose, I've tested it and it's great for how light that thing is to carry around for packing a good punch.
I like how Steyr is also known for farm implements and engines.
It is a step above shovels!
Like how Glock is also known for horse semen.
Steyr Puch built the G wagon for MB for decades… also the VW T3 Syncro…
Singer: HAHAHAHA! Pistol go bang!
@@dbeau3977 I had a Steyr Daimler Puch Pinzgauer!
I own one, love that rifle. Fluted barrel, great bolt movement, super lightweight - if you live in a country where you cannot own a semi-automatic its great
saw the thumbnail and what went through my mind immediately was Counter Strike 1.6 and Zero Scout. Happy you mentioned it!
Slight correction: The Steyr Scout was in CS beta4 up to retail 1.6, Condition Zero, and Source. The one in the footage (3:30) is the Steyr SSG 08 from Global Offensive.
People still call it the Scout nonetheless.
@barrupa yee but the Scout from 1.6 and GO are actually from different lines of rifles from Steyr so the distinction is deserved. Now we need a SSG 08 particular "Scout" video 😈
We could definitely use more scout style rifles being reviewed. Great viable option especially in “restricted” states.
I have the Savage 110 scout and I love it. My state isn’t restrict yet, so I use it for hunting
@@dualityofmorons are you expecting them to restrict it?
@@tehbone8604 it’s PA, they’ve been signing every letter in support of CAs bans, the house and gov are blue, senate is red. And I don’t see November getting any better. So I’m building and buying like a fiend right now
Judging by this video, he really doesn't understand the scout rifle concept. I don't know why he keeps talking about Africa.
@@MrEpeeFencer
He’s talking about Africa because the colonel who was behind the design of this particular rifle based his requirements off his time in Africa, hunting big game.
Ive dailied my rocky s2v predator boots for several years now. If there's one thing they have mastered, its their break-in. They only become more comfortable, more flexible, and more suited to you the more you use them.
The soles are absurdly durable, without being stiff. And the treads wrapping up the side and heel give me purchase on sloped terrain like nothing else.
The laces are sturdy and dont compress or stretch, meaning you dont have to tie a bow. Just tie a normal knot and go about your day, the knot can come undone just as easy at you tied it since it doesn't catch or bind.
Highly recommend. Ive got two pairs (normal predators and jungle predators for wet conditions) and will be getting another set of predators IF these wear out.
I aint sponsored, but lemme say this. Christmas is coming up, get Pops something thatll last till they make it back in their will. You know he goes through a boot a month... These'll stop that cycle.
The Steyr-Mannlicher rifles had some of the smoothest bolts actions ever made, so it tracks that their abomination-Scout rifle has an excellent trigger, too.
I think the Steyr Scout is outclassed by the Tikka T3x scout-variant created for the RCMP (Snow Mexican polar bear defense team 🇨🇦). It’s also out-dripped by the River Gunsite Scout, which is probably the best of the 3. But like you said, it’s such a niche rifle that there’s really no use case for it besides “I have something that you don’t.”
Fun video I didn’t expect. I’d love for you to do a military style review of the most non-military rifle thinkable, like a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe or a Winchester Model 70 Super Grade. Would be hilarious to watch you bill drill a deer rifle and then slot MOA groups at 500 yards.
Every time he explains how weird it is, I want it more. It was a matter of respect in Counter-Strike to choose to snipe with the Scout even if something else were available.
I used to rock mainly deagle and Scout for a long time. Such a great iconic rifle. So much fun with it. Over 8k kills on the counter, and that is just in CS:GO.
Hell yea my dude. De_dust crew represent
The Scouts/Knives servers back in the day were one of my favorite modes to play on CS: Source.
As a certified scoutmeister, I agree.
id recommend the ruger gunsite scout. very good quality and less nonsense. I want a steyr too tho haha
I have a Ruger Scout. Very similar, but I took off the forward pic rail where you would mount a long eye relief scope, and put an LPVO on normal rings over the receiver. Much better.
I used to think a scout rifle would be meh, but then someone had it one at the range and I tried it. The long eye relief magnification with both eyes open. At that moment I got it. Now I really want one. I'm thinking of doing a scout setup with a CZ600 trail in 5.56.
There is a 10round conversion kit .
The magazine has 2 positions. All the way in for repeater action. 1 click out for single shot as it won’t pick up from the magazine.
To go to reapeater just push mag completely in.
There is also a hidden pocket in the pistol grip .
3 point sling mount is for the “Ching sling”
I feel like they couldnt have done less research on the concept...
My Steyr Scout is chambered in 308. Added a 10 round mag kit with 2, 10 round Mags. There is a cubby hole at the grip where I keep my bore snake with a cleaning kit. Tough as nails. I love my Scout.
I‘m member of a shooting Club in Austria which had tight connection with Col. Jeff Cooper (Range is named after him). Founding members had personal connections with him - we even got original exponates used by Cooper himself there. He paid Austria some visits back in the days.
He was also directly involved in the development of the Steyr Scout Rifle.
You can own guns in Austriastan?
@@swissmilitischristilxxii3691I’m pretty sure they allowed to just straight up buy machine guns as long as it’s for collecting purposes among everything else
@@thatjackal74 that‘s true but you‘ve gotta be recognized as a collector, which isn‘t that easy. the requirements for that are pretty steep security wise to begin with ;)
@@swissmilitischristilxxii3691 Yes you can. I‘ve got an AUG / AR-9 / Glock 34 / S&W Model 69. Each with large Magazines (which makes some extra buerocratic effort necessary) except the Revolver. As long as you‘re being recognized as a Sports Shooter, Collector or Hunter, you have good options herr.
Hunting Rifles (Class C weapons in the austrian gun law) are even allowed without a permit (background screening / psychological test) and can be owned by austrian citizens over 18 without a criminal record.
@@swissmilitischristilxxii3691you could buy the scout as an 18yo with no additional licencing whatsoever
Now, I've always said that this rifle seems like it would be quite good ...if you mounted a traditional scope on it, like a Leupold 2-7. Now it's just a really light and handy rifle with a few oddities, but none of them impair usage. A weird bipod is better than none at all.
In a pre-red dot and LPVO world it made a little more sense. As a bush gun you are going to be spending far more time carrying the thing than ever shooting it. priorities.
@@Alpha-Leader I'm still trying to wrap my head around why my Leupold 2-7 is worse than an LPVO. It weighs roughly half of an LPVO, and at a true 2.5 power, it's just a tiny bit slower at point blank range. But, maybe that is offset by being lighter, so maybe not slower at all?
The Vortex Razor 1-6×24 works excellent on the scout btw.
The Rifle is my go-to when i hike through north-norway or finland while hunting season is. Enough for bears and moose.
As former AF, that story of "omg they got the rocks, I want those" is 100% truth , wearing those automatically made you look high speed😂
Steyr scout rifle very nice and sleek design and a versatile platform for hunters and hikers
Those outfits are what make Garand thumb, Garand thumb. Perfection.
I think it's important to note that the Scout is no longer in counter-strike. It used to be in older games, but it was replaced by the Steyr SSG-08 which is the rifle we see in the short little gameplay clip that was used
I have never played any CS beyond 1.6, so your comment both informs and saddens me. Thanks :(
@@lafeeshmeisterwe all still call it the scout, it’s just an updated version of the gun
So it wasn't even good enough for Counter-Strike.
I bought the Ruger version (Gunsite Scout) with the laminated wood stock. Replaced the forward mount optic base with a traditional picatinny that still allowed the use of the ghost ring iron sights. Mounted a Redfield (Leupold) 3x9 with MOA reticle which is a little easier to use than Mil-Dot (I'm a retired GWOT Sniper). Also added a 3 round mag for hunting in Oregon (comes with a single steel 10 round mag) and a Harris bipod. Overall, pretty good hunting rifle. My only complaints are that the stock is pretty slippery to hang on to, especially with gloves, and once the barrel heats up I experience significant thermal drift.
Rocky S2V are my favorite boots of all time. I'm on my 4th pair and just ordered my 5th pair in Coyote last week and just waiting for delivery.
The idea for the jump shot was hilarious. Executing the jump shot first try was severely underrated. I haven’t laughed that hard in a minute. Well done boys. Mike and Mikah for president
Thank you for bringing more in depth awareness to such a wide variety of overlooked guns
6:05 that's actually useful for situations when you gotta switch ammo. For example, you planned to shoot a roe deer with your FMJs and then suddenly you've found a moose and gotta switch to heavy SP. Probably you won't have to carry additional magazines in your pockets that way.
Cool man, two different point of impacts. Also FMJ for game, wtf?
@@johnjay1147 yeah samurai homeboy never shot no deer
@@johnjay1147 you can always adjust the scope. Just have a note with the adjustments for the specific bullet weight. Or just select/load ammo with similar weight and groups.
Yes, and in some countries it's still legal to use FMJ ammo for hunting.
@@SamuraiAkechibut like why? Why use FMJ instead of a more effective bullet?
@@Anonymous8421 because sometimes people are just stupid and say that they can effectively dispatch softer game that's below 100 kg of weight. Probably same kind of people who hunt capercaillie with rifles loaded with FMJ and Lapua Scenar because they can't sneak close enough with a shotgun
You hit it on the scout scope rifle concept. Years ago, I bought a Ruger Scout rifle. After trying it, I mount a Leupold 1x4x conventional scope. This works on a light. 308 rifle and it does the job without compromises of long eye relief scopes (and with 10 rd mags).
I remember reading Jeff Cooper going on and on in his column about how this was best new concept in rifles, well, ever. Nothing this awesome had ever been conceived of before. It was a bolt action and it was lightweight and fast handling and obviously no one had ever thought of something so revolutionary before this.
It reminds me now of the launch of the Segway.
Lots of Manufacturers make Scout rifles. It's not a Segway
@@user-vg3yc6gk5fI think that's his point, we have dozens of manufacturers making hoverboards and other derivatives of the segway. Basically "it was revolutionary but ultimately a stepping stone to better things".
I think if the platform came out today, more people would have looked into it. I have the Ruger version and it is a nice hunting rifle.
I’m not sure a rifle designed in the 80s, inspired by rifles of the 20s and produced in the late 90s can be called a stepping stone to anything.
@@JimYeats Its literally just Steyr and Ruger right? And maybe Springfield if you count the short M1A with the pic rail on the front.
Having spent many years in the PNW forests hunting/scouting/wandering with a uhm, shortened* 308 bolt gun, I will say having a bolt-lock is extremely handy in scenarios when it gets thicc.
The clip u guys played in the video, is from Counter Strike Global Offensive. And that CS game, it is not a Steyr Scout but instead a Steyr SSG 08. Two completely different rifles. But in the older Counter Strike games like Counter Strike Source and older, it for sure is a Steyr Scout.
Anyone else here used to be menace on Counter Strike with the Scout??😂
good times
I am
❤😂
no i was always patient enough to save for an actual gun.
HEADSHOT! RAMPAGE! ULTRA KILL!
While the scout may not be ideal for that super open mountainous terrain, I actually think it's a supper handy gun in a wooded area where you don't need extreme range. Someplace like Michigan or Wisconsin, Only place you will ever see 500 yards strait is across a lake. A super handy lightweight bolt gun with a modern 1-10x LPVO sounds pretty fantastic honestly, quick to get on targets at very close range, and with a full power cartridge and capability to shoot for distance, lightweight integrated bipod is a plus.
Wisc! Can confirm..not many areas where anything more than a 30-30 is needed.
..although my bro has a BAR in 300 WinMag, lmbo. But yes..i see many positives on this
Jeff Cooper thang. He knew the efforts of scout/long hunts, where the diff between 6 & 8 lbs was felt! & wanted kind of a survival rifle aspect..simple, rugged, reliable, accurate.
electric sights..fine..and yes, they're fairly reliable, nowadays, but nothing as much so as a well made low pwr scope.
Yeah where are you going to find a long eye relief LPVO 🤔
@@MM-op6ti Leupold VX-FREEDOM 1.5-4X28 IER SCOUT is probably the best fit, also technically, though on the high end of magnification, is the Vortex CROSSFIRE II 2-7X32 SCOUT.
@@MM-op6ti You aren't, I'm saying you should mount it regularly and use a standard LPVO instead of the forward mount. He mentions in the video it also has mounting points for standard scope rings. The original design did intend for the forward scope, but keep in mind that was before LPVOs were a thing.
@@emmitthelms7045 surprised they make these, I stand corrected
Lots of companies developed a "scout rifle", but Styer is the only one who can claim to build an authentic scout rifle. It was approved by Jeff Cooper, the guy who came up with the concept in the first place. The others all modify the design in one (or ten) ways. They end up being handy rifles (the Ruger "scout" is a decent rifle), but this one is the only scout as envisioned by Colonel Cooper. It's actually a very practical rifle. Accuracy is excellent, and it can be used to hunt in areas that do not allow semi-auto rifles for hunting. As a matter of fact this is almost a perfect woods rifle for hunting deer and black bear where ranges will almost always be 100yds or less. It's certainly capable of hitting accurately at/past 300 yds. In .308 it's more than powerful enough to hunt any hoofed game on the continent within range limitations. It's compact enough to be easily stored/transported. Cooper hated the .223/5.56 so he more or less set out design parameters (cleanly take a 400 lb game animal) that would eliminate the .223. AT the time the average AR-10 was way too heavy for his envisioned use, but he was not against the use of a semi-auto if it could meet the weight requirements. You don't have to use a long eye relief scope, and I can understand how the guys in the video had a hard time getting used to it. Once you start using it it becomes intuitive. You keep saying it's "outclassed", but it's in a class of its own and fills a need that a MSR can't.
I use an MRO on mine and love it. It's a great deer rifle. Couple of extra "features". One, in super safe mode, if you push the bolt handle down it will lock in tight against the gun for placing in a scabard to reduce the profile a little bit. Also, the Magazine has a second position where it will lock into the magwell without being fully seated so that if you work the bolt it won't pick up a round.
Thank you for mentioning it. Drives me nuts watching someone review something they don't understand. GT didn't need to like it but he should at least know how to use it.
At sniper school, a guy brought one of these brand new in the box, put on his scope exactly where yours is mounted, and he was shooting 1/4" to 1/2" MOA groups the entire course. He took top shooter. I was shooting a Robar .308 with a Leo Mark 4 4.5-12x50mm. I was shooting 1/2" groups, and this guy was making me and everyone else in the class look like garbage.
What was your course of fire, 25 yards?
Did everyone clap?
I call bullshit
Based average Scout enjoyer
Uh huh.... Okay
It may be an unpopular view but I love the idea of the scout rifle. It is sort of the jack of all trades without necessarily excelling in any one category. A survival weapon if you will
Saw one of these and learned about the design at Cooper’s ranch while getting some training. The design was pretty cool for the time, I think the main issue with it these days is the invention of the LPVO negating the main reasons for having the scope mounted so far forward.
Absolutely, I looked hard at putting a scout scope on a Marlin deer rifle. Before just slapping an LPVO on.
Use of stripper clips on military bolt action conversions was a lot of the reason for the forward scope.
Not necessarily.
A proper scout scope has much greater eye relief than any LPVO. GT has his scope mounted a bit closer then usual, but you can mount the scout scope further forward if you want.
It is similar to a red-dot with how far forward it is mounted and how it is used with both eyes open.
I would love to have a Trijicon Accupoint with 6in to 8in of eye relief, but 3in to 4in is about it.
This right here. The design is absolutely technologically obsolete. It’s awesome and I have one that I run all the time, but it’s technically obsolete for sure.
@@jamesr792 for bolt actions, I wouldn't call it obsolete.
Bolt action rifles have barely changed since WW1, so technically Cooper's concept of a bolt action scout rifle is a step forward in bolt action technological concepts as it takes us away from the long barreled unwieldy bolt action hunting rifle with no detachable magazines.
Regarding rifles/fire arms in general, there has been very little technological advancement since Stoner brought us the AR series of firearms (which are about as timeless in design and function as bolt actions are in my book).
Scopes, sights, lights, etc... are where things have truly advanced technologically.
This is easily one of the guns of all time
Definitely. Couldn't have said it any better
Concur
You can say that again!
Underrated comment.
That is definitely a comment of all time
I was so in love with this rifle as a kid. I think the scout design could make a comeback.
I think a good way of looking at the scout rifle concept is if you wanted to go hunting, but you're also a little concerned about Red Dawn happening. It's a good, handy, general purpose rifle that's okay in a lot of things and great at none. If you want a hunting rifle that you can also kind of fight with, the scout rifle is where it's at. Is it an extremely niche concept? Absolutely, but I still think it's cool.
Why not use an ar for all of that
@chrism4008 AR's aren't legal everywhere. You could take a scout rifle pretty much anywhere in the world. Not saying AR's aren't reliable, but generally, a bolt action is going to work better in the extreme cold. I think it's fair to say a scout rifle is also a lighter platform that most/all serious use semi-auto 308's. Also, maybe you just prefer hunting with a bolt action 🤷🏼♂️.
I always figured mine was good for hunting and general woods use, while also being pretty good for if Billy Bob the meth cook didn’t want any witnesses. It sure ain’t a combat rifle, but it’ll certainly stand in in a pinch.
@@chrism4008 Adding to what has been said, a decent bolt action will be more reliable in a broader range of environments (sand, humidity, mud, extremely low or high temps) and what little malfunctions occur will be more easily solved. Getting brass over bolt while in the middle of FuckTheresNothingLand with a chance for hostile wildlife close must suck.
I was taught the Cooper concept before the red dot sight and the forward 1x (only, fixed) scope was only for floating the reticle with both eyes open. Meant for fast-acquisition “jump” shots in survival situations. My understanding was that the best shooters at regular distances could shoot as well in fluid situations with iron sights (especially with a rear ghost peep) as they could with a scoped and magnified sight, and the more simple your rig and the requisite training, the better it’s value in a SHTF scenario. I never heard it lauded for long-distance or big game. But then, I never read Cooper’s books, either, although I did stay at a Holiday Inn a time or two….
This brings me back to the ol' Counter Strike: Source days
I was surprised at how comforting it was to see proficient shooters have trouble shooting a gun. Really made me feel good about the troubles I have shooting and drove home HARD how important training is.
lol I felt the same. I've shot quite a lot of with guns in my life, but not so much with bolt action rifles. every time I get one in my hands I kinda struggle a bit with the bolt. Seeing someone else do that too felt nice :'D
Do you try shooting guns you already dislike and choose to not understand?
I absolutely LOVED my snow white styer scout in .308. It was my living room centerpiece for a few years
Want one! Had a Steyr tactical Elite .308 with the full length top picatinny rail, heavier, longer barrel. Fab trigger. Double mag same as the scout, adjustable cheek piece and butt-pad, extremely accurate out to 1000m with the right ammo when I did my bit , lovely bolt cycle. Loved the safety! Stuck a Harris plate and bipod under it of course.
This rifle is a great option for fairly specific use as a working rifle in the bush in South Africa, sort of like a "ranch rifle" that I can keep in the truck and handle easily, for use for problem animal control on critters like baboons, or take running shots on wounded game in the thick bush. I wouldn't bother with a scope though, I'd just put a dot on it. Our equipment usually takes quite a beating; dust, rain, mud etc and decent quality semi auto rifles are very expensive and a pain in the arse to license so we pretty much use bolt action rifles exclusively for professional hunting work. I'd take this scout rifle all day every day over something like an AR 10 for the kind of work we do.
In the day the Scout was originally designed there was no red dots. Which is why the scope is mounted forward and low magnification to be shot with both eyes open.
Up here in bush Alaska this scout rifle is just a toy.
Nice and light, for sure, handy definitely, but some things up here need shooting more than a couple times. It's just too slow for the power it offers..
Different climes, political and geo, for sure.
@@JD-tn5lz that’s why you would get it in caliber .376 Steyer.
@JD-tn5lz sure, it wouldn't be my only working rifle, 16 inch .308 is a bit light for dangerous game but if you load it up with monolithic solids and shoot for the brain you can drop pretty much anything. I've never shot an elephant with a .308 but I've dropped a few buff with it. Still wouldn't throw away my .458 lott though, horses for courses.