Ruger Gunsite Carbine

[W.R.Buchanan]

CD: This could be the lightweight M24 you've been looking for. Over a rest I can hit a man sized target at 600 yds "EVERYTIME" I can almost do it standing. With a 3-9X scope, and a range card for the holdovers it would be even easier. Mine has a 1.5-5X Leupold. It follows the ballistic calculator to the minute.

This one is a winner. You'll want one as soon as you touch one, so bring the money along.

Randy

[BruceB]

A week or so back, half-a-dozen of we CB members attended the latest edition of the Big Reno Show. As always, it was very much worth the trip.

I would easily believe that there were at least ten thousand firearms in those two ballrooms, and I think I saw every table in the course of two days.

NOT ONE SINGLE RUGER SCOUT RIFLE DID I SEE.

Asking a few dealers about them, the answer was always the same...."They last about thirty seconds in the store, and then they're gone." Cabela's, Sportsmans' Warehouse, and Scheels, said the same thing when we visited those stores....and also found zero Gunsite Scouts.

Regardless of all the critics and nit-pickers, Ruger has struck a vein of pure gold, and are selling every Scout they can produce.

The doom-sayers are WRONG, as indicated by the reaction of the shooting public and the rifle market-place. More power to Ruger, and I hope the 5.56/.223 version meets equal success.

[thehouseproduct]

A week or so back, half-a-dozen of we CB members attended the latest edition of the Big Reno Show. As always, it was very much worth the trip.

I would easily believe that there were at least ten thousand firearms in those two ballrooms, and I think I saw every table in the course of two days.

NOT ONE SINGLE RUGER SCOUT RIFLE DID I SEE.

Asking a few dealers about them, the answer was always the same...."They last about thirty seconds in the store, and then they're gone." Cabela's, Sportsmans' Warehouse, and Scheels, said the same thing when we visited those stores....and also found zero Gunsite Scouts.

Regardless of all the critics and nit-pickers, Ruger has struck a vein of pure gold, and are selling every Scout they can produce.

The doom-sayers are WRONG, as indicated by the reaction of the shooting public and the rifle market-place. More power to Ruger, and I hope the 5.56/.223 version meets equal success.

I hope you're wrong because I want a 223.

[BruceB]

thp, pard;

You hope I'm wrong??? Wrong about what? The Scout rifle is a roaring success, and it seems there's a .223 version coming. Why should you not get your .223? What's "wrong"?

Just curious, here.

[thehouseproduct]

thp, pard;

You hope I'm wrong??? Wrong about what? The Scout rifle is a roaring success, and it seems there's a .223 version coming. Why should you not get your .223? What's "wrong"?

Just curious, here.

I hope they aren't so popular I can't find one.

[BruceB]

Ah, so. NOW I comprehend! I share your worry, in that case.

Maybe they'll have to pay some overtime until the orders can be filled. The .223 would be great fun in this package, and there's LOADS of experience out there for short-barreled .223s.

Good luck with this.

[Artful]

300 blackout/300 whisper would be very great fun in this package

[W.R.Buchanan]

art: you'll probably have to make that one yourself.

Randy

[Artful]

I know Randy, but a guy can hope - I was actually looking at Savage or Mossburg rifle that already takes the AR magazines. ;^)

[redneckdan]

it would be awesome if the .223 version uses AR 15 magazines. And if it had a fast enough twist to spin 80gr match kings when single loaded.

[bruce drake]

it would be awesome if the .223 version uses AR 15 magazines. And if it had a fast enough twist to spin 80gr match kings when single loaded.

Dan,

Ruger would probably make the magazine capability to feed from thier Mini-14 mags. They make them in-house so its a profit margin item for them. Not a real bad issue as Mini-14 mags are plentiful and can be picked up at most stores or gunshows.

The barrel blanks would probably come off their Mini-14 production line as well so the twist would be 1-9" which has been the standard twist for their .223 barrels since 1995. Again a bottom line issue of economics.

To properly spin a 80gr SMK, you are going to need a 1-8 or 1-7 for Optimal accuracy although some slow 1-9's (closer to 1-8.5") in AR-15s can handle the 80s in Highpower matches without major issues.

A Hornady or Sierra 75/77gr bullet will be just as effective as the 80's in most situations and 1-9"twists can handle the bullet weight better than 80s.

So basically, if they do make a .223 Rem Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, you can consider it a Bolt Action Mini-14. I'd buy one or two and probably spin a 300 BLK barrel on one like a previous poster after I shot the throat of the .223 barrel and keep the other for NOS NIB trade material...

Bruce

[W.R.Buchanan]

Bruce/ Dan: I said the same thing about the magazines however, They will not use Mini 14 mags. The cartridges are not in the right position to feed using the bolt, as opposed to feeding using the bolt on Mini 14. They don't stick up high enough to be stripped by the bolt actions bolt, the rear of the mag is in the way, and they didin't want to use a "modified Mini14 mag" as it would have introduced confusion into the market place to have two mags that look identical but would not interchange both ways to both guns.

They are still up in the air on mags but it was sounding like AR mags will be the choice. The other mags won't work and they didn't want to have to rock the mag in place any way. They wanted it to go in strait like the RGS77 does. I'm sure you've shot Mini 14's enough to realize that you must get the mag indexed perfectly before you shove it home or it doesn't catch. They saw no reason to repeat this problem on a new gun.

I'm still waiting for the polymer mags to arrive so I can beta test them. I'm hoping they work right as the AS mags rust instantly, and the Polymer would solve that problem and probably run smoother in the bargain. They were sending me 3, 5, 10 round mags to test.

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

Today marked the 4th time I have shot Long Range Silhoutte with the RGS 77 Scout Rifle.

I hit 4 500 meter rams today 0 turkeys, 2 pigs and 2 chickens, for a total of 8/40. The high score was 14/40

4 rams at 500 meters is a pretty stiff accomplishment for a 16.5" barreled rifle with a 1.5-5X scope, at 8.5 lbs.

I liken this to shooting at people, and out of 40 nearly everyone would be toast. I was within 1 foot of 35 targets, but still managed to pull a few shots.

This gun is impressing me more every time I shoot it.

Looking forward to the .223 version, as like you guys above said it will be like a bolt action Mini 14,,, but it will also be like a very compact Varmint Rifle, because I think the accuracy will far surpass any Mini 14..

Many of the .308 "sniper rifles" out there have only 20" barrels now days so I don't see a 16.5" one being that much of a handicap. Besides many AR's have 16" barrels, and they have plenty of velocity.

My RGS77 appears to be shooting about 2600 fps with the AE factory loads and my Reloads of 45 gr of IMR4895 with 147 gr recycled bullets. About a 25 fps per inch loss below 24"

I say this because it follows the ballistic calculator for that speed exactly and I can see no deviation. My scope inputs are yeilding hits at every distance when I break the shots with the crosshairs on target.

I was going to chrono today to verify data, but too many people showed up and the range was a zoo.

Randy

[Curly James]

Hi Randy,

Who are you getting the polymer mags from if I may ask? I have two of Alpha Industries metal 10 rd mags on the way. They are shorter than the Ruger magazines as they go from a double stack to a single feed. I would be very interested in several polymer magazines. I have started a Tactical rifle match at my club and while not as fast as an AR 15 the Ruger GSR shines for first shot hits up close and accuracy at 200 meters. I just need more magazines for the matches. Also looking forward to hunting with this gun come fall and deer/pig season.

[Frank46]

They had a bunch of shooters taking what I would call a practical/tactile course on the outdoor channel this wednesday. All were using the ruger. From what little I saw all were doing well and no obvious problems loading and shooting the little rifles. Frank

[W.R.Buchanan]

Frank 46:
The first segment of "The Best Defense" all this season is related to the " Urban Tactical Training" at the Gunsite Facility near Prescott AZ, and using the RGS77 Rifle.

I watch intently every week to see new ways of using this weapon. They have some very useful techniques and tips for getting the most out of your survival weapon.

Watch closely and you will see that everyone is running the action very fast and hard. A few people still bobble the cycling of the action when it hangs up like mine did originally. The guns they are using are all first generation ( beta test) guns and the rear receiver rings are a little too big, and the bolts were still not as hard as they make them now.

The new ones have had all this wrung out of the production process and function just like any other bolt action rifle.

Mine works great with just the exterior of the bolt plated with the wonder coating mentioned above. But the new ones don't need it.

I would suggest any one contemplating buying one of these guns find one with a serial number higher than about 6-7000. just to be safe, and insure you are getting a fully developed piece.

This maybe a little hard to do as they are moving very fast. I even saw one at Big 5 (large Sptg goods chain) the other day. so they are out there. The problem with buying one at a place like this is you are going to pay full pop, period. $999.00. I paid $750 for mine! You can buy alot of ammo for $250! Especially since the Gun Shows are selling .308 Federal AE at $10.99 per box of 20. So that's about 450 rounds of factory new for free.

Curly: I PM'd you with the info I got.. This gun will be a pretty serious bacon getter to be sure. Mine is proving to be very accurate and reliable.

Randy

[Frank46]

Randy, thanks for the heads up regarding where the show was filmed and serial numbers. I have not seen one at our local gun shows. Guess they are a hot seller. Frank

[W.R.Buchanan]

Frank: more than likely you won't see one at a gun show for a while. They are mostly going to the big distributors and then being sold to Retail outlets.

I'm sure your local gunshop could get one for you.

If not, do like I did and call Williams Gun Shop Auburn in Auburn MI, and talk to Kevin. They found one for me in 2 days and sold it to me for $750 + $30 to ship to me. Dealer cost is $652. But nobody's going to sell one that cheap, and especially since they are popular and hard to get ahold of. All of the places I have seen locally here in CA have wanted full pop, and wouldn't budge due to the popularity of the gun. The TV show is helping sales as well.

$750 allowed the dealer to make $100, and move a gun. I thought that was fair. Good guy to deal with.

Randy

[Curly James]

I did not see a Ruger Scout at the gun show yesterday and asking about magazines got you a blank stare. The ones I've spotted in the stores are bringing over $800.00.

[square butte]

Saw one at the Concord , NH gun show on Sat..