I appreciated the goal of the scout rifle back then. Since then the accuracy of the AR platform has improved dramatically such that it is capable of "medium" range accuracy as well as operating as a close quarters weapon. And the sighting systems are even more flexible. Just watch a typical '3 gun' match. The reliability of the AR has also improved enough to be near that of a bolt rifle and the 'AR10' allows using some of the more potent calibers advocated in the scout concept rifles. About the only place it 'fails' is the extreme long range of a higher power sniper rifle.