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THE SCOUT RIFLE CONCEPT | WORKSHOP
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H
ave the vast majority of rifl e shooters
been brainwashed, conditioned by
marketing and advertising to the
point where they could be ignoring arguably
the greatest improvement in rifl e design and
functionality for generations? Before you
ignore this out of hand, bear with me as this
statement may be truer than you think. Since
its inception the scout concept has attracted
derision and ridicule, the intent of this article
is to furnish the reader with enough facts to
be able to form a more educated opinion.
COOPER’S CONCEPT
In the 1960's the late American shootist
Col. Jeff Cooper recognised the niche of the
so called 'scout rifl e' and developed its
concept. This had always been there, fi lled in
the past by such notable rifl e designs as the
lever-action carbine and the Mannlicher-
Schönauer. Cooper asked questions such
as: “what is it for and and what is the task I
need to accomplish?” Marketing ignores this
in the main as its priority is to sell units; as
long as we keep buying they do not concern
themselves with whether the item is the
optimum tool for the job.
Consider the telescopic sight, what are
its advantages over metallic sights? It does
not make a rifl e any more accurate than
before it was installed but it helps to allow it
to shoot more accurately. Cooper's concept
states: “if a rifl eman can see his target they
should be able to hit it!” Optics do not aid in
holding the rifl e steady and don’t contribute
to a good trigger release. The ability of a
scope to magnify the sight picture is
secondary to its main advantage, which is
providing an aiming mark (the reticule) in the
same focal plane as the target.
ANY OLD IRONS
Open (iron) sights require three focal points;
the eye needs to line up both the rear and
front elements and the target. Aperture
sights are slightly better in that they require
only two, the front sight and the target. The
advantages therefore conveyed by a scope
are those of speed and precision, which
become nullifi ed by too high a magnifi cation.
This slows down the ability to 'get on the
shot' and increases apparent tremor. I know
there is a school of thought that the tremor
is there anyway and it is better seen than
hidden. But what is not always understood is
that we shoot our bullets to a pattern no
matter how well we hold. In the fi eld, even at
hunting ranges, bullet dispersal becomes
more of a concern than drop!
Of course magnifi cation can be useful, it
enables the shooter to see the V-bull and
therefore hit it, or the kill zone on a crow at
300 yards. However most of us can see the
kill zone on a deer at ethical hunting ranges
with the naked eye and if we accept the
premise that magnifi cation is a secondary
advantage of the scope we encounter a
problem. Why is it that high magnifi cation
variable scopes have become the norm? The
scout-scope is lightweight, of intermediate
eye relief (IER), mounted forward on the
barrel with a magnifi cation of between x1 to- This combination is designed to offer the
optimum use of the true advantages of the
telescopic sight.
ATTRIBUTES OR DISADVANTAGES?
The extended eye relief gives several
attributes; unencumbered bolt manipulation,
ease of carrying at the point of balance. No
danger of getting scoped (hit by the eyepiece
under heavy recoil) or getting ‘lost ‘; here you
aim but due to the small fi eld of view caused
by high magnifi cation lose sight of the target.
Whilst the small objective lens is still useful
in low-light due to the minimum magnifi cation.
The most useful ability may be that with both
eyes open, (one seeing the reticule
superimposed on the target, and the other
providing an unlimited fi eld of view) it cures
the problem of losing sight of the target due
to recoil.
The scout-rifl e is often described as a
general-purpose or utility rifl e and indeed this
is correct. Unfortunately this may lead to
confusion as 'general purpose' can give the
impression that an item performs many
functions, but none of them well! The scout
rifl e is the opposite of a 'specialised' rifl e,
there are those who are happy using a
'tactical' rifl e (whatever that is) for purposes
out of its specialty. The person who isAs can be seen the bipod is integral to the forend, so no extra weight
and bulk when not needed, note the newer ball-ended bolt handle