I will always prefer a bolt action to a semi auto. Cant really say why.... reliability..simplicity, safety... no special magazines... less likely to aimlessly blast through ammo.
If my AR's were worth anything I would likely have sold them all by now.
My “scout rifle” vision in 2019, if a bolt action rifle is dictated, is a 20” Proof carbon fiber barrel in front of a Defiance Deviant action in a Manners Gen 2 Compact stock, sporting an illuminated 4-16x44mm optic with milling reticle, fed by AIAW mags under the belly, and with a Thunder Beast Ultra 7 on the nose, chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. I’ve been snap shooting and engaging movers with higher magnification than 4-16x for many moons, so I’m not deterred by any legend of “up close” challenges, and I know what I can accomplish with a high sectional density bullet traveling at respectable velocities. Whether fighting or feeding, the rifle will suffice.
My personal “grab it when you need a rifle” rifle, which is certainly capable of hunting at responsibly metered ranges and also capable of fighting quite effectively, is a 10.5” 6.8spc SBR-15, also with a 4-16x44mm optic on top, and an Omega out front. It might get rebarreled into a 6.5 Grendel sooner than later, either will do.
My GSR, like all of my scouts have been, is just a fun rifle. It has no more inherent utility for a civilian than any of my other mid-caliber rifle in my safes, and less than many.
My favorite light rifle for hunting, though not classed as a "scout" rifle, is my Tikka bolt-action .243 Win. It, like all my hunting rifles, is topped with a 3-9x scope, like all my rifles, from .22 LR on up.
When I started hunting, not as many people liked scopes, but the scopes in the 1950's weren't as clear and variables were comparatively very expensive and not especially good.
A few years later, I became an engineering technician and, as such, found myself behind a very powerful engineering transit, doing leveling and running road survey lines through woods, looking for either survey rods or plumb-bob strings in very difficult wooded terrain. Transits used fixed-power, 25X or 30X scopes with three crosswires...the middle for leveling and top and bottom for Stadia.
After doing transit work for several years, seeing deer with a variable scope between 2X and 9X with a wide angled, very bright, and clear image. It was like a "walk in the park" to hunt with a scope and none of my hunting rifles have iron sights on them.
For those of you who find scopes challenging, I suggest that someone with extensive experience assist with picking the right scope, mounts, and installation. Over the years when working on rifles and sighting them in, I've found that many scopes out there are set up wrong, usually too far forward and often mounted too high for relatively quick pointing.
When I'm walking on a woods road, or in fairly open woods, I turn the power down to the lowest setting. When on a lightly-wooded stand area, I'll turn the power up to about 4x, so I can spot antlers. When in my blind, looking down a woods road, I turn it to 6X, so I can handle shots both fairly close and out to about 300 yards.
Everyone has their own scope tactics, but for those with less experience, think about what I wrote and maybe use LESS power than more than I do. Also take the bolt out of the rifle and practice snapping the empty rifle up to fixed objects to see how quickly you can bring the reticle to the object. Stock fit, especially the correct pull length also makes a big difference in how quickly an object can be targeted.
Reliability - practically speaking, it is generally a myth that bolt actions are more reliable than semi autos. Having been a match director for both 3gun and PRS style matches, I’ve seen an awful lot of folks shoot on the clock and I saw way more issues with bolt guns than I ever saw with ARs.
Safety - I don’t know what would cause one to think ARs are less safe. There are an awful lot of rem700 out there with factory triggers that got recalled and are generally considered unsafe. Factory AR triggers are comparatively much safer until bubba decides to do a trigger job.
As a point of comparison, most matches allow competitors with ARs to run around with the safety “on”. But if that same competitor was using a bolt gun he would be required to open the bolt when moving because nobody trusts bolt gun safeties and triggers.
Anyone using old military issue bolt actions and what were their problems if you do not mind elaborating?
And certainly a .308 Scout Rifle would seem a more versatile and useful rifle than a .556 AR15 in a survival situation, where hunting would be an activity.
not many. They’re just not competitive. That’s prob a topic for a different thread.Anyone using old military issue bolt actions and what were their problems if you do not mind elaborating? I've kinda toyed with the idea.
I will say that many of those old military bolt actions have safeties that physically block the firing pin which the AR does not.
Video games and movies....They keep making more and more scout labeled rifles and scout-like rifles, yet functionally there is little a modern semi auto can't do better so I'm failing to see any point here. Was looking at a new Savage scout. 16" barrel in .308. Whats the point of that caliber in a barrel that short? Utterly no advantage to these unless you have to travel to Alaska via Canada or live in some place with restrictive gun laws. Maybe a lighter weight beater bolt gun for bears with a short barrel you won't stick in the dirt while you are out in the woods being more focused on non-gun activities? Why not a 12 gauge then? Tell me why these are proliferating when functionally they are relics. Just selling stuff with more marketing than functionality is my guess. Any AR-15, AR-10, FAL, AK makes a better scout rifle except occasionally in the weight department and perhaps a side by side accuracy comparison (even though tack driving isn't what a scout is supposed to be for anyway).
I like your light utility/precision rifle build out list a lot. Personally I’d probably spend the coin to top it with a Nightforce 2.5-20X50 NX8 because I like having more low end magnification, and in the case of the NX8 more top end too.
Video games and movies....
I've tried the scout scope on a lever gun to do load work ups and was impressed by the speed of getting on target. They suck at dusk and dawn.
And certainly a .308 Scout Rifle would seem a more versatile and useful rifle than a .556 AR15 in a survival situation, where hunting would be an activity.
I notice that many ARs shown here as "hunting" rifles have full-sized magazines in the photos. In Maine, semi-auto rifles are limited to 5 rounds. Is that the case in your state, or are many full-sized magazines "permanently reduced" to lesser capacity, according to state laws?