Steyr Squirrel Scout

[Kendal Black]

I just got an email from the friendly folks at Steyr, inviting me to purchase a rimfire scout rifle they have introduced. http://steyrarms.com/firearms/scout-rfr.html

It's most probably a great .22 but it rather falls short of the scout rifle ideal of firing a broadly useful full-power cartridge.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

LOL!
Greg

 

[someguy2800]

That is about the most pointless thing I have ever seen. Mabey someone can clue me in on the appeal of a scout rifle? I have never shot a scout rifle with the pistol scope mounted on the barrel but when thinking of the pistol scopes that I have shot I am truly baffled as to why someone would want to put a pistol scope on a rifle rather than a proper rifle scope. I have a 4 power burris on my contender and the field of view on that at 100 yards is like 10 feet. Reading the specs on other pistol scopes it doesn't look like any of the others are much better. Why on earth would I want that on a rifle when a normal 4x rifle scope has like a 30 foot field of view???? How is having a scope 2 feet from my eye a benefit?

 

[CoalTrain49]

Jeff Cooper had some pretty strange ideas. I guess he was the shooting fraternity messiah to many. Never read much anything he wrote.

 

[Armored farmer]

I don't know, I sort of like it?!?

 

[Kendal Black]

I've added a poll.

 

[adcoch1]

The scout rifle is the ultimate do all. It isnt perfect for anything, but it will do everything. Try fighting trained soldiers in a thick jungle with a regular mounted rifle scope, compared to the scout with a 2 power pistol scope that works like a red dot with both eyes open. I can shoot a scout rifle accurately on close targets almost three times as fast as with a conventional mounted scope. Thata why the concept exists, not as a hunting rifle, not as a range gun, but as an "any eventuality" gun

 

[adcoch1]

And the baby scout is kinda cute... Ridiculous, but cute.

 

[zb338]

I'm with armored farmer. It's a pretty neat looking package.

Zeke

 

[Llama Bob]

That is about the most pointless thing I have ever seen. Mabey someone can clue me in on the appeal of a scout rifle? I have never shot a scout rifle with the pistol scope mounted on the barrel but when thinking of the pistol scopes that I have shot I am truly baffled as to why someone would want to put a pistol scope on a rifle rather than a proper rifle scope. I have a 4 power burris on my contender and the field of view on that at 100 yards is like 10 feet. Reading the specs on other pistol scopes it doesn't look like any of the others are much better. Why on earth would I want that on a rifle when a normal 4x rifle scope has like a 30 foot field of view???? How is having a scope 2 feet from my eye a benefit?

It's substantially faster to the eye, since the eyebox is enormous. They did quite a bit of testing in shoot-n-scoot events, and it was by far the fastest magnified option.

 

[Swampman]

My first thought was, maybe a lower cost trainer for folks that own a "real" Steyr Scout?

Then I read the description and saw that: "An optional knife tucks away completely in the stock" and decided that maybe it really is designed for (and marketed to) "squirrels"...

 

[Panzerschwein]

That top rail is so stupid. Needs more RAILS RAILS RAILS!!!

 

[Orcon]

That is about the most pointless thing I have ever seen. Mabey someone can clue me in on the appeal of a scout rifle? I have never shot a scout rifle with the pistol scope mounted on the barrel but when thinking of the pistol scopes that I have shot I am truly baffled as to why someone would want to put a pistol scope on a rifle rather than a proper rifle scope. I have a 4 power burris on my contender and the field of view on that at 100 yards is like 10 feet. Reading the specs on other pistol scopes it doesn't look like any of the others are much better. Why on earth would I want that on a rifle when a normal 4x rifle scope has like a 30 foot field of view???? How is having a scope 2 feet from my eye a benefit?

Yeah I'm with you on this. The rational on why a "scout rifle" is good is so schizophrenic it will make you craaaaazy. On the one hand, it's got a short barrel and long eye relief scope for fast handling, target acquisition and follow up shots; one the other hand, we give it a bolt action. Some people will even tell you how all those things make it more accurate and in the same breath tell you scouts aren't actually supposed to be engaging targets anyway. It's a very confused subject...but it looks cool to some people soooo...$$$$?

Then you got this guy railing against rails:

That top rail is so stupid. Needs more RAILS RAILS RAILS!!!

 

[Armored farmer]

Not a scout platform, but I intend to put this to use in the squirrel woods in late summer this year.i have a .22 conversion kit for it.

 

[ewlyon]

I have always been interested in the scout rifle concept and the actual steyr scout rifle but this misses the mark by a lot. The top bases are a ridiculous inclusion when the handguard already has a rail, the rifle weighs over seven pounds without a scope, and it doesn't even have the bipod that the regular scout has. Honestly I can't even tell if this is a straight pull or a semi-auto based on the website.

In my opinion someone who wants a "scout" type rifle for the purposes that 22 is good for is going to be perfectly served with a takedown 10/22

 

[RPRNY]

And the baby scout is kinda cute... Ridiculous, but cute.

If the NYT were something other than a Communist Rag, and they did gun reviews, adcoch's would be it. Pithy. Thorough. Descriptive. And summarizes the rifle with a compelling honesty. Very well done.

(Ed. and $299 too expensive, so check for retail)

 

[Coal Dragger]

So Steyr has plunked what appears to be an ISSC SPA Biathlon rifle action into a Scout style stock.

Yeah call me intrigued. A toggle action .17HMR would be a lot of fun if it shoots.

 

[chicharrones]

So Steyr has plunked what appears to be an ISSC SPA Biathlon rifle action into a Scout style stock.

Yeah call me intrigued. A toggle action .17HMR would be a lot of fun if it shoots.

I'm with you. A toggle action manually operated rimfire looks like a viable shooter. Especially for people that don't want a semi-auto or for places with semi-auto restrictions.

What we need to do to appreciate this rimfire rifle is to forget what Steyr named it and look at what it can be used for.

I'm wondering if a pair of flip up sights could work with an optic of choice, similar to an AR type set up?

EDIT: Maybe a sight set from a CZ Scorpion would work if the rear base is the same height as the front rail? Credit to CraigC's thread on his RAR for me thinking about it.

 

[stringnut]

Ugly as a mud hut. Rather heavy. I'm sure it is functional and accurate. Cannot really see the point. Unlikely to be attacked by a herd of squirrels in a jungle or urban setting. If a scout rifle is needed something larger than a rimfire is called for. However, I own stuff that others will find ridiculous such as my over 8 lb 1885 in 22lr. Kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. Pretty but slow to deploy. If attacked by a herd of squirrels, carrying the 1885, you would quickly be overwhelmed. You would die with a pretty rifle though!

 

[Llama Bob]

I have always been interested in the scout rifle concept and the actual steyr scout rifle but this misses the mark by a lot. The top bases are a ridiculous inclusion when the handguard already has a rail, the rifle weighs over seven pounds without a scope, and it doesn't even have the bipod that the regular scout has. Honestly I can't even tell if this is a straight pull or a semi-auto based on the website.

In my opinion someone who wants a "scout" type rifle for the purposes that 22 is good for is going to be perfectly served with a takedown 10/22

I agree. The original Cooper concept is interesting and contained several innovations (light weight plus a full power cartridge, speed+accuracy sling, forward telescope, very short barrel, DBM feeding for bolt rifles). But it's really an ideal of what a rifle should be - light, fast to the eye, sling-stabilized, powerful and general purpose. Steyer never quite got that, even though they were Cooper's approved Scout vendor. This thing isn't close to a scout, and isn't even a .22 trainer for a scout. A 10/22 carbine with a scout rail bolted on is closer to the mark (notably almost 2 lbs lighter).