SHOT Show 2011: Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle

January 20, 2011

Scenario one: The balloon goes up. Society crumbles. Chaos ensues. Zombies everywhere.

Scenario two: You're a scout in a sniper team and need a medium-range weapon that won't fail.

Scenario three. You need a gun that will do everything else not mentioned in scenarios one and two.

That's the thinking behind the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, a new offering by Ruger featured at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, Nevada this week.

The bolt-action rifle is a collaboration between Sturm Ruger and Gunsite. Chambered in .308, the rifle sports a 16.50″ barrel, has an overall length of 38.00-39.50 inches and comes with a 10-round magazine. The stock is black laminate and the overall weight without mag is about 7.00 pounds.

And it's a Sherman tank. The rifle is designed for a high eye-relief forward mounted optic, and utilizes a forward-mounted picatinny rail. There is a flash suppressor and blade protected front sight – and a nifty Gunsite logo engraved grip cap.

I spoke with Mark Gurney, Ruger's Product Manager, who told me the rifle is designed with simplicity and affordability in mind. The bolt action design provides both, and while the gun is designed as a medium range scout-sniper weapon, it's accurate enough to keep bullets on steel at 1000 yards if the need should arise.

Here are a few more bullet points about this rifle:

Flash suppressor reduces muzzle flash and can be removed for the fitting of most standard .30 caliber muzzle accessories.
The forward mounted picatinny rail allows for the mounting of modern optics, like an intermediate eye relief scope for “both eyes open” sighting and fast target acquisition.
Built-in sighting system with ghost ring adjustable rear aperture sight and protected non-glare post front sight.
10-round box magazine with push-forward, Mini-14 style magazine release just forward of the trigger guard (10- and 5-round mags are available directly from Ruger).
Patented integral scope mounts machined directly onto the solid steel receiver.
Soft rubber recoil pad with buttpad spacers allow the rifle to be properly sized for different shooters or varying levels of outerwear or defensive gear.
Non-rotating Mauser-type controlled round feed extractor.

For more information on the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, click here.

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