The Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle (GSR) Review.

The Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle or GSR as it is more commonly referred to would have had to have been one of the most anticipated new rifles I’ve ever seen. The interest in this rifle is huge and finally I have a full review of it.

The Ruger GSR is a bolt action scout rifle chambered in 308Win, featuring a laminated stock with a 10 shot detachable magazine.  Developed by Ruger and The Gunsite Academy their goal was to make a version of the rifle described by Col. Jeff Coopers Scout rifle concept.

Here’s some information about that From Wikipedia:

“In the early 1980s, Cooper published an article describing his ideal of a general-purpose rifle, which he dubbed a Scout Rifle. This was a bolt-action carbine chambered in .30 caliber (7.62 mm), less than 1 meter in length, less than 3 kilograms in weight, with iron sights, a forward mounted optical sight (long eye relief scope), and fitted with a practical sling (such as Ching sling). Cooper defined his goal: “…a general-purpose rifle is a conveniently portable, individually operated firearm, capable of striking a single decisive blow, on a live target of up to 200 kilos in weight, at any distance at which the operator can shoot with the precision necessary to place a shot in a vital area of the target.”

There are a few differences between the US model of the GSR and the international model we have available in Australia.

The US model came with a flash suppressor, 16.5 inch barrel and the metal work was all blued. The International model, which I reviewed, came without the flash suppressor (due to US State Dept regulations), an 18 inch barrel and both the action and barrel made of stainless steel.

Aside from those three things we are talking about the same rifle.

The GSR is based on Ruger’s famous M77 controlled round feed (CRF) action with three position safety. This is an action that I have always thought offered a great compromise of accuracy and reliability. The single stage trigger is crisp and comes from the factory at a respectable pull weight for hunting purposes.

Along with open sights, the GSR also has two options for mounting a scope; the first of which is to mount the scope on the receiver using Ruger bases (which come included with the gun), it also offers a Picatinny rail to allow the forward mounting of a long eye relief scope which is a common feature of scout rifles and apart of Col. Cooper’s design.  I did not test the open sights or use a forward mounted scope however.

The rifle handled well and felt great to use, recoil was heavy for a 308 on the bench but in any field position recoil was not an issue due in part to the top notch recoil pad that comes with the GSR. The laminate stock is very attractive and the rifle comes with spacers to fit between the stock and recoil pad to adjust the length of pull which is good for bigger shooters.

The ten shot detachable magazine functions flawlessly and it is great to know that you have so many shots when you stumble upon a big mob of pigs.  This feature is sure to make it popular amongst pig hunters. Also available are a 3 and a 5 shot magazine and I believe that now there are polymer magazines available which should reduce the weight of the rifle slightly.

The rifle’s accuracy with factory ammunition was more than accurate enough for hunting medium and large game. Most of the groups I shot with Federal factory ammunition fell between the 1 and 1.5 MOA mark. I must say that I am confident that I would get greater accuracy by developing a handload for this rifle.

Overall, this rifle lives up to its pre-release hype providing the shooter with a lightweight, short and accurate rifle that can be carried all day and has the ability to knock down nearly every game and feral species in Australia. If I could have just one centrefire rifle to do my hunting with I would seriously consider the Ruger GSR as that one rifle.

 

Rifle	Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle
Cartridge	308 Winchester
Barrel Length	18 Inches (450mm)
Twist Rate	1:10”
Construction	Laminate Stock/ Stainless Steel
Magazine	Detachable – Steel 10 shot 10, 5 and 3 shot Polymer also available
Sights	Open, Integral Scope Mounts (rings included) & Picatinny rail.
Action Type	Ruger M77 Bolt Action
Est Price	~$1100 Check Your Local Dealer

Tags: 308Win, featured, GSR, Gunsite, hunting 308 winchester, review, rifle, ruger, scout rifle

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