"General purpose rifle" is how Cooper describes it in his book "To Ride, Shoot Straight...". His group of friends that made up the First Scout Rifle Conference dubbed the GP rifle a "scout" rifle. Probably sounds more romantic and adventuresome to a bunch of guys than "general purpose."
From what I can gather from his discussion of it, it is certainly not made for military combat. He says it is for the lone man, or small party that needs to take targets of opportunity be they man or beast. The primary characteristics should be easily mobile, powerful enough for 700 lbs animals (or vehicles), and able to hit on the first shot to any range the man is capable of shooting.
He mentions the idea is to NOT get into prolonged engagements with superior forces. After one or two shots you have to move quickly or you will be pinpointed. It is not suited for urban combat or defending a position. Shoot from distance and scoot.
He also mentions how several firearms embody many of these attributes but not all: lever action, Remington 600 (or probably modern Model 7). Mannlicher, etc. He specifically mentions that a detachable box magazine is not required or even necessarily desirable, but could be possibly configured to act in place of a magazine cutoff. He does mention though that his studies indicate the .308 Winchester does best in a barrel of at least 19 inches. One thing that is of paramount importance is a good trigger for accurate shooting at longer ranges.
It does seem that some of the guidelines are somewhat arbitrary or got set in concrete needlessly or through too much group think. What is magical about 3kg or one meter? Does a quarter pound more make that much difference that you should spend another $300 to trim it?
Or sacrifice optimal 19" barrel length just to fit 39" length instead of 40" or 41"? And if the intent is to be engaging targets at distance, how much more valuable/effective is a LER 2x scope in that situation as compared to a 2-7x compact scope?
I think the endeavor to define a general purpose rifle is admirable and adds to the body of knowledge of the art of the rifle. But for each one of us we have to evaluate that concept in terms of our own situation.
It seems to me that for urban or dense woods environments a lever action with red dot scope or LER scope would be a great "scout rifle" and one should not feel inadequate just because it does not score top points with the group of buddies calling themselves the Scout Rifle Conference. Likewise, a Rem Model 7 (or other lightweight short action) in .243 or .260 with a 1-4x or 2-7x compact scope is 90% there for more open terrain.
I would like to try a Ruger Scout, but I would be more than happy and confident with a Savage Lightweight in 7mm-08. The Ruger Scout does come closest though at about the same price as other Rugers with stainless steel in a (too) compact barrel, Mauser style bolt, iron sights for backup. It is kind of ironic though that Cooper stated on of the reasons for the LER scope was to make it easy to grasp the rifle at the balance point. That long magazine messes that up. They should have stayed with the standard M77 internal mag.
I wouldn't like giving up the barrel length, and I don't see the need for a long single stack magazine, but considering all the other features in one package I could live with those. I might have just talked myself into a Ruger Scout.
From what I can gather from his discussion of it, it is certainly not made for military combat. He says it is for the lone man, or small party that needs to take targets of opportunity be they man or beast. The primary characteristics should be easily mobile, powerful enough for 700 lbs animals (or vehicles), and able to hit on the first shot to any range the man is capable of shooting.
He mentions the idea is to NOT get into prolonged engagements with superior forces. After one or two shots you have to move quickly or you will be pinpointed. It is not suited for urban combat or defending a position. Shoot from distance and scoot.
He also mentions how several firearms embody many of these attributes but not all: lever action, Remington 600 (or probably modern Model 7). Mannlicher, etc. He specifically mentions that a detachable box magazine is not required or even necessarily desirable, but could be possibly configured to act in place of a magazine cutoff. He does mention though that his studies indicate the .308 Winchester does best in a barrel of at least 19 inches. One thing that is of paramount importance is a good trigger for accurate shooting at longer ranges.
It does seem that some of the guidelines are somewhat arbitrary or got set in concrete needlessly or through too much group think. What is magical about 3kg or one meter? Does a quarter pound more make that much difference that you should spend another $300 to trim it?
Or sacrifice optimal 19" barrel length just to fit 39" length instead of 40" or 41"? And if the intent is to be engaging targets at distance, how much more valuable/effective is a LER 2x scope in that situation as compared to a 2-7x compact scope?
I think the endeavor to define a general purpose rifle is admirable and adds to the body of knowledge of the art of the rifle. But for each one of us we have to evaluate that concept in terms of our own situation.
It seems to me that for urban or dense woods environments a lever action with red dot scope or LER scope would be a great "scout rifle" and one should not feel inadequate just because it does not score top points with the group of buddies calling themselves the Scout Rifle Conference. Likewise, a Rem Model 7 (or other lightweight short action) in .243 or .260 with a 1-4x or 2-7x compact scope is 90% there for more open terrain.
I would like to try a Ruger Scout, but I would be more than happy and confident with a Savage Lightweight in 7mm-08. The Ruger Scout does come closest though at about the same price as other Rugers with stainless steel in a (too) compact barrel, Mauser style bolt, iron sights for backup. It is kind of ironic though that Cooper stated on of the reasons for the LER scope was to make it easy to grasp the rifle at the balance point. That long magazine messes that up. They should have stayed with the standard M77 internal mag.
I wouldn't like giving up the barrel length, and I don't see the need for a long single stack magazine, but considering all the other features in one package I could live with those. I might have just talked myself into a Ruger Scout.