OK, here is some "More Substantial" criticism.
From myself in the previous thread:
"Rich Lucibella just sent me the bolt of his Scout for modifications that will hopefully allow it to fire ALL ammo, and be at least a little smoother on cocking once the spring is set up to the required tension.
Lots of polishing of internals, and a redo of the bolt handle itself to give greater length and leverage with a truncated cone type knob instead of the poorly finished, grotesque butter knife handle it sports now.
The problems stem from Steyr's pathetic fit and finish of the primarily cast parts of the bolt components, as well as the too short bolt handle. It is now clear that Steyr spent NO extra money on fit and finish of these critical components. Quite cheesy, really.
Shame on them.
The cast parts are mostly left in the "as cast" condition, and a lot of these areas are bearing surfaces. The porous, rough finish is a terrible bearing surface, and will require a lot of careful polishing to render them smooth enough to be considered adequate. The porous finish of the stainless steel parts is also a great way to encourage galling and corrosion. Not what you want in your ultimate "utility rifle" for reliability's sake anyway...
All of the little pits on the parts are already full of red oxides, and this ain't good.
I have recommended hard chroming the parts after they are polished to render the surfaces hard and abrasion resistant, while increasing their corrosion resistance.
If you doubt me, take apart your Scout bolt, and look at the components with a loupe. You will see what I mean.
It would appear that the en masse solution is for the bolt components to be electro polished and hardchromed, and the bolt handles to be modified or replaced with a longer knob as I am doing for Rich.
Don't bet on Steyr picking up the ball on this, they won't even admit that there is a problem with their little Vundergunn.
Perhaps I will start a Scout refurbishing side business...
My next post.....
"Little" technical difficulties like failure to fire and galling of critical parts are not little problems. They are BIG problems that should have been addressed BEFORE the product went to market, and failing that, they should be addressed by the manufacturuer once they are found."
And this from Rich Lucibella:
"The bottom line is this: The Steyr Scout employs a 60 degree bolt throw, as opposed to the 90 degree throw of most other bolt rifles. This requires that proportionately more force be applied to the bolt in order to compress a given spring. Thus Steyr uses a 15 lb vs 30 lb firing pin spring (rough numbers). However, in order to reliably fire MilSurp ammo, additional kinetic energy must be transferred to the primer.
There are only two ways to reasonably retrofit the action to allow proper bolt functioning with a stronger spring:
- Increase leverage
- Decrease friction
The leverage increase was suggested by the Steyr Tactical Bolt which John Schaefer has generously supplied. Increased leverage allows us to use a stronger spring without increasing the force necessary to compress it (instead it increases the distance over which the spring is compressed). The Tac bolt is about 1/2" longer...a fact which is not immediately apparent because it sweeps back more. Steyr, incidentally, refuses to sell the Tac bolt handle separately, which, I believe is the epitome of arrogance in Customer Service.
Looking at the LURCR rifle, which Kevin built for me earlier this year, it's obvious that we can get even more "useful length" out of a given bolt handle by using a truncated cone, rather than a ball at the end. And so it was decided to extend the bolt handle by about 1/2"-3/4", sweep it back about 10 degrees and install a truncated cone terminator.
As for the friction: Kevin has about said it all. The fit and finish leave a great deal to be desired. Not only are the surfaces of the cam sleeve, cam lugs and gas shroud woefully unpolished, but the threaded firing pin, itself, actually rubs aggainst the internals of the spring when firing...this robs it of much needed kinetic energy."
And this from John Schaeffer:
"Rich Lucibella and I have been actively investigating the "light hit" problem, and Kevin is right in his observations.
I maintain the Steyr Scout web site at:
http://207.181.246.106/johns/project.htm
and have been actively involved with Steyr and GSI with this rifle since day 1. A lot of attention to internal details would have helped prevent the nagging glitches that are sometimes seen. However, there is more to check than just rough finishing. Check out the "Tips & Tricks" link on the Steyr Scout site and go to the "Light Hits" link on that page for more info.
In talking with the factory the designer is aware of some of the finishing issues but states that additional hand finishing would drive the cost up which is unacceptable. The factory does have an "improved bolt" with an extended handle fitted with a US type round knob. Unfortunately, it is only available on the "Tactical" Scout and GSI has refused to consider offering it as an aftermarket upgrade for owners of the conventional Scouts.
Cheers,
John S."
More from Rich:
"Well-
We tried the Scout with two bolts and two different milsurp ammos (Venezuela and England). Kevin's work on the bolt absolutely reduced the incidence of light hits. The bolt handle also made for a much smoother throw.
Unfortunately, the Scout's ability to allow ease of bolt use with this ammo remains nonexistent. The bolt hangs up at the top of the arc and requires a palm slap to break and open....not good. What we thought might be a tight chamber turns out to be a chamber at the outside edge of SAMMI specs. Fr. Frog indicates that this is by design.
The result, I suspect, is that the milspec cases are somehow flowing into the excesses, resulting in additional force required for extraction. More when I return from across the lake.
Rich"
Further, we have now found that Rich's Scout bolt will close on a no go gauge, which is a bad thing. This indicates that the chamber was cut too deep. Steyr indicates that they did this intentionally. I wonder why they would intentionally make an oversized chamber?
Need more "substantial criticism"?
Stay tuned. The fat lady ain't sung yet on this one.
[This message has been edited by MAD DOG (edited May 03, 2000).]