I don't disagree with anything you wrote. Here's my take on Scout Rifles:<br><br>I've built 3 Scout rifles for my sons. (I built them, not a gunsmith.) Not Cooper's ideal, but even he would call them "Scout Rifles". I used M96 Mausers as the basis, and left them in the original caliber, 6.5x55mm Mauser. If it were me, I would bend the bolt handles, but the boys REALLY prefer them as-is - and I agree that they are faster to cycle that way. One is on a synthetic stock. I have many (new) Swedish stripper clips, and they work perfectly with the rifles. Both Leopold and Burris Scout Scopes (Intermediate Eye Relief) are in use. I prefer the Burris (Colonel Cooper spins madly, I'm sure). They are a tad longer than he stipulates, because I quit amputating the barrels at about 21.5" because they are extremely accurate at that length - why tempt fate? I have some cool pics we took during the building of the first two, but alas! My ISP is changing and I cannot post to my website again yet. On a page of Ashley Outdoors is a pic of a M98 that looks very similar to the M96 we built with a synthetic stock - click on the Marlin Guide gun and scroll down.<br><br>And they are extremely accurate. My boys are deadly on prairie dogs with this - out to 250 yards on the first day, and by the time our trips are over, out to 400 yards (100 gr Hornady HP @ a tic over 3,000 fps over the chronograph). I confess that I am not that good with them because the magnification is so little. But it's what they are accustomed to. (BTW, they are even more accurate with heavier bullets - go figure.)<br><br>There is absolutley no question in my mind that these are far faster to aquire a target than conventionally mounted scopes. If I was not so stuck in my paradigm, I would build one for myself. These are really, really cool and VERY practical. I could tell you about an elk and... but that's another story. It is a real shock to put one to the shoulder at first... until the first time you shoot a group, and then this big grin will begin to appear... it actually works! Most definately a natural "both eyes open" rifle, even for those accustomed to squinching one eye closed. (I shoot both eyes open all the time with everything, but I had to learn to do that.)<br><br>The Steyr is the cream of the crop, with pretty much all the features. Quite a package, and IMHO well worth the money IF it's to be your "one rifle". Savage also sells a "Scout Rifle" for about 1/4 the cost of a Steyr, and it's supposedly quite a bargain, if somewhat ugly looking (to me). There is a variant of the Steyr in an extremely powerful propriatory caliber, but Cooper's definition excludes anything more potent than the 308 Winchester, I think. <br><br>Regardless, if I was to build an all-out Scout Rifle for myself, I would take a long, hard look at the new 308 caliber short beltless magnums. The Winchesters are a tad long for a true short action, but the Remingtons are designed to fit short actions... I would load them to something accurate between 30-06 velocities and a couple hundred fps faster and be set...<br><br>Cooper's ideas seem to be shaped by dangerous game to some extent (2 legged being the most dangerous). With that in mind, I cheerfully conceed that he has hit on something very practical for someone who uses only one rifle for everything. Come to think of it, when I reach for a rifle, there is one that I always grab from habit... hmmm. <grin> Nah, I'm not ready for a Scout Rifle myself.<br><br>But my boys are thrilled with them and measure everything else against them. The eldest has a monster-thumper - Marlin 1895 Guide Gun 45-70 (never polluted with a factory load) - and it will be wearing a forward-mounted scope when he can afford it - it already has Ashley ghost ring sights.<br><br>BTW, it's Wild West Guns in Alaska that builds the "Co-Pilot". <br><br>My 2 cents worth...<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom