A new Frontier

[Neocon]

I have read a ton about the scout idea. All the gun writters seem to believe it's generelly a good idea. I have talked to a couple people that actually own Scout rifles and they have moved their scopes back because they said they didn't get enough light??? I just don't know. I would love to get some feedback from some people who have actually shot these things.
If you've shot a scout tell me this:
Would you use your scout for shots between 200-250 yards?
If you have have a scout and "standard rifles" which ones do you choose when you go hunting?
Do you like the set up or is it a gimmick?

[Wet Dog]

I have a Marlin Leverscout.

Marlin 336 Leverscout (http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1057734)

I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a try because the rifle came with the mount. We'll, I've been very impressed and found I can outshoot some of my bolt rifles with this gun with the scout scope.

100 yard target (http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1057735)

In the field it carries well. The balance point is just forward of the receiver so your hand on the forarm, not the cold metal. It points and feels more natural to me than a traditonaly mounted scope on a levergun. I haven't tried it on a bolt gun but a Ruger Frontier is on my short list of guns to get.

The longest range targets I've tried was a 300 yard 12" gong. Took me two shots to figure the hold-over before I was ringing it every time.

I've also discovered that I like a lower powered scope. It's steadier when my heart is pounding with excitement or effort during field shooting. I've found it to be sufficiant for reasonable ranges for anything I can expect to shoot. This is my coyote rifle and having a wide field of view is a BIG advantage when mr. yotey ducking behind some cover and then popping out where you might not expect him too.

Here in the PNW we get a LOT of cloudy dark days. I've NEVER felt disadvantaged by a scout setup and it's light gathering abilities.

I have a Leupold 3-9 on my Bolt CZ. I rarely use anything but 3x now because of my experience with the Leupold Scout scope.

The other advantages:
-Scope mounts very low comparitively
-On a bolt gun it would make single loading easier
-It allows the use of peep sights as a backup
-It looks better (IMHO) on a lever gun vs. traditional scope mounts on levers.
-Boltscouts look kind of cool too.