Scout Tactical
Summary
| Country | 🇦🇹 Austria |
| Category | Sniper rifle |
| Manufacturer | Steyr |
Technical specifications
| Scout Tactical | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | Single shot rounds/min. |
| Caliber | .308 Winchester |
| Magazine | 5 - 10 rounds |
| Length | 1039 mm (40.9 in) |
| Weight | 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) |
| Range | 800 m (2625 ft) |
Description
The Steyr Scout is an Austrian bolt-action rifle manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher, designed to embody the characteristics of Jeff Cooper's scout rifle concept, serving as a versatile, lightweight, all-around firearm. It is primarily chambered for 7.62 NATO, with commercial availability in calibers including:
- 5.56×45mm NATO
- .243 Winchester
- 6.5 Creedmoor
- .376 Steyr
- 7mm-08 Remington
The design incorporates lightweight materials such as an aluminum receiver housing and extensive use of polymers, alongside a hammer-forged fluted barrel. Key features include removable box magazines with a cut-off function, allowing single-round feeding through the ejection port while keeping the magazine reserved. A spare magazine can be stored in the rifle's butt. It is fitted with an integral Weaver rail on top and a UIT rail on the bottom forend. The safety is a roller tang type with distinct positions for locked, loading, and fire, where the bolt handle locks down in the safe position. The user-adjustable trigger is factory set at 1.6 kg. Reserve flip-up "ghost ring" iron sights are built in, as is an integral folding bipod, which was subject to a redesigned pivot pin due to early issues. A third attachment point is provided for a "Ching sling".
The top rail facilitates conventional scope mounting or the forward placement of a scout scope, and the rifle can be factory-ordered with a suitable long eye relief Leupold scope. The rifle is stated to be accurate to at least 800 m. A limited edition Steyr Camo Scout with hydro-dipped camouflage options became available in 2015.
Several variants exist, including the Steyr Elite and the Steyr Scout RFR.
The Steyr Elite is a more robust sniper rifle derived from the Scout, aimed at the law enforcement market for urban tactical applications. Differences include an extended STANAG type mounting rail, enlarged bolt knob, adjustable cheek piece, and adjustable buttpad. It features a heavy 570 mm barrel and weighs over 4.2 kg, exceeding the scout rifle definition. The Elite utilizes a standard 5-round magazine, with an external adaptor for a 10-round magazine available in some calibers. It is offered in 5.56 NATO and 7.62 NATO, with 7mm-08 Remington available as a special order. Performance at up to 800 m is achievable with match-grade ammunition.
The Steyr Scout RFR is a rimfire version, introduced in 2017, chambered in .17 HMR, .22 LR, and .22 WMR. It features an ISSC SPA-style toggle straight-pull action, a 510 mm heavy blued barrel (threaded except for the .22 WMR), and weighs 3.3 kg with an overall length of 900 mm. It feeds from a 10-round metal box magazine and offers optional buttstock storage for a survival knife. Optics mounting is via a full-length Picatinny rail on the handguard and dovetail grooves with Weaver adaptor bases on the receiver. The RFR has two conventional sling attachment points. The Steyr Elite variant is specifically intended for use within the law enforcement market.