Proceedings of the First Scout Rifle Conference
Held at Gunsite Ranch, Arizona, on 6, 7,
8 December 1983,
under the auspices of the Ekeiboloi
Society
ACTIONS
It was agreed that there is no action available today which is perfect in all respects, though some are better than others. (The conference did not consider hand-made, fabricated actions because of expense and time involved in their production.)
The Czech ZKK-601 action is particularly desirable and features an excellent built-in reserve aperture sight, but it is difficult to obtain and subject to wide fluctuations in quality control.
The Sako action has many good points and is uniformly well-made, but it is expensive and handicapped by a slotted port-side lug and a somewhat fragile bolt-guide retaining pin. A good feature is that it is one of the few actions which may be purchased by itself, in the white.
The Remington action is smooth and strong but incorporates some undesirable features. Its ring extractor and continuous-tension, spring-loaded ejector, were not favored by the group. Its magazine is tricky to load without sticking. Its bolt-handle attachment has been known to cause problems, and it does not lend itself to the fabrication of a magazine cutoff. At present it can only be purchased as part of a complete gun.
The Ruger action has many important advantages, plus a couple of drawbacks. It is smooth and strong and somewhat easier to load than the Remington. Its spring-loaded ejector is not favored. Its trigger is a bit harder to work on than that of the Remington, but it should be noted that there is a Timney replacement trigger assembly available for those who wish it. The Ruger safety is well-positioned but sharp-cornered, and should be dehorned before being taken afield. The Ruger features a smooth, round bolt knob, as opposed to the checkered one on the Remington which causes minor bloodshed in very light guns.
The Mexican Mauser model of 1936 was considered for discussion, and, if attainable, may serve as a good basis for a scout rifle.
The obsolete Remington 600 and 660 actions will also serve, and have the advantage of compression in length. (It should be noted that all the Remington actions are of reduced four-shot capacity, as against five in others under consideration.)
No action currently available offers a magazine cutoff, which was deemed by the conference to be a desirable feature. The easiest actions upon which to install a cutoff are the Ruger and the Sako. A magazine cutoff allows the weapon to be used in a single-load mode with the magazine always available in ready reserve should the occasion arise. (This feature was not put on the 1903 Springfield by accident.)
No example of a double-detent detachable box magazine was produced in time for the conference. A detachable box magazine which is held by a two-stage detent can allow the single loading mode to be used with the magazine in ready reserve, actuated by simply pressing it into its second detent. This feature is under development.
The prevalence of pointed soft-point bullets makes a shoulder-holder desirable. At this time only the Mannlicher magazine features this, though accessory shoulder-holders are available for other weapons. There was no consensus of the membership as to the reliability of the shoulder-holder.