The Clifford GP Rifle

Jeff Cooper is the father of the Scout Rifle.  He defined both the concept and the attributes that complete his concept.  He admitted that while he didn't own the term "Scout rifle" he wished that he did.  The Cooper Scout Rifle is canon and the canon is closed.

That doesn't mean we can't find ways to make it better.  We can look at Cooper's experiences and compare them to our own and figure out what works best for us.  Just be aware that what comes out of that may or may not be a "scout rifle" under the terms of the scout rifle canon.

I've been a devotee of Cooper's since 1990.  Everything I've done with rifles has had some Cooper influence.  I've finally come up with what I consider to be the ultimate general purpose rifle.  The thing is, I'm not sure I can consider it a "scout rifle" but I really don't care.  The fact is, the rifle is considerably more versatile than a textbook defined Scout.

The rifle started off life at a Steyr Scout rifle.  I used it for years and it served me well, but had a couple of shortcomings.

First, let's address the scope.  I've tried just about every scope under the sun for a scout rifle.  I've had the Burris and Leupold fixed power scout scopes.  I've tried the variable power scout scopes from both companies as well (2-7X for Burris and 1.5-4X for Leupold).  Until now, the best I had used was the Leupold Mark 4 1.5-5X MR-T which is a conventional scope and is no longer made.  All had strengths and weaknesses.

The scope I now have is far and away the best I've used and that is the Leupold VX-R 1.5-5X Scout. I'm not sure Leupold even realizes just how good this thing is on a Scout rifle.  It has 6 inches of eye relief and the purists will tell you that this is too short.  They are wrong.  It is perfect.  It really gives you the best of both worlds.  The eye piece is large at 1.7" in diameter and with it only being 6" from your eye, it fills a fair amount of your vision.  That is a good thing.

A genuine scout scope has between 9 to 12 inches of eye relief and has a fairly small eyepiece (1.4" on the Leupold).  Cooper considered this an advantage and it is for the snap shot.  Your brain and eye work together to create a seamless view with 180 degrees of vision but only a small portion is magnified and that has the reticle which will settle rapidly on your target.  It is very fast and handy.

When Cooper originally described the Scout Rifle in 1984, he said that the "purpose of a rifle is to allow the rifleman to strike a decisive blow to the limit of his vision."  He then proceeded to define the "limit of vision" as "the greatest distance  at which 20-20 eyes, unaided, can clearly discern the vital zone of the animal engaged."

Exactly how far is that?  It depends doesn't it?  A white target board can be seen with the unaided eye at something approaching 400 yards.  A deer standing in a pasture, perhaps 300.  A deer standing 10 yards inside a hardwood forest in autumn?  Maybe 75 yards?  How about 15 minutes past sunset in a state where it is legal to shoot 30 minutes after?  If the deer is in a field, that distance it is perhaps 40 yards and in the woods, maybe 10.  Unaided 20-20 vision isn't great against camouflaged targets or any low-contrast targets.

Yes, the scout scope is fantastic in the snap shot against targets you can see with your unaided eye.  That however, has cost me the opportunity at a number of deer over the years.  I could see deer in my binoculars but not in the scout scope.

Variable power scout scopes help somewhat here but they don't fix the problem.  The problem is that the eyepiece is occluding such a small part of your vision.  That is an advantage for the snap shot but for low-contrast targets, it is a problem.  You just can't see subtle differences in contrast and light in so small a space.

The Leupold VX-R fixes that without going to a conventional scope configuration.  That large ocular lens, only 6" from your eye is plenty big enough to discern subtle target indicators.  I've been using it in some very challenging situations and have found it to be as good as any conventional scope.

Because it is 6" away from my eye, it also has some of the advantages of a scout scope.  In field conditions (as opposed to a square range or shooting bench), it is common to end up in very contorted shooting positions that forces one to creep up on the scope.  With a conventional scope, this would mean a nasty gash on your eyebrow.  Not so with 6" of eye relief.  It also allows for wearing of a brimmed hat.  I know that sounds trivial, but it isn't.  A hat breaks up your outline and shades your eye but with a conventional scope, it can easily interfere with the eyepiece of the scope.  The VX-R has the handiness of a scout scope but the visual acuity of a conventional.

The VX-R also has the Fire-Dot reticle which is stunningly fast on the snap shot.  Even in bright sunlight, you can see a glowing red dot at the center of the crosshairs.  That means you just focus on the target and allow the dot to settle in the middle.  No need to shift your focus to the reticle to verify alignment.  It is amazing and you guys who shoot Aimpoints know what I'm talking about.

(Edit to add 1/9/2020)  I now have more experience with the VXR Scout scope and can report that it far exceeds my hopes for low light use.  I used it several times this season at dusk and even at the very edge of legal shooting times, it is like a light was turned on.  Images in the scope are clear and easily visible, even slightly after legal shooting light.  I scoped several deer at 200+ yards and had no problems discerning antlers (or the lack thereof).  Low light performance with this optic is stunning.

So the scope isn't a true scout scope.  Does it matter?  Is it better for general purpose use?  See where I'm going with this?

Next up is the barrel.  For reasons I'll explain shortly, I wanted a 16", threaded barrel.  I sent the gun off the ZR Tactical for the work.  It turns out that the older, lighter barrel is so thin that there isn't enough metal to safety thread the barrel.  Fortunately, they had a brand new barrel they had taken off another rifle which they used to install on my action.  There is just enough steel to put on 1/2-28 barrel threads.

Having a 16" barrel is VERY handy so that should be good for a Scout Rifle, right?  Actually, no.  Cooper specified that the Scout should be able to push a 150 grain bullet to 2700 FPS.  You really need 19" of barrel to do that reliably.  The chronograph shows Hornady SST 150 grain ammo is 100 fps short of that and milsurp is about 20 bellow.   So while it is considerably more handy, it isn't a Scout.  Do I care?  No because my goal wasn't a Scout so much as the most versatile rifle I could have.  Nothing on this continent (or any other) would notice the velocity difference.

Next up is the reason I cut the barrel and that is the suppressor.  Cooper wasn't a fan of them and that may have had something to do with the technology at the time.  They were long and heavy.  They were really a novelty.  Things have changed.  I have the Rugged Micro 30 which is modular and in the short configuration is only 5" long.  Because part of that is over the barrel threads, it only adds 4.5" to the overall length of the gun.  Weight is 14.5 ounces including the required flash hider.

So why a suppressor?  Because I live on a farm so I have a great practical shooting range but the farm is near a school.  If I did any shooting during or after school, it would be completely legal but would scare a lot of people.  With the suppressor, it may not be heard at the school and if it could be heard, it would be mistaken for shots a lot farther away.  Having the suppressor means I can shoot a lot more often which makes it a more versatile gun.

The last thing I did was to remove the integrated bipod from the Steyr.  The bipod weighs 8 ounces and it isn't the most rugged thing in the world.  I can certainly live without it.  Removing it makes the forend more trim and handy feeling anyway.  With that removed, overall weight of the rifle including the suppressor is 8.1 pounds including the scope, sling and an empty magazine.  That is .6 pounds more than Cooper's maximum.  Without the suppressor, it is just over 7 pounds.

So is it a Scout Rifle?  Probably not.  It uses the Scout as a base but it is FAR more useful as a general purpose rifle than the base Scout ever was.  With the heavier scope, it is able to engage targets that the Scout never could.  It is able to be used at times when the Scout couldn't.  It can be used for training and practice when the base rifle couldn't.  It is slightly overweight and about 1 inch past the 1 meter mark with the short configuration suppressor installed.

Does it matter that it isn't a true Scout?  Not one bit.  Cooper's concept was the basis for it and the inspiration for my quest, but I realized that to make it better and more useful, I had to deviate from his specifications.  I'm quite satisfied with the result.