Quote:
|
However, it wouldn't be Cooper's ideal scout rifle either
|
Who cares what Cooper thought.
Cooper started thinking about the Scout Rifle concept decades ago using WW-2 surplus rifles. Over the years even Cooper was willing to accept other ideas as long as it would achieve the same goals. His ideal rifle certainly evolved over the years and would have continued to evolve were he still alive.
We have newer technology, MUCH better optics, DBM bolt rifles, and synthetic stocks that Cooper didn't have access to when he 1st envisioned the Scout rifle. Neither the Steyer, Savage, or Ruger versions come close to his original Scout concept, but he endorsed them. I think the Steyer was his favorite.
I say, put together the rifle that meets YOUR needs. I have no use for forward mounted optics and there is no need to handicap yourself with them if you have a DBM rifle. The main purpose of those optics was to be able to quickly reload military surplus rifles via stripper clips. I'm 100% certain that Cooper would agree with that in 2025 if he were still alive.