for better or worse i traded a 01 vintage sar1 for a nib ruger frontier mkII in .308, i had to throw in $40 bucks but i feel pretty good about the deal. it's now discontinued from production, i guess not very popular. i mostly wanted a .308 to go with my stg58 as a secondary in the same caliber, that would be light enough to tote around and hunt if i have to.
what do ya'll think of this rifle?
which brand scope should i look for, and why?
is a pistol scope ok to use, or does it have to be a "scout scope"?
what about my 7.62x51 ammo(port,sa,wwb), is it g2g in a .308?
heres some others for referance
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/SearchResults.asp

please no bill rugar was a blah blah blah high caps civilians blah blah, i don't care bill ford won't sell crown vic interceptors to civies and i have 2 of those

thanks
2D2C

Congrats. I think you did well. As far as a scope goes a pistol scope will work and that is what is used as scout scopes. It depends how picky you are with your glass as far as which brand to get. I have a Target Sports 4x that ran me $50 that I am very suprised with as far as how well it works. When I build my next rifle though it is not what I am using. I am looking at the Bushnell Elite 3200. I would love to pick up a frontier some day. It suprises me that scout rifles have never taken off more than they have. I think it is a better survival than an AR or AK but to each his own. The Steyer is to far out of reach for me in price and building my own sounds fun.

there were 3 ruger frontier rifles at the jxn gunshow today. i think a distributor must have blew them out cheap when ruger dropped them from their catalog.

i shoot left handed, which will slow me down a bit with this rifle. i am right handed and left eye dominant, so it is equally slow to manipulate a left handed bolt.

the frontier has mounts in the standard location aswell, the manual warns against using them literally!

thanks
2D2C

.308 is higher pressure than your mil-surp 7.62NATO stuff so that won't be an issue

I've had my Ruger frontier for a little over a year now.  It is by far the best rifle i have for deer hunting in the Georgia woods.  I still hunt more than anything else and it is very comfortable to carry and quick to get on target.  Mine is in .308 also and I now have a Leupold 2.5x scout scope on it.  I had a burris scout scope on it but switched out with the leupold and like it much more.  the leupold is much clearer and has a bigger FOV from what I can tell.  the adjustments are also much more precise.  last december both deer I got were with my Frontier.  I was stalking one and took it at about 20 yards then as she dropped saw another one get up about 25 yards away and dropped her with one shot.

awsome, 2 deer in a row!

i've only shot one deer and it is a long but funny story that ends with a dead deer, one shot from a BAR 30.06, in the foot
pretty much i scared off a doe and a few seconds later a buck ran out, i turned in the stand, and a branch snapped off while i was trying to get on target. he heard that and ran right at me, full speed. guess he thought i was his doe. when i fired the rifle ,all i saw was deer in the scope and then he was gone. about a half hour later my friend came and asked where the deer was, by that time i was scared i wounded a trophy buck, did i mention it looked like an ELK in the scope! he found no blood, no hair, and swore i missed. after a few more passes on the trail he found a "grain of meat" it looked like a piece of hamburger. a hundred yards away we found my "elk" shot in the front leg (almost shot off at the joint)passing through the rear leg leaving the "grain" size hole. the deer was laying in a 10' diam. pool of blood. it ended up being a 4 point irregular about 170 lbs. the whole rest of the weekend all i heard was," this is the only s.o.b i ever seen could shoot a deer in the foot and kill it!"

i've been reading about a BUIS that fits the rear scope mount, any help on this?

2D2C

great story.  I had thought about back up sights just so i could get a scout set up like Col Cooper intended but I have been happy with just the 2.5x scope.  It's obviously a hunting rifle and not a combat rifle so i dont think its a big deal to not have BUIS.  also i think it would ruin the clean look of the frontier if you put a rear sight on and a front sight on the barrel.  also FWIW, i have shot the frontier out to 300yds standing unsupported and i can hit a 12" plate everytime...the short heavier barrel makes it just as accurate as most of my longer barrel bolt guns.

I run a 2.5 loopy on my ruger frontier .308 and I have run a zeiss z point which worked really well. Now I run the z point on my 45-70 guide gun.

I run a 2.5 loopy on my ruger frontier .308 and I have run a zeiss z point which worked really well. Now I run the z point on my 45-70 guide gun.

SIMMONS 2x20 ProHunter Handgun Scope?
Magnification 2x
Objective Lens Diameter, mm  20
Field of View (ft. @ 100 yds) 21.5
Eye Relief, in 9 - 17
Exit Pupil, mm 10
Reticle Styles Truplex
Click Value (MOA) 1/2
Adjustment (Range) 75/75
Parallax Setting 50 yds
Weight, oz  6.75

VS.

LEUPOLD FX-II Scout 2.5-28 Riflescope
Magnification, x 2.5x
Objective Lens Diameter, mm 28
Field of View (FOV) @100yds, ft 22
Exit Pupil, mm 11.2
Eye Relief, mm 9.3 <<<must be 9.3'' ???
Adjustment Graduation, in @100yds 0.25" (1/4 MOA)
Reticle Type Duplex
Length, in 10.1
Weight, oz 7.5

i'm scope ignorant, but these two seem similar in the "important" specs. for $200 differance what am i missing, other than brand. will the simmons work for now? or should i just wait to save for a "scout" scope?

thanks

You're going to want a "scout" or "extended eye relief" scope, and NOT a "pistol" scope unless you're 4'5" tall. The scope is not far enough forward on the Ruger Frontier rifles to use a true pistol scope.

As for the Simmons vs. Leupold, for that $200 you're getting vastly superior optics, more durability, better warranty, better internals (the clicks mean what they say they mean, etc).

I guess my eyes are wierd. I have used pistol scopes multiple times and never had a problem.

i'm still looking for scope options, if anyone else has exp. i'd apreciate it.
thanks
2D2C

Hmm. Maybe it depends on the scope. I've tried Bushnell and Burris pistol scopes... you'd have to be 4'11" to use them on that gun.

i'm still trying to choose a scope and raise funds.  i'm leaning twards the burris but have been finding some good info on nikon monarch pistol scopes. the 2x20 boasts a 22' fov @ 100 yds.

anyone else have opinions?


thanks
2D2C

In general, and IMO, Nikon > Burris.

Burris makes good scopes, but Nikons are better.

Ruger's are very robust rifles.  I think it's a good one to have.

Pistol scope will work, but the field of view will be smaller than with a scout scope.

I run a Zeiss Z-Point on mine. Excellent.