BRT Review in Gun Week Article

The New GUN WEEK, November 1, 2011
GRPC 2011 Report
Page 1
Courts, lawmakers and the UN require diligence
Tartaro compared Chicago to a feudal government
controlled by the power of one party, which not only
Senior Editor
wants to control the city, but the entire state. He
The winds of change blew through the Windy City as blamed Chicago politicians for blocking concealed carry
hundreds of hardcore gun rights activists gathered for legislation in the state legislature earlier this year,
one of the most intense and, by many accounts, most
and predicted that eventually, such a measure will be
rewarding Gun Rights Policy Conferences (GRPC) in
adopted in the Prairie State.
recent memory.
He noted that one lawsuit against the city already
Thanks to an agenda that opened with a bang and
forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city council to reclosed on a lightning rod subject, nobody was bored as
write their post-McDonald decision gun ordinance.
panel after panel, speaker after speaker offered
Tartaro discussed adoption of a concealed carry
perspectives on everything from the importance of
statute in Wisconsin, leaving Illinois as the final
federal court appointments to Operation Fast and
holdout on carry prohibition. On top of that, two more
Furious and open carry.
states allow the legal use of suppressors, and Ohio’s
Traditional opening remarks by Alan Gottlieb,
Supreme Court upheld the state’s preemption statute,
founder and Executive Vice President of the Second
he noted.
Amendment Foundation, and SAF President Joe
Gottlieb said the GRPC was in Chicago to extend
Tartaro paved the way for a presentation by Tucson, AZ freedom. He told the audience that the gun rights
attorney Sandra Froman, past president of the Namovement must be modeled after the larger civil rights
tional Rifle Association (NRA). Chicago was specifically movement. According to Gottlieb, the gun rights
chosen for this 26th annual conference because,
movement is the single largest grassroots movement in
according to Gottlieb, it constitutes the “belly of the
the country.
beast,” and the focus of last year’s landmark Supreme
“The gun rights movement knows where it’s going,”
Court ruling that incorporated the Second Amendment Gottlieb said. “The roadmap is in the (GRPC) agenda.”
to the states.
Gottlieb said judges are important, even though the
Photos & Report
by Dave Workman
road ahead for gun rights has “two new guardrails,” in
the McDonald and Heller cases, he said the movement
still must win many more court battles to restore
rights and move forward.
He further warned about looming United Nations
activities regarding international gun control, which
would violate our constitution. Gottlieb also cautioned
the audience about Obama administration attempts to
use government agencies to push a gun control agenda
through the political back door.
Tartaro and Gottlieb were followed immediately by
Froman, whose perspective on the 2012 elections is
uniquely focused on how election outcomes influence
the legal system. The president appoints federal judges
and the Senate confirms them, she noted, so it is
important for gunowners to vote, as a means of
exerting some control over the process.
She told the audience that people camouflage their
apathy by claiming they have no influence so they
don’t vote and don’t participate, but sit at home and
criticize the process.
“You can’t be patriotic if you’re apathetic about what
happens to your country,” she said. “Elections matter
and nowhere do they matter more than to the gun
(Continued on Page 5)
Appeals expected
in 2 federal court
gun rights cases
Gun Week
Reports
Brown signs ban
on open carry
in California
Gun rights activists in California
and across the country were furious
when Gov. Jerry Brown inked
legislation that outlaws the open
carry of unloaded handguns.
According to the Bakersfield
Californian, activists there contend
that the new law, which takes effect
on Jan. 1, “strikes at their rights.”
The newspaper quoted Jena
Owens at Ole Boy Outdoors, a
Bakersfield gun shop, who stated,
“We’re not happy with the decision
because we do believe that it
violates or at least attacks our
Second Amendment rights…I just
think it goes right along with the
way that California is moving with
gun control and gun laws trying to
restrict our freedom.”
Her colleague, range safety officer
Wayne Marden, also told the
newspaper that “The innocent
honest guy is the only one that’s
affected by this and he wasn’t a
problem in the first place.”
There was no immediate threat of
a lawsuit on Second Amendment
grounds, but there has been some
discussion that this will force the
state to adopt legislation mandating
“shall issue” concealed carry permits.
California is one of a handful of
states that does not have a specific
right to keep and bear arms provision in its state constitution.
Under the new law signed by
Brown, violations are treated as
misdemeanors punishable by up to a
year in jail, and a fine up to $1,000.
Brown acted on several firearmsrelated bills on Oct. 9 in addition to
the open carry ban.
He signed AB-809 which would
impose long-gun registration on the
citizens of the Golden State.
Brown did veto AB-427 a re-run of
an earlier bill “handgun ammunition registration” which has been
signed into law by former Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. The earlier
law was successfully challenged in
court as unconstitutionally vague,
but the case is still on appeal.
He also signed SB-819 a bill that
allows the state Department of
Justice to use Dealer Record of
Sales (DROS) funds for purposes
unrelated to administration of
background checks, thereby legalizing a new revenue stream. The
National Shooting Sports Foundation reported that there is currently
a lawsuit pending that challenges
the past misuse/misappropriation of
these funds by DOJ.
SB-610, which modifies the state’s
concealed-carry application process,
which could be beneficial to CCW
applicants, was also signed.
INFORMING SHOOTERS, COLLECTORS AND ACTIVISTS SINCE 1966
Here’s the setup for author’s test firing of the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle in .308
Win., including the Caldwell Rock BR benchrest equipment.
Business-end accessory test
of tacticool Ruger Gunsite Scout
Photos & Report
by Paul D. Johnston
There is one tool that knows the
farmer, the hunter, the soldier, the
electrician, the fisherman, and the
gunsmith. Perhaps the person this tool
knows best is the survivalist. For the
past few decades, we’ve known it as the
“Swiss Army Knife.” Today, some call
that tool a Leatherman; others call it a
Gerber Multitool. If you own one of those
tools, you know why you own it. That
tool may not be the best knife, screwdriver, file, can opener, or pliers; but
when you need any of those tools, that
one tool is there.
When I received the May 2011 copy of
American Rifleman, I was greeted with
my first look at the Ruger Gunsite Scout.
Shortly thereafter, the April 18, 2011
Army Times featured the Scout on both
front and back covers of its flippedcontent publication. The two publications noted that the platform is a
rugged, handy and practical platform.
Online communities speculated that the
rifle was utilitarian but arbitrary,
rugged but sleek, and practical but
“tacticool.” Upon reading the wildly
contradictory reception within online
communities, I knew I had to get my
hands on a Ruger Gunsite Scout.
I contacted Ruger (ruger.com) midMay to purchase a Scout and received
my Scout later that month. I was excited
to receive the rifle, but could not predict
the pleasant experience I would have
opening the box. First impression: The
rifle seemed to be a fine blend of military and civilian, tactical and technical.
The packaging was top-notch; everything
in the box had a place and the only item
out of place—in my case—was a screw
from the included scope rings (I later
found it loose in the box). I received the
greatest surprise when I lifted the new
scout out of the box: it seemed as light as
many .22-caliber bolt-action rifles I’ve
held. The laminate wood stock is sexy,
durable, and a much lighter tone than it
looks in many publications. As advertised, the rifle comes from the factory
with three sighting options: Stock peep
sights; forward-mounted Picatinny
(Weaver) rail, and scope rings for
mounting a scope in the traditional
location above the chamber. A note about
the included scope rings: they ship with
Phillips-head screws but instructions
specify these screws must be replaced
with included hex screws when mounting a scope. The Ruger packing ensured
everything arrived in perfect condition.
The bolt and magazine well were both
fairly stiff out of the box. Hitting the bolt
with some Otis CLP seemed to smooth
out the virgin action slightly; I speculated that both the bolt and magazine
would smooth out with use. Checking
the four screws securing the Picatinny
rail, I noted the screws were very
inconsistently affixed—a shipping glitch,
or an indication of things to come?
Nevertheless, everything on my Scout
seemed to indicate that Ruger takes a
great deal of pride in their product.
The first patch I pulled through the
barrel came out dirty; perhaps Ruger
test-fired the rifle at the factory. Including a test target would have been a
classy move on Ruger’s part; however, no
such target was included with my Scout.
The muzzle device (flash hider) looked—
different. Not quite “tacticool” and not
quite indiscreet. Why did Ruger create
such a nice platform and feel the need to
include a flash hider? One very nice
“feature” is that Ruger did not permanently affix the muzzle device; the Scout
features 5/8x24 tpi threads (AR-10
specs) and the stock flash hider is easily
removed with a Torx 60 socket. This
universal specification means that the
(Continued on Page 7)
Three important gun cases reached
critical points in federal courts within a
week of each other at the beginning of
October, setting the stage for further
appeals.
First, on Sept. 29, a federal district
court judge in the Northern District of
Texas ruled that the federal ban on
dealer sales of handguns to adults
between the ages of 18 to 20 does not
violate the Second Amendment in the
case of Jennings v. Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The National Rifle Association (NRA),
which has supported the Jennings case,
plans to file a prompt appeal of the
court’s ruling to the 5th Circuit US
Court of Appeals.
A related case challenging the Texas
ban on issuance of concealed handgun
licenses to adults in the same age group
is still pending before the same court.
Then on Oct. 3, the Supreme Court
refused to consider whether an
individual’s right to own guns includes
carrying a firearm outside the home
without a license.
The justices let stand a ruling by
Maryland’s highest court that upheld a
state law prohibiting the carrying of a
handgun without a permit outside of
one’s home.
At issue in the Maryland case is
whether the right upheld in the 2008
Heller decision and the 2010 McDonald
ruling extends to carrying outside the
home. The Supreme Court without
comment rejected an appeal by Charles
Williams, who was convicted of unlawful
gun possession.
According to Reuters News Service,
Williams bought his handgun legally
from a licensed dealer in August 2007,
but never applied for a permit. A police
officer from Prince George’s County, MD,
in October 2007, saw Williams standing
behind a bus stop, pulling items out of a
book bag near the woods. When asked
what he had hidden in the bushes,
Williams replied, “My gun.” The officer
then retrieved the handgun, a Glock
with 15 rounds in the magazine.
Williams was convicted and sentenced
to three years, with all but one year
suspended, and three years probation.
Then, on Oct. 4, a three-judge panel of
the US Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia said Washington, DC’s ban
on so-called assault weapons and largecapacity magazines doesn’t violate the
constitutional rights of residents to be
armed. The panel ordered a lower court
to further review other aspects of
Washington’s gun control law, such as its
limits on multiple purchases.
“The District has carried its burden of
showing a substantial relationship
between the prohibition of both semiautomatic rifles and magazines holding
more than 10 rounds, and the objectives
of protecting police officers and controlling crime,” Judge Douglas Ginsburg
wrote in the 2-1 ruling.
But Judge Brett Kavanaugh dissented,
saying he would have thrown out the
ban on assault weapons and the registration requirements.
The challenge to the restrictions was
brought by Dick Heller.
Page 2
The New GUN WEEK, November 1, 2011
Caldwell Rock BR eliminated
shooter error in Scout testing
(Continued from Page 1)
Scout will accept an extensive variety of
muzzle accessories including compensators, flash hiders, suppressors, and thread
protectors for those who want nothing on
the business end of their Scout.
The butt pad/recoil pad seemed to be
very, very gummy (soft). Although I
While this may not be fair to any manufacturer, this photograph helps show
what is difficult to see in the raw photograph. By increasing brightness and contrast more than 600%, we see that the
stock muzzle device performs very well
by comparison. The bare muzzle clearly
produces a fireball while the BABC and
BRTC both control muzzle flash well.
factory Ruger muzzle device but controlled the sound, flash, or recoil far
better than the factory device.
I tested the following four configurations on the Ruger Scout: Battle Comp
Enterprises’ BABC; Black River Tactical’s
Covert Comp; Ruger’s factory flash hider,
and no muzzle device (bare threads).
Clint Lupton at Black River Tactical
(blackrivertactical.com) sent me a
prototype BRT Covert Compensator
Flash Hider reengineered for .308/7.62.
E. Alan Normandy, CEO of Battle Comp
Enterprises, LLC (battlecomp.com) sent
me a BABC (“Big A Battle Comp”)—and
requested that I sign an agreement to
purchase the device if I did not return it
to him. Both companies asserted that
they designed their devices not for use in
bolt-action rifles, but for semi-automatic
and full automatic military weapons.
The physical dimensions and features
of the flash hiders were:
BABC: 2.6” long. 0.908” o/d. Main exit
hole: 0.340”. Minor exit holes: four, each
0.080”. 68 slots around the exterior in
rows of alternating groups of 4 and 5
from 8 o’clock to 4 o’clock. Flats measure
0.810”.
Covert Comp: 2.0” long. 0.860” o/d.
Main exit hole: 0.337”. Minor exit holes:
five, each 0.15” (approx.). Flats measure
0.75”. Nearly invisible on the rifle.
Nicely blends in—tactical, indeed.
Ruger device: 2.25” long. 0.7” to 0.862”
o/d. No flats. Six slots around the full
circumference; each is 1.261” long.
Obvious and the least attractive of the
three.
The Tests
I found an outstanding range and shop
that welcomed me warmly. Davis
Shooting Sports is located at 1230
Pulaski Highway, Goshen, NY 10924;
phone: 845-651-7000;
speculated that soft pad would nicely
absorb recoil, I noted that it caught on
my clothing regardless of the type of
shirt I was wearing. Online communities
seemed to object to both ends of the
Scout and expressed a desire for alternatives to both the flash hider and the soft
but sticky butt pad.
My barrel, I noticed, was free-floating
all the way back to the forward anchor
lug. Nearly everything in the rifle seemed
well thought-out and designed with two
main goals: to be customizable and
dependable in a variety of situations.
A driving question that had echoed in
the online scout community: “Why put a
flash hider on a rifle—is the Ruger
Gunsite Scout intended to be a tactical
rifle?” I wanted to test the rifle in a
variety of configurations to find out
whether the muzzle device was an
enhancement or eye candy. I also wanted
to know how Ruger’s muzzle device
performed versus other high-perforBattle Comp Enterprizes BABC at 100
mance designs.
yards indoors.
The Test Plan
(davisshootingsports.com). They are
I collected test groups at distances out open Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and
to 100 yards to determine accuracy with Sunday 10 a.m-6 p.m. Dave Marcos has
each configuration. I also shot in
been very helpful and when we initially
blackout conditions to record muzzle
spoke on the telephone, he described an
flash signatures for all configurations.
indoor 100-yard rage with electronic
I wanted to test alternate muzzle
returning targets—controlled by each
devices on the Scout to determine
point. I have put in several hours at
whether muzzle devices (versus either
Davis Shooting and can highly recomthe stock device or a bare muzzle) make a mend both their store and their range.
All results reported in this article were
obtained at Davis Shooting Sports.
I executed the following regimen to
break in my Scout’s barrel: Before firing,
I twice pulled through the barrel a patch
lubed with Otis O85® Ultra Bore®
Solvent. I then fired five rounds, cleaning between each shot with a single
patch of the Otis bore solvent. After that
initial run of five rounds, I then fired 50
rounds, cleaning between each string of
10 shots. Cleaning consisted of pulling
through the barrel a patch lubed with
Otis O85® Ultra Bore® Solvent.
In my initial test, I took two hours to
test four muzzle configurations at 50 and
100 yards. The staff at Davis Shooting
were very professional and courteous,
and they gave me tremendous autonomy
and privacy when on the firing point.
The range is climate-controlled and
Black River Tactical BRTC at 100 yards ventilation is impressively adequate but
indoors.
not offensive at all. I could not detect
enough moving air or breeze to make me
substantial impact on moderate to longrange accuracy. I was also interested in
suspect any impact on accuracy at 100
how various configurations would control yards.
recoil, sound and muzzle flash.
I fired about 60 shots at both 50 and
I hoped to find either: a configuration 100 yards. Five-shot group sizes were
that produced ideal accuracy without
initially not impressive. While my
excessive flash or sound; or, a configura- inexpensive sand bags helped me, I
tion that produced accuracy equal to the could see minor evidence of shooter
The flash hider line-up, left to right: BABC, BRTC, Ruger and the bare threads of the
Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle’s muzzle.
influence significantly (and negatively)
affecting accuracy. I was consistently
seeing 1.5 to 2-inch groups and I was
beginning to believe that the Ruger
Scout is a good rifle that is very difficult
to shoot well.
Briefly considering minute of angle
performance, I knew that I needed better
equipment to test the Scout.
I called Battenfeld Technologies, Inc.
(battenfeldtechnologies.com/Caldwell)
and inquired about their benchrest
products. They shipped me a beautiful
kit that included their “Rock BR,” a rear
sand bag, and a package of 8-inch
bullseye Orange Peel targets. With a
significantly better benchrest setup and
impressive bright targets, I paid another
visit to Davis Shooting. In-between
sessions there, I also coordinated access
to a local 25-yard indoor range to test
the “night” performance of the four
configurations.
honest with me about the settings for
the Scout’s torque values. He asked to
remain anonymous but quoted the
following specs: Front lug: 95 pounds;
Rear lug (trigger guard): hand tight
~10 pounds; Cross-bolts: 15 pounds,
and all others: 15 pounds. There was
no torque specification for the flash
suppressor.
It seems that shipping and having
fired over 250 rounds through my
Shooting Results
The groups I obtained with the
Caldwell “Rock BR” were by far the best
groups I produced in my month of
testing. See chart for results obtained
shooting indoor at 100 yards.
Muzzle
BABC
BR Covert Comp
Bare muzzle
Ruger (stock)
5-shot
1.8”
2.0”
1.7”
1.6”
Best 3-shot
0.75”
1.25”
0.60”
0.75”
Stock Ruger Scout Flash Hider at 100
yards indoors.
Scout loosened everything so much
that I did not have a bolt on my rifle
that was even close to factory specifications. I torqued all bolts to the above
specs with the exception of the front
lug. My Fatwrench maxes out at about
65 pounds, so I tightened the front lug
until I heard the “click”—which seemed
to in fact be very tight.
The Ruger tech also told me that
Ruger tests their Scouts with Federal
Premium 150-grain bullets, and they
promise less than 1 inch at 50 yards. I
wholeheartedly believe I can achieve
that at twice the distance. I now need
to head back to the range to see if
During shooting, the BABC offered
nice control of both recoil and muzzle
jump. The Covert Comp seemed to
impressively manage recoil and sound.
There was nothing significant to report
about the Ruger device, and the bare
muzzle was noticeably brighter, louder,
and more unpleasant to shoot, in
comparison.
The night performance of the muzzle
accessories is noteworthy. With the
exception of the bare muzzle, the three
configurations indeed performed very
well—to near perfection. In order to see
the muzzle blast, in fact, I had to
increase the brightness and contrast of
my photographs to over 300% to see any
significant difference in performance.
While the Ruger device seems to perform
on par with the Covert Comp, the BABC
handles muzzle flash in an entirely
different manner. The BABC seems to
burn off nearly all residual gas and
energy inside—producing almost zero
signature forward of the flash hider.
However, the BABC does noticeably light
up internally. I am confident with both
Ruger’s flash hider and the BABC; I am
extremely interested in the Covert Comp
and hope it is further revised to provide
more predictable accuracy. In other
words, the Covert Comp nicely balances
aesthetics as well as flash and sound
Scout rifle fired bare muzzle at 100 yards
control. If the Covert Comp produced
indoors.
better results on paper, it would find a
tightening up the bolts shrinks my
permanent home on my Scout.
groups. I also want to fire Federal Gold
Final Thoughts
Match through the Scout to see if that
On my way out of Davis Shooting
mix produces better results. What do
from my final test session, I stopped by you predict?
to speak with Wayne Davis, the owner,
It has been a pleasure working with
and Marcos about my most recent
Ruger, Battle Comp Enterprises, Black
session, my results, and my thoughts
River Tactical, Caldwell, and Davis
on the potential of the Ruger Scout
Shooting Sports. I’ve also spoken with
platform. Davis was surprised that I
US Optics about creating an ideal scout
was seeing 1-2 MOA groups from my
rifle. They estimate it will take about a
Scout and agreed with me that I should year from concept to production. With
be seeing better results. He looked over new options and possibilities for the
Scout appearing every day, I am confimy Scout and noticed that the front
dent this platform will continue producbolt holding the front mounting lug
ing a buzz for the foreseeable future.
was loose enough that he could handIn short: This rifle is handy. It is easy
tighten it about one-half a revolution.
to carry and it is a blast to accessorize
The rear bolt (holding the trigger
and shoot. And I continue to experience
guard/magazine well) was noticeably
looser. I took home my Scout and began the same fascination with the Ruger
Scout that I experience when I handle
researching specifications and standards. I finally called Ruger to find out and use my Leatherman or Gerber
Multi-tool. The Ruger Gunsite Scout
the specific torque settings to use for
(MSRP just under $1,000) is ready for
the main stock-to-receiver bolts.
any situation or environment; it is truly
A technical customer service reprea great and versatile tool!
sentative at Ruger was very open and