Between 1984, when his first feature article on the scout rifle was published in the 38th Gun Digest Annual, and 1997, when the Steyr Scout Rifle was finalized, Jeff Copper gave us a several definitions of what he considered a scout rifle to be. There were some minor inconsistencies, but most agree the best source are the notes from the initial Scout Rifle Conference Cooper held in 1983 (see sidebar).
After the introduction of the Steyr Scout Rifle, in his 2004 book, C Stories, Cooper wrote, “The term ‘Scout’ I do not own, but sometimes I wish I did, if only to keep people from messing around and confusing the issue.” This had been occurring since Cooper first wrote about a scout rifle; shooters exercised artistic freedom and built a rifle similar to what Cooper defined, but one that was also within their budget and/or one that could be made from what they had.
This “messing” and “confusing” has only gotten worse since Cooper died in 2006. Read a modern article referencing the scout rifle, or visit some internet forum where
