New for 2019: Steyr Arms Scout Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor

With the unveiling of the first-ever Scout Rifle in 1998, designed in a collaborative effort between Steyr Arms and Col. Jeff Cooper of Gunsite Academy, a concept of a do-it-all, general-purpose rifle was realized. One of the core tenets of the Scout Rifle concept was the availability of a versatile cartridge, so Steyr kept its Scout Rifle lineup limited to popular calibers without expanding into new territory for more than a decade. However, for 2019, rifles will be available in a caliber that, according to Steyr Arms, makes the Scout Rifle cut: the popular 6.5 Creedmoor.

"It can't be said that Col. Cooper wasn't a fan of the 6.5 mm, as he wrote about the 6.5 Mannlicher Schoenauer rather longingly," said Scott O'Brien, CEO of Steyr Arms USA. "But Col. Cooper never could have expected the amazing performance of the 6.5 Creedmoor, nor could he expect the widespread availability of such a round. We can never know how the colonel would have felt about chambering his rifle in the 6.5 Creedmoor, but considering its performance and after extensive testing, we think he'd wholeheartedly approve."

As part of a series of concepts developed by Col. Cooper in the late 1980s, which included the 10 mm Auto cartridge and the Bren Ten pistol, the Scout Rifle came about as a design that allowed an individual to count on one rifle for defense and hunting. The gun had to be fast, lightweight, versatile and be chambered in a round capable of taking any animal in North America.

Cooper and Steyr Arms began development of the Scout Rifle in 1990, and company designers and product engineers worked within the colonel's stringent requirements. The rifle had to be less than a meter in length and had to weigh less than 7 pounds. The Steyr Arms Scout Rifle includes a number of features, like ghost ring-style backup iron sights that deploy within seconds, should a primary optic fail. Two-stage magazines provide a quick-action cutoff feature, allowing rounds to be fed one at a time or loaded from the magazine with ease.

Each Steyr Arms Scout Rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor also includes a spare-magazine storage slot in the stock that can accept two 10-round spare magazines. The rifle features an integrated bipod, five whale-tail sling-swivel mounting points and a 1/2-20 threaded barrel measuring 19 inches long. The suggested retail price on the new 6.5 Creedmoor Scout Rifle is $1,735.