[SHOT 2026] Ruger American Gen II Scout: Built For The Real World

Most of the new rifles of the past couple of decades have fallen into the following classes: M4geries, long-range “backcountry” hunting rifleS, low-priced entry-level bolt guns or nostalgia-milking lever-actions. But another style of rifle is always lurking in the background, just waiting for a manufacturer to try it again. I’m talking about scout rifles, and this year at SHOT, the Ruger American Gen II Scout was on display in their booth.

Scout rifles @ TFB:

• TFB Review: Steyr Scout Mk II
• TFB FIRST LOOK: The New Steyr Scout Mk II
• New Calibers For Savage 110 Magpul Scout
• CVA Cascade SR-80: The Scout Rifle Treatment

Forty years of scout rifles

Ever since Jeff Cooper laid out his pattern for a scout rifle in the early 1980s, manufacturers have been building rifles that fit his specification. This was challenging, because some of Cooper’s ideas changed over the years and also because scout rifles developed a fanbase that often argued amongst themselves about the standards for such a gun. But the general idea is this: A scout rifle is a bolt-action, with receiver sight and usually the ability to attach a forward-mount scope. Scout rifles are light, around 7 pounds or less, with a barrel of 19 inches or shorter to make them handy. They tend to be chambered in .308, or short-action calibers of equivalent power and recoil. Or at least, that’s what the purists say.

Scout rifles were popular with survivalists and preppers as well as all-around outdoorsmen, but in recent years, much of their market has been taken away by AR-15 clones, at least in the States; not so much in global markets. Plenty of buyers still want them, and Ruger is looking to hit that market. Previously, they built scout rifles built off the M77 pattern, designed in conjunction with Gunsite. Their new rifle is built off the American Gen II bolt-action.

Ruger American Gen 2 Scout

We’ve had the Ruger American Gen 2 rifle on the market for a while—it first appeared in 2023. The Scout version first appeared as a Lipsey’s exclusive, in .308 only with a Kryptek Obskura Nox stock. Now it’s available more broadly in a Leaf Green stock (splatter-finished for added grip) and with a wider range of calibers. Or at least, the wider range of calibers will be available in the future; only the .308 version is listed as in stock on the Ruger website, with 5.56 NATO, 7.62x39 and 350 Legend versions coming.

The layout is what you generally expect with a scout rifle, with an extended scope base that will accept either rear-mounted or forward-mounted optics, as well as a set of iron sights. The front sight is an AR-style arrangement with elevation adjustment; the rear is windage-adjustable and has a flip aperture for switching from close-in shots to far-away targets.

According to Ruger’s website, all versions of the rifle will come with a 16.1-inch barrel that’s threaded at the muzzle for suppressor, flash hider, brake or other attachment. These rifles have the same three-position safety and stocks with integral bedding as other Gen II American rifles, locking down the receiver while allowing the barrel to free-float. The trigger is user-adjustable, like other Gen II rifles.

The stock is adjustable, too, with a removable spacer that lets you change length-of-pull from 12 inches to 13.75 inches by removing or adding spacers. Buyers can also opt for a higher comb (buy it through Ruger) to get better optics alignment, if they aren’t using the factory irons.

In other words: Not an all-new rifle, but a repackaging of existing features for scout rifle fans. One thing that does set this rifle apart is the magazine choices. The 5.56 NATO and 350 Bushmaster versions will feed from AR-pattern mags; the 7.62x39 rifle feeds from an AK mag, and the .308 version uses an AI-pattern mag.

Weight is around 6.5 pounds for all versions; the barrel, receiver and bolt have a Cobalt Cerakote finish to fend off rust.

MSRP for all the new Rugers is $929. See more details here.