Steyr Scout .243 or Steyr Elite .223

Hunter

New Member
I suppose i am trying to find the answer to two questions here. Firstly, does anyone have experience of using wither of these rifles and what would be their comments on them please?
Secondly, and more importantly, what are the views on the .223 round? I would use it mainly for foxes and roe deer in Scotland. I want to be reassured that it has the stopping power on a roe out to 200 yards, assuming bullet put in the engine room etc. Also, how badly is it affected by wind? Are we talking a light breeze will affect accuracy or would it have to be more of a strong wind etc.
Any help would be massively appreciated please as i really want to get the .223 but if i am not confident in its abilities then i will give it a miss and revert to the tried and tested .243 which i have used for years with no problems at all.
 
Hunter said:
Any help would be massively appreciated please as i really want to get the .223 but if i am not confident in its abilities then i will give it a miss and revert to the tried and tested .243 which i have used for years with no problems at all.

If it's not broke, don't fix it. You have the ability to shoot Red,Sika and Fallow with a .243, why limit that, a .243 will do everything a .223 will do, do you home load? You can probably get the same performance with a .243 light round/bullet as you would get from a .223 and then load for Red,Sika and Fallow.

I'd feel that limiting myself to a lighter round/bullet would be frustrating, especially if I only had one caliber rifle. The .243 will cover every aspect of what you want to do with it, a .223 wont.

I had a Steyr Tact Elite in .308 for stalking, to be fair, it's not a stalking rifle, I sold it after about 4 months, any rifle in the right hands will out perform the person pulling the trigger.

Good luck with your choice.

TJ
 
Why not go for an elite in .308 and handload with 125grain. Great on foxes and deer no messing around with different zeros.

The elite is a cracking stalking rifle, my mate has had his for around 10 years now any wouldnt swap in for anything, not my cup of tea but practical and effective, it even comes with a built in BiPod.
 
I had a steyr scout in .308 and learned to dislike it. Got rid a while back and never regreted it.

Grant
 
The scout is an aquired taste - you either learn to love it or loathe it. I can guarantee 1 thing - if you do buy the scout, you'll soon mount a decent bipod in favour of the naff ones on the stock.

For my money, i'd go for the elite if calibre wasn't an issue.

I do regularly stalk roe with a 223. I bought it because i wanted a light, short rifle suitable for close woodland. I should note that i also have a Steyr SSG68 in 308 for anything larger.

Being in dense woodland, i rarely use it beyond 100-120yds. It's an accurate round but if were my only rifle i'd choose something else like the excellent 260 or 6.5x55.
 
Hi Hunter,

I too had a scout tactical elite in 308, accurate HEAVY piece of kit but not for stalking over the hills, leave it on the range fine. I do not like the built in bipods on the scouts - would have fitted a harris but that would have increased the weight further!

Like tartinjock says the 243 will do everything that the 223 will and more. Having said that I have both and I love the 223 mainly for foxes but have taken a good number of Roe no problem. I started with the 223 in pro hunter and two years later got a Sako 75 in 243 for the fallow. With hindsight I should really have pooled my resources and concentrated on one gun which would have been the 243 for versatility. I load up with 58gr V Max for charlie and 80gr winchester XXX for the deer - yes the POI does differ but I know the allowance.

Good luck with your selection
 
Hi Hunter,

I too had a scout tactical elite in 308, accurate HEAVY piece of kit but not for stalking over the hills, leave it on the range fine. I do not like the built in bipods on the scouts - would have fitted a harris but that would have increased the weight further!

Like tartinjock says the 243 will do everything that the 223 will and more. Having said that I have both and I love the 223 mainly for foxes but have taken a good number of Roe no problem. I started with the 223 in pro hunter and two years later got a Sako 75 in 243 for the fallow. With hindsight I should really have pooled my resources and concentrated on one gun which would have been the 243 for versatility. I load up with 58gr V Max for charlie and 80gr winchester XXX for the deer - yes the POI does differ but I know the allowance.

Good luck with your selection
 
Thank you all v much for taking time to reply, extremely helpful, clearly more thinking to do......! Any other thoughts most welcome
 
Steyr Scout

I'm really glad i looked at these comments, i really like the look of the Scout, but after reading these issues with it (the bipod etc) i'm not sure I'd bother with it now.

On another subject, i use 100Gr rounds in my .243 Win, only shooting at Roe up to 100yds on average. Plus the occasional fox. Will there be any merits in opting for a lighter grain round? Would be interested to hear experiences here.

Thanks.
 
​Hi there, I joined up just to comment on this thread ;)

I fell in love with the scout after reading a review in the shooting times back in 2004ish.
i couldn't imagine I was ever going to afford one so left my number with Sportsman hoping a second hand one would arrive.
They had one turn up the very next week so I bought it (.223) and it was great. The stock is awesome, really tough yet comfy to use. The magazine system is brilliant with the spare in the stock being a godsend. The bipod is wctuslly really good in my opinion. Even shooting off of hard surfaces like a car bonnet or roof, it is way better than just using a pillow. You just have to remember to put the bipod down half an inch further forward. That way, you'll naturally pull back against the catch and stop it un clicking itself. The q/r swivels are brilliant too- especially if you've got two rifles in different caliber as it literally takes a second to change them.
The short barrel however, means it hasn't got the best long range accuracy. Groups at 100 are superb and even out to 180-190 it's fine but the drop-off after that means you really have to spend time and shots working out elevation as it will be way more than the box tells you.


I eventually traded up to a .243 and got another scout- a brand new one this time and it is superb! Even with a mod, it's tiny and is dead simple to swing in and out of the truck window for crows. It's zeroed a fraction high at 100 and will kill crows out to 230 by aiming dead on using 70 grain federals. Last night, I was lamping on foot and surprised a lamp shy dog fox that I missed in a gale a month or so ago. Pausing to clip the lamp on to the scope meant he was off like a rocket and without even thinking, I swung the little scout up and bowled him over at 80 yards with a flukey head shot.


Ignore how plasticky you think it is- they're really a tough, compact, accurate and versatile little gun.
 
i use a .243 scout its my fox rifle but with a bullet change i can shoot fallow from one rifle
atb
paul
 
I have used both 243 and 223 for Roe, and while never having any real problems bar one with the 223, the 6mm bullet did put them down quicker; I feel that I had more “runners” with the 223. Never a real problem as I stalk with a GWP :D.

ATB

Tahr
 
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