Originally Posted by
Gunfun
I've had the .177 Steyr Scout for nearly two years and have had no major problems, it works straight out of the box.
A few issues I have are the stocks ergonomics and it maybe just me, but I find the stocks cheek piece is very low, I use a low scope mounts with a 30mm tubed scope and just about get cheek weld, a scope with a 25mm tube and low scope mounts should give better cheek weld with the stock. Another problem is the LOP is about 13 5/8" which is perfect for off hand shooting but almost too short for me when shooting prone especially as my scope has about 4" of eye relief which means it has to be mounted well forward on the scope rail.
Regarding mounting your scope, I took the trouble to make sure my scope mounts did not cover the barrel adjusting screws, this means I can adjust or change the barrel without removing the scope and mounts although a couple of cut down allen keys are required to get under the scopes body.
The Scout is noisier on firing than my other air rifles as some air leaks between the barrel and magazine (no matter how finely you set the barrel) but it's not obtrusive and I doubt it'll affect hunting bags. I also had some air leaking between the silencer adaptor and barrel upon firing, so I placed a 15x1mm o-ring in the adapter to reduce this leak/noise.
I have 5 other air rifles from the usual manufacturers and the Steyr has become my 'go to' air rifle, mine is not too pellet fussy and can easily produce 1" groups at 50 meters with a range of pellets, with JSB Exacts 4.52's those groups come down to just over 1/2" at 50 meters although to be honest I'm the main problem with accuracy, even bench rested with a quality scope, I really need a quality rear rest to find out what this gun can really do.
One way the self indexing really helps to improve your off hand, kneeling and sitting positions is you can make small but critical adjustments to your stance after each shot to steady your aim without completely breaking your shooting position to re-cock the action, so the self indexing system lets you precisely refine your shooting stance over the 5 shots available.
If I'm going to be really picky then I do resent the way this gun dictates my grooming habits, that's because the stocks cheek piece traps any facial stubble in the nutwood grain which makes my eyes water, so I have to shave before a long shooting session!