Ruger Frontier rifle has been discontinued
While browsing the Ruger website I noticed that the Ruger M77 Mark II Frontier rifle has been discontinued.
The Frontier rifle featured a forward scout-style scope mount and a very short 16.5″ barrel. Sixteen inches in barrel length may be considered normal for rimfire or intermediate cartridges, but the Frontier was chambered in full power cartridge such as .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Short Magnum.
The short barrel would certainty have had quite an impact on performance. These cartridges are usually fired in 20+ inches of barrel length, and this may have contributed to its demise.
The advantage of a short barrel is less weight and easier maneuverability in a tight space, such as shooting varmints from a vehicle, or when traversing heavy bush.
I was really hoping this concept would take off and am saddened that it did not catch on. Once you have fired, or owned, a short barrel (SBR) rifle, everything over 14″ seems much too long!
Does anyone own one of these rifles? I would really like to get my hands on the ballistic data for the cartridges the rifle fired. Ruger have not responded to my requests.
I have one chambered in .270, picked it up for a song a few months back, but sadly i havnet had a chance to go out and shoot it yet.
reminds me of a steyr scout
I always thought these were a half-assed attempt at a Scout Rifle. No open sights, no detachable magazine, no ability to use stripper clips, two sling points instead of three, and a crap-tastic Ruger barrel to boot. Even if I liked Ruger, I would never buy one of these.
Aww, this is sad news. I rather like the scout concept and it was nice for some company other than the very expensive Steyr to offer a “scout ready” rifle.
I’ve got one, in .308. I really wanted on in 7mm-08, but chose the common caliber. I’ve had it for a couple of years, specifically to imitate the Steyr scout. Theres a mod you can do with an M1A mag, to increase the capacity to 10 or 20 rounds, fixed, not detachable.
I don’t recall the ballistics being hampered by the short barrel, but I never shot it at anything past about 180 yards.
I’m disappointed more people didn’t realize the utility inherent in these little rifles. I look for it to be a similar story to the Savage scout – discontinued until the gun-buying public realizes they really want one.
Steve, you can find ballistic info for Steyr’s Scout in .308Win at . Not the exact same rifle, since the barrel is slightly longer at 19″. In general you’ll lose about 100 FPS per inch of reduction in barrel length.
I have a frontier in 308 and enjoy it. Answering your main question Dick Metcalf from Shooting Times penned such an article, regarding loss of velocity from the Frontier, and IIRC you can find it on their website.
http://www.shootingtimes.com/longgun_reviews/scout_102606/index.html
it gets to the velocity loss on Page 4.
Similar to Mr. H-D above, I purchased one new ($495, MSRP was $900) in .243 Winchester back in February, I think, and then spent a couple months tracking down a Leuopold Scout Scope on fleabay ($150). Now it is set up & boresighted, I have not shot it yet, but I will be sighting it in for Coyote this fall/winter. Yeah, there is open season 24/7-365 here, but why fight the bugs for a mom & her pups? I’ll be out this fall, but I have no chrono. I do have several brands/bullet weights from light varmint to heavy deer, all factory loads. What info are you seeking? (maybe I can borrow a chrono). I too hoped this would be a popular rifle, it’s sorta light & handy, and easy to point and shoot quick. When they first came out, all the heavy calibers seemed to sell, 7mm & .308 did not last long at the store. Lots of folks around here go for feral hogs, and drive South to get ‘em: MO, OK, TX, perfect for that, as the piggies like the heavy cover.
Chris, thanks for the link!
I have one in 308 and it’s just as accurate as a regular length barrel M-77 of the same caliber. It is much more handy and easier to move around with in the woods. Any velocity loss is inconsequential and very minimal.
I think it’s a good concept that should be reexamined; though not with the scope so far down the barrel.
Does a 7.62 mm Spanish FR-8 count? I paid $175 for my beat up rifle, and despite it’s rough construction and worn condition, it shoots surprisingly accurately (for me at least) with decent ammunition. Recoil is stiff and length of pull a little short, but a slip-on recoil pad fixed that. I found that the charger guide is still usable by fitting 7.62 mm cartridges into 7.9mm chargers. The rear peep sight cuts my knuckles during rapid fire, unless I use the open palm method of operating the bolt.
This is sad news i for one really like the whole concept of the scout type concept. The Ruger version has a certain look and appeal.
I have one in 7mm-08 and It is just an awesome firearm, Im a Custom Remington 700 snob so I was weary about this purchace. This rifle does all it needs to do and I can carry it all day, it actually fits in and out of vehicles easily. Ive shot 500 meter gongs with it out at the Whittington center regularly with a 2 power Nikon scope off hand, even though it has a 16in barrel. This is my go to gun for just about everything.
A few years ago I saw a guy on The High Road.org mod a M1a 10 rnd mag to fit the gun, I followed suit with a conversion for my 7-08, Talk about an easy modification.
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa41/mikeone_photo/rugerfrontierm1a001.jpg
I also added some cooling ports because it does get hot when your blasting through a ton of reloads shooting steel
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa41/mikeone_photo/rugerfrontierm1a001.jpg
This is a great gun and Im sorry to see Ruger stop making it, too many nay sayers that have never fired a scout I guess.
All I know is that when I shoot out this barrel ( Probably due soon about 6000 rnds down range) Ill do a stainless 18in and be done.
MIke
OOPS here are the ports lol
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa41/mikeone_photo/scoutcoolingports011.jpg
Handloading with faster propellants ought to lessen velocity drops from the shorter barrel (Think along the lines of TC Encore pistol data).
I don’t care about blast, so run my remnant jug of 4350 in my Remington 600 Mohawk .243…………..it’s loud, but shoots well (free floated barrel, under .75″ for 5@100 c2c with a max scope mag of 9X).
I’m not familiar with the newer 77’s, but if they bedded like the old ones I’d be looking at something a little “better” (don’t care for the front screw angling in).
I thought the biggest “advantage” of a short barrel is that they tend to be more stiff, the muzzle has less movement shot to shot before bullet exit.
I am very glad I got one before they were discontinued, This is a great little Rifle, I mounted a Scope over the reciever of mine, and can hit a Coke Can at 100 Yards with it. I like the idea that I can forward mount a Scope on it if I want to. My favorite Rifle Ever. Mine is a .308
My only complaint about the whole thing is the leinght of pull. I took mine to a Smith, and had him put a two inch Recoil pad on it, so now it has a normal 13.5 inch pull.
I have one in 308 with a Leupold 4x long eye relief scope.
This is a fantastic shooting rifle. Extremely accurate off a bench, and as accurate as I ever have been off hand (I’m only more accurate with a 1980’s Remington Model Seven Youth in 243 Win). Expect around 200-300 FPS drop in velocity when compared to a 22″ bbl. Considering this rifle is designed for quicker shots at shorter ranges, this isn’t an issue. The Ruger short bbl is actually more accurate than a longer bbl due to the lack of bbl whip.
While some piss and moan about this not being a true scout rifle
(it isn’t supposed to be), once you actually try it, you will fall in love.
2 things I wish were different about it:
Better recoil pad. The one on there is super thin and does very little.
Heavy for size. Though not too bad, my Model Seven is probably 2 lbs. lighter with an 18″ bbl.
I rate the rifle 8 out of 10
I want to make a correction to my above post, Actually the Gunsmith put a 1″ Inch Packmier Recoil Pad, and a 1/2 inch spacer on my Rifle, and it increased the LOP to 13.5″
Very Comfortable, If you plan to mount a scope on the reciever, you can mount a 3×9x40 without removing the forward scout mount by using a Ruger 5b for the front and a Ruger 6b for the rear.
I would like to get some quick detach rings, and a pair of scopes, one 3×9x40 for stand hunting, then when trying to stalk hogs, while moving mount a leupold scout scope. But thats a future project.
Ruger recomends against mounting a scope on the reciever of the Frontier, due to the shortened Lop, but thier new compact rifles have the same LOP and its alright.Ignorant in my opinion I modified mine to work for me, and I love it.
Great little Carbine.
I saw one of these in 300 W.S.M. and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this particular round. I intend to use it on Elk in the Pacific Northwest and it seems like it would be a good gun to carry all day if you have to.