Eric Ching Article 02
Portable Powerhouse: the .376 Steyr Scout
By Eric S. H. Ching
The Mannlicher Collector #62, 2000
Steyr-Mannlicher has followed up its successful introduction of the general-purpose Steyr Scout Rifle in .308 with the .376 Steyr Scout, a production version of another Jeff Cooper concept: the “Super Scout.”
Its Lineage
The .376 Steyr Scout descends from Jeff Cooper's “Super Scout” in .350 Remington Magnum, his ideal medium rifle. The original Super Scout was built on a standard-length Brno ZKK Mauser action, and after Cooper used it to take a head-on lion at 12 paces with one shot, he dubbed it his “Lion Scout” in honor of that feat. While retaining the same physical dimensions as the standard Scout, Cooper's nominal weight for the Super Scout is one pound more, or 7.7 pounds.
The medium-bore Super Scout, combined with the .308 general purpose Scout Rifle and “Baby,” his 11.5-pound iron-sighted heavy rifle in .460 G&A, are, in Cooper's mind, all the rifles a person needs.
He takes advantage of the standard length and strength of the Brno action to seat 250-grain Swift A-Frame bullets out an extra one-eighth inch. Filling the extra volume with powder, his loads are above recommended SAAMI maximums and reach 2500 fps out of the Lion Scout's 19-inch barrel. (This is not achievable in the short actions in which the .350 Remington Magnum is usually chambered and should not be attempted!)
The .376 Steyr Scout
The .376 Steyr Scout and its proprietary cartridge very much succeed in living up to their ancestors. Of identical dimensions to the .308 Steyr Scout except for barrel diameter, the larger-caliber Scout weighs a shade over eight pounds or, not surprisingly, one pound more than its smaller-caliber relative (with scope mounted, magazines empty, and no Ching Sling attached). Its recoil pad is softer than the original issue on the .308 Scout, and the extra cushioning helps greatly in mitigating the rifle's effects on one's anatomy. Being relatively short of limb, I remove the buttstock spacers and use only the recoil pad on both of my Steyr Scouts.
The .376 Steyr cartridge is based on the 9.3x64 Brenneke case, necked-up and shortened to fit in a standard-length action. It is loaded by Hornady as part of their Custom line with Spire Point Interlock bullets of 225 and 270 grains. I only tested the heavier bullet load. Being chambered only by Steyr in the Scout and Pro-Hunter, and manufactured only by Hornady, it might be called a “factory wildcat” at this time.
The end-label on the factory ammo box claims a muzzle velocity of 2600 fps, and I am told that this is out of a 24” barrel. To put it in perspective, factory .375 H&H, 270-grain loads nominally get 2700 fps out of the 24” barrels normally found on rifles in that caliber. The difference of 100 fps is not particularly meaningful in practical terms, and I suspect that the .376 Steyr is a more efficient cartridge, performing better in the Scout's 19” barrel than the longer, older cartridge would.
If the 2500 fps velocity is achieved, Hornady's factory load will surpass Cooper's hot handloaded .350 Rem Mags, pushing a heavier bullet (270 vs. 250 grains) of greater diameter (.375” versus .358”) at the same muzzle velocity.
Shooting Impressions
As you might imagine, this combination of light weight and near-.375 H&H power is not for the recoil-shy, especially off the bench. The superb ergonomics of the Steyr Scout and the softer recoil pad, however, make it entirely manageable for those who are accustomed to firing rifles chambered in medium-bore or .30-caliber and larger magnum cartridges.
For the first range session, my goal was to evaluate the function of the .376 Steyr Scout, and to compare its firing characteristics with its obvious competitor: a typical .375 H&H rifle. I brought along a Winchester Model 70 Super Express Classic in .375 H&H with 24” barrel that weighed just over 10 pounds with scope, and paired it with 270-grain Federal Classic ammo loaded with their standard soft-point bullets.
I started with the Steyr, and to let my torso ride with the recoil more easily I used a more upright sitting position at the bench. I held the rifle as if shooting off-hand, but rested my elbows on the bench and the back of my support hand on the sandbags, holding the forearm loosely with my support hand and pulling the buttstock firmly into my shoulder with my shooting hand. I did not have the sling attached, and both magazines were fully loaded.
On the first shot, the rifle came back briskly and the forearm jumped out of my support hand. It was not painful or punishing, but I was surprised at the amount of muzzle flip. I also noticed that the buttstock magazine was now sitting on the bench instead of nestled in the stock.
Reinserting the buttstock magazine, I took a firmer hold on the forearm and tried again. It didn't completely get away from my hand this time, but it almost did. Again the buttstock magazine did its magic and transported itself from the stock to the bench, and it happened yet again on each of the remaining two shots in the main magazine. Ejection and feeding proceeded without a hitch, and the trigger broke cleanly and consistently at just over three pounds after a small amount of light slack. As with my .308 Steyr Scout, the trigger pull felt lighter than the scale indicated.
At the end of the shot string I picked up the ejected buttstock magazine and noted that the soft points of the rounds inside were seriously flattened and the shoulders of some of the cases were dented. The same was true for the main magazine in a subsequent test. There was no damage that I could see, however, to the inside front of the magazines from the battering.
I next tried the 10+ pound Winchester Model 70 in .375 H&H with the 270-grain factory loads at a supposed 2700 fps. Compared to the .376 Steyr Scout's neutral balance, the Model 70 with its 24” barrel was quite muzzle-heavy. Using the same hold on the bench, my firing impression was that recoil was very similar in force though a bit slower, but muzzle jump was about half that of the Steyr.
Just for fun, I brought out my .308 Steyr Scout, on which I'd replaced the original recoil pad with one of the new softer ones. It was like shooting a .223 compared to the others!
To summarize my shooting impressions, the .376 Steyr Scout's felt recoil is comparable to that of a typical .375 H&H rifle firing bullets of same weight. Recoil velocity is higher, though, and the Steyr's neutral balance results in greater muzzle flip. I made a note to myself to use the Ching Sling during the next range session to see if that improves control. I was most concerned about the self-ejecting buttstock magazine and the point-battering in the magazines.
Performance
During the second range session I wanted to see if using the Ching Sling would effectively control muzzle flip, to reconfirm and record the magazine ejection and battering problems, to chronograph the factory 270-grain loads, and to shoot for group at 100 yards.
Shooting over sandbags as before, the Ching Sling tamed the muzzle flip as expected, and I would recommend its use even for off-hand shooting as a result. Interestingly, firing with a tight sling seemed to prevent the buttstock magazine from ejecting itself on recoil. More testing will be needed to fully evaluate this potential problem, which has been noted even on the .308 Steyr Scout occasionally.
Measured by my CED Millennium chronograph, five rounds averaged 2489 fps, with a high of 2513 fps and a low of 2465 fps for a spread of only 48 fps. I expected 2500 fps from the Scout's short barrel, which is within the range of velocities measured and well within reasonable load variation from the mean.
When shooting for group at 100 yards, I dropped the main magazine to its first detent and single-loaded through the ejection port to avoid firing rounds with deformed points. As before, both magazines were loaded through the five-shot string. Unfortunately for testing purposes, the day was cold and I shot for group after testing hot loads in my .45-70 Siamese Mauser; not recommended. As a result, three shots went into 1.25”, but I pulled two flyers to the right. Group center was about 1.5” high and 1.5” right as the gun and scope came from the factory. A few clicks left and up will easily fix that.
Conclusions and Next Steps
The .376 Steyr Scout is a worthy incarnation of Jeff Cooper's Super Scout concept. It puts power that's practically equal to the venerable .375 H&H in the fast and handy Scout Rifle configuration, and at a weight that is easy to tote all day. The .376 Scout is not for the recoil-sensitive, but should not bother anyone who shoots medium-caliber cartridges on a regular basis, especially under field conditions where few shots are taken and adrenaline is high.
More testing is needed on the buttstock magazine ejection and round-battering problems. I am personally interested in seeing whether a 300-grain load at 2350-2400 fps is possible in this new cartridge, and the new Fifth Edition loading manual from Hornady suggests that it might be. African PHs to whom I showed the .376 Steyr cartridge at the 2000 Safari Club International convention in Reno, Nevada, last February all said that it would be just the thing for everything up to buffalo.
If this load is achievable and accurate, I'm considering doing a two-Scout safari on my return trip to South Africa in 2002: the .308 Steyr Scout for bushbuck and nyala, and the .376 Steyr Scout for eland and buffalo. (I would also bring along an iron-sighted .458 Win Mag in case we have to search for a wounded buffalo in the thornbush thickets.) Stay tuned!