Whether you love scout rifles, or think they’re outdated and useless, the fact remains that there’s a thriving market for light, quick-handling bolt action rifles. Ruger proved that in 2011 with the well-received release of their Gunsite Scout Rifle chambered in .308 Win.
Just a few months later at the 2011 NRA show, Mossberg unveiled their MVP rifle; a line of bolt actions chambered in 5.56 NATO that use AR-15 magazines. The Patrol version of the MVP is their compact carbine, and shares some external characteristics with the Ruger Scout. I don’t think Mossberg initially intended for the MVP to compete directly with Ruger’s offering. After all, the two rifles were chambered in completely different cartridges. But customer demand led Mossberg to develop a .308 Win version of the MVP (running either M14/M1A or Magpul/DPMS AR-10 style mags), which was released in early 2014. Meanwhile, Ruger customers were asking for a 5.56 version of the scout, and Ruger delivered on that request just last month.
Suddenly, we now have a couple of accidental rivals. The Ruger GSR and Mossberg MVP Patrol; two very scout-like bolt guns available in both 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem and .308 Win. At first glance, the two big differentiating factors of these rifles are the magazines and the price tags. A closer look shows that their makers have equipped each rifle with a slightly different feature set. I spent a few days on the range with the 5.56 versions of the Mossberg and the Ruger to see how their performance matched up.
Watch the Video Review: Ruger Gunsite Scout vs. Mossberg MVP Patrol
By the Numbers
The Mossberg MVP Patrol and Ruger Gunsite Scout have a lot in common in terms of their technical specs and features, but there are some important distinctions.
| Ruger Gunsite Scout 5.56 | Mossberg MVP Patrol 5.56 | |
| Barrel Length | 16.10″ | 16.25″ |
| Overall Length | 37″ | 36.5″ |
| Rifle Weight (unloaded) | 7.10 lbs | 7.0 lbs |
| Factory Magazine Weight | 0.61 lbs | 0.12 lbs |
| Magazine Type | single stack Accuracy International (ships with one 10-round magazine made by Accurate-Mag) | AR-15 style (ships with one 10-round magazine made by C Products Defense) |
| Front Sight | fixed black serrated non-glare protected post | fixed fiber optic with red tube |
| Rear Sight | adjustable ghost ring aperture | adjustable open style barrel-mounted |
| Optics Mount | forward-mounted picatinny rail and receiver mounts for Ruger scope rings (set of rings for 1-inch scope tubes included) | receiver-mounted picatinny rail |
| Safety | three-position lever (standard “safe” or lock bolt in place) | two position lever |
| Trigger | single-stage (measured at 4.5 lbs) | Mossberg Lightning Bolt Action (LBA) adjustable trigger (measured at 3.5 lbs as shipped) |
| Action Type | modified controlled feed bolt action | push feed bolt action |
| Stock | Black/Grey laminate wood | black textured synthetic |
| Length of Pull | 12.75″-14.25″ (Adjustable with included stock spacers) | 13.25″ |
| Muzzle | 1/2×28 threaded with Ruger flash hider | 1/2×28 threaded with A2 flash hider |
| Twist Rate | 1:8 | 1:9 |
Size and Weight
Despite having nearly identical overall weight and dimensions, the Mossberg just feels smaller and lighter. As I mentioned in the video, the heavier Ruger magazine and the scout scope combine to throw off the balance of the GSR, making it feel heavier when holding it on target. In addition, I was using one of the included stock spacers on the Ruger to increase the length of pull to 13.25 inches, which actually brought the overall length to 37.5 inches — a full inch longer than the Mossberg. The overall length of the two rifles was still very close, but the poor balance of the Ruger created the perception that the extra inch was adding about two pounds to the front end.
If I were to use the Ruger long-term, I would definitely invest in the full length picatinny rail from XS Sight Systems. This rail replaces the forward-mounted scout rail and extends back over the receiver. The Ruger aperture sight has to be removed in order to attach the rail, but that’s okay because the XS rail has its own ghost ring aperture sight built right in. That allows you to mount any scope you like in the conventional position, and you still have use of the backup iron sights. The Mossberg MVP Patrol allows this kind of functionality right out of the box in addition to the high visibility fiber optic, though you are stuck with a much shorter sight radius, and less precise open-style rear sight.
Triggers
I didn’t measure either of the triggers with our trigger pull gauge until I was done with the testing, but if you had asked me on the range, I would have estimated them both to be right at 4 lbs. The fact that I didn’t notice that the Mossberg’s trigger was actually a pound lighter than the Ruger’s probably says more about my personal preferences and the kind of shooting I was doing than the triggers themselves. For any rifle other than a dedicated target rig, I’m pretty happy with most triggers under about 5 lbs. I ran a few rounds through these guns on the bench, but most of the shooting was done from standing, kneeling, and prone with a sling, often with the added pressure of a shot timer. Under those conditions, any decent trigger is adequate.
I do like the Mossberg adjustable trigger (it’s very similar to the Savage accutrigger), but when it came down to it, my shooting was not hindered in the least by the the crisp, single stage trigger on the Ruger. Despite being a bit heavier, there was no creep or take-up.
Magazines
I’ve already expressed my distaste for the added bulk of the Ruger’s magazine. Five-round magazines would cut down on the bulk, but I’m not sure if it would feel quite as handy as the Mossberg. Of course, the bigger issue for many people is the cost and availability of the Accuracy International style magazines used on the Ruger Gunsite rifle. Ruger sells extras for $74.95 each. There are a handful of other companies that make compatible magazines from both polymer and metal, but none of them are what you might consider “cheap”. Especially when compared to AR-style magazines.
A 10-round AR mag from C Products Defense (identical to the one that ships with the MVP Patrol) can be had for $14. And scores of other companies make affordable AR-pattern magazines in a multitude of capacities from 3 rounds up to 100 or more. To be fair, I’m not entirely sure that all of these mags would work properly with the Mossberg. I mostly used the factory magazine, but it also fed fine with the Magpul Gen 2 PMags and Lancer magazines we had on hand. Personally, I’d stick to the shorter magazines, but even a 20-round Magpul magazine didn’t spoil the handling of the little rifle, and it was still usable in the prone position.
Worth noting is a little quirk I encountered with the Magpul magazines; the Mossberg’s bolt would not go forward on an empty PMag. You could call this a feature or a bug, but the follower essentially acted as a bolt hold open device. This was a nice indicator that the magazine was empty, but I didn’t experience this with the factory magazine or the Lancer mags.
Design and Build Quality
I’m reluctant to even include this section because it’s much more difficult to quantify than any of the other aspects of these rifles, but I think it bears mentioning. Having handled and shot both the Ruger GSR and the Mossberg MVP Patrol extensively over several days, I have to say that the Ruger inspires a lot more confidence in its longevity than the Mossberg. I’m not saying the Mossberg is built poorly or that I got the impression it would fall apart. But if I had to take bets on which rifle would still be running in 25 years, I’d put my money on the Ruger.
Like I said, it’s difficult to quantify, but I could probably point to two factors that lead me to this impression.
First, the Mossberg uses a polymer magwell. It functioned just fine, but we’ve heard of multiple reports of them not holding up so well for others. Mossberg, to their credit, has been quick to fix these rifles, but it’s still not a great sign.
The bigger issue is the Mossberg MVP hinged bolt design. Go back to the video and skip to the 6:30 mark to see this thing in action. It’s actually a pretty ingenious mechanism. I understand that its no easy feat to make a bolt action function reliably with magazines that were designed for a semi-automatic. However, the end result is a bolt that is more mechanically complex than normal. If the appeal of bolt action rifles for you is ruggedness and durability, the MVP hinged bolt is not a step in the right direction. You’re trading the strength of bolt for the convenience of magazine compatibility.
For what it’s worth, the hinged bolt didn’t break on me or cause any serious issues (other than the lack of smoothness in the action that I mentioned in the video), and I don’t know of any widespread problems with the bolt among other Mossberg customers. But as it stands, the design is still relatively unproven, whereas the Ruger is using the same bolt they’ve had on their M77 rifles for ages, and there’s a lot of evidence that it’s not going to fall apart on me.
Of course, we can’t forget that the Ruger’s ruggedness comes at a price — about $300 tacked on to the MSRP, to be exact. Whether that’s worth it will depend on what you expect out of a bolt gun.
Author’s Pick
Naturally, you’re going to want to know which of these two rifles I would pick, if given the choice. Honestly — neither. Try as I might, I can think of no reason I’d want to own a bolt action rifle chambered in 5.56. I will admit that the “mini-scout” idea has a certain appeal. And that’s why I have a CZ 527 chambered in 7.62×39. At 5.87 lbs unloaded, it’s significantly lighter than either the Mossberg or the Ruger, and it still has iron sights and compact 5-round detachable box magazines. Like 5.56, the 7.62×39 ammo is cheap and plentiful, and the caliber is bit better suited for hunting medium game, at least inside 250 yards or so.
If you told me I had to pick a .223/5.56 rifle for this exercise, there’s a .223 version of the CZ 527, but unfortunately it’s only available with a 1:12 twist barrel. That limits the viable bullet weights to a range I’m not really interested in. So my second choice would be an AR-15. Seriously… it’s not difficult to put together an AR that weighs around 7 lbs and is still capable of the kind of accuracy as these bolt guns. To get that weight and accuracy combo, you’ll have to spend more than you would on the Ruger GSR, but the end result is a much more versatile rifle.
If you’re in the market for a 5.56 bolt action carbine, you probably have some very specific reasons for not wanting a different caliber or a semi-auto. If that’s the case, either the Mossberg MVP Patrol or the Ruger Gunsite Scout are solid options.