The ISSC Scout SR is a straight-pull, toggle-action, 22LR rifle made in Austria. It’s very similar to the ISSC SPA that I reviewed 2 years ago but this one has more of a Steyr Scout look to it: with a full top rail forend and a stock that contains a survival knife if you get the more expensive Scout SR package. ISSC has made 22 versions of other rifles & pistols and had different brands sell them (similar to how GSG makes the Sig 1922-22) and I think this rifle was sold as the Steyr Scout RFR. I don’t care about any of that stuff because I got this for a screaming deal on Black Friday.
ISSC Scout SR Specifications
- Weight: 2.6kg (7.3lbs)
- Barrel length: 510mm (20″)
- Available in 22LR and 17HMR
- 10 round magazine
- 1/2-20 threaded muzzle, which isn’t super interesting in Canada where we can’t use anything as scary as a suppressor
Adjustable length of pull using spacers at the buttpadJust looks that way- 11mm scope base on metal at the back, or use the big plastic picatinny rail on the forend. If you opt to use the normal rear scope mount, you’ll have to mount high to clear the forend rail
ISSC Scout Usability
The large bolt toggle is easy to reach and fast to use but must be used with some force. Going light or slow on it can cause failures. It’s super quick to use. The bolt handle is just slightly different from the SPA: this one cantilevers back a bit more.
The toggle came to me bone dry, unlike my recent Savage A22 which was coated in grease. Oil or grease the bolt toggle surfaces or it’s going to be pretty hanky-janky in use.
The Scout SR uses a safety in side the trigger guard, somewhat similar to an M1 Garand or M1A. I’m not a fan of this style of safety because you’re required to put your finger in the trigger guard to use it, but it is very quick to use and requires no change in hand position.
The trigger press is spooky: a medium weight pull with a bit of take-up and absolutely no “sear wall”. You just pull and it goes off.
The oversized magazine inserts straight and locks at the rear, kind of like an AICS mag but way cheaper made. The size of the mag makes it very easy to grab and manipulate. BUT, the magazine was a VERY tight fit in the magwell on mine. I guess I could file it a bit so it wasn’t so bad but if I filed it too much and it got loose, it might induce feeding issues.
Disassembly is not the worst but not the best. The non-translated user manual is here if you’re feeling brave or just watch my disassembly video.
The barrel is nicely free floated in the barrel channel. Right dead center, and with the long forend, you’re going to be pretty well protected from barrel-induced changes to POI.
Shooting the rifle from standing, you’ll likely want to use the magazine as an improvised rest in the palm of your hand.
ISSC Scout SR and SPA Issues
Varying users have reported different issues with these rifles.
Misfeeds are the main area of issues. The round will nosedive low, forcing you to back up the bolt a tiny bit and ram it forward again. I found that if I accidentally loaded the mag to 11 rounds instead of the stated 10 round capacity, it’d fail to feed every time. After getting about 50 rounds in, I didn’t see very many fail to feeds.
Some users report other issues like extraction and ejection issues. I had the odd fail to eject an empty case. (about 1/30 rounds)
Some have reported issues with flyers. Mine seemed fine on that front.
The bolt that holds the bolt handle on got loose on mine. It’d be cool if they torqued it correctly from the factory.
Some have had issues with the trigger not reliably resetting. This I can buy: you can’t feel the sear at all, you just pull until it fires. The trigger will also not reset if you keep it held down as you cycle the bolt. Not that you’d do that, with a rifle like this, your right hand would run the bolt not hold the trigger down.
Is this thing worth it?
To be honest, it’s kind of a weird mishmash of features in a gun and I’m not super sure what the intended use is. It kinda looks like a Steyr Scout (my review of the Steyr Scout here), but not enough to buy it for that reason. I got this one for a screaming deal so it’s easy to say that it was worth it to me. I can also do minor gunsmithing if I run into any feed issues and I don’t mind at the price point I paid. Getting a weird toggle bolt rifle for the price I paid was fine.
For a fast shooting gun with a red dot, I’d prefer a semi auto.
I can’t say I’d be all over this rifle if it was $600-700. The reliability issues aren’t as forgivable at that price point.
