I'll make my own Scout Rifle!

When Ruger introduced their .308 caliber "Scout Rifle" a couple of years ago, I looked forward to it with great anticipation. I thought that it would fill a need in my firearms battery.
But, I was disappointed. Some of its downers were: a 16 inch barrel (I would prefer 20 inches), a single stack 10 round magazine (this was idiotic! One purpose of a scout rifle is to have more rounds at your disposal), No guides for stripper clips (although this would be a desirable feature, a person could live without it), and a price of $995! Also, extra 10 round magazines cost around $70 and up! So, I decide to look elsewhere.
One product that I found was Howa. This rifle manufacturer is in Japan. However, they do make great products. And, their guns have also been sold under the names of Weatherby, Mossberg and Interarms. These guns sell for around half the cost of the Ruger Scout. One that I am looking at is the Howa Ranchland Compact. It has a 20 inch barrel. It weighs 7.15 pounds. It comes in several calibers, but I prefer the .308. Its list price is $558.
Although it comes with only a five round capacity, Advanced Technology (ATI) makes a 10 round detachable magazine kit for it. This kit has a list price of $98. It would make this rifle have detachable 10 round magazines just like the Scout. The list price for extra 10 round magazines is $52.
And, I would prefer that this rifle have iron sights (I like those in case of a scope malfunction), everything else about it seems to be desirable.
I am sure that all of the prices I mentioned will be lower in gun stores. There may also be some used ones selling for a good price. Anyhow, I think I will make my own "Scout Rifle" for about half the cost of the Ruger product.

I just watched on you tube while a gentleman did this conversion. It looked to be as easy as falling out of a tree. I really do think this is what I will do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NgCJiO_yCQo&feature=endscreen

It sounds like you might be on the right track. If iut is as good as the ruger which is more expensive it might be the way to go. Keep all of us posted.

I decided to bump this thread back to the top to make it easier to read with the other post about Ruger's Scout Rifle (All I want for Christmas is...)