The Steyr Scout is an Austrian Sniper Rifle available in Phantom Forces. It is unlocked at rank 195 or could be purchased using credits.
History[]
The Steyr Scout is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed in the 1990s by Austrian firearms manufacturer Steyr Mannlicher. The design is based on the scout rifle concept, defined by Jeff Cooper, an American firearms expert who also was involved in the design of the Steyr Scout. The rifle is designed to be a versatile, lightweight all-around rifle and as such, the Steyr Scout meets most of his specifications of a scout rifle - a bolt-action rifle less than one meter in length, weighs less than three kilograms unloaded, has iron and optical sights, is fitted with slings and can hit a human sized target out towards 450 meters.
The Steyr Scout is primarily chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO rifle cartridge and .308 Winchester - the commercial version of the 7.62mm NATO round, however, other calibers such as the 5.56×45mm NATO, .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, 6.5 creedmoor, .376 Steyr and 7mm-08 Remington rounds are available.
The rifle has been in limited service since 1999, being used by the Taiwanese 'Thunder Squad' - a SWAT counter-terrorist unit, as well as Kazakh SWAT teams and was previously used by the Kosovo Liberation Army during the Kosovo War.
In-Game[]
General Information[]
The Steyr Scout has abnormally low damage values for a sniper rifle, being the lowest in-class. With bodyshots, the Scout is a three-shot kill (3SK)—worse than every other sniper rifle. However, due to the high headshot multiplier, it is able to perform a 1SK to the head at all ranges. Range, although sporting a very short maximum range value, does not affect the weapon's shots to kill (STK) requirement at any range, thus not affecting the weapon's overall performance.
The Steyr Scout also boasts a very high rate of fire (RoF) at 85 RPM, the highest of any bolt-action rifle in-game and surpassing two semi-automatic sniper rifles, Dragunov SVDS and the M107, although is still behind the other two semi-automatic sniper rifles, the Dragunov SVU and the WA2000. Muzzle velocity is around average for a sniper rifle at 2700 studs per second. With body shots, the weapon boasts a poor time to kill (TTK), lagging far behind other peers in its class, but with headshots, has the exact same TTK as other sniper rifles.
Magazine capacity is slightly above average, at 10+1 rounds—the second-highest in-class, only beaten by all semi-automatic sniper rifles (excluding the M107 without its Extended Magazine) and the AWS. The Steyr Scout's ammunition reserve is also considerably large, at 64 rounds, equating to a starting ammunition total of 72 rounds. Reload times are fairly quick for a sniper rifle, with a tactical reload of 3.5 seconds—again, the second-best in-class only being outperformed by the SVU, TRG-42, AWS, and AWM in this regard—and an empty reload time of 4.5 seconds. Other handling traits are also good. It sports the fastest aim down sights (ADS) time and highest mobility in-class—tied with the Mosin Nagant.
Usage & Tactics[]
The Steyr Scout is similar to the other sniper rifles where bodyshots will require multiple follow-up shots to kill a target. Unlike the rest of the sniper rifles, the Scout will require three shots instead of two. Therefore, headshots are integral to performing well with the Steyr Scout. Missing a headshot is much more punishing with the Steyr Scout than most rifles, so if a user does miss their intended target, it is recommended to quickly move to a safe location, as it is likely that the enemy has had time to react and return fire. This makes close-quarters-combat (CQC) challenging for the Steyr Scout, as missed shots up close are more likely to result in a death given the presence of shotguns and fully-automatic weapons. At longer ranges, the small profile of an enemy's head makes it harder to perform a 1SK with the Steyr Scout, although the RoF makes follow-up shots somewhat easier to perform.
This gives the Steyr Scout an interesting dynamic. Whilst being the fastest-firing bolt-action sniper rifle (even surpassing the semi-automatic SVDS and the M107) in-class and theoretically being capable of killing more enemies much faster than other sniper rifles, it is a very difficult and high risk weapon to use. Without headshots, the weapon is the worst-performing sniper rifle but with them, is more effective than nearly every other sniper rifle. This ultimately makes precision key for effective use with the weapon, as well as taking advantage of its pros: superb handling, magazine capacity and high RoF.
A user should adopt a more shoot-and-move or aggressive playstyle with the weapon by either moving frequently from advantageous positions on the map to retain the element of surprise or pushing enemies as long as it is facing individual enemies. Steyr Scout users should prioritize movement to separate locations, peeking from behind cover to engage the enemy before repositioning themselves to a safer location. The high magazine capacity and high RoF also means a user can easily kill multiple enemies in quick succession so long as they hit consecutive headshots. The high mobility speed also allows the user to run around the map with their weapon out faster than nearly every other sniper rifle. It is also advised to carry a versatile secondary weapon given the high-risk factor of the Steyr Scout, like the Serbu Shotgun, the Judge or the G18C.
As mentioned, precision is key with the Steyr Scout. This makes a user's choice of optical attachment more important than other weapons. Although the iron sights are quite clear and work well for CQC, a higher-magnification such as the VCOG 6x Scope or the Leupold M8-6x optic are highly recommended with the Scout, as they improve a user's ability to hit a target at longer distances as well as be more precise in their shot placements. Although a user's preference will dictate their choice of optic, it is important to note optics with a large reticle or obtrusive optic housing will hinder the weapon's usefulness. An option for more medium-ranged maps is the TA11 ACOG with its magnification level of 3x instead of 6x.
Barrel attachments are less useful although some are worth considering. The recoil-reducing barrel attachments are negligible in effect on the Steyr Scout, leaving only the Flash Hider, the Muzzle Booster and the suppressors. The flash hider is worth considering given the reduction of muzzle flash provides a clearer view on target. However, this comes at a cost of reduced hipfire accuracy. The muzzle booster, however, increases the RoF and is far more practical than the flash hider in practice. Only the regular suppressor retains the 1SK to the head at all ranges, so is arguably the best choice for a suppressor given the preservation such an asset, even with the strong reduction in muzzle velocity.
Underbarrel attachments are similarly less useful overall. Grips increase the ADS time and have little effect on the weapon's recoil given its bolt-action nature, with the exception of the Sideways Grip and the Skeleton Grip. Laser sights are, however, are a nice addition to a user's loadout and help increase the chance of landing a hipfire close-ranged shot in situations where reaction time is critical. In terms of auxiliary attachments, the Ballistics Tracker is quite useful, as aiming for the head is critical to the Steyr Scout's performance, so is arguably the best choice for inexperienced users. Additionally, the Straight Pull Bolt will give the user a huge advantage by being able to cycle the bolt while scoped in, but the reduced RoF may somewhat hinder the weapon performance. A user may wish to equip a Laser if they do not have access to the Ballistics Tracker or the Straight Pull Bolt.
A unique conversion for the Scout is the .376 conversion, which allows it to one-shot to the chest up to 50 studs, also retaining the normal one-shot headshot range. Without any downsides, it can definitely make it easier to earn kills with the Scout.
Conclusion[]
The Steyr Scout is extremely hard to master and requires extreme precision, but it is by far one of the most, if not the most fearsome weapons if faced against a practiced user. Its high firerate, magazine size and high mobility speed lends itself to aggressive mobile playstyles. Headshots are critical to the weapon's performance, making the weapon very focused on precision and accuracy more so than other sniper rifles available.
Pros & Cons[]
Pros:
- Second fastest tactical reload in-class.
- Fairly quick empty reload time.
- Second highest magazine capacity in-class.
- Highest ammunition reserve in-class.
- Fastest ADS time in-class.
- Highest mobility in-class—tied with the Mosin Nagant.
- Clear iron sights.
Cons:
- Lowest damage in class.
- Poor penetration compared to other sniper rifles.
- Loses 1SK to the head at longer ranges with any suppressor besides the Suppressor.
- No optics unlocked by default, unlike other snipers which have a sniper scope available by default.
Trivia[]
- The Steyr Scout used to use animations and sounds from the Remington 700 reloads and the bolt cycle of the Mosin Nagant before its addition.
- The Steyr Scout had a scope exclusive to the weapon, the Leupold M8-6x. This was changed in v4.14.0. The scope can be unlocked at 5000 kills for the other sniper rifles, but remains at 1500 kills for the Steyr Scout.
- It was originally the Leupold M8-4x, however, it was changed to 6x magnification.
- The Steyr Scout features an integrated bipod, seen on the weapon's fore-end. Although it is modeled in game, it is unusable.
- The Steyr Scout in-game previously was chambered in the 7.62x51mm NATO round but was changed to fire the .376 Steyr caliber, which resulted in a change in the capacity of the weapon's magazine to 8+1 rounds instead of 9+1 rounds. However, the reserve ammunition count remained the same and is not divisible by the new magazine capacity, leaving four rounds spare after emptying seven total magazines.
- The .376 Steyr (9.5x60mm) is a large bore rifle cartridge, developed upon the 9.3x64mm Brenneke. This cartridge is more potent than the NATO standard 7.62x51mm. Steyr no longer offers the Scout rifle in this cartridge.
- On the stock of the weapon, there is a StyLiS Studios logo.