Jeff Cooper was very specific about what a ‘Scout Rifle’ should be: 7.62mm or larger in caliber, 39 inches or less in length, and no more than 6.5 pounds empty with a forward-mounted scope. The new Mossberg MVP is none of this (MVP stands for ‘Mossberg Varmint Predator’) but it does have two very practical features which might make it a big hit in the AR-saturated American market: its 5.56 NATO-friendly chamber and standard AR magazines . . .

Mossberg gets this part of the rifle absolutely right. When I think about the mountains of AR magazines and low-priced 5.56x45mm ammo out there, I have to wonder why anyone would chamber a rifle in ‘.223 Remington only’ and feed it from proprietary magazines these days.

Remington had a great idea they modified their Model 7600 pump-action rifle to accept AR magazines, but they blew it when they chambered it in civilian-only .223 Remington (no surplus ammo for you) and priced it too high. It wasn’t any cheaper than entry-level AR-15s, and let’s face it: who wants to play the slide trombone when they can rock and roll instead?

The MVP is too long and heavy for its chambering to appeal much to the ‘tactical’ crowd, but it’s a natural choice for AR owners interested in longer-range shooting with their stashes of 5.56 ammo and AR magazines. After all, its 24-inch barrel will give 200-250 more fps than an M4’s 14.5-inch tube, and almost 20% more energy at the muzzle.  And it might appeal to a whole new SHTF market if Mossberg can trim it by a few inches and a few pounds.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

43 COMMENTS

  1. Slap a Beta-mag onto that sucker!

    I don’t understand why mfg’s choose to make proprietary magazines in common calibers.
    Example: .308 ARs. There are two different systems. The one that is winning is the one Magpul can make a magazine for and sell for $20 instead of $50.

  2. I have a 7615 16 inch barrel, ar15 mags and it is in 55.6 NATO stamped. I bought it for a quarter of the price of my ar15, and still I haven’t taken it out of my safe for 4 years. It just isn’t practical, and defenetly not for SHTF.

  3. Rocky:

    You got a rocking good deal, and it seems I was wrong about the chambering (I took Remington at their word.) The 7615 has an unjustifiable MSRP, and it’s such a low-volume item that street prices are no better. The handful I’ve seen up close have been priced in the low $800s.

  4. What’s the MSRP on this sucker?

    I recently bought my first gun several months ago (a basic beyond basic Ruger 10/22) and have now come to realize that this site promotes GBA. Gun Buying Addiction. 😛

  5. So will this be in .223 rem ? I would hope with the market Mossberg is aiming at the sensible option wold be the Wylde chambering.

    • If your firearm shoots 5.56mm it will also take .223 Rem. It’s the reverse that gets you in to trouble. You can’t put the 5.56’s through a firearm marked .223 or .223 Rem.

  6. I tried looking around and read Mossberg’s press release, but I can’t find when this is supposed to come out.

  7. OK. I am going to offend some people with this comment. Please picture that I am saying this while standing on the roof of my house and shouting in a voice brimming with frustration and rage.

    A freakin’ boltie with a 30 round magazine? Why? (yes I know it comes with a standard 10 shot, but it accepts AR mags.)
    Isn’t that like piling a hundred bolts next to the guy who has to crank his crossbow?
    Giving a bowler 6 balls even though he has to wait for the pinsetter to work?
    Putting a Hemi in a “Smart for Twoâ„¢”?
    Attaching a cocktail straw to the end of the hose to water your lawn?

    What is the point?

      • I noticed that one of the upgrades to the SFT is an alarm system… I wonder if it goes off when someone just tucks the car under their arm and walks away?

    • Not a new concept, Bob. During World War I, American armorers tried to adapt the 1903 Springfield into a counter-sniper “periscope rifle” by, among other things, installing a 25-round magazine. The MVP as a counter-sniper police/SWAT-style rifle would not be bad if you mount a quality piece of glass, a strong bipod, and tough sling on it. I also think such a rifle would be just plain fun for shooting prairie dogs, especially not needing to top off your expensive, paltry capacity Accuracy International and proprietary magazines numerous times throughout the day.

    • While I’m not offended, I don’t understand the rage. If you’re going to make a rifle chambered for 5.56, why reinvent the magazine wheel? There are lots of cheap, reliable AR magazines available. If you don’t want to shoot it with a 30 round mag, don’t.

    • you do know that AR mags come in 5, 10 and 20 round sized too…

      people think they are smart! you failed!

    • Bob, I know you posted this comment a long time ago. but I just saw it for the first time today. The whole point of the Scout Rifle Concept that this rifle is based on the idea that a bolt action defenseve rifle will nearly always be more accurate and less prone to malfunction than a semi-auto. When it comes to accuracy technology has equaled the playing field. But when it comes to simplicity of the system and reliability, the bolt action will always win. Ease of repair is a big concern and the bolt action wins here as well. Far less moving parts means less to malfunction and break down.

  8. N00b question, I’ve noticed people around the Internet claiming that trying to feed a bolt-action with semiautomatic magazines is a problem waiting to happen. Am I missing something here? Thanks in advance!

  10. I have just discovered news of the MVP and I am shocked at the amount of bad feedback it seems to be getting. I love my shooting but have a limited budget to lavish on it. This new Mossberg seems to tick many boxes without the need for customiseing.
    I am sure in the here in the UK we will have to pay a huge price for this new rifle which will hamper sales. I think you people are lucky to have access to far more than we do. I for one hope that the MVP will be a success.
    Regards Frank

  11. Ok my take on this is “How accurate is it out of the box?” seeing how much accuracy you can wring out of the AR platform you have to stop and ask why a bolt gun?????

    Second how many rifles in .223 or 5.56 does a person need? Seeinghow you can buy upper to no end mail order for your AR you can have your light wight plinker, heavy Space Gun or play GI Joe with your version of a M4 all on one lower.

    Third if you are going to put the word Varmit in a rifles model name you had better show up with something that is at least as good as Savages Varmit Rifles , Rugers Varmit Rifles, Remingtons Varmit Rifles etc……..Some how I doubt that anything Mossberg builds is going to be a 1MOA gun out of the box for a 5 shot group let alone a 30 round magazine worth…….LOL If their ATR 100 and 4X4 is any indication those are Minute of Deer rifles not Minute of Angle rifles…..You do not build Yugo’s as in the short lived car’s in the 1980’s then all of sudden decide to build Roll’s Royce’s……A good manufacture will only have one standard of quality fit and finish not tiers of quality and precision of fit and finish so I have doubts about this rifle. If they manage to build this one right then how come the other products are not as accurate????

    How about they give us a semi-auto rifle that can accomadate 30-30, 7.62×39, 338 Win Mag or .338 Lapu etc…….Make it a 1 MOA gun with factory ammo and sell it for $500 that would impress the heck out of me!!! It has to be durable and monkey proof say M1 Grand Meets Dragonav and has offspring that are accurate and built like tanks and cheap to build and sell!!!

    Personally I think Remington and Mossberg and all the other late to the show interlopers that are now coming out with AR based weapons are really pathetic! What rock have they been under for the last 20 years while people have been showing up at Camp Perry and at Deer Camp with AR’s???? To date no one has built a semi-auto hunting rifle that is worth a darn. They have all been turds! Even the SKS design is better then anything we have seen from the US Domestic OEM inthe last 20 years in Semi Auto designs intended to be marketed to hunter’s.

    Any idiot can design and build an expensive rifle but what we really need is a solid non-bolt action semi-auto that can accept real hunting rounds including belted magnums for well under $1000 say no more then $600……… I am sure I will have to wait for China to take over the manufacturing world before I can hope to have anyone in the firearm industry lesson to common sense and do something innovative.

    • As far as Mossberg and accuracy “out of the box” – all I can speak to is the little Super Bantam Weight bolt gun in .243 I bought a few weeks ago. After shooting a whole box of Academy Sports brand (Monarch) – I was worried – “minute of deer” was about it (8 inch “group” at 100 yds.)

      I bought a couple other boxes of ammo – only to find that the Remington 80gr. PSP ammo (yes, the cheap stuff) shot a group of just under an inch at 100 yes from the bench – all with a 4X scope. I would say it shoots!

  12. I love the versatility! That’s why I have Marlin Camp Carbines that take my S&W 5904 mags; Winchester lever action in .45LC to go with my S&W Model 25; Marlin .357, etc. I was looking at the Ruger Scout rifle, but the mags scare me away. I’d like to see Mossberg expand this to include a .308 that takes M-14/M1A mags…

  13. If they can make this system work I think it’ll fill a nitch. The whole SHTF rifle would work out well. Shave acouple of pounds with the synthetic stock and throw a picatinny rail on top and the AR masses would go nuts. Alot of people already have a “tacticool” AR and I think this would plug in well in that aspect. A deer rifle? No not really. Just a varmit rifle that packs a bit more punch the your .22 HMR or .17 Hornet. I’d want to take one out and try it before I laid out cash for it. Over all I think it shows some promise.

  14. SO its 5.56 for the military/ m4 shooting but the mossberg mvp can you shoot either the .223 or 5.56 or is it only one or the other?

  15. Love the rifle, hate the caliber. I will never own a .223/5.56. I do have an AR15 I built in 6.8×43(AR Performance) I love the AR mag feature, and bipod. I HOPE Mossberg considers the 6.8×43(AR Performance/11.25 twist 5 groove) Its what the 6.8 SPC should have been if Remington had not messed up the bore dimensions when it offer their rifle in this caliber. I want the 6.8×43 in a bolt! Be nice to have both an Ar and a bolt at the range and use the magazine in either rifle! 85 grain Barnes TTX @ 3000fps is a hog slayer!(16″ barrel) Deer, yotes, etc…as well.

  16. I’m just getting to know my 458 socom AR-
    but if mossberg were to throw a threaded 458 barrel on this offering….
    …now we are talking 😉

  17. Remchester and Winmington better get on the stick. Wondering when Boyd’s will come out with a lefty thumbhole stock that fits this righty bolt machine…

  18. Message body

    Ken,

    Thanks for your email. The MVP Series of rifles is a very exciting and innovative concept. Due to a delay from a vendor, who is supplying some parts, production will not begin until later this month. I would anticipate MVP Varmint rifles on dealer’s shelves in March. Look for more introductions to this family of bolt-action rifles later this year.

    Several publications have featured very-detailed reviews of the MVP rifle. One of the best was in the November issue of RifleShooter magazine.

    Thanks again for your comments.

    Best regards,

    Linda Powell

    Director, Media Relations

    O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc.

  19. Just picked one up today from Academy Sports in Humble, TX, put a Mueller APT on it and tested a mixed bag of ammo. It does not like my favorite Pdog load using a 40gr Vmax. It shoots 55gr ammo reasonably well. Feed it a 60gr Vmax and it’s very happy. I was getting very tight (well under 1 inch, I think) groups and was kicking my self for not remembering a measuring tool. Pmags seem to be a little tight but any metal magazine was easy to remove. I think this rifle is going to get an SWFA Super Sniper 16x in the near future.I hope Mossberg plans a heavier caliber model soon, I’d love to see a 7mm-08 or 260 Remington version.

  20. I have a scenario. Say the Al Queda or taliban invade. You can pick up any old M4/M16 mag on the street, because with this rifle you would not waste ammo because of the fire rate. You can pick up any old mag because the muslims hate the west and wont use an “infidel rifle”.

  21. To all the AR fanboys this is the ultimate ‘put up or stfu’ rifle…for $545 and a $240 Vortex I shot a 1″ 10-shot group at 175yards right beside a ‘tacticooled’ Rock River AR…that managed 4 shots before it jammed…and halfway thru my SECOND 10 shot mag he finally had it clean enough to operate…ya boy those AR-15s sure are a ‘wonder weapon’….as in ‘wonder when the damn thing is ever reliable!’

    This rifle is a gorgeous piece of engineering and a breath of fresh air to the Varminter on a budget….223/5.56 AND AR mags is exactly what sold me….didn’t even compare to the nearest AR15 @ nearly double the pricetag

    • this is a great shooting rifle,anybody that says it is not has never had a chance to test it out,have had one for a few months now and would give up my ar before this rifle.It feeds great and i have not had any problems with it,it shoots great groupings under 1 inch at 100 yards.The lightening bolt adjustable trigger is better than a accure trigger,good product at a good price,

    • this is a great shooting rifle,anybody that says it is not has never had a chance to test it out,have had one for a few months now and would give up my ar before this rifle.It feeds great and i have not had any problems with it,it shoots great groupings under 1 inch at 100 yards.The lightening bolt adjustable trigger is better than a accure trigger,good product at a good price,

  22. This looks desirable precisely for the reasons mentioned in the article. NATO chamber and AR mags seem very sensible. As to the scout rifle moniker, for an initial foray into a military magazine-ed and caliber riles, not too shabby. If they Mossberg is listening, .308, 1 in 10 twist, 20 inch barrel, the ability to use either AR-10 or FN magazines (a la Rock River), and an extended Picatinny rail would make a fine “rifle to have if you are only having one.” Of course keeping the price point and oh yeah, it shoots straight would help too.

    As to unreliable AR rifles, can’t complain about mine. In a personal test, over a thousand rounds went out the tube over several range sessions with a single additional application of TW25B grease and no pauses in the action (added the grease midway through just cause).

    Looking forward to the 7.62 version!

    • My old Bushmaster M4 is one of the most reliable rifles I’ve ever had. Looks like hell but works every time and hits where I aim so no complaints here.

  23. Short and sweet- the only thing I would add to the scout rifle concept is the ability to take it down and make it into a pack rifle as well. Ruger came out with a 10/22 that does this in a very neat way. I realize that this will cause some to complain about sacrificing accuracy , ballistics, etc.; but in my opinion, a true SHTF rifle needs to fit in a backpack in a bug out scenario.

  24. I saw my first MVP at Gander Mountain today for $579 and I am hooked. The idea is GREAT for a “Walking Around” Prairie Dog gun. I shoot dogs from my RASS Bench with my .220 swift, and my buddies use their custom .22-250s and .223 Varmint guns, but about HALF of our shooting is “Walking Around.” One of my buddies uses his Savage in HMR and it does OK if you can call the wind out to about 125 from the walking stick bipod. Another buddy uses a nice single shot TC with set triggers in .22 K-Hornet which works out to 175….My Rock River AR did FINE, if you enjoyed crawling around in the cactus and rattlenakes and P-Dog fleas to pick up your BRASS which you recovered at best maybe 50%. LAST year the AR sat in the bag and I used my Marlin .22lr which gives me 3/4″ at 50….and all I got was whatever my buddies left me at 75 yds or less…I called them “sloppy seconds…”

    I was just about settled on a nice Sako medium weight .222 with a Leupold fixed 12x USED for $1000 for next year….

    A 7 blb BOLT in 5.56? (Yeah, I wish it was Wylde to be a LITTER tighter chamber than NATO too…) What a P-dog “Walkers” DREAM. Come over a little rise and see HUNDREDS of new dogs waiting to be killed at 50-200 yds….with the 30 round mag, there will be no fumbling in your pockets for reloads when the yipper pops out at 75 or 100 yds….

    This one may be JUST what I am looking for…. And NEW with a NEW Leupold Scope for about the same price as the Sako, in a round I ALREADY load for….HHHmmmmmm….

  25. your missing the point guy – they never claimed it would be a scout rifle ! if anything it’s closer to what they call a Practical Rifle in Some Places ? Takes The same Magazines as a Semi -Auto but it’s a Bolt Gun ! could be handy if you own an Ar15-M-4 or anything that takes the Traditional Stanag Magazines as well ! it’s supposed to be for varminting / general hunting & just plain fun shooting ! { informal Target shooting } ect… I kinda Like it Myself ! As an added Bonus for or to some ? It looks More like a Standard varmint / Hunting rifle Than your average At-15 pr other military style sporting rifle ! Or as My wife would say It’s Got Pretty wood !!!! I have a Few Black Rifles which My wife thinks are Ugly { No pretty wood } so this one may be my next pretty rifle lol!!! – if you want a Scout rifle by all means buy one build one or have one built ! but don’t buy a varmint rifle and complain that it’s not a scout rifle no matter if it takes magazines or not

  27. I have a short barrel MVP with a Gemtech Quicksand suppressor on it and it’s one of my favorite sub-sonic rifles ever. It’s handier than my EBR Wraith and every bit as accurate at 100m. So let’s see. Quiet, handy, accurate (using Leopold AR15 mildot) and light. The only complaint I do have is that it’s picky about magazines. I never use anything larger than 20 rounders as the tend to feed the best in all rifles and it’s even a bit persnickity about them. If that’s it’s only bad habit, I’ll live with it.

  28. I would like to see this in .300 or .308 like the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle. I can reach out to 200 to 300 yards with my AR platform and dont want a bolt action .223. Just keep the price around the same and you would have a huge success.

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