Looks like the consensus is these things aren't worth it.
My uncle just got his boys a CVA Hunter Compact in 7mm-08 with the manufacturer's scope (they're just starting out, so I cannot imagine it's $230 poorly spent). How it performs will affect my perception of the original Scout model I posted about, greatly.

For some reason I tend to notice a great deal of CVA hatred in the muzzle-loading forum; I wondered if the same ire is directed toward their center-fire products. I'm genuinely curious as to why people don't like them; for rifles, are they a good low-budget option compared to T/C? Since I already own a bolt rifle, I'm not inclined to dish out big money for a break-action.
If I do get this someday, it'll probably be after this model has sputtered out and not gotten much hype, becoming something of a clearance item at local gun stores a year or two after being pulled from production. That seems to happen fairly often in this business.