Counterintuitively, scout rifles pair a longer effective range with larger magazine, higher RoF, lower per-shot-damage and faster reload. Except for the range, they're a lot more pistol-like than the actual pistols are. You might need to practice using a medium-range scope, double-tapping headshots, not reloading until you actually need to or have a gap, or maybe just pulling the trigger more. You have lots of ammo and a quick reload, which means you don't have to be so circumspect, and it's alright to drag shots up the body towards the head. The MIDA is unusual for a scout rifle: it has a shorter range, less zoom, and a higher RoF. If you're comfortable with pistols, you might be better off with a heavier scout rifle, like the Saterienne Rapier or the Cryptic Dragon. Finally, reload cancelling: any action (melee, switching weapons, sprinting) done after the number clicks up will cancel the rest of the reload animation, for even faster reloading. This is also true for handcannons, but you can only cancel the last ~10% of their reload, instead of the last ~40%.