I got out on my first hunt of the summer a couple weeks ago, and with a week off work loaded up my gear and headed down to a friends ranch in West Texas. With the LCS SK-19 calling for me to get it into the field, and jackrabbits everywhere, it was a good week!
Hello everyone, I haven’t posted for awhile, been laid up with a back injury but I’m finally back on my feet and getting stronger every day. I’d received the LCS SK-19 from my friends at Airguns of Arizona to use on a hunt that had been canceled due to the pandemic restrictions, and then the aforementioned back issue. But with restrictions being relaxed, I felt it was time to get this innovative Semi/Full-auto into the field and get some hunting in!
I won’t go into all the specifications, because unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you probably know about this American assembled bullpup. A couple key items, the gun I’m shooting is a .25 caliber and is set up for the JSB Kings. It’s a semi-auto hammer-less design with a select-fire function allowing semi-auto or full-auto fire. The integrated magazine provides 19 shots and will chamber the longer pellets or slugs. A Lother-Walther barrel and a highly tunable regulated action produce accuracy and great shot to shot consistency . The regulator is adjustable from an easy-to-access external knob positioned in front of the air fill. A power wheel at the back of the action gives the shooter additional control of the air delivery. The barrel uses a carbon fiber style shroud and silencer for very quiet shooting. The 480cc removable carbon bottle and dual pressure gauges provide both tank pressure and regulator pressure.
I find the LCS SK-19 light and compact, but what really impressed me are the ergonomics: the gun mounts quickly and consistently, and all controls are easily accessed. To be honest, I questioned the choice of an integrated magazine, but it is accessible and easy to load, and was very reliable over the couple of tins of pellets I’ve fed it so far. Time will tell, but I feel confident in the design based on my experience to date.
Over my week in the field, I carried this gun over long distances in fairly rough terrain.I shot the LCS well offhand, but it really shined when I’d sit and shoot of sticks, easily reaching out for those 75 yards rabbits and bowling them over before they spooked. And the terminal performance achieved with this gun and the 25.39 grain JSB Exact Kings was really outstanding. A hit from this combo sent big jackrabbits flipping head over heel!
I have to admit that I shot a couple of rabbits with full auto, to address my curiosity, but for the most part I hunted with the semi-auto selected. Several times I encountered multiple rabbits and was able to double up due to the rapid semi auto fire. And I hate to admit my bad shots, but they happen, on a couple occasions I fired 3 or 4 followup on a running rabbit that I’d wounded, putting them down with the fast follow up. I’ve never used an airgun that allowed such rapid and reliable second or third shots.
I’ll have more coming at you with this rifle, but I have to say it is amazing. Besides the power and accuracy, besides the semi/auto capabilities, the reliability and overall consistency is more than what I expected. This really is a superb hunting rifle in a class of its own!
