LCS Air Arms SK-19 Review/Hunt

Several weeks ago I received the New LCS Air Arms SK-19 in .25 courtesy of Airguns Of Arizona. They outfitted me with this rifle to take into the field and show what the rifles capable of. The SK-19 came in a very nice hard case that was perfect for traveling rough terrain in the Jeep. This was a rifle that I had some previous interaction with at the last Extreme Benchrest so was very excited to field use it.

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RIFLE STATS

The SK-19 air rifle from LCS Air Arms represents a new generation in a semi-auto hammer-less design. Made in the USA! The tactical design and select-fire function allows for semi-auto or full-auto rate of fire. The SK-19 provides an incredible rate of fire and high power in either 22 or 25 caliber. The LCS SK-19 magazine provides 19 shots and will chamber the longest of available pellets or slugs. Accuracy is provided by a Lother-Walther barrel and a highly tunable regulated action. The regulator is adjustable from a small easy-to-access knob just in front of the air fill. A power wheel at the back of the action gives the shooter further command of the air delivery mechanism. The rifle sports two safeties, a picatinny scope rail and bipod rail.  The barrel is covered with a carbon fiber style shroud and silencer for low muzzle report. The LCS SK-19 comes standard with a 480cc removable carbon bottle and two pressure gauges for vital air supply and regulator pressure information. In full-auto fire the rifle will run through the 19 shot magazine in under 3 seconds. The SK-19 is a leap forward in airgunning fun and performance.

Includes hard case with securing straps and room for your favorite scope.

Caliber	.25
Max Velocity	1035 fps
Muzzle Energy	70/lbs
Loudness	Medium/High
Barrel Length	23″
Overall Length	35″
Shot Capacity	19
Barrel	Rifled LW
Front Sight	none
Rear Sight	none
Scopeable	Picatinny
Trigger	Adjustable
Buttplate	Fixed Rubber
Suggested for	Small game hunting/plinking
Action	Fixed Magazine
Safety	Dual Manual
Powerplant	Pre-charged pneumatic
Function	Full/Semi Auto
Max Shots per Fill	75
Body Type	Rifle
Fixed/adj. power	Multiple settings
Weight	7.75lbs
Cylinder Size	480cc
Shrouded	Yes

*Regulator setting is approx 150 Bar

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Marley and I wasted no time packing the Jeep for several days in the remote wilderness where I had planned to film this entire review. The area had recently received a good amount of rain and snow so I wasn’t expecting much hunting action.

The road heading into our camping area was rough and washed out in several places, thankfully the LCS came with a pretty sturdy hard case.

I spent some time setting up all my gear and proceeded to film as much as I could that can be found in the enclosed video at bottom.

I first wanted to get the MTC Optics Cobra F1 4-16×50 FFP scope zeroed at 100 yards as well as to test the speed of both pellets and slugs. The LCS is a select fire rifle that has a fixed 19 shot rotary magazine that takes some time to load.

On the left side of the rifle is a magazine lock that needs to be first lifted in order to be able to turn the magazine freely.

On the right side of the rifle is a flap that can be opened to access loading the magazine.

Once the flap is open we can now load the magazine, this magazine has what looks to be “fine rifling” inside. This is to snug the pellets/slugs in place and to engage them into the barrel during firing, very unique feature.

When the gun is loaded we can now close the flap and lower the magazine lock, the gun is now loaded and ready for action. The LCS has two “safes” located in front and rear of the rifle, one locks the trigger and the other locks the guns firing mechanisms. These are very important to use during any kind of traveling or adjustments. (Make sure gun is NOT loaded during travel, maintenance or adjustments) I tested the speed on the chronograph and found that on high power the 25gr JSB’s were going well over 1000fps.

The SK-19 does have adjustable power that can be adjusted with a knob located just under the rear stock area.

Turning the knob open counterclockwise will increase the power while in clockwise will lower the power. This restricts the airflow through the port to allow us to really fine tune the power levels for various ammo. The regulator is externally adjustable as well but very sensitive to adjustments, the manufacturer discourages this adjustment. The factory setting to the regulator is a blout 150bar and with a 250 bar fill should give us about 75 shots with the 480cc bottle. My first test was 19 shots at 100 yards using the JSB 25.39gr pellets.

The 19 shot group veered to the left reflecting the winds direction, I was very pleased. I think with a fresh cleaning of the LW barrel this group could have been dramatically improved. Next I wanted to test the SK-19 shroud and moderator system to learn if it really quiets the report. I removed the free floating shroud and took several shots to test the sound.

The shroud and barrel are able to be easily removed for cleaning, a design I really like about this gun. The report without the shroud was LOUD and had a very distinct crack similar to that of a rimfire. The shroud and moderator system definitely quiets the SK-19 considerably to moderate levels. The rifle has a nice and long lower picatinny rail that’s perfect for mounting the Accu-Tac bipod.

I like being able to have enough rail to adjust the bipod for the best balance, towards the front seemed to work well in prone positions. Next I set the gun up for some Nielsen Specialty Ammo 33.5gr slugs that were traveling at 905fps. The 34.7 worked very well too but unfortunately I didn’t bring enough to show during my testing here.

These are not cherry picked groups and showed me the potential the SK-19 has for shooting slugs. I think the slight choke makes this gun more suitable for shooting pellets but still was happy with my results. (clean barrel would definitely help) Moving on I took a look at the trigger, a very long and predictable first stage accompanied by a moderate 2nd.

This trigger in my opinion is a good balance between what we really need for target and hunting. I personally don’t like very lightweight triggers in the field, they are dangerous. The fact this is a hammerless rifle definitely plays in on the design of the triggers longer first stage. After a day of field testing I became adjusted to it and found it to be rather pleasant. The SK-19 comes in at just over 8.5 lbs with scope and is very well balanced with it’s 35″ compact design.

Moving on I did some long range plinking in both semi and full auto. Having 19 shots as fast as you can pull the trigger is just plain fun.

To select the rifle to full auto we can use the select fire switch located towards the rear of the rifle. All the way forward is the Automatic firing cycle. This can make the rifle fire 19 rounds in several seconds, should make any airgun enthusiast smile.

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Marley and I headed back to the Jeep where I set up a tent and built a fire pit to keep us warm into the evening.

After some time getting the camp situated we headed out and away from camp several miles following the riverbed. I spotted a Ground Squirrel sunning in a bush at 98 yards and put it down with some full auto action. The SK-19 makes quick work at getting rid of varmints in a flash with 3 solid hits in a second. THWAAACK, THWAAACK, THWAAACK!!!

Marley and I continued on our loop where I was soon able to spot a few Jackrabbits well out of range. The sagebrush is fairly thick in these areas so getting a clear shot would prove to be difficult.

Many times I have taken shots only to have the pellets get deflected by a branch so I rarely take shots through brush unless it’s very close. The sun was coming towards me so I was able to spot the Jackrabbits “amber ears” that stand out very distinctly against the sagebrush.

We made our way to a bluff where I spotted a very large Jackrabbit at 142 yards, I set up the camera as quietly as possible and took the shot. The first shot landed in the shoulder and the second made way into its hind leg as it ran.

Marley sprinted out where she was able to recover it about ten feet from where I hit it.

The SK-19 has tremendous power to reach out to long range and is in fact an extreme airgun. The semi auto is perfect for “running” game animals, something other airguns just can’t hang with. I was so happy I was able to get some luck in this very difficult hunting area. The Jackrabbit made it’s way into my pack and Marley and I continued in our long loop back to camp. We made our way through a big open field where I stopped to do some filming and to take some photographs of the rifle.

The SK-19 is a joy to carry and would benefit well from a single point sling to carry it with. The short length makes maneuvering the rifle through thick brush much easier than that of a long rifle. By this time it was later in the evening and I was seeing little activity on our hike back to camp. The colder weather makes the animals much less active and most are held up in the thick brush trying to stay warm.

After we arrived back at camp I made a nice fire that I would use to cook the jackrabbit later that evening for dinner. The temperature was dropping quickly as the sun went down so having a well built fire was a necessity into the night. I cleaned the Jackrabbit and packed half of it into the cooler to take home for the freezer. I don’t normally cook Jackrabbits in the field but on this occasion I felt it apply well to our evenings dinner. Jackrabbit is a very lean meat and have found boiling it is the best way to cook in the field. To do this I made sure the fire had a good bed of coals to place the pot in for about 20 minutes.

Just one of the large legs had a good amount of meat for me to share with Marley, after 20 minutes the meat falls right off the bone.

I made some Mac&Cheese to go along with the jackrabbit, not the most ideal combination but still good.

It was really nice to have a hot meal that night with the temperatures down into the low 20’s. Marley was happy to share our fresh kill that night and was eager to get snuggled in the tent after dinner.

That night was bone chilling cold, around 2:00am the next morning I woke up to throw some more wood on the fire. The temperature got down to 17 degrees by this time, brrrrrr

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The following morning I was happy to get up and have some fresh coals to build up another fire. What a brutal night that was tough to get through.

The plan for the day was to wait for the sun to come up a bit and then hike to a higher elevation to look for both Cottontails and jackrabbits. Marley and I headed about a mile away from camp up a ridgeline that offered a good view over the sagebrush.

This was a great area because it’s not accessible to vehicles, this keeps many other hunters away and is pretty much untouched by man. We sat on the hill as the sun came up, soon I was able to spot several Cottontail moving on the valley floor. These rabbits are busy and don’t stay still very long, I missed several opportunities due to setting up my camera. After several failed attempts we headed back to camp where I planned to start packing up.

I was really happy that I had the opportunity to get out in the field with the SK-19 and put it through it’s paces away from the bench. The SK-19 is a wonderful rifle and one of the most innovative rifles I’ve reviewed in many years. My opinion of the SK-19 is that it’s no doubt the rifle of the year, well build with performance that’s hard to beat. This rifle fits very well with the type of hunting I do, rugged, compact and reliable. I really appreciate Airguns Of Arizona sponsoring Marley and I to get out and be able to bring this review to the public, we had a great time. Enclosed are my final honest thoughts on this rifle thatI hope may help someone interested in purchasing.

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      PROS

• Lightweight/Compact
• Fairly quiet considering it’s power
• Very adjustable
• Efficient/good shot count
• Powerful
• Shoots pellets/slugs
• Large rails
• Easy to load and fill
• Full Auto feature
• Dual Safety
• Durable/well made

      CONS

• Trigger (long first stage)
• Barrel needs frequent cleaning to hold accuracy

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