[Here's the TL;DR summary: very nice/solid rifle, built like a tank with excellent craftsmanship but heavy. First two shorts after sitting unused are basically useless. Too soon to tell if it'll be a long-term keeper...] Hello AGN,
I went and did what I swore to myself that I would not do anymore: I got a first run release of a new rifle. Doing this has typically not turned out well in the past but there's been so few new rifles to pique my interest over the last year, I got tired of buying more Impacts & Leshiy 2's over and over again. This boredom wore me down this month and I picked up the newly released Epic TWO in 0.22 with the short 300mm barrel, aluminum air tube and folding stock. Since it got here on Monday, I've been staring at it and occasionally fondling it but only got the chance to sight it in today and put a few magazines through it. Here are my initial impressions of this rifle (please note that the titanium endcap and Saber Tactical grip are only two non-factory parts shown on this rifle):
LIKES: +Craftsmanship: this rifle is extremely well built using high quality components and feels really solid. The shroud is actual carbon fiber and looks great.
+Simplicity of design: the main components are milled from a solid block of aluminum so unlike the Impact M3, there are a minimal number of screws bolting the different parts together. In fact, the only screws you can readily see on the action are the 3 on the underside that attach the trigger guard to the action, 1 that attaches the cocking bolt to the cocking arm, 1 on the safety and 2 that attaches the retention clip for the folding stock. There are a couple others like the 1 inside the grip that can't be seen - but overall, it's a very clean, uncluttered look unlike the M3 which has bolts and screws everywhere you look.
+I assume this simplicity also applies to the number of o-rings as well but can't confirm as of yet because no owner's manual or schematics are currently available for this rifle.
+The folding stock is awesome but perhaps too robust? The main portion of the factory stock is also milled out of a single piece of aluminum and adds the ability to adjust the cheek rest, butt plate for length of pull and even a bag rider. When folded, it locks securely into the retention clip located on the left side of the trigger guard in front of the trigger. Very well designed stock that's probably thicker and heavier than it needs to be - but given that to add this type of adjustability on the Impact, you're looking at spending $200-$400 for aftermarket parts, this is a welcomed addition to this rifle.
+When folded, this rifle is only 20.5" long . . . which, in theory, could make it a portable backpack rifle but it doesn't have a chance to replace my Leshiy 2 for this purpose because it is noticeably heavier while getting fewer shots per fill.
+Decent shot capacity despite a very small air tube on the 300mm model. At 850-860fps (with regulator set at 100bar), I got exactly 3 full magazines (33 shots) from a 250bar fill down to 100bar in the tube. The TWO can be filled up to 300bar so you could probably get another mag out of it if you fill to that level but that's not practical for me to do on a regular basis so I measure from 250bar down. That's a fraction of what I get out of my FX bottle rifles but not shabby given how short/small this airtube is.
+The safety has indicators on both sides of the rifle. The main safety switch is on the right side of the rifle but there is an indicator that sits flush to the left side of the action that shows you the status of the rifle as well. This circular indicator has a notch in it that is also black (like pretty much everything else on this rifle) - it would be more useful to have some paintfill in that notch so that you can more easily see where it's pointing.
+Accuracy: this Epic TWO is as accurate as I expected it to be, which is 5 shots making one ragged dime sized hole at 40yds. It's too small a sample size to make a final assessment but it appears to be as accurate as my well tuned M3's at this range.
DISLIKES: -The biggest and most obvious flaw with this rifle is that, if you let it sit unused for a couple of hours, the first two shots after that are at a much lower fps and basically useless. When I shot this rifle for the very first time (just taking it out of the box without a scope or anything), I was super impressed because it was nearly silent! Come to find out that this is only because the first shot after non-use is significantly lower and therefore quieter (POI was a good 5-6" lower than normal). The 2nd shot gets a little better but still low; by the 3rd shot, you're back to your normal fps and POI. For reference, this rifle is set to shoot 0.22 15.89g Hades pellets at around 850-860fps. The first shot after non-use didn't even register and the second shot was 812fps before getting back up to normal on the 3rd/4th shot. I'm told this has to do with the balanced valve but I don't know enough about that to explain it here - the main takeaway is that this is completely unacceptable for a hunting rifle b/c you're not likely going to have to chance to fire off two throw-away shots before you can finally aim that third one at your target b/c that squirrel will be long gone by then!
I'm used to either my Impacts or Leshiys shooting the first shot a little high or a little low but those are only 0.5" to 1" off from where I'm aiming and could be adjusted for. The first shot on the TWO is so noticeably lower/slower that is even sounds significantly different - which says a lot! It literally sounds like a different gun altogether on that first shot, as if it's broken.
-The magazine: I've been spoiled by the Impact magazine for its uber high capacity but also by the availability of the STUD speedloading system that allows me to reload in mere seconds. The Epic magazine "only" has 11 shots in 0.22 but you also have to load each pellet one by one and there doesn't appear to be a way to create a speedloader for it. On the plus side, the mag is very deep to allow for taller slugs but with pellets (depending on the skirt of each pellet), some will fall right through to the bottom and almost disappear into the mag while others barely fully make it into the mag and sit high on the filling side. I don't think that having the pellets sit at different depths in the mag will actually affect accuracy since they ultimately get loaded one at a time into the barrel anyways, but the OCD part of me is bothered psychologically by that!
-The worst part of the magazine is that there is no last shot indicator so you have to actually keep track of how many shots you've fired. On other mags, you won't be able to cock the rifle once you've shot the last pellet because the mag indexes to a point in the mag that prevents the pellet probe from closing. With the Epic magazine, the last slot remains open so you can cock and fire the rifle as normal once you've run out of pellets. I wasted one shot on each magazine going past #11 because I wasn't mentally keeping track; with a small air tube with limited capacity as it is, wasting a shot on each magazine is less than ideal. To fix, I'll have to mark or paint the magazine like I did with my Edgun Matador mags to have a last shot indicator.
-The weight: this rifle is heavy for its size. With the Hawke Frontier 18540 (1.5lb) scope on it (and no moderator), this TWO weighs in at just over 9lb 14oz. I did swap out the factory grip for the heavier ST aluminum grip and also added a small scope level but the weight gain there is minimal. As mentioned before, the stock is very beefy and could probably be trimmed down in some places to save weight. For comparison: the 500mm FDE Impact 0.22 shown in the photos below has the larger 580cc bottle, heavier 1.9lb scope and just about every aftermarket accessory I want for it and weighs in a 11lb 2oz.
-The anodizing, while it is uniform and feels nice to the touch, isn't as durable as some others. I've already noticed some light marks/wear to the finish on the trigger guard from putting the rifle on my tripod and the magazine well has a couple of nicks from the normal insertion & removal of the magazine. This doesn't seem to bode well for the long term wear on this rifle.
-The trigger guard is ARCA only with a t-slot for a picatinny rail (not provided). While I appreciate the ARCA slot for my tripods, I often use a picatinny bipod so would need to add a picatinny rail to do that. Also, since the guard prefers to slide into the tripod ARCA mount from the front (tip) of the rifle, if you install a picatinny rail into the t-slot, you would need to remove it each time you want to use the ARCA slots. You can try to open up your ARCA mount all the way out and drop the trigger guard down into it but this is an clunky, imprecise approach and it was in trying to do just that that resulted in the rub marks in the anodizing on the rail.
-The cocking bolt could be better; it is also made out of aluminum but is too small and looks like it's plastic. It is the cheapest looking part on this entire rifle but luckily, I think can have a bigger/better one made by a fellow forum member here for a relatively low price.
-The main air gauge is in the my least favorite place for it, forcing you to stare down the barrel to see the gauge. I realize for a tube gun, this is the cleanest place of it but I would trade some of the clean lines on this rifle to not have to look into the barrel each time I need to check pressure.
-The TWO is louder than my Impacts, but that is to be expected given the shorter 300mm barrel compared to the 500mm Impact. Using the same moderator, the 500mm Impact shoots the 0.22 Hades at 900fps whereas the TWO shoots them at 850-860fps but is still louder
SUMMARY (SO FAR): Will this Epic TWO replace my M3 as my main 0.22 shooter? Unlikely. Can it earn a long-term spot in the safe? Maybe. The main issue at this time is the low first two shots - if they can't fix that somehow in the near future, I'm not realistically going to want to own a rifle for the long run where I have to remember to waste the first two shots (out a total of only 33 per fill) each time I pick it up to shoot.
Here are some photos next to my other rifles for reference:
