Weekend update:
I got my replacement 0.25 350mm long delivered yesterday (was originally sent a 0.30 caliber long by mistake) and so happy to be able to shoot it this weekend! It was painful to have the 0.30 in hand for a couple of days and not even be able to test fire it since I don't have any 0.30 pellets. Now that I have the correct rifle in my possession, here are some additional initial impressions:
- This is my first semi-auto PCP since the FX Monsoon about a decade ago and it's definitely different knowing that the rifle's potentially ready to fire when a mag is installed and the rifle is not folded. It makes you much, much more conscious of making sure the safety is on all the time. Yes, it's basic gun safety but it still makes you a little more conscious of the safety factor.
- The 350mm version is just about the perfect length for me; it's 29.5" from end to end and just under 18" when folded.
- Shoulders really well and pretty light (fully dressed with Vector scope/level, monopod and extra mag it only weighs 7lbs 5oz).
- The laminate grip is much nicer and more comfortable than the crappy plastic one on the original Leshiy. You certainly don't need to replace it with an aftermarket grip but knowing that there will be plenty of nice ones available, I'll probably try a few just for sh@ts and giggles.
- The foam padding inside the factory box has excess glue residue that rubs off onto the rifle in a few areas, making those areas rough to the touch. At first I thought that the affected areas were scratched/damaged during shipping or just poor build quality but a little rubbing alcohol takes the glue right off and everything's good as new again.
- The magazine covers are damned near impossible to remove with your fingernails - it appears that Ed could have made the outer diameter a little bigger so the cover would protrude even 1mm beyond the magazine so that you can get a hold of it with your fingernails. I really don't want to attach an unsightly magnet to the rifle so will wait to see if there's a better solution . . . but for now, it's been easiest for me to use a small allen wrench go through the underside of the mag where the inside of the cover does have an overhang from the pellet hole opening and just push the cover off.
- The Leshiy 2.0 in 0.25 350mm is A LOT louder than my previous Leshiy Classic 0.25 350mm . . . but, to be fair, my old Classic was modded by Ernest (factory shroud was vented) and had a DonnyFL extended shroud/baffle installed. I hope there's an easy way to quiet it down without making the 2.0 longer (or spending another $400+ on another shroud/baffle/moderator setup). As is, this Leshiy 2.0 is easily the loudest PCP I own. Need to check the chrony to see how hot it's shooting and tune it down as needed.
- The trigger is pretty heavy. It appears to have 2 stages so it's better than the original Leshiy but the second stage takes a decent amount of force before it breaks. Will take some getting used to for sure.
- My replacement rifle came completely empty of air - which was very surprising. Sure enough, after filling it to 200bar last night, it leaked down to less than 50bar when I checked it this morning. That was certainly a bummer but a quick text to Brian and a quick quarter turn to the drain screw resolved it - it's this screw here:
And last but not least, no rifle is truly mine until it gets some carbon fiber wrap on it so here it is all ready to get sighted in today:
