Before anyone jumps to any misguided negative conclusions "STOP". Please read my post carefully.
The Skout Epoch in .177 is the best airgun i have ever returned to a merchant for a refund; actually the only airgun i have ever returned to a merchant for a refund.
I specifically waited for the .177 Cal Skouts release before buying the Skout Platform. Primarily because my backyard isn't conducive to larger caliber fun and most of my shooting is field target oriented. At this point in time, 7/29/23, I assume, I am probably one of the very few people who have purchased this gun in this specific caliber as the company intentionally started with the larger calibers and worked their way down.
I loved everything about this gun, the hard case, the accessories, the extra barrel and ohhhh the craftsmanship!
I even liked the annoying little female voice telling me she was powering the gun off or on or that i made a fire fault.
I liked the fitment of the new Donny FL accessory attachment at the end of the barrel; especially when paired with a Silent Thunder Ordnance Moderator!
The icing on the cake is the manufacturer of Skout Epoch - They have without question, the best team of airgun folks I've ever run into... cradle to grave, they are on their game! Huge Kudos to Skout!
So if i like my Skout Epoch soooo much, why did i send it back for a refund?
I purchased this state of the art beast with the intention of using this gun in a soon to be National Shooting event; thus it needs to be completely sorted now, as in perfected, so i could have enough time to become one with the platform and shoot intuitively. This means i don't have time to sort through a problem that requires a manufacturer, no matter how good, to go back and forth with me; especially considering I'm an end user and I am not a technically inclined sort of guy who has the time to take things apart and reassemble them and then test again.
As best i can tell, at this point in time, the Skout Epoch in .177 only has one flaw - the magazines. If you study the pictures you will understand why. The original magazine that came with my gun from the retailer was chewing up the skirts on my JSB 10.34 pellets - my favorite for field target. Why?
Best my pea brain can decipher from the pictures and pellets, is the holes which contain the pellets in the magazine and assist in feeding them into the breech, are just too damn big.
When i sent Skout an email, they immediately jumped into action and sent me two more "reworked"? magazines and a different pellet probe to try.
The new magazines were better but the problem was still there, a problem i could feel it every time i feed a pellet into the bore...way too much resistance for a .177 pellet. I have a clever tool - a perfect carbon fiber rod designed for a .177 barrels which allows me to gently push a pellet back out of the breech to inspect for pellet feed issues; this is how i was able to get a good look at the damaged pellets without firing them - once fired a damaged pellet was visible by where it did not hit the target.
Will i buy this .177 Skout Epoch again? ABSOLUTELY!
bellow picture is pellet skirt from original magazine:
Original mag space around a JSB 10.34 pellet full or partial load
Typical space around pellet in a partial or fully loaded magazine.
old probe
Donny FL adaptor with Silent Thunder moderator - not used to test fire pellets during feed problems.
new probe and new magazines sent by SKOUT
New magazine but still way Easy to see TOO much space around pellet and too little contact surface holding pellet concentrically during feed.
head damage on pellet consistent with pellet canting during loading process.
Point of AIM is always the fine cross hairs on the splatter burst target. Although perfectly Zeroed at 25 yards and locked in on a bench on a no wind day, every pellet was chasing the zero; consistent (i believe) with pellet loading damage.
The Skout Epoch in .177 is the best airgun i have ever returned to a merchant for a refund; actually the only airgun i have ever returned to a merchant for a refund.
I specifically waited for the .177 Cal Skouts release before buying the Skout Platform. Primarily because my backyard isn't conducive to larger caliber fun and most of my shooting is field target oriented. At this point in time, 7/29/23, I assume, I am probably one of the very few people who have purchased this gun in this specific caliber as the company intentionally started with the larger calibers and worked their way down.
I loved everything about this gun, the hard case, the accessories, the extra barrel and ohhhh the craftsmanship!
I even liked the annoying little female voice telling me she was powering the gun off or on or that i made a fire fault.
I liked the fitment of the new Donny FL accessory attachment at the end of the barrel; especially when paired with a Silent Thunder Ordnance Moderator!
The icing on the cake is the manufacturer of Skout Epoch - They have without question, the best team of airgun folks I've ever run into... cradle to grave, they are on their game! Huge Kudos to Skout!
So if i like my Skout Epoch soooo much, why did i send it back for a refund?
I purchased this state of the art beast with the intention of using this gun in a soon to be National Shooting event; thus it needs to be completely sorted now, as in perfected, so i could have enough time to become one with the platform and shoot intuitively. This means i don't have time to sort through a problem that requires a manufacturer, no matter how good, to go back and forth with me; especially considering I'm an end user and I am not a technically inclined sort of guy who has the time to take things apart and reassemble them and then test again.
As best i can tell, at this point in time, the Skout Epoch in .177 only has one flaw - the magazines. If you study the pictures you will understand why. The original magazine that came with my gun from the retailer was chewing up the skirts on my JSB 10.34 pellets - my favorite for field target. Why?
Best my pea brain can decipher from the pictures and pellets, is the holes which contain the pellets in the magazine and assist in feeding them into the breech, are just too damn big.
When i sent Skout an email, they immediately jumped into action and sent me two more "reworked"? magazines and a different pellet probe to try.
The new magazines were better but the problem was still there, a problem i could feel it every time i feed a pellet into the bore...way too much resistance for a .177 pellet. I have a clever tool - a perfect carbon fiber rod designed for a .177 barrels which allows me to gently push a pellet back out of the breech to inspect for pellet feed issues; this is how i was able to get a good look at the damaged pellets without firing them - once fired a damaged pellet was visible by where it did not hit the target.
Will i buy this .177 Skout Epoch again? ABSOLUTELY!
bellow picture is pellet skirt from original magazine:
Original mag space around a JSB 10.34 pellet full or partial load
Typical space around pellet in a partial or fully loaded magazine.
old probe
Donny FL adaptor with Silent Thunder moderator - not used to test fire pellets during feed problems.
new probe and new magazines sent by SKOUT
New magazine but still way Easy to see TOO much space around pellet and too little contact surface holding pellet concentrically during feed.
head damage on pellet consistent with pellet canting during loading process.
Point of AIM is always the fine cross hairs on the splatter burst target. Although perfectly Zeroed at 25 yards and locked in on a bench on a no wind day, every pellet was chasing the zero; consistent (i believe) with pellet loading damage.
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