Airgun Advisor: LCS Air Arms SK-19

Today we have something very special in the studio. I am going to step out on a limb and say this might just be the best combination of fun and accuracy on the market. With an outstanding 19 shots in under 3 seconds combined with the known accuracy of a Lothar Walther barrel and regulator, how could they make this any more fun? The air rifle is the LCS Air Arms SK-19, which is available in both .22 and .25 calibers. The one sent me for testing came from Airguns of Arizona and is a .22 caliber model. We will take a quick look at features, specs as well as consistency and accuracy data. How about this trick shot completed with the SK-19. I call it the can flip and boom! Now let us take a closer look at this monster of an air rifle. Looking over the SK-19 you will notice that it has two safeties built in. One that is easily accessible by the trigger and the other towards the rear of the gun that also operates as the selector switch between full automatic and semi automatic. Towards the back you will also notice the non-removable 19 shot magazine as well as two other switches. The one on the left unlocks the magazine so it can be rotated for loading and on the right side you have a spring loaded, loading gate. Be careful when unlocking the magazine. This lever should not be lifted past horizontal. It is actually difficult to do so, as long as you know how to do it. Two picatinny rails allow for easy scope mounting and removal and the ability to add a bi-pod. The bi-pod rail was well thought out, as it extends out past the bottle. This allows for a little additional leverage and an increased ability to add stability. With a shrouded loather walther barrel and included moderator, the rifle still barks so I certainly wouldn’t say the SK-19 is backyard friendly as is. This rifle is of course regulated and the big silver dial at the bottom of the stock allows for easy adjustment. It took me some considerable time and work with the chronograph to find the sweet spot. The model I tested really seems to like the Redesigned JSB Monster Diabolo pellets. These weigh in at 25.39 grains and are a great match for the power capabilities of this rifle. After a great deal of testing various regulator settings I found that 150 bar was it’s happy place. At 150 bar the LCS is pushing pellets around 900 fps, creating a whopping 46 ft-lbs of energy and allowing the greatest accuracy and consistency. A little tip for you all, once you get it dialed in you can take a fine tip permanent marker and add a line to the dial. This way if you ever happen to turn the dial you can go right back to your setting. The marker can also be erased with a little nail polish remover if you happen upon a better setting or need to adjust for a new pellet. One interesting diversion from factory specs was the shot count. The factory says to expect 80 shots per fill. In my real life testing, I was able to get around 97 shots per fill or almost 6 magazines worth of fun! Looking at the Chronograph data you will notice that over 97 shots the SK-19 was averaging 898 fps with an extreme spread of 65 fps and a standard deviation of 13.7 fps. Which is great considering the fully automatic capabilities of this air rifle. Once dialed in the SK-19 will reward you with accuracy, both in the semi automatic and automatic mode. The cinder block speaks volumes of the accuracy this rifle holds as an automatic, but what about a 50 yard test? Sporting the lothar walther barrel and pushing over 46 ft-lbs of energy the accuracy held. Once the regulator was dialed in I was producing groups of 5 shot groups at .5 ctc! If you need more evidence, head on over and visit my friends at Airgun Nation to see what shooters like Centercut are saying about this rifle. I know that some of you won't be satisfied with just the rifle and want to look at accessorizing it. The first thing I would look to add is the Saber Tactical dual bottle adapter and a second bottle. The SK-19 does use a lot of air and pellets and adding the second bottle makes it twice as fun with less time refilling at the range. I have also heard that Kraford & Lypt might be considering a new butt pad for this rifle. If this is something you are interested in, I would definitely drop him a line to let him know. If you wish to quiet the bark a little more, you will want to look at DonnyFL for adapters and moderators or even a 0db moderator. Finally no airgun like this would be complete without the addition of a bipod, and I would highly recommend the Accu-Tac FC-G2 precision bipod that AoA and other airgun retailers carry. This review was an absolute blast to do and I hope each and everyone of you get the opportunity to shoot an airgun that is this much fun! Thanks for tuning in, and until next time may your trigger pull stay smooth and your pellets fly straight and we will see you again next time on the Airgun Advisor.