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Logun Solo air rifle review

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By Pete Wadeson

Wednesday, 11 July 2007

Logun Solo air rifle: Single-shot air rifles are not everyones' first choice, but this award winning Logun Solo will leave you more than satisfied.

Logun Solo air rifle review.
Who would have thought it? The company that brought us the highly praised Logun Professional Air Rifle — a luxury class multi-shot — now goes back to basics with a single-shot pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) sporter.

However, this is Logun, so don't expect a cheap and cheerful one-shot potter.

It's already won the coveted title of Best Air Rifle at the 2005 Shooting Industry Awards (see middle section of magazine).

Hardly surprising, as it's a reasonably priced, practical, accurate and appealing single-shot PCP.

To keep costs down, Logun could have easily just "plonked" the rifle in a standard sporter- style stock and have done with it.

Well, that's definitely not the company way and the Solo boasts a stylish, well-finished and unique stock design that certainly makes it stand out from the fast diminishing single-shot pre-charged pack.



A dark, rich brown stain has been applied to the hardwood, with an application of lacquering to protect the wood from knocks and scrapes. The stock has an ambidextrous well-proportioned cheek piece, with a deeply curved, shoulder-hugging ventilated rubber butt pad.

The pistol grip drops quite steeply, but it compromises nicely by being full enough to fill the hand, yet slim enough of neck to afford a comfortable and assured hold. There are two well-cut chequered panels on either side of the handhold to further aid grip.

The fore-end has a slightly rounded profile, with a flat underside that tapers towards the front. This also boasts two panels of well-cut chequering along either side. The rifle is very light, due in part to the use of aircraft-grade aluminium for the majority of the action and air reservoir.

With the handling and balance spot on — things are definitely looking good for the mechanical scrutiny to follow.

Rugged, reliable and practical
On first handling the Solo, you immediately get the feeling of a rugged and robustly built rifle.

Thanks to the rifle being manufactured almost exclusively from aircraft-grade aluminium, with certain parts of quality stainless steel and brass, Logun has all but eliminated the problem of rust — a curse suffered by many other airguns.

The cocking and loading mechanism and procedure couldn't be more straightforward and, for fieldwork, it is practical. The large blacked-steel cocking bolt is quite chunky and operates with a very precise feel.

To cock the Solo, the bolt is turned up from the original position and pulled fully rearward where you'll hear and feel the trigger sear positively engage.

For safe practice, the bolt should be turned down into the rear keeper slot machined in the action. The rifle comes with a plastic friction fit loading tray that fits into the breech area making loading all the easier, especially for small calibre fans.

The front of the air reservoir takes a push-in double "O" ring sealed insert probe. The recommended fill of 200-bar gives approximately 70 full power shots in .22 and 50 in the .177 calibre.

Another standout feature is the IVAR system. This stands for Integrated Valve and Receiver, a very clever system that employs a facility to allow the air reservoir to be removable and, as it is self-contained — including all valving and "serviceable" internals of the rifle — this means that if anything should need repair or service, you simply unscrew the air reservoir from the action and send this to the Logun Service Centre.

Accessorise
For 'scope fitting, there's a generous run of 'scope rail along the solid action block. I opted to fit an AGS 3 – 9x40 Sapphire Mil-Dot 'scope, a good general purpose mid-spec optic that complements the Logun nicely in terms of handling and balance.



Next I had to choose a sound moderator. The company has designed one of the most efficient sound moderators for PCP air rifles, the Logun MkII. For the shorter "carbine" rifles Logun produces, it has made a special version of this sound moderator called the Compact.

With this spun on to the screw cut muzzle, I was pleased to note this copes admirably well in comparison to larger sound moderators that use more internal baffles.

The bonus is that the shorter length doesn't "stretch" the rifle's overall length and the moderator performs better than any other comparably sized air rifle sound moderator I've tried recently.

The Logun Solo's barrel doesn't seem pellet fussy and produced similarly impressive groups with all the qualities of ammunition I used, including Crosman Accupells, Webley Lazadome, Air Arms Field and Daystate FT, proving the barrel to be of good quality.

With the .177 calibre rifle here on test, I was soon producing ragged ½in groups at 30 yards and kill-zone accuracy can be achieved up to 50 yards and beyond if conditions allow and your shooting is of a high enough standard.

The trigger is a two-stage adjustable unit with a nicely curved blade and far exceeded my expectations of a rifle in this price bracket.

With the pistol grip configuration and comfortable reach to pull, this offers a high level of trigger control on what is a precise and capable unit.

The trigger is factory pre-set and the action does need to be removed from the stock to adjust it.

However, I'm sure the majority of airgunners won't need to start disassembling as they will find the setting to their taste.

A too light trigger adjustment is never recommended and, in this case, if you do try to set it as such, you'll not only have a hair trigger but no second stage of pull.

Conclusion
As a hunter, I like multi-shots. The ease with which I can access another shot and the fact the magazine system negates the need to load a pellet by hand is a luxury I certainly prefer.

Having said this, single-shot rifles still have a place in my gun rack. I still choose one when the situation is such that the shot results in a clean kill or the quarry flying away at the sound of the pellet striking nearby.

These situations occur most often when sniping at birds in trees or when shots taken are opportunistic ones at a quarry that is ready to bolt almost as soon as you draw a bead on it.

In that respect, the ease with which you can drop another pellet in the loading tray and place it directly into the breech is one facet of this rifle that didn't have me complaining.

With a pellet ready to go, just snick the bolt back to drop it in the rear keeper slot for safety. The rifle comes quickly to the shoulder and holds steadily and easily on aim.

This airgun will also appeal to the growing army of HFT (Hunter Field Target) shooters, due to its rugged build, handling capabilities, accuracy potential and, of course, the reasonable price.

The Logun Solo has everything a single-shot PCP air rifle needs, with styling and performance that far outweigh its wallet friendly price tag.

It's built to withstand a lot of use while at the same time being as workmanlike as it is cosmetically attractive.

I might, for once, have been going "Solo", but I bet I'm not alone in my thoughts that this is one very nice rifle.

PROS
• Excellent build quality
• Barrel threaded to accept standard ½in UNF female threaded sound moderator
• Ease of use
• Lightweight and fast handling
• Impressive accuracy potential for such a "basic" value for money PCP air rifle

CONS
• No onboard air pressure gauge

DISTINCTIVE FEATURE
• The stock is one of the most comfortable designs to hold and handle on any single-shot PCP air rifle currently available
• The IVAR system

Logun Solo air rifle

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