Skout Evo - ECR 25" Pellet & Slug

The Skout Evo - ECR 25” Pellet & Slug is a high-tech PCP with unique features. It really has its own place in the airgun market. Many parts of this PCP air rifle are electronic or electropneumatic. That doesn’t only mean less mechanical moving parts, but also offers a complete new spectrum of adjustment opportunities.

As the Skout Evo - ECR 25” Pellet & Slug has so many unique features, we’ll take you through them step by step with clear explanations.

Skout Evo - ECR 25” Pellet & Slug barrel

Skout offers the Evo with numerous barrel configurations. Their own barrel already offers a sub-MOA accuracy at 100 yards, but for those who want even better accuracy, there’s this variant with 25” ECR barrel. This specific barrel has a twist-rate of 1:24 which makes it perfectly suitable for pellets and slugs.

It’s easy to release the barrel of the Skout Evo, if needed for maintenance or a swap. There’s a dedicated toolless clamping system at the back. With a ratchet system, the barrel is tightly secured. The front of the chassis features a secondary clamping system around the carbon fibre barrel shroud. With a twisting movement, the barrel can be taken out and numbered indexing ensures that it can be placed back exactly as you prefer it.

Skout Evo electropneumatic hammer

It’s understandable if this term makes you frown a bit. We’ll explain: the Skout Evo doesn’t have a conventional hammer with adjustable preload that hammers open the valve. Instead, a solenoid-valve (a mechanical valve that is opened with electromagnetism) will open up an air canal. The blast of air coming out, will push open the high pressure main valve that supplies the air needed for the shot. It’s a simple system with not many moving parts, while it still features a high degree of adjustability. The amount of time that the solenoid is opened (dwell time) dictates how long the main valve is pushed open. And that, in turn, dictates the power of the shot and the air efficiency.

We’ll explain the adjustment possibilities of the Skout Evo in a minute, but it makes sense to already explain two of them in more detail, as they are all about the adjustability of this electropneumatic hammer:

• Dwell – this setting provides you with the opportunity to control the amount of time that the solenoid-valve is opened. It’s adjustable between 10 and 50 milliseconds. In a conventional PCP, this would be comparable to adjusting the hammer spring preload
• Valve stick – when shooting with very low pressure or if, after time, the O-rings start to harden and the viscosity of the lubricants reduces, you might experience some delay in the main valve at the first shot. Less air will pass, resulting in one low shot. To compensate for that, the valve stick can be adjusted between 0 and 20 milliseconds. This time will be added to the dwell time, but only for the first shot. After the first shot, the valve stick should be gone.
• Valve stick timer – with this setting, a timer can be set between 1 and 15 minutes for the rifle to be at rest, before the valve stick time is added again to the dwell time for the first shot. This is because of the cooling down of the O-rings and lubricants.

Skout Evo electronic trigger

As mentioned, the Skout Evo features a lot of electronics and a remarkable first step for many traditional shooters is that it needs to be ‘switched on’. The display (we’ll explain more of that later) will light up and the PCP air rifle is ready for use. The electronic trigger is then not yet activated. In front of the trigger, a button is positioned that’ll unlock the safety. When doing so, a red light circle will appear around the button. This means the safety is off and the trigger is ready to fire. When pulled, an electric current is sent to the solenoid that acts as the hammer, releasing the needed amount of compressed air.

The trigger is adjustable in many ways, starting with the trigger blade that can be adjusted in height and angle. Both first and second stage can be adjusted too. Also adjustable is the trigger pressure. But, in a unique way. There’s no spring that pushes, but a magnet that pulls. By adjusting the position of the magnet, the trigger pressure can be adjusted.

Skout Evo regulators

The Skout Evo sports not one, but two regulators. One for the solenoid-valve and one for the plenum/pressure chamber. The regulator marked with HP (high pressure) is the one that regulates the pressure inside this chamber. This is the pressure that is present at the main valve and it dictates (mostly) the power of which a pellet or slug is fired with.

The other regulator, marked with LP (low pressure), deals with the pressure for the solenoid-valve. This will dictate how powerful the blast of air is that opens the main valve. It’s comparable with what the preload of the hammer spring would do.

Both regulators have their own pressure gauges, making them finely adjustable. It’s good to know that the pressure in the LP pressure gauge will automatically raise as the pressure in the HP regulator is increased. This makes sure the balance between the two will stay intact. Of course, the LP regulator can be adjusted manually, without having any effect on the adjustment of the HP regulator.

Skout Evo display

The LCD colour screen will light up as soon as the Skout Evo is activated. Five parameters are then shown:

• Battery status
• Fire/Safe status
• Fire mode
• Breach-status
• Shot timer

The breach-status (Ready – Cycle – Open) is a very convenient feature that tells you if the PCP is ready to fire, if it needs to be cocked or if the cocking lever is still opened. Ideal to prevent double loading. And the shot timer shows you the remaining number of minutes before the safety is automatically switched on again. The fire modes need a bit more explanation.

Skout Evo fire modes

• Limit – in this standard mode, the safety will switch on automatically after every single shot (or when the timer stops if no shot has been fired).
• Match – this is the competition mode, where multiple shots can be taken. Only when the timer stops, the safety will be switched on automatically again.
• Release – this benchrest mode only fires when the trigger is released again. If the trigger is pulled and you decide not to shoot, you just need to press the safety button before releasing the trigger.
• Hunt – a similar setting to the Limit mode, but without voice guidance.

It’s good to realise that the shot timer is active in all modes. The amount of countdown time before automatic safety is engaged, can be set in the programming menu.

Skout Evo buttstock

The Skout Evo features a skeletonised buttstock. This means it’s a lightweight buttstock, made from an open aluminium frame without any unnecessaries. It provides a perfect balance and a minimal weight. There are mounting points for a gun sling and the cheek piece is adjustable in height.

Skout Evo air reservoir

The 500 cc air reservoir has its own valve, which means it can be taken with you separately but filled. The reservoir is connected to a bottle-adaptor, which is screwed into the action of the PCP air rifle. The adaptor can stay in place, thus preventing wear and tear on the thread inside the action. Also, the adaptor features a valve that can be opened and closed and a pressure gauge that lets you know the pressure inside the air reservoir (if the adaptor valve is opened).

Skout Evo rails

On top of the action, the Weaver/Picatinny scoperail has a tilt of 20 MOA. This ensures that on long distances, the adjustment range of your rifle scope will be greater. Under the fore end, a full length Arca accessory rail is placed, effectively guarding the air reservoir. The bottom and sides of this rail also feature M-LOK slots and there’s a ¹/₄”x20 threaded hole underneath.

Skout Evo programming menu

To enter the programming menu, the side lever should be kept pulled back fully, while simultaneously pressing the ON-button and safety button. The following options will then show:

• Fire mode (Limit/Match/Release/Hunt)
• Fire timer (minutes)
• Dwell (milliseconds)
• Breach sensor fault bypass (on/off)
• Speaker volume
• Screen brightness (off/low/high)
• Auto dim (seconds)
• Dim level
• LED-level
• Auto-shutdown (minutes)
• Voice select
• Valve stick (milliseconds)
• Valve stick timer
• Eco-mode
• Software version
• Odometer
• Factory reset

Other features of the Skout Evo - ECR 25” Pellet & Slug

• Removable battery (3,7 V, 925 mAh, Li-ion)
• USB-C connection for in situ battery charging
• Side lever can be switched from right to left.
• Side lever closes with magnets