40 AIR GUNNER

rifle for riflemen…and women,presumably.

So where do we begin? The layoutfollows the proven barrel-over-reservoirstyle and incorporates an 8-shot all metalrotary magazine, which itself offers somevery nice design details. The reservoir isfilled to a recommended pressure of 195BAR, with a fairly normal brass dual ʻOʼring type probe, which is inserted into thetip of the reservoir at ʻsix oʼclockʼ. Thefemale connector is cleverly protectedfrom dust and grit by a rotary collar thatturns inside the main body of thereservoir. This makes it discreet andeffective, and while this is only a smalldetail it does add to the clean lines andtop class engineering.

TRULY AMBIDEXTROUSThe star of the show and a powerfulselling point has to be the fact that this isa truly ambidextrous design. Just howambidextrous? Well, not only the stock,but the bolt action is designed to makeboth right andleft-handedshooters totallycomfortablewithout theneed for specialordering or the

Charlie McFee puts the new LR-25 from RWS through its paces

The BIG TestThe New RWS LR-25

The grand old name ofRWS is back in theairgun business withanother collaborativerifle called the LR-25.

From the very first moment youhandle this fine rifle, it oozes classand makes you feel like you’ve justbought a classic in the making.

When RUAG UK decided that timehad come to add a world-class,precharged pneumatic rifle (PCP) to theirportfolio, they searched for a partner whocould give them an action that fitted theirview of what shooters really want andbelieve me, they really took the time tounderstand just exactly what you and Iare looking for in a sporting rifle.

When the action had been sourcedand all the unique features incorporated,they then went about designing a uniquestock to compliment the handling qualitiesof the action. Minnelli, an ultra-moderncompany based in northern Italy, is fastbecoming the first 3stop for airgundesigners looking for the very best inboth design and manufacture. They werechosen as the eventual winners and itwas they who made the beautiful stockyou see in the pictures. The ManagingDirector of RUAG visited the factoryseveral times to ensure that his personaldesign preferences were perfected beforehe signed off the stock you see todayand it was put into full production. Thisalone tells you just how much RUAGcares about this elegant new sporter. Inno way was this a quick ʻbuy it in anddress it up exerciseʼ. No, this is a fullydesigned rifle from butt pad to muzzle, a

swapping out of special parts. How canthat be? Well letʼs start with the stock.When it was in the design process theengineers made the comb and cheekpiece identical from both sides, and thepistol grip the same. Now if you werebeing really picky, you might claim thatadding the cheek piece to both sidesadds weight, but lets be honest, itʼs onlygoing to be a few grams, so who cares?And one clear benefit is that from thebuyerʼs point of view, if you ever come tosell this gun, youʼve just increased yourpotential market by 20% because youʼveincluded all the lefties. More importantlyto me as a right-handed shooter, at notime did I feel this stock has beencompromised to make it ambidextrous. Infact itʼs one of the nicest handlingsporters to come onto the market inrecent years. Although following classicsporter lines, it was designed for scopeuse from day one which is easily seen inthe height of the comb. The wrist of thepistol grip and the overall shape of thefore end are both slim, ideal for a rifle

thatʼs going to be

‘Simply remove the screw and the steel bolthandle slides off its shaft. You then flip itover and replace it’

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designed specifically to complement thepistol grip shape. It appears to be madefrom silver anodised aluminium and isvery much in keeping with the rifleʼsclassic looks. The finish is a semi matt orperhaps satin, again a very classy look. Ifound the reach a little long for myaverage size hand but that was because Ihadnʼt taken the time to look at the

action is quite tall and I wouldrecommend buyers of this fine rifle tochoose scopes that suit low mounts toget the very best from the stock.

Discussing how the action interfaceswith the stock, RWS have had a nicewide and smooth-faced trigger blade

AIR GUNNER 41

RWS LR-25

out in the fields, putting rabbits in thebag.

The way that the action has beenmade ambidextrous is both simple andbrilliant. The bolt handle can be removedwithout tools via a small threaded screwwith a knurled cap. Simply remove thescrew and the steel bolt handle slides offits shaft. You then flip it over and replaceit along with the screw. It takes as long towrite it as it does to do. The handle issymmetrical and, like the stock, it doesnʼtfeel as though it was compromised in anyway to make it ambidextrous. In fact, ithas a very nice feel. One thing I didcomment on to RUAG was that I feel thatthe handle should come to rest closer tothe action rather than at 90 degrees outas it is at the moment. I wasnʼt the first tomake that comment and I think that theangle might be changed as an ʻinproductionʼ upgrade.

TAKING STOCKAnother great feature that Minnelli bringsto this rifle is the precise laser-cutchequering on both the fore end andpistol grip. Apart from the obvious benefitthese offer in terms of grip, modernlasers allow intricate patterns anddesigns to be added that give realbenefits in terms of style and looks. Inthe past these would have needed highlyskilled, master craftsmen to achieve whatcomputers and lasers can apply inseconds. Thatʼs progress for you.

The stock also displays a dark woodcoltʼs foot pistol grip cap and Schnabelfore end tip, with a light coloured woodenspacer to mark the discrete joints. Thecolours of the chosen types of woodblend very subtly to create an appealingoverall look. The sample I had on testhad a walnut stock with some verypleasing figuring running though it, ascan be seen from the pictures. Overallthis is very much my kind of stock. Thescope I had on test was fairly typical ofwhat modern hunters choose and wouldhave been better served by some low

mounts but unfortunately Ionly had a set of mediumson hand. Low mounts wouldhave given a better ʻcheek-weldʼ against the stock. The

Above: Not only is the stock ambidextrous, but the bolt can be changed to suit left andright handed shooters simply by undoing a screw…

Above: …removing the bolt from the holding pins and …

Below: …changing it to the otherside, then screwing it back on with bolt provided

This is the elegant proportion of the LR-25 rifle, a carbine version will soon be available

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use in hides or from your 4 x 4, but itsure will be stealthy.

CARBINE COMING SOONOn that very subject, RUAG asked me,along with many other industry folk, if wefelt that there would be a market for acarbine version and every one of us wassure there would, so the LR-25 Carbine isin production right now and will be goingout to the shops at the and of May. It willbe around 5 ½”shorter that the Classicmodel and to my eyes at least, looksbetter. And clearly, if you fit a silencer itwill still be handy for field use. I suspect itwill be the better seller of the twochoices. The Classic is a more stable and

steady rifle with a distinct weight-forward balance, which I believe willmake it a popular choice for hunter fieldtarget (HFT) competitors. Many suchshooters look for longer rifles becausethe added stability of weight at themuzzle is beneficial to the target shooterwhereas the hunter might well valuequicker handling. Also, the longerreservoir of the Classic offers more shotsper fill, meaning that long practisesessions will require fewer top-ups andfor the serious competitor, the sweet spotin the pressure curve will be flatter forlonger. On that subject, thereʼs a veryneat pressure gauge fitted to the end ofthe reservoir so that itʼs easy to read asyou fill it up. It has a clean black and

adjustment feature that allows the bladeto be moved backwards and forwards toany of three positions. The blade mountson a cylindrical rod along which it canslide. To make the adjustment, make thegun safe and then remove the triggerguard which is held on with two shortscrews. Then loosen the tiny grub screwin the blade with a 1.5mm Allen key. Thisfrees the blade to move along. Youʼll nowbe able to see the three location holesdrilled in the shaft. Simply select the oneyou prefer and lock the grub screw into itand refit the guard. I took me less than aminute to do and having chosen therearmost position, I was immediately

more comfortable with the hold. Iconsider trigger control to be one of themost important factors in achievingproper accuracy, so being able to positionmy hand, and more importantly, mytrigger finger comfortably, is vital. Itʼssmall details like this that make a gunfeel special to me. The ability to get trulycomfortable makes me feel that it really isʻmyʼ gun, not just a mass production unitoff a shelf.

The trigger is a two-stage modelwhich is adjustable but I found no needas the factory setting was just right for my

taste. I donʼt like the trigger of a gundestined for hunting use to be too lightand the test gunʼs broke cleanly at 3lbs.There was a little bit of drag in the firststage but this smoothed out during thefirst tin of pellets so it wasnʼt a worry. Setto the left of the trigger guard is themanual safety which is both silent in useand resettable. I feel that it could bepositioned somewhat more convenientlybut itʼs neat, reliable and doesnʼt clutterthe looks.

The barrel is enclosed in a full lengthshroud giving a ʻbull-barrelʼ look and alsoadding to the clean lines. Itʼs 60cm longwith a screw-in end cap which has threebands machined into it that match the

ones in the collar that protects the fillingport on the reservoir. Theyʼre subtle andquite discreet and that suits the overalllook well. The shroud is longer than thebarrel and the remaining section hasbaffles that slow the fast-expanding airblast and redirect it back down the voidbetween the barrel and the shroud. Thisgives noise reduction without the need foran ugly silencer to be hung off the endwhich to many people, spoils the look. Imentioned that the end cap is removablebecause if you find the noise suppressionthat the barrel shroud offers isnʼtsufficient, you can fit any ½” UNF malethreaded moderator you choose, to makethe gun virtually silent. This will be at theprice of it becoming rather a long rifle to

42 AIR GUNNER

‘The ability to get truly comfortable makes mefeel that it really is ‘my’ gun, not just a massproduction unit off a shelf. ’

Left: The eight shot magazine is easy placed back in the mag thanks to a groove thatguides it in

Below: The Minelli stock is finished to a very high standard

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stock, and it also has a classy andconfident feel that makes it a bit special.The engineering feels solid, like it will last

and the looks wonʼt date either. Iʼm gladRUAG were brave enough to make this

move and I wishthem luck withthis new model,but somehow Idonʼt think theyʼll

need it. ●

SPECIFICATIONSMANUFACTURER: RUAG Ammotech

www.ruag.co.ukTYPE: bolt-action, multi-shot,

precharged pneumatic, 8shots in .177. 7 shots in .22

LENGTH: 42.5” (108cm)WEIGHT: 7 lbs (3.2kg)BARREL LENGTH: 21 ins (53.3’cm)STOCK: Walnut (as tested)TRIGGER: Two-stage adjustableCALIBRES: .177 and .22CHARGE PRESSURE: 195 barSHOTS PER CHARGE: 80 in .177, 100 in .22.POWER: 11.2 ft.lbs.SAFETY: Manual resettableRRP: £615.00

RWS LR-25

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fashioned attitude but things made frommetal just seem better, donʼt they? Therearenʼt any plastic bits on a Purdy. TheLR-25ʼs magazine is indexed by theaction so has no springs in its build andis therefore dead easy to fill. Simplyrotate it clockwise until it stops and thendrop in pellets one at a time whilewinding it anti-clock until itʼs full. Thenyouʼll see a very neat bit of designthinking. After the last pellet is loaded, thedrum moves half a pelletʼs width furtherround, meaning that the last pellet loadedcanʼt fall out. I applaud these smalldetails, theyʼre what make good designsstand out from the crowd.

At the test range, accuracy wasunsurprisingly excellent and I had a great

time hitting knock-downs and spinners right out to55 yards, almost as easily as I dowith my own guns which of course, Iknow much better. As ever, I tried the.177 test gun with Air Arms Field pelletswhich it immediately liked and caused nofeed problems from the magazine.Consistency over the chronograph wasexcellent easily staying with 18 fps over astring of 20 shots. Power was a healthy11.2 ft.lbs. which is perfect for my needs.The accuracy and power on offer willmake this a fine hunter, an HFTcompetitor or both.

Itʼs a brave thing to bring a new rifleto market in the teeth of a recessionespecially in a sector where there aremany well-proven models already. Pricewise I think the LR-25 is well positioned,just about in the middle of the market. Iguess its most obvious competitors wouldbe Air Arms and BSA along with thePrestige range. Itʼs priced well belowTheoben, Weihrauch and Daystate andweʼve yet to see the multi-shot Ripley inthe shops, so I donʼt know how itʼll bepriced.

The RWS feels like a lot of gun foryour money with the standard of finishbeing first rate in both the metalwork and

Above: The LR-25 hasall the features youexpect from a top rifle including an airpressure guage

Right: The trigger isfully adjustable

white face keeping visual disturbance tothe minimum. A brightly coloured onewould just look wrong in my opinion.

The price will be the same for eitheroption and they are identical in everyrespect apart from length and weight. Ihavenʼt received figures for the weightreduction from RUAG yet but I think it willfeel much lighter than the actual weightloss would suggest, because the savingwill all be at the muzzle and furthest awayfrom the shooter. The Classic does havea very stable feel which perhaps makes itfeel heavier than it really is. The publishedweight is 7lbs which is on the lighter end ofthings as sporters go but it doesnʼt sufferfrom that ʻfloatyʼ feeling that overly light rifledo. In fact with the well designed stock andwith that weight-forward balance it feelsvery steady in the aim.

At the other end of the barrel sits the8-shot magazine, which as I mentioned,is an all metal affair. I know itʼs an old

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