Skout Airguns Epoch Compact

What is an expert? Airgun Channel did a pretty great job IMHO

My definition of an expert is someone who in not benefiting monetarily, in any way, and has in-depth knowledge of all things airgun related. When I read reviews by AGN member @Franklink (and other super qualified AGN members), I really pay attention. I consider myself a novice in the airgun world and rely heavily on their quality reviews to make better informed purchasing decisions.
 
Very much looking forward to an in-depth review by one of the AGN experts.

Paging Mr @Franklink, et al...

Wow. Thank you for the compliment.
While I'm certainly intrigued by the SKOUT offerings, I'm currently staying strong in my resistance to the temptation to buy and play with anything else.

@zx10wall (Derrick) has put out some great Skout data points lately. Click on his profile and then pull up his post history and you'll see what I mean. They're not Epoch Compact specific, but other Skout guns, and it seems many of the features are shared among the Skout models.
Derrick is as good at it gets for honest, real-world, cut the fluff, opinions on airguns.
 
I actually think he does a very good job with his reviews. A few years back when he started - not so much. But now they are accurate and honest. Plus his video quality and editing are top notch. Keep it up Nate.!!!👍
Exactly he needs to be cut some slack. He puts out regular content consistently which is more than can be said for most reviewers nor is he married to one company like some. His video shows what it can do and really it was obvious, it’s an epoch lol. Truth of the matter is it really doesn’t even need a review. The only thing I want to see is it live in a video placed on the scale. To me the weight should be the main thing to focus on. It’s a make or break when going to the compact size. If it’s still too heavy there is no point. I’m convincing myself I could live with 8lbs. Is it really though….the evo was supposed to be 8.5 and I can tell you it isn’t.
 
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I actually think he does a very good job with his reviews. A few years back when he started - not so much. But now they are accurate and honest. Plus his video quality and editing are top notch. Keep it up Nate.!!!👍
Nate does a good job at what HE does.
He gets the basic premise of what he is reviewing on film and as stated there is a certain purity about said reviews.

Now are his reviews in depth, nuts and bolts, uber detailed, No... But you cannot argue with the almost cult following he has..

Hell I have said it more than once, if that dude can get a gun on paper, I know for damn sure I can... ;) :cool:

Nothin' but for love for ya Nate!
 
Well I’m probably buying one. Will I watch Nate’s video? No, I won’t even take a peek. I contacted a dude who owns one. There is nothing in any video that convinces me to drop $2k. I need cold hard facts that come from a guy who lives that gun or any gun. I asked him to run a little test. When he gets back to me with the numbers, I’ll know if I’m buying one. And it’s the most important thing a guy should be concerned about before buying the gun. I will bet my life it will never be talked about in any video. They aren’t smart enough. But it’s something that when these little guys get in people’s hands, if there is an issue, there will be guys complaining. Let’s hope the platform doesn’t show me any numbers outside of what I consider normal.
 
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Well I’m probably buying one. Will I watch Nate’s video? No, I won’t even take a peek. I contacted a dude who owns one. There is nothing in any video that convinces me to drop $2k. I need cold hard facts that come from a guy who lives that gun or any gun. I asked him to run a little test. When he gets back to me with the numbers, I’ll know if I’m buying one. And it’s the most important thing a guy should be concerned about before buying the gun. I will bet my life it will never be talked about in any video. They aren’t smart enough. But it’s something that when these little guys get in people’s hands, if there is an issue, there will be guys complaining. Let’s hope the platform doesn’t show me any numbers outside of what I consider normal.
Examples of deal breakers?
 
My definition of an expert is someone who in not benefiting monetarily, in any way, and has in-depth knowledge of all things airgun related. When I read reviews by AGN member @Franklink (and other super qualified AGN members), I really pay attention. I consider myself a novice in the airgun world and rely heavily on their quality reviews to make better informed purchasing decisions.
Hey, Love you guys! Constructive critisism is always welcome. I didn't get paid for that video. I just like Skout. The gun is already in the mail back to them.

I wish I could figure out how to get views. Even when I do my best on a video with a top notch thumbnail, they are topping out at under 20k views. Should I open with shooting instead of gun footage? Maybe I need to show my face and talk directly to people. I'm ready to try anything. I'm considering changing my entire format for a few months to see what happens. Selfie stick time with no editing? That's what blows up on YT right now. I only have 5 days with each gun, so reviews are never going to be "in depth". (New guns are stacked up over here waiting).

Also, once I learned how to tune the M4, I now understand ALL air rifle tuning. So I crossed that bridge about 4 months ago. Good times!

BASICS of TUNING:
1) You want all pellets to fly about 890 FPS. Some heavier ones can go 920 or even 950 fps.
2) You want to first adjust the hammer spring tension to increase or decrease velocity. When that no longer effects velocity, that's when you adjust the regulator pressure.
3) You can turn a reg up when air is in the gun, but never turn one down unless the gun is de-gassed (empty of air).
4) Restricter Port is to fine tune velocity when a very consistent tune has been achieved but the velocity is a little to high.
5) Valve adjustment (M4) can be backed off until it has no effect on velocity, then turned back up to the point where it starts to effect velocity, at that point no extra air is being wasted.
 
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Hey, Love you guys! Constructive critisism is always welcome. I didn't get paid for that video. I just like Skout. The gun is already in the mail back to them.

I wish I could figure out how to get views. Even when I do my best on a video with a top notch thumbnail, they are topping out at under 20k views. Should I open with shooting instead of gun footage? Maybe I need to show my face and talk directly to people. I'm ready to try anything. I'm considering changing my entire format for a few months to see what happens. Selfie stick time with no editing? That's what blows up on YT right now. I only have 5 days with each gun, so reviews are never going to be "in depth". (New guns are stacked up over here waiting).

Also, once I learned how to tune the M4, I now understand ALL air rifle tuning. So I crossed that bridge about 4 months ago. Good times!

BASICS of TUNING:
1) You want all pellets to fly about 890 FPS. Some heavier ones can go 920 or even 950 fps.
2) You want to first adjust the hammer spring tension to increase or decrease velocity. When that no longer effects velocity, that's when you adjust the regulator pressure.
3) You can turn a reg up when air is in the gun, but never turn one down unless the gun is de-gassed (empty of air).
4) Restricter Port is to fine tune velocity when a very consistent tune has been achieved but the velocity is a little to high.
5) Valve adjustment (M4) can be backed off until it has no effect on velocity, then turned back up to the point where it starts to effect velocity, at that point no extra air is being wasted.
I will lay some constructive criticism on you. Well it’s not criticism, it’s something that we as humans just can’t help. Or at the very least, it’s very hard to change. When you talk to someone on the phone, never met them, can’t see them. There are people you talk to that are energizing or the way they talk has you hanging on every word they say. Does not matter how smart they are, but smarts help sometimes. Then you have the people that even if they help you, you can’t wait to get off the phone with them. To me, you are the latter. And that could be one thing that is limiting your views. In a nutshell, you may be getting smarter when it comes to airguns. But that might not be enough because of something you can’t control. Who you are. But on the bright side? If you have a pile of guns in the corner for you to spin videos about, somebody is buying what you’re selling.
 
I will lay some constructive criticism on you. Well it’s not criticism, it’s something that we as humans just can’t help. Or at the very least, it’s very hard to change. When you talk to someone on the phone, never met them, can’t see them. There are people you talk to that are energizing or the way they talk has you hanging on every word they say. Does not matter how smart they are, but smarts help sometimes. Then you have the people that even if they help you, you can’t wait to get off the phone with them. To me, you are the latter. And that could be one thing that is limiting your views. In a nutshell, you may be getting smarter when it comes to airguns. But that might not be enough because of something you can’t control. Who you are. But on the bright side? If you have a pile of guns in the corner for you to spin videos about, somebody is buying what you’re selling.

I appreciate Nate’s videos. He puts a lot of work in to produce these. Nate has gotten better ~ shooting skills and otherwise. The fact that the review is honest and not a fabricated / cherry picked sample of performance is very valuable to me and a lot of others.

There is still a lack of top tier / polished attention to detail. For instance, I wanted to know within 10 seconds of the video whether that 17” barrel was choked or not. I found out, through questioning the correct source at Skout, that the barrel is indeed not choked. Another tid bit, you show the Corbin produced Skout slugs but didn’t shoot them. I can tell you, those slugs are terrible through that LW barrel. Some will buy those slugs thinking you suggested they are a good option for this bore. They are not. Regardless, keep up the good work homie.
 
I like how you streamlined the bottom by replacing the regulator caps with the caps from the Evo.
Some liked to have the knurled caps, but to be honest, i always used the hex key for adjustments.
Seems better for hand placement too.
Do the come with the LW barrel, or is that an option?
Mik

SKOUT AIRGUNS® is proud to introduce the brand new COMPACT version of the newly updated EPOCH platform.

An extensively milled upper chassis, shorter 17” barrel system, and light weight optics rail allow the COMPACT to shed weight without compromising accuracy. A simplified air valve system, and 300ci compact tank round out the COMPACT’s base 8lb build.This is the airgun you can take anywhere.

View attachment 529463View attachment 529464
I want to talk about how much I need this in my collection. I don’t have a .30 cal
I have the .22 compact now. Here is the accuracy at 37 yards, too foggy today to go farther. (5 shot groups):

View attachment 529759
View attachment 529760

Full Video:
great video. And very informative. Can you say if it’s backyard friendly, is a moderator a must? I do apologize if you mentioned these things in the video.
 
I want to talk about how much I need this in my collection. I don’t have a .30 cal

great video. And very informative. Can you say if it’s backyard friendly, is a moderator a must? I do apologize if you mentioned these things in the video.
It's not loud in .22. The factory air stripper/LDC does it's job well. Backyard friendly for sure.
 
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First hand report from one of our members at Shot Show (Tolowandn). He loves it! Deceptively light and easy to "one hand".
Can't wait experience one myself. Just for comparison, it weighs less, and is more powerful than a Taipan Veteran!
It's so short and compact that you can't really tell it's 8 pounds. Everything is in one little chunk, close to your body.
 
I will lay some constructive criticism on you. Well it’s not criticism, it’s something that we as humans just can’t help. Or at the very least, it’s very hard to change. When you talk to someone on the phone, never met them, can’t see them. There are people you talk to that are energizing or the way they talk has you hanging on every word they say. Does not matter how smart they are, but smarts help sometimes. Then you have the people that even if they help you, you can’t wait to get off the phone with them. To me, you are the latter. And that could be one thing that is limiting your views. In a nutshell, you may be getting smarter when it comes to airguns. But that might not be enough because of something you can’t control. Who you are. But on the bright side? If you have a pile of guns in the corner for you to spin videos about, somebody is buying what you’re selling.
Good call. I was listening to myself laying out all the stats on the guns and it does drag on. Maybe no one cares about that part, They just want me to shut up and shoot. Thank you sir! -Nate