Second Hand Focus: Logun Eagle

Early in 2005 I was one of a very few journalists invited to visit the RADOM factory in Poland that manufactured the Logun Eagle distributed in the UK by AirgunSport (AGS). The rifle was rather Sci-fi looking in its distinctive black ABS stock plus integral battery to power the then popular Logun Lamp. As was the ‘AGS’ way at the time, the rifle received a massive advertisement campaign, but as many who liked it, equally as many disliked its unconventional appearance.

The company soon realised it needed a re-vamp, eventually discontinuing the original and launching the Logun Eagle SW. The result was the action was now dressed in Sepatia Walnut Wood furniture and gone was the relatively gimmicky integral battery.

COSMETICS

At the time, to launch a rifle in an ABS stock then change to wood in the airgun scene wasn’t common. Although firearms boys don’t mind a bit of ‘plastic’ rubbing up against their cheek, at the time airgunners hadn’t really accepted synthetic as much as they have now.

The stock has a very angular, high and thickset fully ambidextrous cheekpiece, plus oversize thumbhole and sliding rubber butt pad. Chequering was applied at the chunky pistol grip and underneath the forend which also had a long run of fluting along the top.

Weighing 6.6lbs un-scoped it handled quite well, but you needed to have the sliding butt pad set low – if not the cheekpiece tended to ‘push’ your head/eye away from the scope sightline. A recommended fill of 200-bar gave approximately 80 full power shots in .22 - the only calibre it was available in.

SINGLE OR MULTI?

It could be run as a single-shot or multi-shot using either the magnetic single-shot metal loading channel or the retrofit manually operated 10-shot rotary ‘fixed’ magazine. Unusual for the time but a very similar retrofit feed system was eventually made available for the Logun Solo.

To fill the magazine, the relatively small stainless steel Versa-GlideTM cocking bolt/ pellet probe needed to be pulled fully back. The magazine could then be freely rotated around to ‘click’ to each individual station with pellets being thumbed in from the left. When all chambers were filled, the bolt returned to the original position the rifle was now cocked and loaded.

Although originally designed as a single shot rifle, the magazine wasn’t difficult to operate - using the thumb of your left hand to simply ‘thumb round’ between shots to have a pellet ready to be loaded and sent on its way.

LIVING ON

To jump to the present, the manually- operated retrofit magazine systems Rowan Engineering Ltd manufacture are similar yet easier to operate plus much more precision made. Incidentally, a unique feature was the bolt operating the action. This could be unscrewed and after removing a cover plate on the left could be fixed on the opposite side making this a truly ambidextrous gun.

The semi-free floating, 17.5”, screw cut barrel had an angular support band with a synthetic O-ring for strength that did not affect the natural harmonics of the firing cycle - it also gave support to any 1⁄2” UNF silencer fitted.

The 2-stage adjustable trigger had a polished stainless steel blade and used a ‘cross block’ manual safety. This was a relatively large stainless steel button that passed all the way through the stock. All rifles left the factory with a test card showing an impressive 5-shot group shot using Crosman Accupells. I tested both the original and ‘SW’ and found it to be very accurate at sensible hunting ranges.

CONCLUSIONS

In hindsight, I feel the original Logun Eagle was in many people’s eyes cosmetically ‘OTT’ yet to give credit in some areas was ahead of its time. Although the Eagle SW fared better in the market place it was still relatively quickly resigned to the history books.

Originally priced at £450, collectors pay as much as this now for a pristine condition ABS stock version, a used ‘SW’ averages approximately £200 - £300 depending on condition.