SKOUT EVO - MEET THE EVO

A while back, I reviewed the revolutionary Skout EPOCH, which Skout claimed: “The EPOCH is not just an air rifle; it’s a game changer designed to propel you to the pinnacle of competitive shooting. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a rising star, this competition-ready masterpiece delivers unmatched power, precision, and adaptability.” That statement pretty much summed up the rifle perfectly. It had obviously been designed for competitive shooting, and the price tag reflected that.
Now there’s a new model in the form of the EVO, which, although promoted as a rifle for shooting slugs, is equally at home with pellets. The main difference between the two models is their size — the new EVO is much more compact, plus there’s an upgraded electronics package inside, complete with a full-colour, touchscreen OLED display.
The build quality is superb, and this truly is one of the best-made rifles out there. The tolerances of the machined components are unbelievable — we are talking fractions of a fraction of a millimetre here, folks.

Processing power
I recommend that you read the accompanying instruction pamphlet from cover to cover if you buy one of these rifles, and also watch the many YouTube videos that Skout has produced. It just makes life easier in the long run while getting to know this rifle inside out.
With fully customisable shot cycles and pre-fire sequences, multilingual voice feedback, OLED data display, and a commitment to lifelong software upgrades, the EVO is technically brilliant.
The new user interface provides an easy-to-understand and navigate menu system that allows you to customise valve dwell, cycling modes, safety parameters, and guidance cues. Don’t think for one second that you need an Einstein-esque IQ to work this rifle, you don’t. You just need to know which buttons to press and what they do. It took me all of 20 minutes to get every feature of this rifle ingrained into my brain.
As far as battery life goes, you’ll get thousands of shots out of the EVO before having to recharge the internal battery, which has a standby time of weeks. There are four shooting modes to choose from, too:
Limit mode: In this general use mode, switching from “Safe” to “Fire” by pressing the safety button will begin a “Fire Countdown” on the display. Every time the airgun is fired or the timer reaches zero, the EVO’s digital safety will automatically re-engage. Please note, the EVO leaves the factory in Limit mode by default.
Match mode: In this benchrest competition mode, the digital safety must be disengaged with the safety button from “Safe” to “Fire”, but the digital safety will not re-engage until the “Fire” timer has expired or it is re-engaged manually. Multiple shots may be fired without leaving “Fire” mode.
Release mode: In this benchrest competition mode, the EVO will fire upon release of the trigger. You can cancel this function by pressing the safety button during the trigger pull, which will engage the safety.
Like Match mode, the digital safety must be disengaged with the safety button to enter “Fire” mode. However, the digital safety will not re-engage until the “Fire” timer has expired or it is re-engaged manually. Multiple shots may be fired without leaving “Fire” mode.
Hunt mode: This mode is focused on minimal noise when in use. Otherwise, the order of operations is identical to the “Limit” mode. Voice feedback will be silenced by default, and the digital safety will re-engage after every shot, requiring the shooter to press the safety button to enter “Fire” mode for the next shot. As this mode uses the least number of sound outputs, “Hunt” mode is also the most battery-efficient mode of fire.

Benchrest chassis
The EVO also features a Benchrest Chassis (BRC), which has been proven around the world in competitive, hunting, and recreational use. A wide variety of adjustments, including length, shoulder pad height, and cheekpiece elevation, are available. These provide a massive range of options to offer you the perfect gun fit.
Skout’s new Skeletonised Shoulder Rest (SSR) butt pad helps cut down on the weight and provides somewhere to attach a sling, should one be required.

Air capacity
Filling the rifle is easy. If I had one gripe, though, it’s that the fill port is a protruding male nipple type that a 1/8” female Foster probe attaches to in order to fill, and there’s just a tiny piece of flimsy rubber that you push on to protect it. I know it’s designed for big-bore benchrest shooting, where competitors often sit at the bench with the rifle permanently hooked up to a 7-litre tank of air, but a better cover wouldn’t go amiss.
The air supply system of the EVO consists of an on/off bottle adapter, which threads into the chassis, and a stainless steel pin valve that threads into the air bottle. This system provides a robust mounting point, eliminating vibration or wiggle that could result from an improperly secured tank.
This two-component configuration also provides long-term maintenance of the air supply system. Each component can be independently repaired or replaced, and each sealing surface component is serviceable for the life of the airgun.
The carbon air bottle attached to the EVO is 500cc, but there is also a 580cc version available, both of which have been tested to over 6,000psi. Indeed, the pressure gauge goes up to 6,000psi, but Skout stresses that it shouldn’t be filled to more than 4,500psi – that’s a lot of shots in a sub-12ft/lbs airgun! Skout doesn’t say how many shots you’re going to get, but I’d guess it’s well over 400 in the sub-12ft/lbs .22 version.
This rifle is twin-regulated, with both high-pressure (HPR) and low-pressure (LPR) regulators. For us sub-12ft/lbs airgun users, we don’t really need to touch either of them, but for anyone shooting FAC, you’re going to have endless hours of fun tuning this rifle even further.

Interchangeable barrel system
Just like the EPOCH, the EVO features a unique interchangeable barrel system, catering to every popular calibre. Your rifle comes perfectly configured for your chosen calibre from the factory, eliminating the need for extensive modifications. However, should you wish to swiftly change from, say, .22 to .177 in under 60 seconds, it’s really easy to do. Simply push down the silver release lever on the right-hand side of the rifle, then push the silver knob on the left side up. You can now unscrew the barrel and the barrel-locking collar at the front end to remove the complete barrel set-up and insert another.
This rifle is available with numerous barrel configurations, including the traditional bull barrel, which is manufactured from steel in various lengths. However, there’s also a composite hybrid bull barrel, which uses a thick carbon outer wall, permanently bonded to an alloy liner. The solid carbon-fibre wall provides similar relative stiffness and dampening properties compared to a solid steel bull barrel, but at a reduced weight. The revised barrel lock system of the EVO allows you to index the barrel without removing it from the airgun. The EVO barrel-lock offers infinite adjustment, precise alignment, and secure retention.
Indexing your barrel is as simple as loosening the two barrel-securement locks, rotating the barrel, and then locking it back down. For precision shooters, this allows rapid adjustment. The barrel itself is marked with indexing numbers, providing the ability to return the barrel to its previously indexed position after service or transport.
The factory-integrated sound moderator is meticulously designed to harmonise seamlessly with the EVO’s valve system. This innovative feature is all about making your shooting experience as quiet and hassle-free as possible.
What sets this sound moderator apart is that it’s not just an add-on, as it’s custom-designed for the EVO platform. This ensures the perfect fit and performance that you expect from a top-tier shooting system.
You can choose from a wide range of calibres, including .177, .22, .25, .30 and .35, allowing you to adapt your rifle to your specific shooting needs, including FAC. Obviously, the UK sub-12ft/lbs model comes in .22, but Skout has taken it a step further by ensuring each calibre is catered for.

Magnetic
Everything about the EVO magazine is magnetic, and the self-aligning and retaining magnetic design is engineered to optimise feeding using pellets and slugs.
Featuring a durable aluminium and polymer construction, it is built to withstand the rigours of shooting, ensuring lasting performance for the user.
It’s a real doddle to use, too. Simply pry off the top cover via the small lip provided, which is held in place by three super-strong magnets. Next, rotate the inner core twice before dropping your first pellet in nose-first to lock it in place. You can then fill the remaining 35 slots with pellets – yes, this magazine holds a whopping 36 shots in .177 and 30 in .22. When you’re done, just hover the top back over the magazine and the magnets do their thing, and it all clicks back into place with ease.
Loading the magazine into the rifle is equally satisfying. Pull the cocking lever back, slide the magazine in from the right-hand side, and more magnets snatch it from your hand and lock it in place with a very solid ‘click’.
As you would expect from a rifle of this quality, the side-lever operation is smooth and quiet. It cycles through the magazine with little effort.

Attachments
The EVO platform features an improved ARCA rail, which is slightly longer than the one found on the EPOCH. It embraces the industry-standard M-LOK system, a widely adopted and military-proven design that enhances the versatility of your firearm. With M-LOK, you gain access to thousands of accessories, making your setup fully modular to meet your specific shooting needs. This system offers military-proven securement, ensuring your accessories stay firmly in place, even in the most demanding shooting scenarios.

Make some adjustments
The EVO is fully customisable straight out of the box, which is itself a custom-built Plano hard case, complete with a massive toolkit inside that contains full sets of Allen keys, a tub of grease, a segmented box of spare seals, a charging lead, and loads of other stuff.
To kick off, you can adjust the length of pull by unscrewing the locking thumb-screws at the rear end and turning the large knurled knob. This gives you a good 25mm of extra length adjustment. Likewise, the carbon cheekpiece can be adjusted by unscrewing the thumb- screws on either side and pulling the riser up by up to six notches. The butt pad, too, is fully adjustable, again by unscrewing the locking thumb-screws on either side.

Electronic trigger
The original EPOCH featured one of the most adjustable, unique, and lightweight triggers on the market. Unmatched in its versatility, reliability, and user experience, much of the trigger system remains intact on the EVO.
Simple changes like micro-switch position, pivot point, and angle of attack have all been utilised to refine the EVO trigger. These changes increase the range of adjustment and provide a cleaner break feel to the trigger. The ways that you can customise the trigger are as follows:
Trigger shoe: A lock screw in the side of the shoe secures it to the trigger. The shoe itself can be adjusted up or down and biased with a twist to the left or right, before being locked into place with its set screw. The shoe may need to be re-centred to access some of the other trigger adjustment points.
Post-travel: This adjusts the rear limit of the trigger’s swing. The trigger should stop just after it breaks (activation of the micro-switch). Turning the adjuster clockwise brings the post-travel limit forward, while counter-clockwise moves it back.
Pre-travel: This adjusts the forward limit of the trigger’s swing. Turning the adjuster clockwise moves the pre-travel limit back, while turning counter-clockwise moves it forward. The pre-travel limit must be set far enough forward that the trigger can reset after each shot.
Magnetic return force: Turning this adjuster clockwise brings it closer to the trigger return magnet, increasing the weight of the trigger pull, while turning it counter-clockwise makes the trigger pull lighter.

Conclusion
I think I have covered just about everything that the EVO experience encompasses. I could go on for page upon page, if the truth be told – there’s so much more to this rifle than what I have written here.
To sum up, the EVO is not only insanely accurate and good fun to get to know, but it is manufactured to a quality that is rarely seen in the world of airguns. It’s just one of those rifles that you want to keep shooting from dawn until dusk, and then some if you fit a night-vision scope. Whether you’re a licensed pest controller, club shooter, benchrest competition enthusiast, or regular club shooter, this rifle really does fall into each and every category with ease.