How many times do you watch a film, enjoy it thoroughly and then they release a sequel and you wonder why they did it... then again the sequel can often really pull out all the stops and is even better than the first one because they improve on most everything, storyline, production and effects. Where am I going with this? The EDgun Leshiy what a great little gun, accurate, lightweight and superb engineering but single shot....then right before your eyes.........The sequel, the next generation and the storyline, production and special effects have been taken to a whole new level.
The Leshiy 2
This one has been a long time coming and the how and why could be turned into a film in itself, with international travel, multinational conversations and favours being exchanged then a global pandemic into the mix. But it’s here and it has definitely been worth the wait. I am going to need to be careful not to go too over the top on this one, because I love superbly engineered stuff, yes I’m a typical bloke. Before we talk about anything I need to cover the elephant in the room so to speak.
This is most definitely an international gun and is going to be sold all over the world so different laws and rules will apply to different countries. And this, like lots of Airguns will be allowed in some places and have potential restrictions in others. But to cover off the U.K. (well England and Wales) this particular one is sub 12 ft\lbs to comply with the U.K. laws. But is normally produced in much higher power outputs and would be subject to fac rules and regulations in the U.K. The other area to cover off is the rather gray area around its semi automatic or self indexing action. I have scoured the laws and rules and regulations around this and after a considerable amount of time the conclusion is, this is not illegal but is not being encouraged and if it becomes too popular then legislation may well be made and come into force in the future to prevent them...hence Sig Sauer changed the trigger system on the mcx Virtus for the U.K. market, sort of a manufacturers gentleman’s agreement. Well, this is self indexing, which means it rotates the magazine, but doesn’t load the pellet into the breach or barrel, it actually fires the pellet from the magazine itself, if that helps you with the laws of your particular land. Right that’s that out the way.
There really is so much to talk about today, and I’m sure I will probably go off on tangents a little as we progress, but as always, Let’s do the walk around shall we. This is a pre production model and the production guns have already had in excess of 100 improvements and alterations done to them, which I find amazing as this feels like a well sorted item and just shows the care and attention Edgun give to their guns. This particular one has been very kindly loaned to me by Francisco who is a really helpful guy at Edgun.shop or Leshiy.shop in Barcelona. They supply these all over the world and are only too happy to help with any adaptations required for exporting to your area if there are restrictions being applied.
This was supplied to me with an Edgun stalker scope, which is a quality item it does have that Russian military solid construction feel to it and is a fixed magnification at 6 x30 and whilst ideal for a spot of pest control and incredibly clear with a beautiful etched reticle, isn’t really the right tool for the job when I’m looking to cover off some target work, I then informed Francisco in conversation that I intended change it for a higher magnification Hawke item for the target work, and then a Vector first focal plane scope appeared at my door.... oh that’s just not playing fair.....nice! But more about the scopes another time and in another review.
This is 63cms long when at full length with a 250mm alpha precision barrel fitted, the other option is the 350mm barrel, that adds.....you guessed it 100mm to the overall length.
This being EDgun of course, there are options to extend the butt with longer tanks, this is the compact version I have here. This is in what I would probably class as the Edgun colours of black and red, with the red showing up in the magazine and the rather nice laminated grip.
There are some subtle differences from the mk1 and this the sequel, Leshiy 2.
The silencer or moderator is a completely different item and if choosing the longer barrel is also 100mm longer to accommodate the extra length of the barrel. From the front then, that silencer is a really ergonomically shaped item and has a real futuristic feel about it and very cleverly using a larger volume of space to soak up that sound without looking like a car oil filter stuck on the end of the barrel. Moving back but without going far, because everything here is so compact we come to the top and bottom rails on the main body of the gun, to accommodate scopes, red dots, bipods or whatever else takes your fancy. And you notice, for one of the first times I’ve really seen it on an Edgun, the bottom half and trigger guard are polymer but I do mean quality polymer. That grip we mentioned is fully replaceable if you want to fit a more sloping ar15 style, but one thing to be aware of this ambidextrous gun does have limited space between the grip and the bottom air chamber assembly, not a problem unless you have big hands and a preference for sloping grips. For me it was a real pleasure to use, as is the trigger infront of the grip.
The trigger is something to talk a little about I think...you see at first this was quite alien to me and my shooting style. I was always the type who breathes out, settles, and after picking up the first stage, squeeze the trigger nice and slowly to keep things ultra smooth....
Nah!
Not with this little beauty, think more military, this is a semi auto type design and uses the air pressure to do most of the works including rotation of the magazine etc. And if you squeeze this too slowly you can actually hear the air seeping out first. This isn’t a fault at all, it is exactly what the gun is designed to do. Just pull the trigger a little faster. The trigger is very light and you won’t be moving the gun all over the place if you do pull the trigger a little faster. And to prove it, pull off a couple of rounds or more and they will all be landing very close to each other proving its stability. I have actually used this in real world situation and you can get a good couple of shots off into the quarry using this before the pest goes down or tries to get away. John Wick eat your heart out!
But we’ll take a look at accuracy a little later.
At this point I’m going to skip to the rear and come back to this middle section, because all kinds of things happen in the middle that need discussing.
To the rear then, is the twin air cylinder set up. This is indeed way more than simply two air tubes making up the total 180cc of capacity. In the top section with its neoprene cover, is housed the plenum and the regulator and still has space for some air tank, whilst the bottom is air tank. Shot count?...well that would depend upon the power setting your gun was set to and could range from about 16-60 from this 300 bar fill pressure. This particular gun is in .25 calibre and was good for around 50 shots from its sub 12 ft/lb power level. But naturally if the regulator was wound up, then that is going to drop. Now some people will say that’s not a lot, but this is remarkably compact and as such has smaller air capacity, and as excellent as EDguns are, they can’t change the laws of physics.
To the very end is the gauge and filler port. The gauge is an analogue item rather than the more complicated digital version fitted to the mk1. Which I must say, in my opinion is a good move, as the electronic one, as good as it was, was a little overly complicated when all you really wanted was to see what pressure you have left. This one is very clear, bright and easy to read. And i must say, for a change, its nice to read a gauge as far away from the business end as it could possibly be. Making this a much safer pastime.
The filler port has a rotating dust cover and can be filled from left or right and has a very sure rotating click to it, which is pretty much what you would expect from Edgun.
Again, this gun came with a spare magazine and magazine holder attached to the bottom tube.
Ok, lets go back to the middle section. This is where everything comes together. And before I talk about this I am pretty sure Ed would love me to go into far more detail than i am going to, because I am not wanting to get drawn into every technical nut, bolt and valve.
Let’s start by breaking this in half, because this is after all this guns second biggest appeal. This is done by pulling back on the external lever, in a trigger like manner, this releases the stock from the main body and allows it to be folded back, take it all the way back and this locks into place, no magnets this time, a much more secure system that will hold this solidly in place. To release it to fold back into place simply pull the same lever and it allows the stock to come back round into place again ready to fire.
Now there is a safety on this gun which is a sure footed item in front of the trigger, but, if this has ammunition in the magazine, then this is live, there is no bolt to cock and the trigger safety is the only safety you have, so please do be aware. It does of course mean this can be brought upto target and ready to go very quickly...I’m starting to get that John Wick feeling again....
Once you’ve opened this up, it reveals the business end. Which is an array of springs, valves and cams to operate the safety and the semi automatics or self indexing system. It also houses the magazine, which on this one is an 8 round .25 calibre magazine in a really funky ‘iron man red’. Loading this up couldn’t possibly be easier. Simply drop in the pellets into each chamber and then reseat the magnetic cover. This acts as a cover to stop the pellets from falling out, and a spacer to seat the magazine correctly to the mechanism and valves. I should point out that it is absolutely fine to shoot this gun without it being loaded with pellets, but dont shoot it without the magazine fitted in place as it could potentially cause an issue. You can of course use my preferred method of loading, which simply involves dropping in the pellets whilst it is still on the gun, revolver style! This just gave me a sense of satisfaction in a strange way.
If you want to work on the gun’s plenum or regulator etc, the whole rear section can be removed by simply pulling back on the red slide and dropping off the rear.
Now it may not be clear from watching this on a program, but before anyone asks, no, it cannot be shot without the rear section being completely in place. So it isn’t a high powered pistol. After saying that, i think I’ve seen longer pistols that this, it is so beautifully compact.
I think i have pretty much covered off most things at this stage, and as much as EDGun seem to love their customers to tinker about with their guns, I am definitely not going to be doing that.
Changing the barrels on this is a very simple process and can be done in around a minute or two. I don’t believe the barrels from the mk 1 are interchangeable with the mk2 though.
So, let’s go and do some target work shall we. Out at the usual 40 metres, firstly taking some time.....Now lets really use the self indexing option....
I must admit, the mk1 was accurate and this one is a real dream, but i am reliably informed they are going to be putting in more accurate barrels into the production models.
I really want to get this out at greater distances to stretch it a little more, but due to time restrictions and the constant and understandable demand to get this review out by you guys as soon as possible, then maybe that will come in a future video, who knows it may be around that vector first focal plane scope review idea...
So, do i like this?... What a stupid question, of course I like this, and I cant wait to get my hands on a full production model. It is compact, accurate, beautiful to look at and superbly made. No its not a £500 package gun I’m afraid it is going to be probably just south of the £2000 figure depending on what extras you want to add. But for fairly minimal cost, this can be 4 guns in one if you have all the different calibre barrels .177, .22, .25 and .30. I realise this wont be in everyone’s budget, but I would guess it will be on most peoples wish list. It’s right at the top of mine.
I feel you’ll be seeing more of this little item in the future and rightly so. I would also guess they will be selling out the initial production run of these pretty quickly. For now though, if you’ve enjoyed this review please subscribe. Stay safe, shoot safe and I’ll see you next week, there’s lots more exciting stuff in the pipeline.
See the full review here: https://youtu.be/EF1bEIdSwRU