On test: Lightning CLX

Every now and then, a manufacturer releases a brand-new rifle that really gets me excited. When the courier delivered this new BSA Lightning CLX to me and I opened the case, I just smiled in awe of the beautiful walnut stock. That smile stayed on my face as I picked the rifle up and gave it the once-over before hurriedly heading into my back garden to put a few shots down the barrel. Needless to say, my smile got even bigger after the first two or three pellets were sent downrange—I just knew that this was something special, something that thousands of airgunners had been waiting for.

BSA has thought long and hard about how it has designed and manufactured this latest rifle, both in terms of affordability, functionality, and usability. As you will discover later in this review, I’m very happy to say that I think they’ve absolutely nailed it.

MADE IN BIRMINGHAM

BSA has gone back to the drawing board with this rifle. The firm has listened to its customers and has produced a very reasonably priced, top-of-the-range springer that is actually built in the UK, and that home-grown quality shines through here.

As far as springers go, this one is reasonably light, weighing in at just 6.7 lbs unscoped for the .22 walnut-stocked version and just shy of 7 lbs for the .177 model I have on test here.

The sleek design not only looks the part but feels great in your hands. The forend of the stock and pistol grip feature engraved checkering, providing a secure grip even in wet conditions, and there’s a comfortable rubber butt pad added to help absorb the recoil and make shooting the rifle for long periods more enjoyable. This butt pad is actually adjustable for height, too.

The stock features an ambidextrous design with raised cheekpieces on both sides. There’s also a sling stud fitted to the underside of the rear of the stock. Both the .177 and .22 models are available with either the walnut or beech stock (see pages 8 and 9 for a taste of the latter).

NEW TRIGGER

I have always liked BSA trigger units, and the one on this new Lightning CLX is no exception. Again, no expense has been spared, and this BSA two-stage trigger features a gently curved metal blade, which is adjustable to give either a lighter, shorter pull or heavier, longer pull by simply turning the grub screw clockwise or counterclockwise.

What else can I tell you about this trigger unit? Well, it’s just brilliant and suits this rifle perfectly. The factory-set trigger on my test rifle has about an 8mm first stage, which comes to an abrupt halt, followed by a reasonably weighty second-stage pull. There was the tiniest amount of creep from the factory setting, but I eliminated this by tinkering with the grub screw to decrease the sear engagement slightly.

Once I’d done that, there was absolutely no stopping me. Within a few shots, I knew exactly when it was going to break, and it felt super crisp every time.

This rifle features a manual safety lever, which is situated directly above the top of the pistol grip, in front of the rather nice thumb rest that has been ground out of the wooden stock. It is one of BSA’s ‘flick left to Fire and flick right for Safe’ levers, which requires minimal effort to use and is perfectly situated so you don’t have to move a muscle when the rifle is shouldered.

REFINED SPRING MECHANISM

The Lightning CLX features a superbly engineered spring-piston system, which powers every shot with consistent, smooth performance. I put a string of 20 shots through my muzzle-mounted chronograph and obtained just a 10fps differential between them.

And if that doesn’t scream quality to you, just wait until you take it onto the range.

As far as build quality is concerned, it’s top-notch, and I simply cannot fault it. The barrel breaks very easily, and the cocking link system is absolutely rock solid. A decent pull-down cocks the rifle, and the return is super light—there’s no forcing anything with the Lightning CLX; minimal effort is required throughout the process (apart from the actual compressing of the spring).

LEGENDARY BARRELS

As you would expect, this rifle utilizes the famous BSA cold hammer-forged barrel, which has a 0.5in UNF thread at the end to house the supplied BSA silencer, ensuring that this rifle is as quiet as a springer can possibly be.

I can also tell you that the .22 model is slightly shorter than the .177, measuring 1,050mm instead of 1,100mm. This is because the two models have different barrel lengths. In order to make the .177 version more efficient and for both calibers to have a similar power output of around 11 ft/lb, BSA has given it a longer 300mm (12in) barrel, whilst the .22 model has a standard 250mm (10in) barrel. I believe that BSA is the first company to ever do this.

The breech itself is very neat indeed, and popping in the first supplied BSA Gold Star pellet was a very snug fit. I think this quality control and the resulting micro tolerances involved are just another reason why this new rifle is so accurate, which brings me nicely onto performance.

ACCURACY EXTRAVAGANZA

After spending a few hours in my back garden, I simply had to head to my local club range to discover what this new rifle is really capable of.

The owners of my local gun club and range, Peter and his son Lawrence, are both avid shooters and also own Range & Country Shooting Supplies in Sleaford—my local gun shop. I’d been speaking to them prior to heading to the club range, and Lawrence was telling me that he had been putting pellet on pellet at 25 meters with the Lightning CLX. Now, I know he’s a very good shot, so I was excited to see how my abilities would perform too.

I specifically set my target at 25 meters because, after all, this is a springer, and it’s never going to be as accurate as my trusty R10, is it? How wrong I was.

After warming up with a quick zero and splatting some knock-down targets, I set about seeing just how accurate this rifle really is. Using a front bag, I rested my hand on top of it and gently cradled the rifle in order to take my first “proper” shot at a fresh target. I settled down and squeezed the trigger, sending the pellet downrange and smack into the bullseye.

I quickly reloaded and settled down for shot number two. I was itching to see where this pellet was going to go. To my complete surprise, it went pretty much through the same hole. I continued to put another eight shots into that target, and as each one hit the mark, I was getting more and more astounded by what I was achieving.

For me, shooting a springer at 25 meters and hitting a group the size of a 5p piece is unheard of, even from a supported shooting position. I was amazed that this spring piston rifle is every bit as accurate as my beloved R10se PCP at 25 meters, so I decided to really put this rifle—and my own ability—to the test.

CONCLUSION

If you love shooting springers, then you’re going to absolutely love the Lightning CLX.

With a tad over 10 ft/lb power output, coupled with insane accuracy, this is the perfect rifle for both hunting and target shooting. I’m looking forward to seeing the guys who know what they are doing getting hold of the Lightning CLX, tuning it, and using it in HFT competitions—I think that’s going to be a real eye-opener.

It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, and they have certainly delivered. If you decide to take the plunge and buy one for yourself, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.