Well, following my input in another thread about the Walther G22, I though I may as well go the extra few yards and write a ‘proper’ review.
Like many other people, when the blurb was first being circulated about these rifles, I took a shine to them. The style and the fact that this was a factory produced ‘bullpup’, really caught my attention, not to mention that the price wasn’t too prohibitive. The reviews in the shooting press were initially good.
I was going to rush out and get one as soon as they came on the British market, however, other financial obligations made me postpone this.
Then the real feedback started to come through from people who had actually bought them. This was not so good. Many people were reporting that the rifle jammed excessively, the trigger was almost unserviceable and the rifle could not hold a point of impact. This was all very frustrating as I had really set my heart on one of these rifles from the outset, but the negative feedback was now putting me off.
However, despite all the negativity, the opportunity presented itself for me to obtain one these rifles, and, despite being advised to the contrary, I made a purchase.
Well, lets begin with the very basics, from opening the box so to speak.
Walther present the rifle very well. It was packaged in its own hard plastic case along with all the accessories such as the butt spacers, locking key for the trigger and assorted tools. My first impression, when taking the rifle out of the case was that it felt heavy for its size and very sturdy. Although being made of plastic, the stock feels very substantial and the pistol grip/thumbhole is very comfortable to hold. On the whole the rifle seemed very well made, which is what you would expect from a company as well known as Walther.
The rifle was purchased new, along with the Walther 3-9x40 scope with illuminated reticule and the Walther laser as well.
My first impressions at the range were a bit mixed. The most noticeable quirk of the rifle is the trigger. Basically, the trigger is connected to the action in the butt of the rifle via a metal rod. However, due to the shape of the stock internally, this red has to be bent round the thumbhole. The bend in the rod seems to make the rod very springy/spongy and the trigger also seems to have a huge amount of travel before any pressure is felt when engaging the trigger action. However, with a little perseverance, I eventually got used to this. It has been vastly improved by making another rod out of higher quality stainless steel which does not seem to flex at the bend as much as the original.
Secondly, I discovered that the rifle was very fussy about what ammo you fed it. I tried everything on offer at the range and eventually found that Winchester T22,the cheapest rounds on offer cycled without any problem at all. This also applies to Winchester Subs.
As far as accuracy was concerned, once I got used to the trigger, the rifle grouped superbly, my shooting skills aside! The rifle was fitted with a SAK mod and adapter as the thread was specific for the Walther mod. So, after my first try of the rifle, I packed it away in its case feeling quite satisfied. However, this feeling was to be short lived!
Once home, I though I would take a look at the manual and strip the rifle. The action and barrel are removed from the stock by means of two pins which have to be tapped out of the gun. The action then comes free from the stock. A further two pins need to be removed from the action housing to gain access to the bolt and breech. This is where my evening went pear-shaped. The manual shows you how to remove the stock and action. Then, at the end of this section, the manual warns you about two minute springs on the outside of the action that could ping off into oblivion. Inevitably, this is what happened to me and I spent the next three hours crawling round my living-room floor with a magnet. Eventually I found them and decided that the best course of action would be to drop a bit of super-glue on the end of the springs to keep them in place. Another problem solved. Moral of the story? Read the manual all the way through first!
One nice feature of stripping the gun is that the barrel can be removed from the action completely, by use of an hex screw, thus allowing you to easily run a gun rod through it. The bolt/slide is easily removed/re-installed for cleaning as well, but no access can be gained to the actual mechanical parts of the trigger mech itself.
I took the rifle to the range on my next visit to fit and zero the laser. First off, just a few shots using the scope to warm it up so to speak. Miles out!. The POI had changed, two inches high and about the same to the left. So, after re-zeroing the scope, on with the laser. It was easy to fit to the weaver rail, however, it was a bit fiddley to adjust and again, as it adjusted with some loose fitting grub screws, the POI of the laser tended to wander with each shot. However, I initially failed to notice a little bag in the laser packaging that contained some replacement screws that had been coated with a sort lock-tite like substance. Once fitted, these screws cured the problem.
Once all sorted again, I put the rifle back in its case until my next visit.
So, once again, back at the range, I took the rifle out of its case and fired of my first ten rounds. To my disbelief, the POI of the scope had changed yet again! I was beginning to think that the scope was defective and was going to return it to the supplier. However, I made some enquiries on the BBS about this problem first and was informed that an update part is available from the importer, that fits into the front upright support of the scope rail. I managed to obtain this part from Centra UK, the importers and fitted it with the hope that one last visit to the range would convince me that I hadn’t bought a donkey! Lo and behold, problem cured. This little piece of metal seems to have cured the problem and the POI no longer seems to shift.
The real test came when I took the rifle rabbit shooting the other night. Being so short, I found the rifle was great for this type of shooting. It cycled the Winchester subs with no problems. Took rabbits out to 80yds no problem. Again, with the rifle being so short, the Lightfoce lamp that was mounted on the scope did not seem to effect the overall weight distribution of the rifle.
In conclusion, once you iron out the little quirks the rifle has, its fun to shoot, surprisingly accurate and once you have found ammo it likes, seems to be quite reliable. It was disappointing to see a manufacturer of Walther’s stature producing something that requires the additional ‘tweaking’, but I will not be parting with the rifle in the foreseeable future.
Link to a photo can be seen below
ATB Russ