By B.B. Pelletier
A couple years ago, Umarex, the company that’s famous for its airgun copies of famous firearm handguns, decided to do a rifle. They chose the Winchester 1894 lever-action and copied it well. True to their normal design, inside the action of the air rifle is a .177-caliber 8-shot rotary magazine.
The two CO2 powerlets are tucked away in the butt in a removable mechanism, so it’s possible to pull them out without dumping all the CO2. What a great idea. Not only is it economical – it’s a wonderful way for parents to make their guns safe when they’re not around to supervise!
This is one heck of an accurate air rifle
When we think of lower-powered .177 air rifles, we tend to think they’re not too accurate. That’s NOT the case here! While the Walther Lever Action is not cheap, it seems to occupy the same niche as the Crosman 1077. Just like the Crosman, it’s a very accurate little rifle. At about 20 yards, expect to hit a target the size of a penny using the open sights! That ain’t bad!
Want to do better? Mount a scope on your rifle! B-Square makes a clever scope mount that accepts standard 11mm dovetail airgun rings. Leapers’ Bug Buster scope is a perfect match. It’s the right size and it focuses down as close as 9 FEET! Like the name suggests, you could even bust some bugs with a rig like that.
This little rifle is REAL!
It works just like you think it should. Work the lever; pull the trigger. Work the lever; pull the trigger. I own one and love to shoot it and show it off to my friends. A few years ago I saw Steve Kanaly, the actor who played the South Fork foreman, Ray Krebbs, on the TV show Dallas, holding this rifle on the cover of Airgun Illustrated magazine. It looked perfect in his cowboy hands.
Do yourself a favor
If you didn’t click on the additional picture links of the Walther Lever Action rifle when you followed the link I provided above, go there now and click on it. The other photos Pyramyd provides tell a lot about how the gun works.
I’m going to cover the other Umarex airguns in the future, so this (and the PPK/S article from yesterday) is just a start. These guns are nearly perfect for the action shooter who wants an accurate repeater with realism and an affordable price tag.
What i’m eagerly awaiting is a good, affordable Colt single action revolver copy like Crossman and others made some years back.
Denny,
Me, too! I’m a fan of the SAA.
Umarex was supposed to be working on such a gun, but they couldn’t hide the powerlet. They don’t like the SA6 that shows the powerlet under the barrel.
Let’s hope they figure it out!
B.B.
An 1873 SSA with 1860 Army grips would look only a bit out of place(they are longer), but would, I believe, provide room for the CO2
THANK YOU!
I have been talking to Wulff Pflaumer, the owner of Umarex, for four years about beringing out an SAA. The problems has been where to put the CO2 so it doesn’t look bad. Maybe this will solve it.
I used to shoot an 1860 Army and the grips are a bit longer, as you say. A buddy of mine even had a grip frame altered to fit his SAA because he has large hands.
I sure hope this works!
B.B.
Hi, I’m actually an airsoft enthusiast and also a westerner fan. I’ve always loved the style of the Winchester line and have had my eye on this Walther’s Lever Action for a few weeks now. I am planning to get one for casual plinking, though I was wondering:
Do you think it would be possible to customize the gun to fit 6mm BB’s and put some sort of regulator to lower the fps the CO2 puts out thus limiting it to the standards of most airsoft fields?
I have a friend that works at a machine shop so making custom parts should not be a problem. I just want to know if I have a margin for customizing is all.
Also, are the wood parts easy to remove or is it pretty much glued to the gun? I was planning on refinishing it with a dark red stain…sort of like the “Gold Version” but without the wells fargo engraving, haha.
There are some airsoft manufacturers that do make replicas of the Winchester 1873/1892 but all have given bad reviews with gas leak and trigger system problems. And then I came across the Walther Lever and fell in love with the rotary magazine and rear co2 cartridge system. I’m still gonna get it, whether for airsoft or not, haha.
Thanks,
Rip
Rip,
The Walther Lever Action is made of cast potmetal parts. I doubt a conversion like you describe is economicaly possible.
The wood comes off easily enough, but it is beech, and doesn’t finish very well. Everyone uses a spray on paint-type finish.
B.B.
K, thanks for the input. I might just get the Gold Vesrion instead.
Do you know a retailer(online or not) that carries the Gold Carbine short version for a reasonable price?
B.B.,
Has Umarex made any progress on a replica SAA over the past year?
As many others in my age group (over 60), I would buy one in a heart beat.
Your review of the Walther LA has also influenced me to buy one. With the Walther I can have LA fun up to 40 yds in my backyard where I can’t use my Marlin LA 30-30 and 22.
Thanks for all the great info you disseminate in these blogs.
red-pt
Red,
Not to my knowledge. I’d buy one, too!
B.B.
I too own a Walther Lever Action, & not only is it as accurate as B.B. says,
I wanted to add a couple of things…
First of all, for using two CO2 cartridges,
some may expect it to be louder than a typical .177
NOT the case! This gun is actually pretty quiet.
In fact, when I wan’t to go in my back yard & pop off a few rounds with out having to worry
about the noise with my neighbors…
This is THE gun I grab!
Also, he said “they copied it well”…
Yes indeed, & it looks AND feels great too.
Well balanced, solid realistic feeling ation, & simply a blast to shoot!
With out a doubt,
probably my favorite backyard plinker.
If you want a great replica, that looks great, feels,
great, shoots great, & is VERY accurate & quiet too?
BUY THIS GUN!
Is it cheap?
No.
Is it worth every penny?
Absolutely!
Check out my review. Mine is the 2nd one listed as ”
By Customer from USA on 2007-12-02 06:07:21″
/product/walther-lever-action-co2-rifle?m=268
P.S. You might wan’t to look at the Wells Fargo edition of this gun.
Same gun,
just more bling bling to make it even more of a conversation piece.
Beware though!
If you by the Wells Fargo version, you might never shoot it, as you may wind up putting it in
a display case & hanging it over your fire place! 😉
Take a look;
/product/walther-wells-fargo-lever-action?m=912
– The Big Bore Addict –
BBA< Nice review. Remind me to introduce you to Wulf Pflaumer, the owner of Umarex, who first told me about this fine rifle. We’ll see him in another two weeks. B.B.
B.B.
I look forward to it!
I would love to meet him, & thank you for both the offer & the compliment.
I hope my reviews will get even better, as I plan to buy a chronograph from PA pretty soon.
FYI… I’ve already sent out a couple of money orders, & have two Crosman 600’s on the way to me, & very possibly an MK1 & a 150 too, not to mention my wish list at Pyramyd Air!
Just to mention a few;
IZH 61 by IZH-Baikal
AVANTI 747 Triumph Match by Daisy
Gamo Whisper with Air Venturi Ram Air Gas Spring by Gamo
CROSMAN 2240 by Crosman
Benjamin EB22
P1 by Beeman
SMITH & WESSON 586-8 by Smith & Wesson
Desert Eagle by Magnum Research
Colt 1911 CO2 gun by Colt
Look what you’ve done now B.B.
You’ve created a monster! lol
I might have to change my name to
“The Airgun Addict”! 😉
All the better though.
The more guns I have, both old & new, the more info & knowledge that I will have to compare & share.
I grew up in a small town (Lake Elsinore, CA), & there wasn’t anything to do there, but ride dirt bikes & shoot.
I’ll never forget this as long as i live…
My very first BB gun was a Daisy Red Ryder that my grandfather bought me in 1975 or 1976, & my second was a Crosman 760 that I bought myself in 1978 I believe.
I want to say that I’m surprised, that after all these years both models are still in production, but since the Red Ryder was pretty accurate & fairly powerful for a spring powered bb gun, & the 760 for it’s time was one of the most powerful & accurate (with pellets) in it’s time & it’s price range…
I can understand why they’re still around.
At that time in Lake Elsinore, there weren’t any roller skating or ice skating rinks, any bowling alleys, or even a decent movie theatre. They had one beat up run down movie theatre, that only played movies NOBODY ever even heard of! lol
So needless to say, if I wasn’t riding my dirt bike, I was shooting those guns!
I had so much fun with them, that I fell in love with with airguns.
When I finally was old enough to buy a real gun, I forgot about airguns.
I shot a LOT of guns over the years. everything form handguns to full auto’s.
I seemed to favor hand guns though, because I believe just about anybody can be fairly accurate with a rifle, but it takes a lot more talent to be consistently accurate with a pistol.
My favorite pistols were the Colt Gold Cup, the Sig P226, & my old S & W 627 Classic Hunter that was a .357 5.5″ barrel, non-fluted cylinder, all stainless steel, with the wide target hammer, & custom Rose wood grips.
All are great shooters, but the S & W was a limited run edition, that was made on the N frame (.44 cal.) which made it capable of handling just about any reload you could stuff into it, & still shot like a Cadillac.
You could also convert it to a 7 or I believe even an eight shot, because of the N frame & non-fluted cylinder.
(I should have never sold it, because I just searched for almost an hour & can NOT find one anywhere?)
Anyhoo, now that I own a house with a big back yard, I’ve realized that I don’t have to drive for an hour out of town, or go to an indoor range, to spend a lot of time & money on ammo to have fun.
Between that, but mostly your reviews & input… you have reawaken the air gunner in me.
This blog & your reviews & input, have really opened my eyes, & are turning me from a backyard plinker, to a serious enthusiast & collector.
I have a quite a few more guns to buy, a lot more reading to do, & a lot of testing as well, so look forward to seeing a lot more posts from me, from both asking questions, & posting info & writing reviews of my own, both here & on PA’s sight.
P.S. Sorry for the long reply B.B., but I thought you might like to know that your efforts are yielding nice results & are really opening the eyes of some people, & turning them into a lot more serious air gun enthusiasts.
Heck, I’m even thinking about looking to see if there is a local air gun club out here & joining it.
Thanks for everything,
– The Big Bore Addict –
BBA,
I’m glad to have been of service.
About the airgun club – why don’t YOU start it? That’s what I did back in Maryland, and now DIFTA is one of the most active airgun clubs in the U.S.
There were four of us in the beginning, and each one did what he did best. I was the writer and the one with a website, so I promoted the club. Another guy was in with the Izaak Walton League where we were located, so he got them to give us land, and he organized all our events – which resulted in the Damascus airgun show. A third one was a carpenter, so he organized the building of our range and the fourth guy helped out wherever he was needed.
B.B.
B.B.
You, Joshua, & this blog have been more helpful than you will probably ever know. 🙂
Sadly, my dog who is like a family member to me, is dying of cancer & I will probably have to put her down in the next couple of weeks.
With this happening, I really needed something new in my life to be excited about.
Something to help take the sting out of it… & my new found interest in airguns is doing just that. 🙂
It won’t replace my dog, but over the years I’ve found that when you experience a loss, if you can find something new to be excited about, It does help, & I’m confident that this will keep me busy for many years to come. 🙂
So when I said that “You, Joshua, & this blog have been more helpful than you will probably ever know.”
You can see what I mean, & that it goes deeper than you probably knew.
Starting my own airgun club?
That really is a good idea.
It’s a great way to meet people in your area with similar interests, as I have done with paintball (when I was younger) flying RC airplanes, & racing my car.
If there isn’t one out here, I might just do that. I was actually thinking about it when I was typing that last reply.
I am a founding member of a very large car club out here, that has been going strong for over eight years now, with a membership of over 100 people, & we get views & posts on our website/forum from all over the world.
Remember when I said I was a moderator on another unrelated forum?
That was what I was talking about, so I know exactly what you are saying & how to do it.
P.S. I would also like to thank Joshua & PA because (not to count you out, but) with out him & PA, this blog might not exist.
I have spoken to Joshua on the phone a few times.
He is a great guy & has also been a big help to me.
So if you’re reading this Joshua…
I want to thank you too!
FYI… You know me as,
“Mike in Las Vegas”
aka
– The Big Bore Addict –
BBA,
I’m sorry about your dog. We have cats and we understand the sorrow when one passes away. Josh has dogs and it an animal lover as well.
I passed your message along to Josh, and I hope you two can meet.
B.B.
B.B.
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it.
It’s even worse when you are single & your family is 3000 miles away, but I’ve been there before, so I’ll get through it.
I have lost pets, friends, best friends that were like family, family members, & even a girlfriend to a drunk driver.
(That one was tough.)
I’ve lost some of them in ways that many years later, I still can’t believe.
Bizzare/freak car accidents, drug overdose, murder, & I even lost an uncle to an elephant!
Yep, you read that right.
He was on a safari & got attacked by an elephant, & was trampled/stomped to death.
Even my grandmother couldn’t keep from laughing after the mourning was over. (He was her brother in law.)
Ya had to know him. he was just one of those guys, that if it were gonna happen to anyone… It would be HIM! lol
Anyhoo, such is life. I’ll get through it.
Thank you again for the kind words & passing my “thank you” on to Josh.
I always enjoyed talking to him, so I too hope we can meet.
– The BBA –
whatever happened to the saa? i have been waiting for such a gun for over 5 years. I know all the saa airsoft guns made are almost impossible to buy now because so many people liked them, they just all sold out so i think it would be an even better idea to make a pellet version.
It doesn’t look like Walther is going to make an SAA. I would like it, too.
B.B.
I just received the Walthers Wells Fargo edition of this lever action rifle.
Man, right out ot the box the groups at 10yds, measured on a soft rest where impressive. Just needed a bit left and up to get me where I want to be. But, WOW, this lever action, aside from the beauty of the rifle, delivers, I have .75″ groups, with one round of Co2 cartridges. 100 shots fired, and still on the money. What a fun rifle, and one you can put on the wall. I have lots of pellet pistols and rifles, this one is without doubt one of the classics. These folks in Germany put together nice stuff.
A great value, and beautiful rifle.
Jim
Jim,
Thanks for your report.
B.B.
Jim,
I have the regular version & mine is dead on with the same, if not even better groupings.
I couldn’t agree with you more, & this is one gun I will never part with!
Had the Wells Fargo version been available when I got mine, I would have went for it. The extra money is well worth the beauty.
Enjoy!
– The BBA –
To phrase it better…
The couple extra bucks, are definitely worth the extra bling! 😉
– The BBA –