by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Kral Puncher Pro PCP. The test rifle’s walnut stock is not as blonde as this one.
This report covers:
- Mounted a scope
- Accuracy
- JSB Exact Jumbo
- Trigger pull
- JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy
- Nice pistol grip
- RWS Superdomes
- Evaluation so far
Today we start looking at the accuracy of the Kral Puncher Pro PCP air rifle. I have several of these Kral PCPs to test, so I’m spending time with this first one to learn the brand. Things like the unusual way the magazine is inserted into the receiver and how the power adjustment works need to be learned before I can feel comfortable testing these air rifles.
As a reminder, these Kral PCPs offer features found in more expensive airguns at an attractive price. The test rifle also has a very nice stock made of walnut. In Part 2 we discovered that the power adjuster, while not offering distinct stops for adjustment, does put the rifle at a stable place each and every time. And we learned that this Puncher Pro is very stingy with air — getting as many as 80 shots per fill, depending on where the power is set.
Mounted a scope
Since today starts accuracy testing, I first mounted a scope on the test rifle. I selected the UTG 8-32X56 SWAT Mil Dot scope that was used in the accuracy test for the Air Arms Galahad. This scope comes with its own two-piece Weaver base rings, so I just switched them from the Galahad to the Puncher Pro. If the Kral scope base was straight Picatinney I would have been able to just move the mounts with the scope attached, but the Kral scope base is a Weaver whose cross slots are not cut at regular intervals. The Kral base also accepts 11mm airgun scope rings. One of the two UTG scope mounts had to be moved to get it to fit. The switch took 20 minutes in all, and when I tested the sight-in at 12 feet it was where it needed to be. That saved me a lot of set-up time.
It might seem wrong when testing a budget PCP to select a scope whose price is 60 percent of the rifle, but if the Kral is as accurate as I believe, I want the best scope I can put on it. I can run this UTG scope at 32 power all day long, which means I will be able to split hairs at 50 yards.
Accuracy
Okay, let’s look at accuracy. This test was conducted indoors at 25 yards off a rest. Since the rifle was close after mounting the scope I fired a few more shots and got the scope dialed in for the first pellet. I did not adjust it after that.
The power was set just above midway, so the velocities from Part 2 apply here. I must comment that this rifle is very quiet at this power setting.
JSB Exact Jumbo
The first pellet I tested was the JSB Exact Jumbo. The Kral Puncher Pro put 10 of them into a group that measures 0.492-inches between centers. That’s very good but not outstanding for 25 yards. Looking at it, though, is quite round and pleasing.
Ten JSB Exact Jumbo pellets went into 0.492-inches at 25 yards. The scope was sighted for this pellet.
Trigger pull
Now I can comment more accurately on the Kral’s trigger. While it is 2-stage, there is some creep in the second stage. I think it is on the heavy side, as well. It was entirely under control during the test — just not as crisp as I would prefer.
JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy
The next pellet I tried was the 18.1-grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy. I thought it might out-perform the lighter Exact pellet, but it didn’t. Ten went into 0.728-inches at 25 yards. Again, that’s not bad, but not as tight as I would have hoped.
Ten JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets went into 0.728-inches at 25 yards. Notice they landed lower on the target because they are heavier and move slower.
Nice pistol grip
It was at this point in the test that I discovered something very subtle about the Puncher Pro stock. The pistol grip is sculpted to allow your thumb to stick straight up or wrapped around the grip. But there is also a second position to the left of straight up that’s sculpted into the stock. I liked that position best of all. It’s a small but useful feature.
The pistol grip has two vertical positions for the thumb, besides wraparound.
RWS Superdomes
The last pellet I tried was the RWS Superdome. I wanted to try Crosman Premiers, but they jammed in the magazine too much in Part 2, and I had no confidence they would feed correctly. Ten Superdomes made a 0.615-inch group at 25 yards that was better than the JSB Exact Jumbo Heavies but not as good as the 15.89-grain Jumbos. They earned a spot in the 50 yard test with that performance.
Ten RWS Superdomes went into 0.615-inches at 25 yards. That’s not bad!
Evaluation so far
I find the Kral intriguing. It manages air very well, but I’m not yet entirely comfortable with inserting the magazine into the action. The trigger is on the heavy side for a PCP, but the accuracy seems quite promising. And the stock fits me very well.
For those on a tight budget, I think this rifle is one to consider. Let’s see what it can do at 50 yards and we will know even more.
Nice shootin’ and looking forwards to the 50 yard. I am glad you like the pistol grip. You mentioned in part 1 that it has a ridge that you did not care for. The 2 thumb rest shows some thought on the designer’s part. The looks is killer from the pistol grip and back, but falls flat on the forearm. Plus, it is only right. Come on,… there is us lefties out here too! Ambi please.
Good Day all,… Chris
Chris,
You just have to learn to shoot right handed like I did. In fact, I find it difficult to shoot left handed. Since I was a wee bairn, all of my teachers were right handed.
As unfair as it is, it is a right handed world.
Chris U
I’m with RidgeRunner. I’m left half handed and shoot right handed. But I guess once you shot a certain way for a fair amount of time it makes it a bit harder to switch around.
GF1 and RR,
I am totally right handed and have always shot long guns left. Say what you will, but I am sticking with it. To me,.. if a manufacturer is going to bring out a new model,.. that they would make it ambi so as to capture the (entire) potential market.
Chris U
Yep that always gets me to. You would think they want to sale as much product as possible. Who knows.
BB,
The accuracy is indeed promising, but not quite there. It looks like this air rifle will need a little time to get tuned in to get the best out of it. It may also need a different pellet, perhaps something like the JSB RS or H&N FTT.
The quality of the Kral brand has certainly improved over the years, has it not?
VERY interesting. I hope that you will include your thoughts comparing the Kral Puncher to the Marauder–which has recently had a significant price drop to make it an even better value. I do like the Kral’s easily accessible power adjustment which is missing from the Marauder.
Hiveseeker
The Marauder has 2 easy to access power adjustments in the back of the end cap by your trigger hand. Which is the striker stroke adjustment and the spring pressure adjustment. The spring pressure adjustment is the one I adjust if I want less velocity or more. Also there’s one more velocity adjustment on the Marauder that you have to take the stock off to adjust. Or cut a little notch in the side of the stock for the Allen wrench. That’s the transfer port air flow adjustment.
But I like leaving that one set once I get the gun tuned right. I only adjust the spring pressure if I want more or less power. Works out real nice if I’m outside shooting at a 100 yards or if I want to shoot in my basement . I can turn power up down very easy and quick with that spring pressure adjustment.
GF1,
On the other hand,.. an RAI stock, which is (super) sweet, renders the hammer and striker adjustments useless, unless you get the folding stock adapter, which is somewhat lacking in tight lock up under pressure. The air port screw is accessible though.
Adjustment methods are super sweet when they can be done tool free. Something to ponder for manufacturers’ that are offering adjustable settings on their airguns. As for power adjustments, it seems that the only thing that is offered is a transfer port adjustment, aka: “power wheel”. (The same thing as the side adjustment on the Marauder does) Imagine something with 3 adjustments that are all tool free.
Chris U
I was just saying comparing the original stock on the Marauder to the gun BB is testing.
I think people forget how easy it is to adjust velocity on the Marauder with the spring pressure adjustment. But of course when you do that you got to find the right full fill for high velocity or low velocity shots. The striker won’t be able to hit the valve hard enough at higher fill pressures when the spring pressure is low. And to heavy of spring pressure with a lower fill pressure will just waste air each shot.
Alot of people use to put the adjustable end cap on the Discovery to adjust spring pressure. I think we was using the one from the Crosman 2300 pistol.
Thanks, Gunfun1. The velocity adjustment that requires pulling the receiver from the stock was the one I was thinking of. I know some after-market stocks actually have a notch there for access, and I’m surprised Crosman did not originally do the same.
Hiveseeker
Yes I know what you mean. Why they didn’t notch the stock out on the Marauder is beyond me. You would think they would of caught on when they came out with the gen2’s. All I know is my Marauders all got notched out stocks. 🙂
Tom I have the Puncher Mega in .22 cal and I hope you have one to test. After 3000 rounds I have had no problems with the magazine and the side lever cocking is very smooth. I might be getting just a little bit better accuracy but no two guns are going to be alike. On a very tight budjet I couldn,t be happier with the purchase.
Barbdave33,
I’m glad you are happy with your rifle. I don’t know if I have a Mega to test or not.
B.B.
Shot Targets tell stories.
The target shot with the JSB 15.8 pellets at 25 yards is good.
Based on the velocities in Part 2 I believe the groups would tighten up, especially with the JSB pellets, if the pellets were pushed to the mid to high 800’s.
I also believe that the groups would tighten up if the barrel was cleaned using B.B.’s JB Bore paste scrubbing method since these Kral barrels are notorious for coming from the factory very, very dirty.
I picked up a .177 Kral Pro as soon as PA offered them, glad I did 🙂
So far it’s been an outstanding value. High shot count, nice stock with good ergonomics, accurate barrel, alot of bang for the buck.
I think youll be very suprised at fistances
Further distances.
Erockrocket
Probably to early yet to worry about replacement parts if something wears out. I wonder how hard it will be to get parts for it.
Like Weirauch and Diana, FWB, Air Arms and Crosman. And probably others I’m forgetting. But they still have repair parts available for guns not even made anymore.
Customer support is something I pay attention to when I make a choice when purchasing a air gun. Well among other products also.
GF1,
I put the second valve in my Wildfire Monday night and fired about 10 clips without any leaks. I left it fully charged over night and no drop in pressure. I spent most of yesterday mounting a scope and shooting my new Air Venturi Wonder Wheel target. No problems with the gun at all after at least 500 pellets ( which is easy to do with this gun) The target is a blast and is very challenging for me. I was shooting a 7.9 grain pellet at it from 19 yards and even after the 60th shot, the 510 fps was enough to flip the bottom plate up with authority. I’ve read negative revues that say the target is crap and the targets won’t flip up in the bottom position without a magnum springer but I have to disagree with all that.
Next step will be to find the most accurate pellet, but that will have to wait since I have to go back into the hospital for another lithotripsy on my kidney stone. Yesterday my doc discovered that there are two pieces that are to big to pass so he’s gonna bust them up smaller tomorrow morning.
Yikes, good luck with the kidney stone procedure. Those can be painful. At least you can be grateful that you’re near good medical care and did not have the experience of an uncle of mine. Returning from a trip to Ireland, he had a blockage. So, his solution was to wash it out with a few beers at the Dublin airport!? Naturally this didn’t work, and on the long flight home, he suffered the tortures of the damned. On the car ride to the hospital after landing, he almost passed out. Stay away from homegrown remedies.
Matt61
Matt61,
I had to wait over 5 hours to be seen with my first stone. It was in the middle of a local Flu outbreak and the triage made the Flu sufferers the priority. It will make you a little baby cryin’ for it’s mama, I’ll tell ya. When I was finally seen they Xrayed me and gave me pain meds(I still have a special place in my heart for ER docs for that mercy) and sent me home with the advice,” Have a few beers. It’ll help you pass it” ! So I did and it did !
Are you serious? So, my uncle had the right instincts but just not the pain meds. Maybe you were too stoic. If you had started yelling and screaming they would have bumped you up on line. I’ve heard bad things about kidney stones. There was a Vietnam Special Forces veteran in my community growing up. He suffered an attack of kidney stones and drove himself to the hospital yelling out the window.
Matt61
Matt61,
You wouldn’t have called any part of my behavior that day “stoic”. I paced the floor throwing F bombs and every other curse in my huge vocabulary. I did this for hours in front of a huge room of sick strangers and it just felt like the only thing TO do. I would move from kneeling on the floor with my head in a chair to lying on my back to pacing the floor to a fetal position to… You get the picture. I lost count of how many times I pled “How much longer: ? The thing is that that flu was putting peoples’ lives at risk and most kidney stones will pass without problem (unbelievable pain not withstanding) and are not as important in a triage scenario. So I hope you never pass one. There are much better excuses for drinking beer ! 😉
Halfstep,
I an (so) happy to hear that your are having some (a complete?) measure of successful repairs with your Wildfire. Best wishes on a lasting fix. Way to go!,…. too,.. on getting “in there” yourself.
Halfstep
I don’t know where this will post at.
But good glad to hear the next new valve is doing good in your Wild Fire. They are fun guns and for sure eat up the ammo and fast. But got to ask. Did you do anything different this time when you assembled it?
And I never had any kidney stones yet. But a guy I use to work with and one of my buddies have had them. All I can say is they were in pain that can’t be explained. And I know what that means too. I had diverticulitis and had 12 inches of my colon removed with two major operations. All I know it was the worst pain I ever had in my life. The pain was so severe that if you walked up and punched me in the face I would of never known you done it. All I can say is I hope they get you straightened out and with some good pain meds. It ain’t no fun when the body ain’t working right.
GF1′
Forgot to say that I ordered a .22 Mrod from PA during their sale. Will probably need some advice on all it’s adjustments when I get to fooling with it.
I also ordered the m-rod.22 combo from P.A. What a great opportunity it was, I had to pull the trigger. Having received a Shooting crony (beta model) a few weeks ago I’m very anxious to get started setting up the Crosman Marauder.
Coduece
Glad you got one too. I’m pretty sure your going to like it.
And read my reply to Halfstep about the Marauder.
Coduece,
We’ll take this journey together. ( No doubt with a lot of assistance from the folks here. It’s rumored that a few of the own Marauders)
That sounds great as I’m an airgun novice for sure.
Halfstep
But I’m going to say it now. You should of got a .25 caliber. I had several gen1 and gen2 Marauder’s in all 3 calibers.
Best luck was with the .177 and .25 caliber guns. And the .25 Marauder will do some serious shooting. 70 yards and in is pretty much a gaurenteed hit on a starling sized target. Sparrow size targets are a little more challenging at 70 yards but very doable.
Ask Chris U about his .25 Marauder see what he says. But still glad you got one.
Yeah I read B.B.’s articles on the.25 m-rod, and gave it some thought and I just didn’t want to add another caliber to my collection. Anyways I’m pretty sure My shooting ability’s won’t scratch the surface of what the .22 caliber is capable of.
Coduece
Aw come on. I bet ya can shoot better than your say’n. 🙂
GF1,
All my guns are .177 except for a Remington Express Synthetic I bought at Wally World, clearanced at under 60 bucks. I have always enjoyed the greatest selection of pellets for that reason and was afraid that the .25 might not have a pellet it liked at a reasonable price. I don’t hunt or pest at this time so I’m mostly plinkin’. The only reason I went .22 was in hopes that it would buck the wind better than my .177s. Spring is really windy in my part of the country. Had I known how yours shoots I may have gone with the .25. What pellet do you shoot to get that accuracy?
I know folks who have had diverticulitis and have seen them suffer. I would easily describe it as ” they’re passing a kidney stone”. Both are unbelievably painful. Fortunately, I haven’t had any pain from this one because it hadn’t moved into my ureter. When it does that it plugs up the kidney and urine builds up and swells the kidney and that causes the pain. I woke up peeing ice tea the other day and went to the doctor before it moved. He’s trying to bust it into pieces that will pass( painlessly I hope) It’s just taking him more than one try. Kind of like repairing a Wildfire ! 🙂
Halfstep
Ouch on the kidney stones is all I can say. And yes I know what you mean on the Wild Fire. I had mine apart and back together more than I would like trying to get it sorted out to my liking.
And my .25 Marauder is my choice to shoot when it’s windy. They weight and velocity of the pellet definitely help it buck the wind. I don’t even notice a 8-10 mph crosswind at 50 yards with my Mrod. But I got it turned up pretty good. I’m filling it to 3600 psi to work with the striker spring and other mods I got done. My .25 Mrod recoils way more than a .22 rimfire rifle does. But mine likes the 33.95 grain JSB pellets. And most of my not modified and not so modified .25 Marauders liked the 31.02 grain H&N Barracudas.
And I have to say the 10.34 JSB’s shot real well out of the couple .177 Marauders I had. I was getting real good results out to 50 yards in 8 mph cross winds. Out past 50 was good but needed to be more calm as the distance increased.
I had one good .22 Marauder and one not so good one. Acurracy wise I’m talking about. But the good one liked the 15.89 JSB’s.
Anyway. Be happy about your Marauder. I think you will be happy with it. And if you shoot 50 yards and I think it will be as accurate as you would like.
Saying that. What group size are you looking for out at 50 yards? And what kind of wind ate you talking? Oh and by the way. I moved from a house that was semi in the country that was in a valley in a sense that was shielded from most wind directions. Very good shooting results there. And now out in the country that is pretty well open out to 500 yards. I get wind now and the .25 Mrod is by far the best in the wind.
You trying to Jinx me?
I have faith in PA, whom I purchased from. So far my Kral Pro has been a great rifle, and I am not easily impressed.
I hope none of your rifles ever need anything, hope you hit everything you aim at 😉
Erockrocket
No jinxing here. Just tell’n the truth. I know some products that don’t have very good customer support.
And too late. Can’t count how many guns I been into. But mostly to mod. Not often because of faliur.
And hitting what I aim at. I just really don’t miss anymore. Did I just say that! 😉
Nice shooting. It’s nice to see new high-performing pcps at lower prices.
Gunfun1, thanks for your encouragement with the M1, but I’m not going to resort to the gunsmith just yet. I’ve had sage advice that convinced me that one pierced primer does not pose an immediate danger. I subsequently inspected all the cases from that session with a magnifying glass, and the spent primers look perfect. I’ve also heard from my gunsmith who had a very ingenious and simple idea. He said that it sounds like my reloads are the problem and advised me to test the rifle with factory ammo of the same bullet weight. That’s a great way to diagnose a reload problem without sending out the rifle. My own theory is that my reloads are underpowered and that they are causing excess pressure. This is highly unintuitive and a murky area, but apparently it is possible. There might also be some confusion in the relation between gas pressure and the volume of the gas tube. My original gunsmith related volume size to more or less gas, but that may not be the same thing as gas pressure. Pressure is defined as force divided by area. So, could it be that in reducing volume and closing some sort of hole, I am actually increasing gas pressure? And perhaps that is interacting with my light load in some negative way. As it says in Young Frankenstein: “You change the minuses to pluses and the pluses and the pluses to minuses…Grandfather, you’ve done it.”
The plan now is to go out with factory ammo and with some heavier reloads and with the gas system adjusted to some intermediate level and see what happens. But I will be checking every single case for pressure signs. It’s possible I could still pull this out and come away with an accurate and functioning rifle.
As Winston Churchill said, “When you are going through hell, keep going.” You never know what might turn up. I finally figured out why my knife throwing had tanked. My target surface was getting so chopped up that the knives wouldn’t stick. Now with clean plywood, they are dropping better than ever. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same with my knife sharpening. I gave the full treatment to a kitchen knife with one of my new ideas, and it could barely cut a tomato. The push moves on.
Matt61
Matt61,
🙂 x 10! I do admire your fortitude and perseverance in the face of adversity. Hat’s off for not caving in and giving some of your own theory’s a try first, (on the shooting).
Matt61
Well I for sure want to hear what happens when you shoot the factory ammo.
If you get a chance check out the FX Revolution. It uses the air from the air blast reciculated to fire the gun semi auto. And it’s adjustable for different weight and fit of the pellets you shoot. The FX Monsoons I had did not have the air tube and adjustment for the different weight and fit pellets. You had to adjust the full fill pressure up or down depending on the pellet weight and fit.
So yep I can see how the pressure thing with the M1 could be tricky. But let us know what you come up with. And let me know if you check out the FX Revolution how it works. I’m interested to see what you think about it.
Don’t know if anyone has seen this but another low priced PCP is now on Pyramyd AIR, based on the QB78 it is called the Beeman QB Chief .22 or .177 not yet available but should be soon; /product/beeman-qb-chief-pcp-air-rifle?m=4339
Hard Air put a review out in March that I seem to have missed, they cover the .177; https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/beeman-chief-pcp-air-rifle-test-review-177-cal/
At 180 bucks it looks to compete with the Maximus and Discovery, at that price point it may be a winner.
Mike
I have to say I like it. I did not know it even existed. I can see myself getting one.
It says it even has a two stage adjustable trigger. If it can shoot as good as my Maximus plus if the trigger is a good one. It just might have the one up on the Maximus.
Hard Air said the trigger is better than the Maximus, can it shoot? They shot it at 10 yards and got good results, not great but good. I think add a moderator and they might have a real winner for the urban shooters, with that I think they could still come in at about 220 bucks.
Hard Air also said that this review is not of the finished product, there will be some changes before it goes to market, mostly the short comb, needs to be raised we will watch and see.
Mike
What I was getting at is the Chief already has the one up on the Maximus with it’s two stage trigger. The Maximus trigger needs work to be good.
But if it’s not as accurate as the Maximus. Well then that would make it a little harder far me to get a Chief even if it’s got a better trigger than the Maximus. And who knows it might end up being more accurate than the Maximus. But I have to tell ya my .22 Maximus is pretty darn accurate.
But it’s nice to see the other guns surfacing. At least us consumers have many many choices now days to pick from. And that’s a good thing.
I have a 2260 and that is the base of the Discovery and Maximus, do not like the trigger but do like the accuracy and have learned to deal with the trigger and it works well for me.
Guess I need to take the plunge to the darkside at some point.
Mike
Me and Chris U both did some trigger mods to our Maximus.
We both did the same thing with the sear spring. But he used setscrews to get a adjustable trigger release. I did a double return spring that are two different lengths to give a first and second stage feel.
And yep be warned. Once the dark side gets you. There’s no turning back. 🙂
Mike,
I missed it too. I love the Maximus. I am very interested in seeing what it will do. Looks fine. Don’t care for the big Beeman logo. A bit heavier than the Maximus. I had a real good day the other day and kept 30 consecutive shots in 1″ at 50 yards. I was doing fill testing and trying to find the max. shots on one fill at the time. I have my trigger real nice and I also played with moving the barrel band. I love it is all I can say.
Actually I did not miss it, I forgot it. BB mentions below he reported it on the 2017 Shot Show and when I went back and looked; /blog/2017/01/2017-shot-show-part-7/ aha, now I remember.
A comment from Scott80 stood out; /blog/2017/01/2017-shot-show-part-7/#comment-392803 and I think he made a very good point. Still not here yet but the Gauntlet does look like the better buy; /product/umarex-gauntlet-pcp-air-rifle-synthetic-stock?m=4311#8327 so many choices…
Mike
Mike,
I reported this in the 2017 SHOT Show report.
I was told PA decided not to carry it.
B.B.
Yes you did, but seems I forgot, see above to Chris.
That Shot Show part 7 also spawned an interesting blog from yourself, answering Halfstep and Reallead. Why can’t “they” get It right; /blog/2017/02/why-cant-they-get-it-right/ I thought that was a great post.