Walther Talon Magnum with Nitro Piston

Walther barrel quality, power, quattro trigger. I've shot 1000's of rounds out of this air rifle and it has become my favorite go-to of all time (I don't shoot any pre-charged, only pump air rifles). It is high enough quality, the right weight, and ammo is so cheap that it has been invaluable at refining my shooting skills for all types of firearms. I can shoot for hours a day and air rifles are generally so demanding of proper technique that the Walther Talon Magnum with a nitro piston is a great training tool for any shooter. The trigger pull, breathing and holds that I developed with the Walther Talon Magnum have amazed friends and onlookers when I go to the shooting range with other rifles. I've been accused of not shooting all of the required rounds in competition (because so many went through the same hole) and I've even out shot people the first time I've picked up THEIR rifle. The quality of the Walther Talon Magnum allowed me to develop these skills.

The detent should be improved that locks the barrel into place after cocking. Otherwise, the barrel will not settle into the same orientation relative to a receiver mounted scope. The barrel will be pointed somewhere else after the shot, due to the harsh recoil, even with a nitro piston. I proved the importance of settling the barrel by analyzing hundreds of test shots with a barrel mounted laser, co-witnessed with a good quality scope. It can move if you walk around or change positions/holds after cocking so you need to settle the barrel by pushing it up firmly before I take a shot. Otherwise, variance created by the barrel detent is the weak link that can negate the full value of the top notch trigger and Walther barrel. You are fine if you understand this and adopt a good cocking routine. I think a gunsmith can correct this. Good luck getting Umarex parts.

Kodiak copper 21grain is definitely the best I've found for this rifle, when inserted to consistent depth in the breech using a pellet pen or similar tool. The weight of the heavy pellet ensures knock down power while keeping the velocity subsonic for accuracy. Subsonic is paramount for accuracy. I've polished the trigger sears to a mirror finish and used a premium grease/lubricant to get the best from the Quattro trigger group. This has a very good benefit in your groups because air rifles are so sensitive to hold and trigger technique. At the muzzle velocities of a pump air rifle (even THIS one) the pellet is still in the barrel when recoil, hold and trigger technique can affect trajectory. I embedded a custom recoil arrester in the stock, using urethane foam and mounted a laser on the barrel that doubles as barrel break to control barrel whip. These mods improved my groups at 75-100yds and will shoot the heart out of a sparrow at 75yds from a bench rest every time.

solid sturdy

the scope was poor quality

this air rifle is very hold sensitive to achieve accuracy

Barrel quality is excellent. So is the Quattro trigger. The trigger adjustments give a good range of adjustability in both stages. Hard to find these features in a air rifle in this price range. Hits very hard! Heavier pellets worked best for me. Accuracy at75 yds is amazing when i follow a few steps I've developed for loading and sighting. .

The second stage pull is still just a hair strong for my personal taste. I wish they would either drop the scope or just put a nice one on the rifle. This is a complaint against most of the package air rifles out there that I've bought. The included sights are excellent, though.

I've tested several types of pellets using a combo of a barrel mounted green laser and a Leapers scope. Some pellets are a tighter fit than others and may sit just proud of the receiver when you close the breech. The pellets can get pinched and you will have no accuracy. Use a pellet pen or similar device to seat pellets at EXACTLY the same depth into the barrel and you will be nicely rewarded with consistent range. The break barrel does not "click" into the exact same position each time it's cocked. I learned that I need to push it upward and settle the barrel into position to get the barrel mounted laser and scope to line up. Otherwise accuracy sucks, even with the excellent barrel. If you do this the same each time you can get very nice groups at 75 yards! The nitro piston is outstanding after 1000 rounds. The precision of the break barrel pivot is good but it's still the #1 weakness in this otherwise incredible rifle. As it is, it is still excellent and maybe a couple of gun smith tweaks away from being the only air rifle I'll ever want to shoot again.

My best results so far have been with RWS domed 14.5g, seated with the skirts at 1.5mm depth inside the barrel, using artillery hold. At night, the pellets always hit the laser (again, which is BARREL mounted) at 30 yds. At 75 yards the air temperature and air movement need more compensation. The rifle blasts through 1/2 inch plywood with ease. Hard to cock unless you put the butt against the ground.

Very powerful, you have to shoot it to believe it. You can literally hear every pellet smack when it hits. I did a test and this thing shot a .177 crosman pointed pellet through a half inch of pine board then 250 pages into a phone book underneath. I shoot open sights, it is very accurate, I can hit pop cans at 50 yards free standing open sights on the first day. I imagine with a well adjusted scope this thing would be a tack driver. Adjustable trigger is nice. The extra spacers to add length to the butt plate was a nice addition, I found this gun fits me perfectly now after adding two spacers.

Only thing I would change is make the rear sight adjustable for short ranges. Under 20 yards and you have to aim a little low. I am very use to open sights and learned a long time ago how to rely mostly on the front sight, so I can deal with this, others may find it difficult to shoot at really short distances though.

This gun is heavy. After shooting about 150 times free standing I found my accuracy was just starting to suffer a little due to my left arm getting a little weak supporting the gun for so long. If you don't have good upper body strength you will have trouble aiming at all unless you are supporting the gun on something.

I own both Walther Talon Magnum .177 and .22 with Nitro-piston and UTG 4-16x44 scopes w/side wheel. Both guns are superb performers, solidly built, sturdy feel in hand. Recoil is there but, you adapt to the effects when the trigger is pulled, smooth action for me. Review encompasses pellet use determined best for my situation.

No changes suggested.

Pellets:

RWS Super-H-Point

* Both .177 (6.9gr) and .22 (14.2gr) cal pellets, shooting distance 40 paces, roughly 40 yards.
* Target: 3.5 oz tuna can, 24 inches above ground level.
* Shooting Position: Standing, pillowed arm rest, gun still free movement.

Both calibers, RWS pellets impacted within diameter of small 5.0 oz tuna can, 3.25 in dia. On both cans, and calibers, RWS pellets fired total 8 times, 8 hits.

* Cal .177, 8 shots, some shots expanding on existing penetrations.
* Cal .22, 8 shots all penetrated target area, 8 hits.
Pellets penetrated well into the wooden support backboard.

H&N Hollow Point:

Attempting to sight in pellet, compensate for slight pellet weight difference .177 (7.1gr) and .22 (12.65gr), pellets, did make a couple hits with each gun. Generally, pellets performed way off mark, consistently outside can diameter, ungrouped outside the can diameter.

Differences between pellets, the RWS appears to have better aero dynamic footprint of the two. H&N has a much different aero profile, appearance of more front end drag, may be contributing factor to inconsistency over the RWS.

i have the 22cal,good take down power accurate. well made. not a kids gun.

add a sling, scope gave me trouble then broke

good small game gun, used mostly 18g pellet,crow mag fav hunting

Accuracy a tack driver. very powerful ! very good trigger. mounting rail. open sights.sas. i love everything about this rifle.

nothing

this gun is a hatsan 125 with the walther name on it. it is very well made. not a kids gun. the scope that comes with it works but you will want a better one. this gun is dead on right out of the box. if you are looking for a great hunting gun this is it. this gun shoots more like a 22 rimfire than a pellet gun. it is not hold sensitive . its the most powerful , accurate pellet gun i have ever owned. pyramyd air is the best to buy from . nice folks !

This review if for the .177 caliber. Rifle is accurate, and packs quite a bunch. Haven't taken any game with it yet, but have destroyed some brass cases. Easily hits .233 or 5.56 brass at 20 yards every time with 10.5 grain Crossmans when standing or shooting from a dynamic position. I am not a marksman or a stand shooter so I cannot comment on whether or not you can keep quarter sized groups or not. Iron sights are a nice touch, however required significant time out of box to sight in. The actual rifle seems very well built and made with high quality material. Stock includes spacers to adjust length of pull, another nice touch, though I am not sure how important that is with an air rifle as it is with a firearm. Weight balance seems to be acceptable. The rail for scope mounting having the two different choices is really nice, and long enough to mount a variety of different optics. The nitro piston seems to smooth out the recoil, however it still jostles a good bit more than I thought it would.

Provided optic is awful, absolutely awful. The eye relief is not adjustable, and is far far far too short. It does hold zero well enough (through about 100 rnds), but its parallax seems to be around 25 yards. The screws holding in the buttpad and spacers are what looks like decking screws or drywall screws, seems kind of like a half effort, and makes changing the size a pain. My recommendation to Pyramyd is to ditch the scope entirely, the iron sights are more than acceptable for plinkers, and anyone needing an optic should research and purchase one on their own anyways.

Cocking effort is more than I expected, but prior to this purchase all of my air gun experience was with a cheap wally world plastic thing. I have done most of my hunting with a centerfire rifle. Even after having placed 200 rnds down the barrel. The cocking effort still requires a surface to support the rifle while you prime the system, meaning you can’t prime the system in your arms. Also the females of our group while testing the rifle out had great difficulty gaining a mechanical advantage over the priming system. To be fair they are both short (~5’ 3”). They also had difficulty keeping the rifle on target without a rest, due to the weight. Overall I am quite pleased with my rifle, and for me I find the rifle to be quite up to the tasks I have in mind for it.

Great power, easy to cock, easy to use. Scope rail is great.

Can't thing of any...

It's not as heavy as you would think, consiering the .22 caliber and the power.
It's a beast, though.

Power and accuracy, rail mount is great.

It's pretty big in a .22, but what can you do?