Walther Falcon Hunter .25 - Honest, Real World Review

[Lambchops]

Alright guys and girls, I've had my Walther Falcon Hunter for about 5 months now and I feel it is time to do an honest review on it. This review will be all text- sorry no pictures at the moment. The gun is a Walther Falcon Hunter in .25 cal. Ships with a 3-9x40 AO IR scope. Stock is the SAS Hatsan. It is a springer not NP.

To start off, I bought it on Airgunsdaily.com. Shipped fairly quickly, and no damages. I have no idea where to start, so I'll start with the scope.

The scope that ships with it is a Umarex 3-9x40 AO IR scope. At first impression it looked like a nice, well built scope. Well, I was wrong. After about 180 shots, it broke. One of the most common issues with this scope is an internal piece shifting resulting in an "egg shaped view". I took it off of my Walther Falcon Hunter after about 150 shots because it would not hold still! Simply put, you NEED a one piece mount for this scope and this gun. I then put it on another air rifle, and that's when it broke. Overall, I give the scope a 6/10.

Next, the stock. The stock is synthetic and feels really cheesy. I do not like it one bit. The camo on it, however, is pretty nice. The stock is so lightweight that it makes the gun VERY muzzle heavy. It really doesn't even feel synthetic to me... more like cheap plastic. Overall, 3/10.

Now for the trigger. At first impressions, it looks like a cheap Gamo trigger. But, it is not! The trigger is adjustable, and I adjusted it to a crisp break of about 2 lbs. No creep at all. It's a very nice trigger and I'm impressed. If it were metal, I would give it a perfect 10, but it's plastic, so it's getting a 9/10.

Accuracy. Accuracy is exceptionally well for a "magnum springer". Also, there was no need for the Artillery Hold. I simply held the gun in the same spot each time I shot. When it had it's scope on, I was getting 5 shot groups measuring about a nickel from 30 yards. I head shotted pigeons with it from 20+ yards off hand. I even got a starling in a tree from 35 yards away off hand. The gun can shoot guys. It's very accurate. Even with iron sights, I get .5" with 5 shot groups at 15 yards bench rested. That's smaller than a dime, folks. The pellets I used were Beeman Crow Magnums, Beeman Silver Arrows, Beeman Kodiaks, and Benjamin Domed pellets. All four pellets shot very well. My Walther is not pellet fussy. 10/10

Power. Power is amazing! When I got the Walther, I chronoed it with a friends Chrony. I was getting 27-32 FPE depending on pellets used. I lost the paper I had the chrony numbers written on, but I remember which pellets shot the hardest. The hardest hitting pellet was the Silver Arrow, next the Crow Magnum, next the Benjamin Domed, and last the Kodiaks. The Kodiaks had the lowest FPE because they were relatively slow, around 610 FPS I believe. The starling I mentioned above was shot with a Crow Magnum from 35 yards. When I retrieved it, I only found bits and pieces and 2 wings. Amazing. Shot a squirrel from about 4 yards away with a Crow Magnum and it nearly blew it's head off. There was massive bleeding and it died INSTANTLY. Never seen that before. 10/10

Shooting Cycle. The Walther shoots very smooth, but with a lot of recoil for a springer. If you don't hold it right, you will hurt your shoulder. The mechanical action is very loud too. When I got it, it was oiled very well and it has never dieseled. It is a VERY loud springer.8/10

Now for the problems. The screws are "counter threaded". I know what that means, but for the life of me CAN NOT find a way to tighten, nor take off the screws. They just keep turning and turning and turning. Now for the trigger guard area. The small screw near the trigger guard never tightens. The stock is so cheap that the screw just stripped the plastic. I took the screw off once and can't get it tight anymore. It doesn't affect accuracy though because it's not connected to the actual "action". Action meaning spring housing, etc.


I probably would buy this again. I'm disappointed in the stock, and the scope. Maybe If Umarex would cooperate and send me a new scope I'd feel happier about this purchase. Pellets cost a lot, though. So that plays a part in it. If you're looking for a good "springer hunting gun", then I highly recommend getting this. As long as you don't mind the cheesy stock, and expect to buy a new scope soon after purchase. If you installed a Nitro Piston and got a custom wood stock, this gun would be a dream, and a PERFECT 10.

Overall, I give it a 9.2.

Any Questions or comments are welcome.

EDIT: for sale, still works 100%. Too loud for my tastes

[longislandhunter]

Nice, honest review.  I enjoyed the read.  I've  been tempted a couple of times to order one but never did.  Definitely sounds like the rifle has potential.  The power and accuracy you mention is impressive.  I'm still of the mind that .25 caliber is best suited for PCP but if I should decide to get a .25 springer I might take another look at the WFH.  Thanks for posting the review. 

Jeff

[Lambchops]

Nice, honest review.  I enjoyed the read.  I've  been tempted a couple of times to order one but never did.  Definitely sounds like the rifle has potential.  The power and accuracy you mention is impressive.  I'm still of the mind that .25 caliber is best suited for PCP but if I should decide to get a .25 springer I might take another look at the WFH.  Thanks for posting the review. 

Jeff

Thank you Jeff for reading the whole thing! I too think a .25 is best suited for a PCP, but in my tests I found it to still pack a punch up to 45 yards. With a .25 Mrod, you're good to 60+ yards.

Cordero

[grimlama]

Good write...good read...good information...seems like I've read others say that it could be a scope killer???  not sure...could you fill the stock to contend with the front ended heaviness???   Glad to have ya on board!

[Lambchops]

Good write...good read...good information...seems like I've read others say that it could be a scope killer???  not sure...could you fill the stock to contend with the front ended heaviness???   Glad to have ya on board!

Actually, there are two answers to your first question. It's a yes and a no. With simple two piece rings they don't provide enough absorption to lessen the recoil. With a one piece mount like a UTG, it does provide plenty absorption of the recoil. As for filling the stock, yes it is hollow, and sure you could fill it.

[redone1992]

Nice, honest review

[supertech77]

nice review,and honest,as for the screws that keep turning,first remove the small screw,then with a big flat head unscrew the screw counter clockwise,while with another screw driver hold the screw nut,then it will come out,the barrel screw has a stay screw in it,and on mine i had to heat the bottom of the screw with a small torch,to loosen the lock tight.before it would break loose.and for sure its a scope eater,i sent mine back as i told you in another post.and got the walther talon in 22.cal.and now that its np and even more powerful i rate it a 9,be a 10 with a wood stock.and if by chance anyone out there has a quattro trigger in there's,take a picture of both sides of the trigger assembly ,once you remove the stock.you will need it cause the pins fall out and you won't find a picture of a fully assembled quattro. trigger.

[Lambchops]

nice review,and honest,as for the screws that keep turning,first remove the small screw,then with a big flat head unscrew the screw counter clockwise,while with another screw driver hold the screw nut,then it will come out,the barrel screw has a stay screw in it,and on mine i had to heat the bottom of the screw with a small torch,to loosen the lock tight.before it would break loose.and for sure its a scope eater,i sent mine back as i told you in another post.and got the walther talon in 22.cal.and now that its np and even more powerful i rate it a 9,be a 10 with a wood stock.and if by chance anyone out there has a quattro trigger in there's,take a picture of both sides of the trigger assembly ,once you remove the stock.you will need it cause the pins fall out and you won't find a picture of a fully assembled quattro. trigger.

Thanks for the screws advice... I'll have to try that one day.

[Dick Tracey]

I read your review and really liked it.  I did a review earlier on my Webley Patriot which uses the same action as the walther Falcon Hunter (Hatsan 125).  I also own a Walther Falcon Hunter untuned and a Walther Talon Tuned.  All are in 25 caliber.  I recently bought a Falcon Hunter receiver only from AoA (no stock) which I plan to NP it.

The Patriot has a quattro trigger and a wood stock and I think this is the perfect gun.  The accurracy is better then I am at 20 yards.  I plan on finishing my review of the Patriot but I have been caught in finishing house projects before it gets to cold.

[pindog2000]

Good write up check out my (immortal )