Airgun Depot's Airsenal News

The Walther Talon Magnum is one of the newer offerings from Umarex USA, and this gun is a powerhouse. It has several nice features, so let's take a look at it.

First, the gun I'm testing is a .22 caliber version, though at the moment only the .177 caliber versions are available from Airgun Depot. That will probably change in the future, but I'm not sure of the availability of the .22 version right now.

Spring-piston airguns trade off power for ease of use due to the physics of involved with using a spring as a powerplant. It isn't always easy to get near 1000 fps with a .22 caliber springer unless you are using very light pelets. And if you do that, accuracy often suffers. However, using a quality pellet such as the RWS Superdome, I registered 980 fps in .22 caliber over my chronograph. From a spring-piston airgun, that is pretty fast! It is even faster than the advertised velocity, and we all know THAT doesn't happen very often! Now add in the inherent faster velocity that .177 caliber airguns give us, and the velocity will supercede the advertised number. Just remember that accuracy is more important than speed, and use a heavier pellet to keep the shot manageable for greater accuracy.

With that level of power comes the trade-off of a heavy cocking effort. The spring in this gun is stout, and the gun is a long one. This isn't a gun for children or shooters on the small side. You really have to reach out there to grab the end of the barrel in order to cock it! The recoil is stout, but not unmanageable.

One advantage this gun offers is an adjustable length of pull. You can change the inserts in the buttpad to lengthen or reduce the length of pull, giving you some amount of control in this area.



The front sight offer a TruGlo fiber-optic post that lines up well with the rear sight, which also features the TruGlo fiber-optics. This really helps in dim light if you are shooting early or late in the day, or in an area with less-than-perfect lighting.





The Walther Talon Magnum comes with a scope and mounts, but I found that you will need a good, stout mount to really hold the scope in place. There is an included scope-stop on the scope rail, and it helps some, but I would recommend a steel set of rings with some serious bite, not some of the cheaper aluminum mounts.



The safety is handily located at the rear of the action, just above the wrist grip of the trigger hand, similar to the RWS Model 34. I like that you can reset the safety without having to cock the gun again, a very useful feature in the woods if your target decides to be difficult and not hold still!



The firing behavior of this gun was, in a word, robust. Shooters who enjoy a really good hard "smack" on the target from their airgun will like this one. It is powerful, and that translates into recoil until the insides are massaged by constant shooting or a tuning session with someone who knows their way around the inside of one of these guns. Factories just don't take the time to hone and fit every part to the degree that some shooters demand, and to do so increases the cost for the consumer. So if you've been shooting a very sedate, 500-600 fps plinker, hold on to this gun the first time you shoot it, for it is definitely a different animal!

The stock on the Walther Talon Magnum is a synthetic stock, great for all-weather applications and much more able to withstand some of the knocks and scratches that some airguns get put through. For wandering around the field or woods, or for storage in the trunk, this stock will hold up better and be less prone to damage.

Squirrel season is open now here in Kentucky, and I hope to get out with this gun for a brief hunt before long. This will make a very good small game rifle, as it has the needed power for animals up to the size of a raccoon or fox.

Posted by Randy Mitchell at 07:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For some time there has been a rifle on the market that delivers exceptional power and accuracy, as well as the fast-feeding lever action mechanism that is so much a part of the American culture. That gun is the Sumatra 2500 Air Rifle.

As you can see, the Sumatra 2500 has the lever action that is so reminiscent of the Western-style guns like Winchester and Marlin, guns that are iconic in the world of firearms. This feature translates well into the Sumatra, allowing quick follow-up shots that would otherwise be slower to load and shoot.

When you purchase a Sumatra 2500, you'll get two 6-shot magazines. The magazines are metal, fit snugly in place, and allow the shooter to chamber different sized pellets without having to do any adjusting for the feed mechanism. They are deep enough that they handle the vast majority of pellets available for each caliber.

Another nice feature is the power-adjustment wheel that raises and lowers the power level to the desired setting. In the larger calibers of .22 and .25, a high-power setting is perfectly capable of taking coyotes and small hogs with correct bullet placement. Some airgun fans may disagree with that comment, but I know from personal experience just how deadly the Sumatra can be, and have also held conversations with other airgun hunters who have taken coyotes, bobcats, and hogs with this gun.

For small game hunting, you would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable gun. Both the front and rear sight are adjustable, but to really shine, place a scope on the 11mm rail and be amazed at the groups you can get, as well as the distance at which you can achieve them. When a killzone is 1" in diameter, such as on a squirrel or rabbit, then this airgun will settle all the problems that particular squirrel will ever have.....permanently!

The rifle version of the 2500 also provides a large reservoir of 380cc of air at a recommended pressure of 3000 psi. Depending on your power setting, you can get from 15 to 25 very good shots for hunting purposes, and for shorter range plinking sessions, you'll have even more available. With 13 positions on the power wheel, you have a lot of room for adjustment and fine-tuning of your shot count for the shooting you are doing that day.

I have done some hunting with this model in years past, and I can say from personal experience that I feel very confident when using this particular airgun. It's a solid gun, metal and wood, and the fine steel barrel provides very good accuracy. I tend to use heavier pellets when hunting, but have found that a little experimenting allows you to use several different kinds of pellets so that you aren't stuck with just the more expensive ones when all you want to do is plink.

Still selling for less than $500.00, the Sumatra deserves your attention for the uses described above. Available in .177 through .25 caliber, it has so many great features that you are bound to be pleased with your purchase.

Posted by Randy Mitchell at 07:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)