Recently I had picked up a Crosman Vantage on sale and it is a nice pleasant springer to plink with and likely decent to hunt small game, but it didn't feel like a major set up from the sub 500fps guns I've had. It is more powerful but not an intimidating gun by any means.
With some reluctance, due to reading a couple of bad reviews, I decided to buy a used Walther Falcon Hunter addition (spring version). I figured that I'd likely blow the $200 on something stupid anyway and I'd always wanted to have a seriously powerful air gun (compared to my history of sub 500fps guns that is). I got a chance to shoot it today for the first time and wow... this is a major step up from the air guns of my youth! It is a gun that immediately removes any notion that it is a toy gun. This is not a backyard plinking gun, both because it is too loud and because it would be dangerous if the pellet goes astray.
This rifle is big, it is longer than anything in my collection sort of my 7.62x51 competition tubegun long range rifle. The Walther Falcon (Made in Turkey, version of the Hatsan 125 I believe) is about 49.5" long and weights in at just shy of 9lbs. Cocking it is reminiscent of using a weight machine in a gym, it feels like it takes maybe 50lbs of effort to #### it and you need to be careful to pull it all the way completely back through whole range of movement. There is no wasted motion in the cocking action, it is all loading the spring up.
There is an automatic thumb safety, which seems like a good idea with this much spring compressed. My old Slavia 630/77 has this feature and I like it. Despite the reviews I've read the trigger is great, on par with most of my conventional firearms, worlds better than my Vantage and my WF600. When the trigger lets go the rifle makes quite the noise and after the noticeable recoil I had the mental impression of a suspension strut or similar heavily loaded item letting go near by. There was no question in my mind as to the nature of this rifle being a springer, spring noise/vibration is noticeable to put it mildly. On checking the target I was pleased to see that the sights were dead on and needed no adjustment. There is a substantial combined 11mm and 20mm dovetail scope mount built into the rifle so mounting a scope should be easy though I don't know if any of the scopes I have will last long on this thing.
I fired a couple of pellets across my chronograph. Crosman 14.3gr pellets averaged 852fps and H&N Baracuda Match 21.14gr pellets averaged 710fps (~24 ft-lbs of muzzle energy). It would be faster at lower elevation but I'm at about 3500ft here in Calgary. I need to get out of town to stretch this things legs and see what it can do but I think I might just love this thing, I can't help but grin when I shoot it so I think I'm happy with my purchase at this point.
I should add that the stock is synthetic and I've read that there have been some problems with them cracking, I hope this doesn't happen to this one. I find it a very comfortable stock so far, though I would prefer a wood stock. Also this stock has some mossy oak camo job from the factory. I might just paint it flat green or something so it doesn't look quite so redneck
With some reluctance, due to reading a couple of bad reviews, I decided to buy a used Walther Falcon Hunter addition (spring version). I figured that I'd likely blow the $200 on something stupid anyway and I'd always wanted to have a seriously powerful air gun (compared to my history of sub 500fps guns that is). I got a chance to shoot it today for the first time and wow... this is a major step up from the air guns of my youth! It is a gun that immediately removes any notion that it is a toy gun. This is not a backyard plinking gun, both because it is too loud and because it would be dangerous if the pellet goes astray.
This rifle is big, it is longer than anything in my collection sort of my 7.62x51 competition tubegun long range rifle. The Walther Falcon (Made in Turkey, version of the Hatsan 125 I believe) is about 49.5" long and weights in at just shy of 9lbs. Cocking it is reminiscent of using a weight machine in a gym, it feels like it takes maybe 50lbs of effort to #### it and you need to be careful to pull it all the way completely back through whole range of movement. There is no wasted motion in the cocking action, it is all loading the spring up.
There is an automatic thumb safety, which seems like a good idea with this much spring compressed. My old Slavia 630/77 has this feature and I like it. Despite the reviews I've read the trigger is great, on par with most of my conventional firearms, worlds better than my Vantage and my WF600. When the trigger lets go the rifle makes quite the noise and after the noticeable recoil I had the mental impression of a suspension strut or similar heavily loaded item letting go near by. There was no question in my mind as to the nature of this rifle being a springer, spring noise/vibration is noticeable to put it mildly. On checking the target I was pleased to see that the sights were dead on and needed no adjustment. There is a substantial combined 11mm and 20mm dovetail scope mount built into the rifle so mounting a scope should be easy though I don't know if any of the scopes I have will last long on this thing.
I fired a couple of pellets across my chronograph. Crosman 14.3gr pellets averaged 852fps and H&N Baracuda Match 21.14gr pellets averaged 710fps (~24 ft-lbs of muzzle energy). It would be faster at lower elevation but I'm at about 3500ft here in Calgary. I need to get out of town to stretch this things legs and see what it can do but I think I might just love this thing, I can't help but grin when I shoot it so I think I'm happy with my purchase at this point.
I should add that the stock is synthetic and I've read that there have been some problems with them cracking, I hope this doesn't happen to this one. I find it a very comfortable stock so far, though I would prefer a wood stock. Also this stock has some mossy oak camo job from the factory. I might just paint it flat green or something so it doesn't look quite so redneck
