Well, I had an interesting afternoon with my new Walther. :)
Set up my Chrony & printer to test this and a couple of my other rifles. Ammo for the first tests were CPHP (7.9gr). First shot out of the pipe went super sonic with a pop at 1126.77 fps. Wow...
Then it got more realistic. Following 4 shot group went 970.26 - 961.24 - 968.32 - 951.42. Not too shabby for an unserviced and untuned refurb fresh from the box, I thought. But, I had a problem and it's a major safety issue in my book. The gun felt kinda gritty cocking from the beginning. With round #5 it felt rough at the end of the cocking cycle. I like a gun that has an auto safety as this one does. But, the safety does not feel very positive, probably due to the trigger group being primarily plastic. Haven't torn it down yet but imagine the sear is metal of some sort. Anyway, I had round #5 loaded, sighted through Chrony, flipped safety, pulled the trigger and nothing. I looked and the trigger released all the way but the piston did not. I had to decock the rifle, a not so safe thing to do. I cycled the piston one more time and prepared to shoot and the rifle did shoot as it's supposed to.
Next up I chronied some Gamo Rockets (9.6gr hunting ammo). They clocked in at 865.81 - 862.36 - 859.91 - 855.23 - 868.61. Good enough for me to feel comfortable hunting with.
I set up my target backstop and applied some Shoot-N-C 5" & 8" sheets. Set this up about 30 yards from my shooting position on my deck. Used the railing to steady my shots. The rifle came with a not too impressive 4X32 plain scope with Walther logo on the eyepiece and adjustment caps. It was not mounted to the rifle but the scope rings were attached to the scope. I mounted the scope and made some minor adjustments to align the reticle. First shot, I couldn't see where it hit. Same with second shot. I was aiming at the target centered of my 4'x4' backstop. I had to walk down to see the shots hit about 24" high and 18" left. MAN, that's way off. I looked at the scope mounts to make sure I had attached and secured them correctly. Then I removed the adjustment caps. The windage and elevation had been cranked to probably their limits by the former owner. LOL Not sure what ammo he was shooting but this accuracy along with the uncertain firing cycle is probably why the previous owner returned it.
I made a rough adjustment to center for both and fired athird round. Hit about 2" up and left. A couple more adjustments and shots and the rifle zeroed right in. Again, through the course of shooting, the piston failed a few more times. Considering what I paid for this tack driver, the cost of shipping back, the wait time for a replacement and the possibility of getting one in worse condition, I've decided to hang onto it a little longer. I feel this gun has some great potential after I get the time to tear it down to service it properly. I'll perform my semi-tune job while I'm at it. If I can smooth out the firing cycle and get rid of the inconsistencies, I will mount a better scope and use this gun to hunt and plink. It has potential....
Oh, one last round I fired was a Gamo Armor Piercing PBA that clocked in at 1041.91. Getting ready to do some cackle-laton to see what energy it produced.
Happy Shooting!!!!
