Airgun shooters currently seem to be clamouring for bullpups that cost less than £1,000. There are several offerings to satisfy their desire for super-compact guns and, after several weeks of intensive testing, I think the Walther Reign M2 is one of the best – not least because it is very accurate.
The Reign M2, which is distributed in the UK by John Rothery Wholesale, has a recommended retail price of just under £765. That is a pretty competitive price for a well-made and very compact bullpup, which boasts much more than just its diminutive proportions.
More than a compact bullpup airgun
The Reign M2 measures just 66cm with its supplied muzzle brake fitted and weighs a shade over 2.9kg before you fit a scope. Those proportions keep its weight very close to your body, which makes for an extremely pointable gun that feels great in the shoulder. Being so small, it isn’t much trouble to carry, and that feature should really appeal to shooters who don’t want to be bogged down when stalking around open fields or during roving woodland hunts.
There is no denying that the Walther Reign M2 is a very distinctive looking airgun. Its ambidextrous black synthetic stock is tough and easy to wipe clean – it also completely encloses the air bottle, giving the Reign a look all of its own. The forend is adorned with crisp multi-directional stippling which really sticks to your hand. It also incorporates a Picatinny accessory rail which is perfect for bipod attachment. Combined with the fixture at the rear of the stock, that rail can also be used for sling attachment.
The steep, chunky pistol grip is a real palm-filler and set me up really well for the trigger. It is adorned with the same tactile stippling ad the forend and sweeps back into a generous thumbhole cutaway which has plenty of room for bigger hands.
It is important to have a sufficiently high cheek-piece on an airgun that you’re going to be using with a telescopic sight, thermal or night vision optic, and that is exactly what you get with the Walther Reign M2. The result is a very good fit with excellent eye/scope alignment. The butt section is finished with a chunky pad which really grips into the shoulder.
Scope attachment is by means of a Picatinny rail, although you can swap it out for a Walther Prism 11mm dovetail rail – although technically discontinued, you can still find this component retailing for just under £60. The standard Picatinny rail is 22cm long and isn’t interrupted by a magazine. So, whether you’re fitting a normal telescopic sight or a thermal or night vision optic, you should have plenty of clamping space and won’t need to use very high mounts.
The barrel on the Walther Reign M2 is 500mm long. Being a bullpup, that barrel runs right back to beneath the cheek support, which is why this is a such a stubby little gun. There is no barrel shroud, but this gun does come supplied with muzzle brake. The barrel is finished with a half-inch UNF thread, and if you’re a hunter like me, you will probably want to take advantage of that and put on a silencer to keep it quiet.
The design of the trigger blade doesn’t look particularly sophisticated but it’s still very comfortable – it has a subtle curve and a wide face which delivers plenty of feel. The mechanism is two-stage and it can be adjusted – the only snag is that you have to remove 16 screws to open up the stock to do that. Thankfully, the trigger on the test gun was set up very well at the factory and felt much better than what I would expect to find on a bullpup at this price point. First stage weight and travel felt fairly standard and terminated with a clear stop point before a fairly light, but still very predictable, second stage break.
There is a crossbolt type safety catch positioned just above the trigger blade. I think that’s a good place for it because it’s close to the trigger but not precariously close. It can go off with a bit of a click but you can overcome that by slowing it down with some resistance from the other side – do that and it won’t attract the attention of wary quarry. Unusually, you push it from right to left to make it safe, then push it back from left to right when you’re ready to shoot. That arrangement seems to favour left-handers, who will no doubt appreciate the Walther Reign M2’s many ambidextrous attributes.
The Reign has a multi-shot action and at the heart of that is a cassette-type magazine which holds 10 shots in .22 and 11 in .177. It has sufficient depth to hold comparatively long pellets and slugs, and it can be slotted in from either side – more good news for lefthanders who won’t have to put up with it nestling against their cheek. This is a great magazine for loading – partly because pellets can’t fall out of the bottom as you drop them in. Just make sure the arrow is pointing away from you as you drop pellets in nose-first. Turn the inner drum to reveal the next chamber after loading each pellet and then drop in another… and keep repeating until it’s full.
That brilliant magazine is driven by a sidelever action. The lever is well-positioned, nicely forward, and it can be swapped to the opposite side for lefthanders, who Walther have clearly been very keen to make comfortable with the Reign M2. Although quite slim, the biathlon-type dropdown handle is easy enough to grip and its positioning meant that my hand instinctively found its way to it. The lever is also sprung, so it starts to flip back as soon as you disengage it. During the weeks that I used it, the mechanism worked absolutely brilliantly with absolutely no snagging. It is very positive and makes for quick and reliable cocking and loading.
The Walther Reign M2 is stated as having a regulated firing cycle – it isn’t too shabby over the chrono but there did appear to be a subtle power curve through the fill. Shooting H&N Baracuda 8 pellets, the .177 calibre test gun was producing 11.5ft/lb with a variation of seven FPS over a string of ten shots – that variation spread to a wider 16 FPS over a 50-shot string.
Air pressure is displayed on a very easy to read gauge set into the righthand side of the stock and maximum fill pressure is 232 bar. From that you can expect 140 shots in .177 calibre and 180 in .22. Refilling is very simple: pull out the discreet plug from the inlet next to the pressure gauge and plug in the supplied filling probe.
I have really enjoyed shooting the Walther Reign M2, and found it very comfortable to shoot whether sitting, kneeling, standing or rested on a bench. Shooting those Baracuda 8 pellets, the test gun was literally stacking them at 20m and was still printing ragged single-hole groups at 30m. Grouping opened up a bit more at 40m buts still generally remained sub-one-inch. These results were achieved shooting from a bench in calm conditions. Stick to the usually responsible sub-12 airgun ranges and this bullpup is well up to targeting live quarry.
The Walther Reign M2 is an impressive bullpup airgun for under £800. It lends itself perfectly to pest control in cramped conditions, whether in a hide, around farm buildings or even from the cab of a truck. It is also no great burden to carry, so roving hunters should like it too. On top of that, it has also been a joy to shoot on the range and in the garden. There are high-power FAC versions available in .22 and .25 calibres but, for sheer versatility, I think this sub-12 model will more than meet the needs of most UK airgun shooters.
From: https://www.bisley-uk.com/
Manufacturer: Umarex, Germany
Model: Walther Reign M2
Length: 664mm (26.1in)
Weight: 2.9kg (6.4lb)
Barrel length: 500mm (19.6in)
Length of pull: 313mm (12.3in)
Stock: Ambidextrous synthetic
Maximum fill pressure: 232 bar
Shots per fill: 140 (.177), 180 (.22)
Muzzle energy: 11.5ft/lb
RRP: £765
