Last week I got my new air rifle, a Walther LG400 Alutec Expert. Some of you might be thinking, so why the new rifle? We may all like getting our hands on nice new bits of shooting kit and the Walther is that, but there were a few other reasons as well.
Probably the first is that for the last ten years or so I have only been shooting with my Steyr LG110 and prior to that with club rifles which don't really come to the same standard. I was given the chance to have the Walther on a trial period, so I thought may be it is time to try something different to see how it compares to the Steyr. Its always good to try a few things so you really get the chance to know what you like.
There also have been a few other things in the past where the Steyr just does not quite seem to be ideal. My steyr has had a few small alterations, mainly to alter the palm rest for the supporting hand and the cheek piece. Probably one of the biggest concerns I had on the Steyr is that for some reason my LG110 did not like going between dry-fire and live firing, with the next shot after a dry-fire always going low, in the 3 ring of a air rifle target. So with my Steyr, I had to avoid doing dry-fire within competitions.
So how does the Walther compare? Its probably a bit early to say as I have only had it a week and there is much tweaking to do, but initially it all feels good. Having said that though, the Steyr is still a good rifle and the differences probably are either personal preference or only really make the difference when you are trying to convert 9s on the air rifle target into 10s. There are still a few things about the Steyr I think I prefer, such as how dead it feels as you release the shot, but is that just learning something new after 10 years of the same?
