Walther Reign M2 - Sitting Pretty

The Walther Reign M2 has been on sale for a while now, giving me the impression that it is still a good seller. Keen to try one out for myself, I asked the UK distributor, John Rothery Wholesale, and they kindly obliged. The curb appeal is obvious, especially if you like bullpups, as it looks good, is very compact, and boasts some nice ergonomic touches. Importantly, it is not only made in Germany, which is a big deal to a lot of people, but it also comes with a Lothar Walther barrel and is priced at a very reasonable £764.95. Nice!

Open the box!
So, sticking to the sub 12 ft/lbs models, this airgun is available in .177 or .22. It comes in a neat cardboard box and inside you will find the rifle, some instructions, a filler probe, some Allen keys, and one magazine. Unlike the Walther Rotex RM8 Varmint UC and the Umarex 850 M2 Empire Kit that I recently tested, this little bullpup does not come with a silencer. Instead, you get a pepper-pot muzzle brake, which is a shame.
Handling the rifle for the first time, it immediately becomes apparent how light it is, weighing in at a mere 6.3 lbs. For comparison, a Rotex weighs 8.26 lbs! With just a scope fitted, the balance point is fairly central, meaning the rifle handles nicely.

Clamshell
If you look at the sea of bullpup airguns that are available on the market, you will quickly notice that a lot of them are not that great to look at. In my opinion, this is not only because it is harder to make the bullpup form factor look good, but a lot of the models available were standard airguns first and then adapted into a bullpup configuration, thus limiting the designers and what they can do. Umarex, however, has built the Reign M2 from the ground up to be a bullpup, allowing them more scope for design, hence the good looks and ergonomics.
Looking closely at the synthetic furniture, it is ambidextrous and shows a matte black finish and a slightly rough texture throughout. For extra grip, there are panels of fairly unique chequering/stippling on the pistol grip and forend. Although it can’t be described as luxurious, the feel of the furniture is definitely practical and durable. You will see that it’s made up of two halves, forming a clamshell, all secured via 14 Torx screws! Crucially, this method has allowed Umarex to cover up the front-mounted air cylinder with an enclosed forend, distinguishing this model from a lot of the competition.
At the rear you will find a solid, but grippy, recoil pad, giving the rifle a length of pull measuring 12.5”. Just ahead of this, you will see a flush cup for QR sling swivels. Up top we see an integral cheekpiece and down below, the underside of the butt is cut away slightly, enabling the use of a rear support bag. This then leads into a large thumbhole and a thick pistol grip with a hand-filling palm swell on each side. In use, it is very comfortable and enables a good trigger finger position, maximising consistency and down-range performance. The integral trigger guard leads into a comfy nook and then a very stylish and swollen forend that fills your leading hand. Look to the front of this and you find an integral Picatinny accessory rail (4.5cm/1.7” long) for a bipod or a sling swivel, for example.

The breath of life
Just like the Rotex RM8, the Reign’s instructions state a max fill pressure of 232 bar, and filling is easy. My first task was to attach the supplied probe to the hose on a Umarex ReadyAir compressor, ensuring it was fitted tightly for an airtight seal. Next, with the rifle resting on its left-hand side, exposing the manometer and fill port alongside it, I removed the supplied dust plug, inserted the probe, and turned on the machine. After automatically stopping at 232 bar, I bled the line and then removed the adaptor.
As mentioned, you get one magazine. Manufactured from polymer, the boxy design offers a capacity of 11 in .177 (on test) and 10 in .22, with a maximum pellet length of 10mm for both calibres. To load it, simply insert a pellet into each chamber while rotating the sprung cylinder, and to avoid any confusion, it can only be loaded one way. Also, importantly, the design allows the mag to be fitted into the rifle from either side, further bolstering the Reign’s ambidextrous credentials!

The important bits
The 19.7” (500mm) Lothar Walther barrel makes this airgun particularly appealing, and although most of it is concealed, it shows a blued finish, the aforementioned brake, and a muzzle that is threaded 1/2” UNF. I am 100% certain that most customers will instantly replace the brake with a silencer!
On top of the rifle, you get a raised Picatinny rail that is typical of the bullpup configuration. It is manufactured from high-strength aluminium and measures a generous 9” in length, ensuring that the shooter can obtain the correct eye relief from their scope. After all, anyone who has owned a bullpup will know that scope mounting can be a bit more complicated. Make sure you leave the shop with the correct height mounts.
Having been designed from the ground up as a bullpup, the Reign comes with a side-lever cocking mechanism that is positioned perfectly, just above the trigger guard, making cocking this airgun a thoroughly enjoyable and efficient process. To top things off, the whole lever can be swapped to the other side for southpaws. Nice.
To load the rifle, simply pull the side-lever fully to the rear, insert the magazine into whichever side suits, and then return the side-lever to its original position. You are now ready to rumble.
While shooting, I found the side-lever to be well-weighted and slick in operation. I like the fact that when pulling it to the rear, it is spring-assisted for the first third of its travel. When you go to close it, there is further assistance for the last ¼” of travel.

Trigger and safety
The trigger is a 2-stage adjustable unit with a decent polymer blade. From the box, it offered an average pull weight of 1 lb 8 oz. There were two distinct stages, with some minor creep before let-off. The good news is that if you want to tweak the first stage trigger weight and the let-off point, then you can. The bad news is that you will have to undo 14 screws to gain access. Needless to say, that’s not ideal! Overall, the trigger was thoroughly acceptable, but if it was my rifle, I would go to the trouble to try and improve it.
Safety-wise, there is a simple push button just above the trigger. It is manually activated and easy to operate, just push it from the left to FIRE and from the right for SAFE. Now, I did find this configuration a bit annoying, as I don’t know about you, but that seems a bit counterintuitive to me, as I would rather it was the other way around! Oh well.

The fun bit
With the gun charged to 232 bar, and with a suitable scope fitted, I attached a Tier-One ELR bipod to the Picatinny accessory rail for maximum stability. I then swapped out the muzzle brake for a K3 Neo silencer. Ammo-wise, I used the same selection of H&N pellets as my previous tests, so some Finale Match Light, Field Target Trophy, and Baracuda 8s. See Ammo Table.
All shooting was done indoors and off the bench, and after a quick zero, I set targets up at 20, 30, and 40 yards to see how each pellet performed on target. Now, I must confess that the results are a bit skewed as my shooting at 20 yards left a lot to be desired! However, after warming up, I managed to extract some seriously impressive performance out of the Reign, with my best 5-shot group measuring 0.396” (10mm) at 40 yards.
While accuracy testing, I mapped the velocity and power of each shot, giving me plenty of data. Power-wise, the Walther Reign M2 on test managed an average of 10.84 ft/lbs, which is good. Consistency was good too, with the Reign’s favourite, the Baracuda 8s, managing an extreme spread of just 14 fps over 27 shots.
What about the shot count? Well, looking at my data, I would top up with air after around 120 shots, as this was where the velocity started to drop slightly, and the extreme spread started to increase. Yes, there are probably more useable shots on top of this figure, but the ‘premium power band’ sits within 120.

Conclusion
Using the Walther Rotex RM8 Varmint UC as a benchmark, the Reign M2 feels like a significant step up, and I definitely prefer the lower weight and the handling characteristics. The side-lever, for example, is not just more pleasurable to use than the Rotex’s bolt-action, but cycling it does not affect your point of aim. Power and consistency were both good, and I certainly don’t have any issues with the accuracy! Overall, a good option for anyone looking for a practical, durable, and effective bullpup airgun. Let this Walther’s reign continue!