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WALTHER ROTEX RM8 VARMINT UC

  • Last updated: 11/07/2024
  • Review
WALTHER ROTEX RM8 VARMINT UC

So, with everyone’s finances getting squeezed these days, I thought it would be a good idea to review an affordable PCP that’s not from Turkey; the Walther Rotex RM8 Varmint UC (ultra-compact). Instead, it’s manufactured in Germany, which makes a refreshing change. Now, this particular airgun has been on the market for some time, but crucially, it still comes in at quite an incredible £549.95, meaning it hasn’t been impacted too much by the price hikes. Great!

What’s in the box?
The airgun arrived in .177 calibre (.22 also available) in a well-presented box, and first impressions are of a well-made, good-looking rifle. However, it must be said that it packs some weight, specifically at the front, coming in at 8.26 lbs. Saying that, with a scope fitted, its balance point is just in front of the trigger guard. Nice.
Inside, the rifle was already fitted with a high-quality Umarex silencer, and it also came with one rotary magazine, a thread protector for the muzzle, and a probe-style filling adaptor. Of course, there were also some instruction leaflets as well.

Synthetic furniture
Straight away, your eyes will be drawn to the synthetic thumbhole stock, which is a doozy. In the firearms world, the Germans have a reputation for ergonomic furniture, and this one certainly lives up to that. Texture-wise, the stock shows a good balance of being smooth and grippy. When combined with the matte black finish, this gives an overall feeling of quality that’s far from the tacky plastic feeling of some synthetic stocks. To ensure that there is enough grip in the right areas, Umarex has incorporated panels of chequering/stippling on the pistol grip and forend, which, incidentally, is highly effective.
Starting at the rear, the stock shows a 0.75” butt pad that gives the rifle a decent 14” length of pull. The underside of the butt lends itself to a rear support bag and is cut away slightly, leaving room for the support hand to manipulate the bag if necessary. Up top, the ambidextrous cheekpiece is quite high and very comfortable, offering excellent eye/scope alignment. Moving forward, you will find a large thumbhole and a chunky pistol grip with a hand-filling palm swell on each side. In use, it is particularly comfortable and promotes a good trigger finger position, helping you to achieve consistent results down range. The integral trigger guard then flows nicely into a very stylish and swollen forend that fills your leading hand, ending at the tip with a buddy-bottle-shaped cylinder and a nicely positioned integral Picatinny accessory rail (4.5cm/1.7” long) for a bipod, laser, lamp etc.
Negatives? Well, given the RM8’s clear nod towards the hunting crowd, I would have liked to see a sling attachment point at the rear. This could work in conjunction with a Picatinny-mounted sling attachment point at the front, if necessary.

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Loading and charging
As mentioned, the airgun comes with a single rotary magazine. It is simple, manufactured from aluminium, and has an 8-shot capacity. The pellets are secured in position by a rubber band around the circumference, and the band even features an arrow to show you which way it should be loaded. Simply push a pellet into each chamber, ensuring each one sits flush and does not protrude from the other side, and you are done. Easy!
When it comes to charging, the instructions state a max fill pressure of 232 bar, and filling is easy. Look to the underside of the forend and you will find a manometer with a fill port alongside it. Incidentally, I must mention that no dust plug came with the rifle to protect this port from dirt/dust ingress. Using the probe-style adaptor supplied, I attached it to the hose on a Umarex ReadyAir compressor, slotted it into the fill port, and turned on the machine. After automatically stopping at the desired pressure, I bled the line and then removed the adaptor. Job done.
Interestingly, the instructions state that in order to maintain peak power, the residual pressure should not drop below 70 bar. I only went as low as 130 bar, so the compressor didn’t get too hot during refills, but shot-counts-wise, you are looking at around 160 in .177 and 180 in .22, all due to the regulated action.

Barrel and action
A strong selling point for the RM8 UC is the fact that it is fitted with a Walther 340mm/13.3” barrel that’s threaded ½” UNF. The tube is mated to a low-profile, matte-black receiver that features a full-length 11mm dovetail for scope mounting. Crucially, this is uninterrupted, meaning the magazine sits low enough not to interfere/foul on any scope that is fitted. This in turn means you can mount your chosen optic nice and low to the bore line. Excellent news!
Possibly showing its age a little, given that side-levers are definitely in vogue at the moment, the RM8 uses a standard bolt-action mechanism, and there is nothing wrong with that! To cock the action, simply grasp the shiny bolt knob that’s attached to the 45mm bolt handle and pull it back to the rear. To load the rifle, you must first pull the magazine retention catch below the bolt to the rear. Next, insert a loaded magazine from the left-hand side and return the retaining catch to its forward position. Finally, push the bolt forward and you are ready to go.
During use, I found that the action likes deliberate movements, so operate it with gusto when pulling the bolt to the rear and don’t baby it! You will then be rewarded with 100% reliability and ruthless efficiency.

Trigger and safety
Luckily for us shooters, the RM8 features a 2-stage trigger with a polymer blade that’s about 8mm wide. In use, it offers an average pull weight of 1 lb 10oz and helped me to extract decent performance from the rifle. In addition to this, Umarex has seen fit to offer the ability to adjust the travel of the first stage, and this is done via a hole in the base of the trigger guard. I was never found wanting, so didn’t change it from its standard setting.
The safety catch is mounted at the rear of the receiver and is my only bugbear when it comes to the rifle. Primarily, because it is automatic, meaning it resets every time you cock the action. Overall, is it safe and 100% usable? Yes. Does it limit your ability to quickly shoot a series of knockdown targets on the range? Also, yes. This is minor stuff mind you, and the performance from the rifle more than makes up for it! The catch itself is thumb-tip-sized and features an inner blade that must be depressed in order to disengage the safety, limiting the risk of it getting accidentally disengaged by foliage or similar out in the field.

Range time!
Pellet-wise, I was sent a selection from the H&N stable. These included some Finale Match Light, Field Target Trophy, and some Baracuda 8s. With the silencer already attached, I fitted a suitable scope and a Tier-One ELR bipod. Yes, the last one is a bit over the top for an airgun, but it’s insanely stable and ideal for testing a rifle’s downrange performance!
With the gun charged to 230 bar, I quickly got it on paper at 10 yards. I tested all three pellets at 20, 30 and 40 yards while shooting off the bench. The ambient temperature was 16°C and there was a light, intermittent breeze. As soon as I got started, I noticed that the test gun was running at 9.71 ft/lbs (average), which is a bit low, but not the end of the world. Look at the Ammo Table and you will see the results, which clearly highlight how important it is to test your airgun with a variety of pellets, as they can influence the group sizes and the velocity spread. I wasn’t surprised by the Finale groups at 30 and 40 yards, as they are designed for 10m match shooting! Basically, performance-wise, 0.5” targets out to 40 yards should be worried!

Conclusion
Overall, I found the RM8 thoroughly enjoyable to shoot. The magazine is simple and effective, loading and unloading is easy, the action is solid and reliable, and the trigger is pleasant to use. Given the auto-safety and the amount of shooting I was doing, I ended up adopting a thumb-up position with my shooting hand, as I found this made turning the safety off much easier. Yes, the power was a bit down on the test gun, but the downrange performance was solid, with some respectable groups at 30 and 40 yards. At the end of the day, the compact nature, appearance, and performance of the RM8 UC make it a particularly attractive option, especially when you consider the price.

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gun
features

  • Name: : Walther Rotex RM8 Varmint UC
  • Type::  PCP
  • Calibre: : .177 on test, .22 also available
  • Barrel Length:: 340mm/13.3”
  • Overall Length: : 916mm/36”
  • Weight::  3750-grams/8.26 lbs
  • Price: : £549.95
  • Contact::  John Rothery Wholesale - www.bisley-uk.com
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