TargetTalk

I'm too old to be buying a $5000 position rifle,, but I'm fixing to order one.. Something to do in the winters indoors.... Anything I should know about this Rifle that Joe V hasn't already told me? Ordering Monday Morning.

No one else has replied, so, out of courtesy, I will, even though I must admit that I have no direct experience of this rifle.

The KK500 has attracted excellent reviews, to the extent that I have been tempted myself, despite knowing that at my age and level of skill it would probably not improve my scores all that much. It is clearly more advanced as a design than the Anschutz 54.30. And I have seen very, very few second-hand examples for sale, which must tell you something. I would expect that you will be very pleased with your purchase.

Have you, however, weighed up carefully whether you want the wooden stock or the aluminium? Perhaps some else could advise on their respective merits?

Go for it. I’m in the same position thinking the same thing. I’d be very interested in how it works out.

I worked with a Junior that had a new KK500 and we were setting up her position with risers and was annoyed to learn that the original posts for the cheekpiece were too short had to have taller ones ordered to match the sight risers. $$$ IMO Walther should include the longer posts rather than force people to buy additional ones.

Other than that its a great rifle.

I personally prefer the Anschutz 54.30 in the 1918 precise stock.

I have 3 shooters I work with that have KK-500's. They are very adaptable to very different body types due to all the adjustments you can make to the stock. For me fitting the stock around the woman is pretty easy with this gun.

On the KK-500, or any gun stock, ordering the longer poles is a standard way to do that, but for years I've always just cut a piece of nice hardwood to raise the actual cheekpiece above the holder.
A bit hard to tell in this pic, but this brought up the cheekpiece about 1.5".
If we need to "lower" it .... shaving off a bit of the wood is pretty easy

I bought my KK500 in January 2018 and have a little over 12000 rounds through it. There in not anything about the rifle that I do not like a lot!

The stock is amazingly adjustable. Butt-plate, cheek piece, and hand stop are easily adjustable and stay put once set. The ability to offset the stock is unique (I think) and very useful.

Loading is very comfortable from the shoulder (I am a prone only shooter) as the loading port is set rearward and located directly above the trigger. I have not seen it mentioned in other reviews - there is a tiny ball bearing in the floor of the loading plate. Drop a round on the loading plate and close the bolt. No need to push the round into the chamber, the ball bearing aligns the round perfectly. I found a Youtube video where a rapid fire string is shot - drop a round on the loading plate, slap the bolt closed and fire. Just a demo obviously, but it illustrates what I am talking about.

The trigger is very good and I personally have not had any problems. There were some reports of trigger malfunctions in some of the earliest deliveries. I think the issues have been addressed. Trigger adjustments are amazingly simple. The manual is good, and the adjustment screws are labelled. I changed my trigger to single stage by turning first stage travel down to zero. I also upped the second stage pull weight to the stop. I personally would not mind a little heavier pull weight, put I am used to what I have. The trigger is crisp and consistent. (Compare to other German rifle trigger adjustments).

The sights that come with the rifle are as good or better than any thing I have ever used.

The rifle mounting to the stock is also (at least as far as I know) unique. There are five bedding bolts located just in front of the loading port. Many years ago a well know small bore gunsmith, (not mentioning names here but if I did, you would have heard of him) told me that the best way to bed a small bore rifle is to let both the barrel and the rear of the action float.

Which brings me to my favourite feature. Most people don't believe me when I tell them this because I am a struggling NRA expert conventional prone shooter. The rifle shoots just about any match ammo really, really good. Recently I shot a 50 yard 200/18x with 15 year old SK Subsonic. Yesterday I practised with CMP Eley. Shooting 10 shots per bull at 50 yards, for a sixty shot string I had one nine in the first sighter bull, and one other nine that I punched with my shoulder. I did not count, but the x count was commendable. (with ammo that costs ~$370 a case). In competition I shoot Center X or RWS special match, R50, or Midas+. The test card that came with the rifle is an 11 x 11 mm ten shot group at 50 meters with R50.

For my fun and enjoyment it is the best $5K I ever spent.

Thanks Folks,, I wont be shooting much standing so getting the cheek piece up real high wont be a bother to me.. As to wood vs Alum stock, Being as I never owned a real position rifle there is no preference.. I'm just a older centerfire benchrest shooter, That has coached a fair amount of youth position shooting over the last fourteen years and volunteered a good bit of time to some collage shooters and a couple collage teams. After my last rifle student went on to a collage team my winters got long "Read Old Man Boredom" Just figured Id now teach myself a little.... Again Thanks for the answers. .. LW Moore

Received, Very pleased with the rifle...