NEW Walther RS 3 Straight-Pull Bullpup Hunting Rifle

Walther is entering the centerfire hunting rifle market with quite an interesting offering that the company says is the future of hunting. The new Walther RS 3 is a bullpup straight-pull rifle. As hunting with silencers is becoming increasingly popular, the main reason Walther went with a bullpup design is to keep the rifle compact and well-balanced when a suppressor is attached without sacrificing the barrel length. The RS 3 rifle actually comes with a Walther QSA silencer and with that suppressor attached to the 23” (58cm) barrel, the overall length of the rifle is 41” (104cm).

One of the most interesting design elements of the RS 3 is the location of the cocking/decocking slide; it’s right behind the grip of the thumbhole stock, where you normally see grip safeties. It’s placed there to allow fast cocking of the gun as it’s being gripped, or as Walther puts it, target acquisition, mounting and cocking merge into one fluid movement. This button also allows you to feel whether the gun is cocked ot not, even in darkness or with gloved hands. There are also color marks for visual identification of the rifle's state. To open the bolt while keeping the gun safe, you need to lightly tap on the cocking slide.

Walther RS 3 rifles will be initially available in the following four configurations (top to bottom in the picture following the list):

• RS 3 Heritage Sevenstar with Caucasian walnut stock, grade 7, and black elastomer grip inlays.
• RS 3 Heritage Fourstar with Caucasian walnut stock, grade 4, and black elastomer grip inlays.
• RS 3 Pro Pine with dark green synthetic stock and black elastomer grip inlays. Additional bipod interface on the forend.
• RS 3 Pro Chestnut with dark brown synthetic stock and black elastomer grip inlays. Additional bipod interface on the forend.