There’s More Cricket Air Rifle Models Than You Thought!
The recent introduction of Kalibrgun’s Cricket II range means that there’s an even larger range of Cricket air rifle models available. Today, we’ll take a look at the options available within the range to help you make your choice…
At a high level, the main differentiators between the Cricket air rifle models are the action, caliber and stock configuration. First we’ll examine these options, then we’ll see how they fit together into the range.
Our heading photo above, shows a Cricket II Standart WB. Below is a Cricket in Minicarabine configuration.
1. Action
The traditional Cricket has a regulated action. There’s a rear-mounted cocking lever and two-stage adjustable trigger. The HPA tank has a fill pressure of 300 Bar (4,351 PSI). The safety uses rotary operation.
The Cricket II provides mid-mounted sidelever cocking. This includes the capability to have the sidelever positioned on either the left- or right-hand side of the action. It’s also regulated and has a 300 Bar (4,351 PSI) fill pressure with a two-stage trigger. The safety also has a rotary action.
2. Caliber
Cricket air rifles are available in multiple calibers from .177 cal to .30 caliber. Although the basic action is the same across the range, there are some caliber-related differences. Below we see the Cricket WB in .30 caliber.
.177 and .22 caliber Cricket models – both the original Cricket and the Cricket II – are fitted with custom CZ-manufactured barrels. They have a 280 cc HPA tube and the most compact overall length in any configuration.
The larger caliber guns – .25 cal, .30 and .35 caliber – offer greatly increased power over the smaller calibers. This requires a larger, 350 cc, HPA capacity. Longer barrels are also fitted. These are custom designs from Lothar Walther.
Overall length is around 6.3 Inches longer than the smaller caliber guns. Weight obviously increases, too, adding somewhere around 14 ounces.
As with most PCP airguns, performance will depend on the legal power limit – if any – established in the country where you buy the gun. For example, US customers will receive their guns tuned by the local dealer to the following power and shot count specifications.
| Caliber | Maximum Power | Consistent Shots Per Fill |
|---|---|---|
| .177 | 18 Ft/Lbs (25 Joules) | 60 |
| .22 | 37 Ft/Lbs (50 Joules) | 60 |
| .25 | 59 Ft/Lbs (80 Joules) | 50 |
| .30 | 96 Ft/Lbs (130 Joules) | 30 |
| .35 | 120 Ft/Lbs (164 Joules) | 18 |
3. Stock
The KalibrGun Cricket started-out as a bullpup and is still available in this configuration. However there is now a variety of bullpup stock designs available, together with semi-bullpup and full length configurations.
Cricket bullpups are designated “Standart” models. There is a range of bullpup stocks, however.
The Standart WB stock combines a hardwood stock with a magazine holder that can contain 4 additional mags. The Standart PLB has the same configuration but uses black synthetic material. If you want your Cricket with a synthetic stock this is the configuration for you!
The Standart WSA stock is hardwood with a more sculptured configuration with one magazine holder (below).
The Standart WST (above) is a lighter, skeletonized wood stock of bullpup configuration.
Next in stock format comes the “Minicarabine”. This is a hardwood, semi-bullpup stock with adjustable buttpad.
Then there’s the Minicarabine WST. This ads an adjustable cheekpiece for further flexibility in matching the user’s physique. Both Minicarabine versions are approximately 4 Inches longer than the bullpup, Standart models.
The “Carabine ” (below) gives the Cricket a full length thumbhole wood stock. The skeleton-style buttstock has adjustable buttpad and cheekpice, like the Minicarabine WST. It’s about 16 Inches longer than the Standart.
Finally, there’s a “W” stock. This is a simple hardwood thumbhole bullpup stock that’s fitted to the .35 caliber Cricket only.
Phew! That’s quite a range of stock options, accounting for many of the Cricket air rifle models.
4. Configurations
So, let’s pull all those variables together and see the range of KalibrGun Cricket air rifle model configurations. We’ll do this by caliber, as that probably will be the primary choice for most buyers.
Most configurations are available for .22 caliber, as you can see below.
.177 and .22 Caliber Configurations
| Caliber | Action | Stock | Length | Weight (without scope) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .177 | Cricket II | WB (wood) WSA (wood) WST (wood) PLB (synthetic) | 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches | 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 8.2 Lbs |
| .177 | Cricket | WB (wood) WSA (wood) WST (wood) PLB (synthetic) Carabine (wood) | 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 42.9 Inches | 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 8.2 Lbs 6.8 Lbs |
| .22 | Cricket II | WB (wood) WSA (wood) WST (wood) PLB (synthetic) | 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches | 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 8.2 Lbs |
| .22 | Cricket | WB (wood) WSA (wood) WST (wood) PLB (synthetic) Carabine (wood) Minicarabine (wood) Minicarabine WST (wood) | 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 26.8 Inches 42.9 Inches 30.7 Inches 30.7 Inches | 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 8.2 Lbs 6.8 Lbs 7.1 Lbs 7.1 Lbs |
.25, .30 and .35 Caliber Configurations
| Caliber | Action | Stock | Length | Weight (without scope) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .25 | Cricket II | WB (wood) WSA (wood) | 33.1 Inches 33.1 Inches | 7.5 Lbs 7.5 Lbs |
| .25 | Cricket | WB (wood) WSA (wood) Carabine | 33.1 Inches 33.1 Inches 45.7 Inches | 7.5 Lbs 7.5 Lbs 7.3 Lbs |
| .30 | Cricket II | WB (wood) WSA (wood) | 33.1 Inches 33.1 Inches | 7.5 Lbs 7.5 Lbs |
| .35 | Cricket | W (wood) | 33.1 Inches | 8.8 Lbs |
Below. This is the .35 caliber Cricket W.
Bear in mind that – due to the huge range – not all configurations may be available from all KalibrGun dealers in all markets.
In the USA, Cricket air rifles are available from KalibrGun’s dealer Georgia Airguns. Check out their website for details of the models available in the US, advice on model selection and to buy.
