Walther KKJ Review
Refined European Huntmaster
Before we get to the nuts and bolts of the rifle featured in this article, indulge me just for a moment as I tell you a little bit about Jägermeister. Yes, the same liqueur that somehow became the preferred quaff for an unfathomably large number of America’s frat boys. It’s unfair, however, to dismiss it without understanding its historical context.
Though the KKJ deserved better, a Simmons 3x9
“.22 Mag” scope proved surprisingly adequate.
Pre-Party
In fact, Jägermeister is a textbook German digestif: Made from 56 different herbs and botanicals oak-matured, the brew was intended to be consumed in small quantities after a meal to settle the stomach. Before its marketing pivot into party fuel for rock-n’-rollers, Jägermeister was a very old-world product.
Most are unaware of the poem on the fringes of its label. Translated in such a way as to keep an English rhyme scheme, it reads:
This is the hunter’s badge of glory:
That he protects and tends his quarry,
Hunts with honor, as is due,
And through the beast to God is true.
All of a sudden, Jägermeister’s logo of a deer with a holy cross behind it starts making a lot more sense. Certainly, it speaks to the ethos of a certain kind of hunter — someone who sees his time in the wilderness as something more valuable than bagging a trophy. Indeed, to hunt in this Germanic tradition is to recognize oneself as a steward of the forest, and to stop and consider that the time we spend outdoors with a rifle in hand is precious indeed.
Walnut stocks on the KKJ were often exceptionally fine-figured.
Hidden Meaning
So why do I mention this poem? Quite simply, it’s because if you understand its message, you’ll absolutely understand the Walther KKJ. Short for Kleine Kaliber Jager, which translates in English to “Small-Caliber Hunter.” The old world spills into every aspect of this rifle from sights to stock, and it’s a wonderful thing to experience.
One of the first things a person notices about a KKJ, especially a shooter familiar with modern .22 rimfire bolt actions, is this gun is far, far nicer than it really needs to be. Stocks were made of walnut (as mine is) or beechwood but all were nicely figured and hand checkered. Similarly, the bluing is deep and rich.
Cosmetics aside, Walther built these guns to shoot. A key feature of the KKJ is its match chamber. The bolt takes a little extra force to close, as it’s really shoving each round into as tight a fit as possible. Additionally, the safety clicks into place positively, the two-stage trigger is a crisp 2.25 lbs. and in general, nothing about this gun feels loose or imprecise.
Across all dimensions, the goal was to create a hunting rifle par excellence. With a weight of only about 6 lbs., Walther designed the KKJ to be carried and shot comfortably offhand. These design parameters and the inherent beauty of the rifle make the experience of actually packing and using the KKJ as pleasurable as possible out in the field. Again, very old-world.
Perhaps the only real thing I found a little too “European” about the KKJ were its sights. To be sure, the rear sight unit is immaculately constructed and extremely precise. However, I don’t know whether I’m getting older, whether the Germans of the 1960s had exceptional eyesight, or whether I just love my aperture sights too much, but the miniature “AK-47” style square notch and Lilliputian front post didn’t work for me.
I don’t think I’m alone here. Over the years, many have set out to scope the KKJ and found that the rear sight doesn’t play nice with a number of tubes and objective lenses. As a result, no small number of KKJs are found on the used market sans sights — and replacing them is pricey. Note its 11mm rail requires specialized rings. My scope rings sat a little higher than I ultimately wanted, but helped the objective lens clear the rear sight blade.
I topped the KKJ with a “good enough” scope I had laying around, a Simmons “.22 Mag” with a 3×9 magnification range. While the adjustments were far from consistent or repeatable, the Simmons did offer relatively clear glass and allowed me to see what this old gem was truly capable of. Certainly something from Zeiss would have been more fitting but the Simmons was what I had on hand and the .22 Mag product line tends to be fairly well regarded for a budget option.
Not a picky eater, the KKJ cheerfully ate and spit
out all ammo brands into respectable groups.
Range Time
Settling in with the KKJ, it was clear the gun wasn’t a picky eater. My first lesson: I arrived to a gorgeous day outdoors having previously zeroed the KKJ for the 50-foot maximum distance of my indoor range. I typically shoot my .22 long guns at my local haunt offhand and my previous best was a brag-worthy five rounds of Federal Automatch inside of a half an inch.
Shooting my first group at 50 yards, however, my rounds impacted about 4″ high! Once I got dialed in at that distance for my accuracy work, I decided to try my hand at 100 yards and found I was about 3″ low. This is a decent amount of up-and-down dispersion across the KKJ’s usable range. As such, it would behoove ethical small game hunters to learn basic range estimation and establish a dope chart for their preferred ammo.
Unsurprisingly, the speedier stuff shot noticeably flatter. While Aguila’s “Interceptor” .22 wasn’t the accuracy leader of the brands I tested, it is about 400 feet per second faster than most of the standard velocity ammo I shot and as a result, was a little more predictable of where my groups landed on paper.
Additionally, I noticed the gun exhibited a “first round flyer” effect, which was especially pronounced with the slower SK Rifle Match and CCI Green Tag ammo. Thinking about it, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the difference in impact was due to barrel temperature. Unlike the storied kings of rimfire competition like the Winchester 52, Remington 37 and various Anschutz models, the KKJ has a sporter-weight barrel.
This, of course, is the double-edged sword of a gun so lithe and handy. Indeed, many of the KKJ devotees on various Walther and rimfire-specific forums are quick to remind prospective owners the KKJ is not a target rifle and was not designed primarily with itty-bitty groups in mind.
Extra Special
But let me tell you, a person can do some spectacular shooting with this thing. Even if we deny it target rifle credentials, my KKJ is a sub-MOA gun through and through. Supposing I threw out that first round, the majority of my 50-yard groups with the SK Rifle Match and Green Tag were under 0.4″. My best five-round group, however, wasn’t far off! The KKJ performed very well and very consistently with the 38-grain Aguila “Super Extra” putting the best five into 0.459″.
Another interesting note here — I’ve seen a number of rifle makers base their “accuracy guarantees” on a three-round group. If you haven’t shot from a rest before, you’d be pretty surprised by how groups tend to open up when you increase your sample size by only two more rounds. The average of the KKJ’s “best three” was a paltry 0.287″. Make of that what you will.
Keep in mind I shot my KKJ with my own two hands and an improvised rest created from my range bag. A more talented shooter with better glass, better eyesight, better gear, and the patience to give the barrel time to cool between shots would undoubtedly get my KKJ to perform at another echelon.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
For what it’s worth, I was very happy with what I could coax out of the rifle. In the past, I have owned larger .22s with bull barrels and high-magnification scopes. Those guns eventually got sold and I don’t much miss them. They produced tiny groups from the bench, but at more than twice the weight of my KKJ, they produced groups only from the bench. Me? I like picking up and shooting my rifles without fighting fatigue or having to wear a cumbersome shooting jacket.
If you want a KKJ of your own, there’s good news. Walther produced the rifles over a 17-year period, making them generally available on auction sites, and street price is about $1,000. It sounds steep, but consider the precision, craftsmanship — and dare I say soul — present here. One would be hard-pressed to walk into a gun store and buy a long gun of this quality at the same price.
In the end, the KKJ is a great rifle from a bygone time when the goal was to savor the experience of making every shot count. It is handcrafted for the true Jägermeister who finds the sublime in the connection of man, machine and nature. To me, that makes it an unqualified keeper.
