We take a look at the latest tactical offering from Kral – the Mortal PCP Air Rifle. There’s no shortage of tactical style PCP air rifles on the market – it’s certainly the style everyone seems to want – and Turkish manufacturer Kral Arms has been at forefront of this revolution. Now though its keenly priced Mortal model looks set to shake things up again with a combination of uncompromising militaristic styling, high build quality and performance that would embarrass more expensive rivals.
Two versions, each in .177 and .22 are available from Just Airguns. The standard Mortal we have on review here is available in the UK as a 12 ft/lbs rifle, whereas the Mortal X, distinguishable by a bigger capacity air cylinder, is available in high power FAC format. Prices are £539.99 and £574.99 respectively.
TAKING STOCK
A folding, telescopic butt section sets the Mortal apart from many of its competitors, making it easy to transport, even in a backpack, as well as ensuring perfect shoulder fit. An adjustable cheekpiece also means you can set eye relief regardless of the size or style of scope you choose.
The downside, and it’s only a small one, is that like just about every folding, highly adjustable stock, there is some movement. In truth, you’ll only notice it if you go looking for it and in the shoulder the Mortal is reassuringly solid.
Collapsing the stock is quick and easy thanks to a button on the right side. The butt folds to the left and unlike some other similar designs, won’t flop about and can only be returned by pressing the button again. Folded length is just 620mm.
A lever on the underside adjusts the telescopic section and alters the length of pull in one of several lockable staged to between 335mm (13.75″) and 420mm (16.5″). A button on the adjustable cheekpiece performs much the same job although I found eye alignment just right without adjustment.
The rubberised pistol grip is both tactile and comfortable, and thanks to moulded stippling all around, gives plenty of grip too. Whilst the grip is ambidextrous, the sidelever and safety catch are set up to favour right-handed shooters and cannot be reversed.
The main block is a nice, solid piece of metal and, like the rest of the metal parts, is finished to a high standard. Overall weight is around 3.5 kgs with a scope fitted.
In keeping with its tactical design, the polymer forend, which covers almost the entire 200cc air bottle, is a 315mm (12”) long M-Lok style cage that offers plenty of scope for accessories and provides a comfortable hold. Indeed, the Mortal comes with a Picatinny rail on the underside to accept a bipod or sling attachment. Also supplied is a detachable forend grip. Another Picatinny rail forward of the trigger housing incorporates the ability to store two magazines.
TAKING AIM
So, thanks to all that adjustability, the Kral Mortal is a very comfortable rifle to shoulder. But that’s only half the story.
Triggers used to be something of an Achilles Heel for many Turkish rifles, including those from Kral. However, as a result of often vociferous feedback from the airgunning public, the company has made great strides to improve things.
As a result, the trigger on the Mortal is a good one. The post and shoes design is very comfortable in the finger and although there is the slightest amount of creep, the factory-set first stage on the test rifle was short but transferred cleanly to a second stage that broke crisply and predictably. I found the factory setting to be fine for me, but having removed the stock you can make adjustments to suit your own preferences.
Nicely located well away from the trigger is the resettable safety switch, which is safe in the upright ‘S’ position and live in the forward ‘F’ position. The catch itself operates very positively with your right thumb and, importantly for hunters, can be operated silently.
Like most air rifles right now, the Kral Mortal has a sidelever cocking system. The drop-down handle has a series of dimples and the lever itself is sprung for the first stage, requiring the lightest of touches to pop out. The second, cocking stage, is smooth and purposeful with barely any flex. There’s just the right amount of resistance on the return stroke to let you know everything has gone back in the right place.
The process probes pellets through a 14-shot .177 or 12-shot .22 cassette style magazine that will be familiar to owners of other Kral rifles. You get two and filling is simple enough, requiring the clear face plate to first be fully rotated clockwise against an internal spring as indicated by an arrow.
You’ll need to put your finger behind the hole to prevent the first pellet falling straight through, but once in place the spring is held under tension, allowing the rest of the chambers to be filled as you return the face place anti-clockwise.
Inserting the magazine into the breech takes a little practice, but once you’ve done it a couple of times, is quick and easy. With the sidelever pulled back and safety catch applied, the magazine is inserted from the right round-side first. You’ll need to ensure the flat underside is aligned with the bottom of the breech so that a ridge on the back side of the magazine will slide into a grooved recess.
With the clear side facing you, the magazine’s chambers are numbered so you know how many shots you have left. Once you are empty, the sidelever is prevented from returning to save some air by preventing a dry fire.
You can expect around 70 shots in .177 and a little more in .22 before having to re-fill the air cylinder to 200-bar. The process for which is straightforward. A cap at the front of the cylinder pulls off to expose the fill valve. Although it looks as though a standard quick fit type attachment will simply snap on, you will in fact have to connect the supplied adapter to the airline on your scuba tank, compressor or stirrup pump.
Once the air supply has been replenished and the air line detached, the cap snaps back on securely. An easy-to-read manometer located on the right forward of the sidelever provides an indication of remaining air supply. Slipping into the yellow section means you’ll need to top up and be sure to avoid overfilling into the red section.
Above and behind the air gauge is a silver power adjuster which moves through five different positions. It works by choking the transfer port and whilst it won’t deliver significantly more shots as a result, you can reduce output if shooting in the garden or doing some close-up pest control for example.
ON THE RANGE
Thanks to that adjustable butt and the ability it gives to fine tune eye relief, I fitted an MTC SWAT ‘ATOM’ 10×30 – a scope that suits tactical rifles such as the Kral Mortal perfectly. The zero-eye relief set up also meant I could use the butt on its shortest setting, making the Mortal just 840mm long (maximum length is 920mm).
Split into two to accommodate the magazine, the 160mm Picatinny scope rail offers plenty of real estate to accept a scope. That said, the magazine only sits about 9mm proud of the rail, making it easy to mount just about any size scope low to the barrel.
The 410mm (16”) barrel is manufactured by Kral itself and is sleeved in a 373mm (14.75”) shroud. To be honest, its effect in terms of sound suppression is minimal. Thankfully, a ½” UNF thread is revealed by unscrewing a cap at the end of the shroud so you can add a silencer which cuts down the report considerably.
Incidentally, unscrewing and removing the shroud exposes a second UNF thread cut into the barrel so you can fit a silencer directly to it. Doing so won’t give any benefit in terms of sound suppression but would save you another inch or so in overall length and help if you decide to use a scope with an extra-large objective lens.
On the range and using a variety of pellets, I found little difference between JSB Exact, Air Arms Diabolo Field and Daystate Sovereign pellets, suggesting the Kral Mortal is not pellet fussy.
Just like Kral said I would, I achieved 70 shots from the test rifle before the air supply fell below 100 bar and I suspect there’s a few more to be had even below that mark.
In fact, the chronograph showed a variance of just 16 feet per second (FPS) at the top of the fill, 21 FPS in the mid-range and 33 FPS when the supply got close to 100 bar. As is to be expected with a non-regulated rifle, the power out varied between 11.4 and 10.3 ft/lbs across the usable air fill range. At it’s lowest setting, the power dial return around 8 ft/lbs on its lowest setting.
In terms of accuracy, I was able to consistently return a centre-to-centre groups of 16mm at 20 metres and 19mm at 30. Though still respectable, the group widened slightly to around 29 at 40 metres. JSB Exacts proved to have a slight edge over other pellets.
SUMMARY
The mid-price market is fast becoming a battleground for manufacturers who want to exploit a trend both for those whose budgets are restricted and those who re-discovered an interest in airguns, or perhaps found it for the first time, during the covid lockdowns. Sales of cheap rifles boomed when we had nothing to do but spend time in the back garden and now many of those customers are looking to trade up to something a little better.
Kral is a dominant player in the sector and, perhaps as a result of other entrants wanting a slice of the market, has upped its game with a comprehensive range of stylish, well-made rifles that perform at a level that belies their price-tag.
The Mortal is a good example of a rifle that appeals to those for whom the tactical aesthetic is important. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that it is all show and no go. The Mortal is an extremely competent, high performing rifle that combines plenty of features and functions with solid build quality.
PHOTOS
The cheekpiece is height adjustable at the push of a button.
The telescopic butt will extend the length of pull to between 335 and 420mm.
A folding butt makes storing and transporting the Kral Mortal even easier, and deploys in seconds.
The safety catch is located away from the trigger and is positive and silent to operate.
A five stage power adjuster means you can use the Mortal in the garden as well as for short-range pest control.
An easy-to-see manometer tells you when it’s time to top up. Expect around 70-80 shots.
The sidelever is smooth and positive with a sprung first stage.
Plenty of room to mount a scope on the Picatinny rail. Combined with the telescopic stock and adjustable cheekpiece, it’s easy to set up perfect eye alignment.
The M-lok forend provides a comfortable hold to which a Picatinny accessory rail or separate forend grip can be fitted.
Attaching a silencer to the ½ inch UNF thread reduces muzzle report considerably.
No need to insert a filler probe.
Simply pull the protective cap off the end of the cylinder and attach your air line.
You get two magazines which you can store forward of the trigger.
The magazine inserts into the breech from the right. Be sure to line the raised ridge with a slit in the breech.
The two-stage match style post and shoe trigger is fully adjustable.
Along with a single shot loader, the Kral Mortal is supplied with a forend grip.
OTHER INFO
Kral’s Mortal has reset the bar for a top-performing mid-priced tactical PCP air rifle. Although the Mortal is a full size, full power rifle, the telescopic stock means it can be used by shooters of all ages!
Take a look at the full range of Kral Mortal PCP Air Rifles on the Just Air Guns website.
KRAL MORTAL AT A GLANCE
Price: £539.99
Weight: Approx. 3.5 kgs with a scope
Length: 840 – 920mm (620mm when folded)
Barrel length: 410mm
Calibres: .177 and .22
Test rifle power: 11.4ft/lbs
10 shot FPS variation: 16 FPS / 21 FPS / 33 FPS @ 200, 150 and 100 bar pressure
Test rifle shot count: 70 (.177)
Magazine capacity: 14 shots .177 / 12 shots .22
Safety: Manual, resettable
Trigger: Two-stage adjustable
Comes with: Two magazines, Picatinny accessory rail, forend grip
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Blog Author: Richard Sanders