I’m not sure what counts as a cheap PCP airgun these days, but one costing under £600 is certainly at the more affordable end of the scale. The Kral Puncher Empire XS – distributed in the UK by Range Right – is actually priced at an extremely competitive £525. It is also very, very compact.
At just 600mm in length, and weighing a 3.5kg, the Empire XS (which presumably stands for Extra Small) is a really stubby, quick handling bullpup airgun which lends itself brilliantly to shooting in confined spaces. One quick glance at the test gun suggested to me that it would be brilliant for ratting inside farm buildings and equally at home in a cramped hide shooting situation. That said, being small and comparatively light means is would be no burden to carry on roving hunting trips, maybe covering large expanses of grassland while shooting rabbits.
The compact proportions of the Kral Empire XS also mean it should be comfortable for most people to shoot. I am over six feet tall and it fitted me well enough, but smaller shooters shouldn’t have any trouble with it either. It certainly has a distinctive look and there are several stock options, including some very eye-catching laminates. The model featured in this review is the handsome Turkish walnut version, which is likely to go down well with shooters with more traditional tastes.
Below: The Kral Puncher Empire XS in this test features the Turkish walnut stock option
A compact gun with a functional stock
Apart from looking good, the stock also has a lot of functionality built into it. The forend is very short but it does provide a contact point for your leading hand and there’s a nice bit of stippling on its underside. For the record, I am a big fan of the very natural stippling pattern used on this stock and would love to see more of it on other guns – it looks so much more classy than some of the more elaborate patterns out there.
Another feature of the Empire XS stock is the integral trigger guard which is incorporated into the woodwork. It sweeps back into a chunky and nicely contoured pistol grip which features deep grooves to cradle your fingers and is adorned with the same, very tidy, stippling as the forend.
Behind the pistol grip is a push-button height adjustable butt plate. This is a really nice feature on such an affordable airgun and enables fast, tool-free adjustment of gun fit. The cheek support is made from a black polymer and, although it is not reversible, it felt comfortable enough to me when I tried shooting the Empire XS lefthanded. Slacken off the fastening screw on the cheek rest and it can be adjusted forward and backward – another nice touch for tweaking gun fit to optimise eye/scope alignment.
Bewlow top: The pistol grip is contoured for a very comfortable hold
Below bottom: The cheek rest and butt pad can both be adjusted to improve gun fit
The metalwork looks very tidy – especially for a gun at this price point – and I like the black anodised finish. The barrel is 400mm long and there’s a chunky little shroud incorporated into the front section. At only 100mm long the shroud is quite short and doesn’t provide any obvious sound suppression. However, if you screw off the front cap there is a half-inch UNF thread for silencer attachment, so hunters can make the Kral Puncher Empire XS super-quiet – even with a moderator on board, it is still very compact.
Scope mounting is via a Picatinny type rail which provides about 170mm of clamping space. At Allen screw at the front of the front of the rail sits within a mount which permits some upward and downward adjustment. That means you can refine the angle of the rail, rather than resorting to shimming your mounts, if you run out of scope adjustment. With the screw tightened, the fastening feels very secure, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about it creeping.
Below top: The small barrel shroud is threaded for the attachment of an additional silencer
Below bottom: Scope mounting is via a Picatinny rail which can be adjusted for angle
The Empire XS runs Kral’s tried and tested multi-shot magazine. It holds 14 shots in .177, 12 in .22 and 10 in .25. You get two magazines supplied, and a single shot tray. The magazine is pellet friendly and easy to load and is driven by a sidelever action with a biathlon type drop-down handle. Range Right told me the sidelever is not reversible, but there does appear to be a potential means of attachment on the opposite side. Do let us know if you have managed to reverse one. As a righthander, I found the righthand setup very well positioned, with the handle just above the trigger. The mechanism did a great job of delivering quick reloading and worked without any problems during my weeks of testing.
Below top: The Kral Puncher Empire XS is supplied with two magazines and a single shot tray
Below bottom: The sidelever mechanism is well positioned for fast reloading
The trigger blade is of a match-type design, and it’s adjustable for height and angle. The two-stage mechanism is also adjustable but I think triggers on review guns should be tested on their factory setting. Bullpup triggers can be a little unresponsive because of the extended linkage but I was very impressed with the unit on the Empire XS. There was plenty of first stage travel before an obvious stop that was followed by a very clean and predictable second stage break. That’s a lot better than the triggers on some bullpup airguns costing significantly more.
There is a safety catch positioned just in front of the trigger blade. If I’m totally honest, I’d prefer to have it a little further away from the trigger. The trade-off with its location is that it’s very easy to access. You pull it back into the safe position and then simply nudge it forward when you’re ready to take the shot.
The Kral Puncher Empire XS is a full-power airgun and the .177 calibre test gun was running at around 11.4ft/lb. This airgun is not fully regulated in the true sense – so there will be a power curve as you work through the charge. Its power output is pretty consistent though, with shot to shot variation remaining within eight feet per second over a ten-shot string. Air is stored in a 200cc cylinder at the front of which is a clearly marked gauge showing onboard pressure.
Below top: The two-stage trigger has an adjustable match-type blade
Below bottom: Air pressure is displayed on a gauge at the front of the cylinder
Maximum fill pressure is 200 bar, and from that you can expect about 65 shots in .177 calibre and 75 in .22. That is quite a healthy shot count for such a small airgun and more than enough for all but the most hectic of hunting trips. The Empire XS is also in FAC power, which would obviously return fewer shots. When it’s time to refill with air, turn the collar at the front of the cylinder to expose the inlet and plug in with the supplied quick-fill probe.
As I said at the outset, the Kral Empire XS is getting towards the affordable end of the bullpup scale. With that in mind, I wanted to manage my expectations when carrying out my accuracy testing. I needn’t have worried though, because it doesn’t shoot like a cheap airgun and is clearly capable of more than a bit of backyard plinking. Grouping on paper targets was generally ragged single-holers at 30m and, moving on to 40mm metal spinners, I was able to score consistent hits at 40. This airgun definitely has the precision to tackle pests over sensible ranges.
To sum up, the Kral Puncher Empire XS is a nice-looking little airgun which delivers impressive performance for not much more than £500. It’s compact, it feels very robust and it can certainly put pellets in the right place. If you’re looking for a good value bullpup that doesn’t cost a fortune, this is one of the best budget options out there right now.
FROM: Range Right, UK
MAKER: Kral Arms, Turkey
MODEL: Puncher Empire XS
PRICE: £525 (for model featured)
LENGTH: 600mm, 23.6ins
BARREL LENGTH: 400mm, 15.7ins (100mm, 3.9ins shroud)
WEIGHT: 3.5kg, 7.7lb
CALIBRE: .177 (featured), .22 and .25
POWER: 11.4ft/lb
MAXIMUM FILL PRESSURE: 200 bar
SHOTS PER FILL: 65 in .177, 75 in .22
Article first published 11th August 2025
