Airgun shooters have never had it so good when it comes to mid-priced PCPs. Gone are the days when you had to splash out on high-end gear to get reliable performance and consistent accuracy, which means you don’t have to spend a fortune to get something that can cut it in the field or on the range. The Kral Puncher Unica is a great example of just that.
I have reviewed quite a few airguns from Kral over the past year, and they have all struck an impressive balance between performance and value for money. The Unica takes it even further. Distributed in the UK by Range Right, this great-looking PCP is not a cheap airgun, but its £585 recommended retail price delivers a lot of bang for your buck – and that includes a very consistent regulated firing cycle.
The Kral Unica is an adult-sized airgun. It weighs around 4kg and measures just over 104cm from muzzle to butt. Although quite substantial, it balances well and is comfortable to shoot from all the usual stances, and its weight keeps it extremely stable when taking supported shots.
This airgun’s nice handling – whether shooting from a standing, kneeling or sitting position – is largely down to a thoughtfully designed Turkish walnut stock. It is an ambidextrous handle, and I think it looks great. The slim fore-end has a fluted profile and feels good in the hand. It’s adorned with generous patches of neat, distinctively patterned stippling and has a recessed brass thread that you can use to attach the supplied underside Picatinny rail for accessory attachment.
The trigger guard is incorporated into the walnut stock and sweeps back into a very comfortably contoured pistol grip, which features the same stippling and gives great trigger attack. There is a large cutout behind the grip, the contours of which seem to have been designed for thumb-round shooting but it is also perfectly comfortable for shooting thumb-up.
Below (top): The Kral Unica has a fluted forend profile with panels of grippy chequering
Below (bottom): The pistol grip gives good trigger attack and is suitable for thumb-round or thumb-up shooting
Although not particularly high, the Unica's cheekpiece has sufficient elevation to deliver good eye/scope alignment with the high mounts you’re likely to need to keep your scope clear of the protruding magazine. The butt is finished with a discreet black spacer and a ventilated soft rubber pad which feels very comfortable in the shoulder.
There are no signs of corner-cutting when it comes to the metalwork, which has a tidy black anodised finish. The Unica is equipped with a 580mm Kral-made barrel with a full-length shroud which, apart from looking good, provides a bit of sound suppression. Hunters demanding absolute stealth will no doubt want to stifle the muzzle report further, which they can do by removing the cap from the end of the shroud to reveal a half-inch UNF thread for silencer attachment.
Time is the only true test of an airgun’s build quality but the Unica feels to be a very solidly constructed airgun. It also has some very useful features incorporated into its design. Those handy touches include a neat dual rail system for scope mounting. The two sections of rail give a total of around 150mm clamping space and can accommodate either dovetail or Picatinny type mounts. As mentioned earlier, you just need to ensure that your chosen mounts are high enough to keep the scope clear of the magazine.
Below: The Kral Unica's scope rail can accept Picatinny or dovetail mounts
Whether you’re a hunter or a plinker, you’ll appreciate the rapid reloading that comes courtesy of a magazine that holds 14 shots in .177 calibre and 12 in .22. It is kind to pellets and has a counter to show you how many rounds you have left. To load the magazine, rotate the front plate clockwise as far as it will go, then drop a pellet in nose first to hold the inner cassette under spring tension. You then turn the plate back the way it came from, dropping a pellet into each chamber as you go – it is a very straightforward process. The Kral Unica is generously supplied with two magazines and a single-shot tray.
The magazine is driven by a sidelever action with a biathlon-type dropdown handle. It is well positioned for intuitive operation, although it can’t be reversed for lefthanders. The handle is actually sprung, so it kicks back into the rearward stroke as soon as you start to flick it back. The result, is quick and reliable cocking and loading, and it worked without single hiccup during my weeks of testing.
Below (top): The Kral Puncher Unica comes supplied with two magazines and a single shot tray, plus a Picatinny underside accessory rail
Below (bottom): The sidelever has a biathlon type handle and is sprung for fast fire reloading
Considering its price point, the Kral Unica has a very good trigger. The match-type blade can be adjusted for height and angle, and the two-stage mechanism is also adjustable. As should be the case, the trigger was set up very well from the factory so I didn’t need to do any tinkering. Out of the box, it had a reasonable amount of first stage travel followed by a clear stop before a clean and absolutely predictable second stage break.
There is a rocker-type safety catch sensibly positioned a little way above the Unica’s trigger blade. It is positive but still very quiet in operation. You push it back into the safe position, and then simply nudge it forward when you’re ready to take the shot.
Below: The trigger has a match type blade and a predictable let off
As I mentioned at the start, the Unica is a regulated PCP and that makes for pretty consistent performance. On full output, the .177 calibre test gun was running at around 11.5ft/lb – and shot to shot consistency remained within six feet per second over a ten-shot string. Regulator pressure is shown on the gauge on the righthand side of the action.
Power is adjustable by means of a dial positioned just behind the regulator gauge. With the dial wound all the way down, the test gun was running at around 8ft/lb, which could be handy for plinking in a modestly sized garden.
The Kral Unica holds its air in a pretty substantial 330cc cylinder. Maximum fill pressure is 200 bar and from that you can expect around 120 shots in .177 calibre and up to 145 in .22. Onboard pressure is displayed on the gauge at the front of the cylinder. When it’s time to refill, twist the collar behind the gauge to expose the inlet and then plug in with the supplied probe.
Below (top): Regulator pressure is shown on the gauge next to the power wheel
Below (bottom): The gauge at the front of the cylinder shows remaining air pressure
The Unica’s consistent power output combines with its quality barrel and very predicable trigger to deliver impressive accuracy. Shooting from a bench, ragged single-hole groups were standard fare at 30 metres, and I was consistently hitting 40mm spinners at 50m. With that sort of performance, the Unica should prove be very well suited to the club range and is more than capable of the required precision for pest control.
The Kral Puncher Unica is a Turkish-made airgun that meets the needs of British shooters very well indeed. That suitability to the home market can probably be attributed to Range Right’s close working partnership with Kral – their feedback often results in design tweaks to perfectly meet customer’s needs. They certainly seem to have struck the right balance again with the Unica. It’s tough, it looks good, it’s accurate and it’s very sensibly priced – there are even .25 calibre and FAC options available.
Click here to see the Airgun Extra video review of the Kral Puncher Unica
MAKER: Kral Arms
MODEL: Puncher Unica Walnut
FROM: Range Right
RRP: £585
LENGTH: 1040mm (40.9in)
WEIGHT: 4kg (8.8lb)
BARREL LENGTH: 580mm (22.8in)
POWER: 11.5ft/lb (adjustable)
FEATURED SCOPE: Konus Eternity 6-24x50
Article first published 16th June 2025
