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CO2 Umarex SA 177 – Part 1

Umarex SA 177 – Part 1

by B.B. Pelletier
Photos by Earl “Mac” McDonald


Before we get to today’s blog, we wanted to show you a picture of the winner of the raffle held at Pyramyd Air’s 3rd Annual Garage Sale. His name is Paul, and here he’s holding the Benjamin Nitro Piston air rifle he picked up on Wednesday.

Okay, everybody, here’s another reason to thank Earl “Mac” McDonald for all the good work he did for me while I was in the hospital. This was the last airgun he tested. And, when he would come to the hospital to visit me each day, I could tell he was extremely impressed. I’m so sorry, but I have to report on another great airgun!

And, the Umarex SA 177 is a BB gun. Sorry, but sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles. I promise that I will have pellet rifles and other guns to report in the near future. But that’s all the apology I’m going to make. Let me show you the gun.


SA 177 above, Edith’s personal carry gun, a Glock 36, below.

The SA 177 is the epitome of a modern rapid-fire BB pistol. It has the design you would expect from a modern synthetic gun and incorporates a light/laser rail at the front of the frame. It’s a mid-size gun that should feel good in the average shooter’s hand.

Trigger
Speaking of feel, the gun incorporates a two-bladed trigger. Years ago, this might have been unique, but we’ve seen it in Savage, Mendoza and yes, even, Glock. So, this kind of trigger is no longer the novelty it once was. The trigger-pull is beyond the range of my scale. It’s probably 10-12 lbs. That’s because this is a double-action-only pistol. I’ll have more to say about that later.


SA 177 pistol has 2-bladed trigger. The forward blade is retracted even with the larger rear blade, then both go back together to fire the gun. Note the grooves in the front of the triggerguard, which give your second hand some purchase.

The gun’s safety is on the right side of the frame. It requires both pressing in and sliding to achieve either the SAFE or FIRE position. You aren’t going to do this while holding the pistol for shooting. It takes a very strong, deliberate push to unlock the button.


Gun safety must be pressed in and slid in the proper direction to function.

Sights
The sights on our test gun are fiber optic front and rear. They’re not adjustable. The current production front sight has a white plastic tube instead of a fiber optic rod. It will appear to the shooter as a front post with white dot.


Fiber optic tube for rear sight gives you 2 bright green dots.


Our test gun came with a fiber optic front sight (left), but the current production is a white plastic tube.

Blowback!
Yes, the SA 177 has blowback. The metal slide comes back with the shot. However, the slide is so light that it does not give as much of an impression of recoil as some other guns, notably the Walther PPK/S and the Magnum Research Desert Eagle. I really enjoy the drop-free magazine. It’s a metal-bodied stick mag with a capacity of 16 BBs. It drops free with a press of the release on the left side of the frame behind the triggerguard, and it installs with a satisfying click.


The metal slide blows back with every shot.


Stick mag is extremely reliable, metal and drops free of the gun with a push of the release.

I have more to tell you about the gun and its features, but I’m going to save that for later reports. However, I will say this now. As much as I said that the TT33 is not a rock ‘n’ roll BB pistol because of its single-action-only operation, the SA 177 IS. This is a gun that can shoot as fast as you want, although the trigger will take some mastering.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

69 thoughts on “Umarex SA 177 – Part 1”

  1. Does PA care about it’s customers, or are they only concerned with making money? I find myself asking this question, due to some recent events. The reason for this is simple. I potentially saved PA lots of money, yet I was not even afforded a thank you.
    You see, I found a bug on the PA website. A bug that could be easily exploited en mas, if only I hadn’t told PA about it. The bug is quite simple. One needed (now fixed) only order many tins of ammo (at least 4), so that the standard free fourth tin is added to your cart. After you have added at least for tins, you check out like normal. Then, you go to the “My Account” section of PA’s website. Click on the change order button next to your recent Pellet order. There you can remove all of the paid tins, leaving only the free tin(s). This could be even worse if one makes an order for over $100 of pellets, and gets free shipping, then cancels all the paid tins, getting the ENTIRE order for free. Of course this is all stipulated on the premise that PA has an automated picking/shipping process. I know the pickers have a wrist item that lets them know what to grab, but I’m not sure if it lists the prices. If the system weren’t broken it wouldn’t be necessary to see the prices. Although with this bug, it might have saved them a potential loss. Lucky for them I spotted the error, and informed PA, rather than act on it. I now feel like this was a bad decision. PA has not expressed any thanks, and I feel completely put off by that fact. If my company was aided by a customer in this manor, I would not hesitate to reward that individual for their deeds. I guess only time will tell…
    -Ryan

    • Don’t expect your good deeds to be acknowledged, you may be waiting a long time. Just do them because it’s the right thing to do. Also don’t be upset if someone twist your words and calls it their idea. You know what you have done, appreciate yourself for who you are.

        • Ryan
          You need to let it go! And at your job, it will eat you alive! I know from experience in two completely different careers. I let it tear me apart inside and believe me, that is not a road you want to go down. Just know the good you have done and forget the rewards, they will come in due time.

          rikib

          • Ryan,
            I have to agree with rikib on this one. Sometimes the old saying “No good deed goes unpunished.” may not be quite right but it sure feels that way at times.
            Caveman

          • Ryan,

            You’re right. PA should have rcognised you with a thanks, but we all know that’s not why you did what you did. To exploit them and not bring it to there attention would put you in a different class of person and a thanks is just a thanks after all. nice to have, but it’s just a thanks. A discount coupon however…:)

            KA

        • Ryan, don’t forget that Edith is part of PA, and she will get this straightened out. Otherwise, I’ll say that I feel a little less isolated hearing about so-called colleagues who will dive in to take credit while doing as little as possible. There are some people who have elevated this to an art. It’s not worth getting hung up about.

          Matt61

          • To all,

            I didn’t want to make it seem like I only do things because they benefit me. I do have the capacity to look outside myself, to see how actions effect others. Although in recognizing this, I find myself pondering what I would do if in PA’s position. I would reward people for doing the “right thing” as if there is no reward, it would be less likely, overall, that people would step up. People on a whole, are greedy. People would maybe be less greedy, if when they do a selfless act, they are recognized. Thank you all for your comments. I hope I didn’t come off too bitchy.

            -Ryan

            • Ryan
              You did not come off too bitchy, in my opinion anyway 🙂 . You have has much right as anyone else to state your feelings/ideas/opinions, we are here for each other dude. At least I think we are! Kick back, relax for awhile 😉

              rikib

    • PA has a standing policy of giving you a 5% discount coupon for finding a website bug. /discounts-specials

      I have reported two bugs in the past and got a discount coupon each time.

      I’m sure someone is very happy that you found the problem.

    • I’ve report a number of bugs via the official method and gotten a thank you and the 5% discount offer each time. The 5% seems somewhat of a joke since there are 10% discounts offered for various codes. But I was ALWAYS treated nicely. Sorry for your bad experience but I don’t think that it is the norm.

      Herb

  2. Double action only… interesting. I wonder if the point is to help with gas consumption, or if it’s in the name of “realism”. Yes, I realize that a real Glock isn’t actually DAO, but it might as well be.

    Speaking of Umarex, I’m really excited about the Steel Storm and the EBOS. Do you think we might see a review of one those anytime soon?

    At any rate, I’m glad you’re feeling better, Tom.

  3. Great to see your reporting on the SA 177. About a month ago we were looking to buy a bb pistol for fun shooting as a break from shooting paper with the 46M.

    We narrowed the choice down to the Makarov and the SA 177. Liz liked the SA 177 and I was leaning towards the Makarov, due in part to your report on it.
    So … we bought both. I have already had to order another Makarov as the piercing pin/valve(?) will only pierce every second co2 cartridge. The SA 177 doesn’t have that problem … BUT … that clip release!

    Every time I picked up the gun I would hit the release and the clip fell out. It was like some comedy spy movie … bad guys coming, whip pistol out and aim … and clip falls on the floor.

    My solution was to get a strong elastic, the kind that comes wrapped around broccoli, put it aroung the bottom of the grip about 1 inch up and pull the front down over the front of the clip. It doesn’t interfere with shooting the pistol and stops the clip from coming out.

  4. Hi BB:
    Congratulations to that fella Paul for winning the Benjamin Nitro Piston Rifle.
    I am not a jealous guy…..If I say it enough I might believe it 🙂
    So you can shoot the SA 177 as fast as you want?
    My old Walther Co2 pellet repeater would get power drop off after the second shot in rapid fire.
    Not the pistols fault though,it wasn’t designed to be a machine gun.LOL

    Ryan:
    My wife identified a glitch on the ‘Asda’ supermarket website while doing an online shop.
    It was to do with the reward ‘E vouchers’where they were awarding twice as many as they should have.
    She got a discount for telling them about the glitch but she never told me what it was.
    I noticed she was wearing a pair of new shoes though about that time.

    C-S:
    England of course is my No1 team in the Soccer World cup.
    My No2 is the team that knocks Germany out of the competition.
    Germany are our Nemesis in the world cup comps.GRrrrr
    DaveUK

    • DaveUK,

      I would think that was cool if only your wife had gotten something cool for her it. shoes are the most boring thing you could get. If only it was a site that sold things worth buying. At least its not a thousand dollar handbag. Some women are crazy about handbags. Talk about a waste of money. Although that’s just my opinion. To each their own.

      -Ryan

  5. Ryan, do the right thing because its the right thing to do. Your reward should be the good feeling you will get knowing you helped someone. Last nite – found an ipod nano at the hotel I was at. I found the rewgistered owners name and left a message at his room and dropped the Nano at the front desk.you will not only get a good feeling but a discount coupon for your troubles. Well done

    Fred PRoNJ

  6. Shoot.. Mac beat me to a review. 🙂
    I really have been enjoying the SA 177 and have put a number of powerlets through it. I found the trigger fairly quick to get used to and since it is my first blow-back, the “recoil” is enjoyable. The purchase on the grip, for my small hands, is great. And the trigger weight compared to Unarex’s Makarov is much more smooth and nice. With the power of the gun I can easily doube-tap at 15ft and keep all shots placed on the target. As for the magazine, I prefer the Makarov’s design. When the follower for the SA 177 closes, the spring is so forceful that sometimes the leading BB pops out of the mag. I’ve adjusted for it and can load it quickly now but at first it was a pain. Speaking of ammo Mac, B.B. … anyone else… what BBs are suggested? I’ve been using Bix Box Mart’s bulk Copperheads. And B.B.: welcome home. 🙂

  7. Matt 61:
    I just saw your comment to me about the SMLE rifle being perhaps critized unjustly as to it’s overall accuracy. The critizism is justified. It is not hopelessly inaccurate, but it is not the equal of the Mauser pattern rifles. I have owned and fooled with the SMLE mark 3, 4, and the #5 jungle carbines. The problem lies with the two piece stock and the fact that they have oversized chambers and bore sizes vary from .309 to .316 , when ideally they should be .311 dia. The oversize chambers are great in a battle rifle that may have to digest dirty or damaged ammo , but bad for accuracy. The Brits tried all kinds of shimming and bedding fixes for the SMLE stocks , but there was little to be gained IMO. The jungle carbine we had would only do about 4 1/2″ at best at 100 yards, and I plastic bedded and swapped fore ends and butt stocks on that one to no avail. It even had a tight bore that ran .310 in dia. I got verticle stringing of the groups , especially as the barrel heated up. I won the shoot -off I described, because I knew this, and a quart milk carton is around ten inches tall. The best SMLE I have, and still have, is a #4 Aussie post war .303, but my Springfield will beat it accuracy wise, any day.
    Your suspicions that the revolver is less accurate than the pistol is quite correct. The revolvers cylinder gap (necessary for functioning), and the forcing cone in the cylinder and the barrel throat, are all varibles that will determine an individual revolvers accuracy. Pistols have it all over the wheel gun as to accuracy. A Ruger auto will be more accurate than a single-six, and any brand of accurized 1911 .45 pistol will be as accurate at 50 yards as the Ruger .22 auto is at 25, Robert.

    • Robert, very interesting. Yes, I’ve heard that loose-fitting parts go with battlefield reliability, and I believe that the AK-47 is built on that principle. The only contrary evidence for the SMLE is an article I read about how the SMLE was used as a sniper rifle. Admittedly, they only took selected specimens off the production lines–probably the ones with tolerances you indicated. But otherwise without unusual technology and with the limited scopes of the era, they got sub-MOA accuracy. I wish I could remember the designation of that sniper rifle.

      Let me pick your brain about the Springfield. The wisdom is that it is an inferior design to the Mauser because of the two piece firing pin which is prone to breakage and something about how the cone-shaped breech does not enclose the cartridge properly and causes gas venting problems. On the other hand, you hear all kinds of reports about how wonderfully reliable the Springfield was, even passing the Garand in that respect in tests (although not really on the battlefield). So, what’s the story here? Are the reliability problems for real or just relative to the original Mauser design?

      That makes sense about the revolvers. Bolt-action rifles have a huge technology around locking the action and making it rigid and immoveable, and the revolver has the cylinder spinning freely. But I’m not giving up on accuracy either. I hear great reports about the single-six and am looking to try it out this weekend.

      Matt61

      • Matt 61:
        The Springfield’s coned breech allows for smoother feeding of the cartridges, much like the one on the pre-64 Winchester Mod 70. The receiver is in my opinion, stronger than the Mauser as it does not contain the thumb cut-out on the left side of the receiver. The Mauser action is better when re-barrelled to a hotter cartridge than original, as it is more gas proof. The Mauser’s bolt shroud protects the shooters eyes better, and the slots in the bolt body usually direct the hot gases downward, into the magazine well. If an event like that occurs, the floor plate will be blown out, along with any remaining cartridges. If you are not wearing glasses you will suffer eye injury with either gun. But if you are sticking with the .30-06 cartridge then the Springfield is the smoother of the two and more desirable as a sporter in that caliber. The milled trigger guard assembly of the Springfeild is better looking and no work really has to be done to it to make it look better. The Mauser’s on the other hand, needs a lot of re-shaping with files to make it look decent. The two piece firing pin assembly on the Springfield is not, as you mentioned, as good as the Mauser’s. The cocking piece and design is a hold over from the Krag rifle. There are replacement one piece types available but they often have a stiff striker spring which is designed to make up for the loss of the heavier original cocking piece. Personally I just obtained a complete extra bolt, and keep it as a spare just in case. I’ve got two Springfield’s and I haven’t used it yet. One I’ve had since I was 16 and that has been 35 years now.
        On the single-six , I had one for several years and it was accurate enough for my purposes. I was just saying that the pistol is always more inherently accurate. That doesn’t mean the revolvers are inaccurate, or not useful. Take care, Robert

  8. Sorry for your feelings Ryan, but I agree with rikib on this one.
    If everyone only did a ‘good deed’ with the expection of some sort of reward, it would be a sorry world.
    Rest in the knowledge that you helped someone out.

  9. I will never hear the end of it from some of you, but I had to try another rifle that goes against my standards.
    A particular well known chain store in the area has the Crosman Titan GP. Had to try a gas piston gun just for fun.

    Of course, Chinese, no sights, Crosman.
    Cheap scope (non-AO),very hard safety (thankfully not automatic), very long and stiff trigger, cheap scope mounts, tan colored thumbhole stock made of the famous Chinese mystery wood.

    Lots of excess oil. Metal finish looks good. Smooth and quiet cocking. Hefty thunk on firing. Weight, balance, and handling are good. Could use medium scope mounts.

    Chrono running 710-715 fps with cp (.22).

    Sighting in…poor improvised rest, 25 yds, some wind. 1 1/2″ 10 shot group. Not bad considering the rest, scope, trigger, and my wobble factor.

    twotalon

    • twotalon,

      Wow! You did what?! 🙂 Did the gas spring work good. I mean, I’m dying to feel the difference myself and never sent my Gamo CFX in for the conversion. And I have seen gas springers for sale at the big store too, just won’t buy one. Should I quit being such a tight wad and send in the CFX?

      KA

      • It works so far.
        With this rifle, the cocking stroke has an unfamiliar feel to it. It is pleasant and not too hard though. Pretty much a constant force. No real vibration on firing, not much noise, but the kick is there.

        I have no idea what a gas piston conversion would feel like on your rifle. Your cocking linkage would probably make it feel quite a bit different from the Crosman. The barrel is pretty long and provides quite a bit of leverage. The phony muzzle brake makes a comfortable cocking handle.
        Far easier to cock than my RS2. That thing requires brute force.

        twotalon

      • Oh yeah……
        I hate to tell you to get it changed…in case you don’t like it or if you get a bad one.
        I have no idea how long they last on average. You do lose the twang, and can leave them cocked if you want.
        You could always keep it the way it is until the spring blows, then get it converted.

        twotalon

  10. BB,

    You are killing me with all these nice bb handguns! I havent even finished saving $ for the TT33 yet and now I have two more on the wish list! Looks like I need to step up my saving program. It might be back to AM/PM hotdogs for lunch and happy hour hours devours for dinner!

    Or maybe I can defect to Mexico, sneek back into the U.S., wait, does PA accept food stamps?? 😉

    KA

  11. Ryan you have received many comments. Always remember to give expecting nothing in return (you will never be disappointed), when the time is right your reward will be there maybe unexpectedly.

    rikib

  12. BB or Edith

    Re: Walther Lever Action Rifle (Winchester look-alike)

    1) Has PA discontinued the scoped version of this rifle?

    2) Please go to http://www.umarex.de/uxc.php?load=view&item=460.00.42&deptid=1 and look at the Umarex/Walther picture of this (same?) rifle. The scope is now mounted in what appears to be the mounting area of the open sights, not over the action and side mounted as were the U.S. version that PA was selling at a discount (clearance sale due to poor scope mounting system?). Also, the butt plate of the Euro version seems far thicker than the rifle shown on the PA site.

    Bottom-line… which is the most current rifle with the latest improvements or mods?

    Thanks!

    • Brian,

      Umarex USA has discontinued the scoped version of the Walther Lever Action rifle. Pyramyd AIR had several of them left in stock and lowered the price so it was less than the unscoped model! Looks like they’re all gone now.

      The version you indicated on the German Walther site is not a scoped rifle. That’s a dot sight on the gun, which is why it’s mounted so far forward on the gun…eye relief doesn’t matter. That version is not in the 2010 Umarex USA catalog.

      Edith

  13. As bb guns go, this is a nice-looking one. It looks like a Glock. But what is the trigger blade for? For both the Savage and the Glock pistols, the front blade unlocks the trigger mechanism. But this pistol has a separate safety (so does the Savage rifle as far as that goes).

    Congratulations to Paul on his prize. It was interesting to see PA’s latest list of most popular rifles. The Gamo Big Cat has crawled its way to prominence. So has the Benjamin Super Streak which didn’t seem to generate much excitement on the blog after a big build-up.

    Matt61

  14. I should add that I received my Centerpoint 4-16X40mm scope from PA the other day. What a fantastic and beautiful scope. It is identical to the Leaper’s design and is wonderful in every respect except that the turret locking mechanism is a ring at the base of the turret that can be operated by hand instead of the unwieldy Leapers system that involves using an Allen wrench and lining the turret up with a microscopic white line. The Centerpoint system is far superior and has turned me back on to zero locking systems!

    Matt61

    • Matt,

      I think it depends on the series/model. I have a Leapers SWAT 6-24×56 scope that has the turret locking rings at the base as you mentioned, and I have an older CenterPoint 3-9×40 that requires an allen key.

      – Orin

  15. Glad to hear BB is back home. 🙂

    The SA 177 looks very nice, but the problem would be all the reloading with just one magazine.

    Unfortunately, looks like Pyramyd doesn’t have spare mags for it. Any idea if/when they’ll offer them?

  16. The fun keeps on coming…

    So I get my awesome Walther CP99 Compact. Well I try putting a CO2 cartridge in it. Talk about a horribly designed cartridge system. You have to twist this knob on the bottom of the gun’s grip to get ready to put a CO2 cylinder in. Then you put it in, twist up this screw under the cylinder. After that you turn the knob on the bottom the other way, to puncture the cylinder. Well I tried this many times, each time failing to puncture the cylinder. Now the gun is stuck with that knob on the “power” position, and I cant loosen it to remove the cylinder. So my gun is worthless at the moment. I called Umarex but they were closed. Sigh…

  17. I finally got it to work, and I just wanna say wow. This more than met my expectations for a blowback replica pistol. The blowback is very solid. Also the slide locks back if the gun has no ammo in it. Great Japanese build quality. Only gripe is the CO2 system could be a bit better, and the box lists the rear sights as adjustable. They are fixed, as stated in the owners manual. Got to love the contradiction though. Also, the accuracy is great for a BB gun. Close to the accuracy of my Gamo PT-80. Another great pistol if you want a pellet pistol, that looks very real. No blowback, but its a pellet gun and its hard to get everything.

    -Ryan

  18. Ryan,
    Wow is right. In less than half an hour you went from desperate, panicked, and disillusioned with the gun and PA to ecstatic! Glad it worked out for you; it was like an air pistol soap opera, very enjoyable, but perhaps a little too exciting for old guys like me:).

      • Ryan,that co2 loading mechanism is deceptive,but you may like it more once you have it explained.When you drop the next cylinder in,DON’T tighten the brass wheel,just rotate the bottom plate!Once the brass is adjusted,the bottom piece will do the piercing and keep you from over-tightening the cartridge.That will keep the seal from being damaged!! Proper setting for the brass wheel just allows the cylinder to drop in place,so don’t tighten it past there and all will be well!

    • Mr B.,

      B.B.’s resting now, but I took my laptop to him and showed him the video. WOW! A future designer…guns or just about anything else he’s interested in.

      Edith

  19. Hi,

    I own a Umarex SA 177 (Glock) Air Pistol.

    I wonder, would you be able to tell me how I remove the Slide please.

    I appear to have managed to pick up a “foreign body” from somewhere which I can hear rattling around, but it won’t shake out.

    Many thanks

    Nick Hallam.

  20. Hi BB,

    Great blog! I have a few questions about the SA 177. I am a very experienced shooter who likes accurate airguns. I need a BB repeater, preferably a Glock clone, to use for firearms training. For the SA 177 accuracy tests, what were the dimensions of the target used? Or, to simplify, what were the size of the groups? Were any rested groups made? What is the most accurate BB repeater you’ve tested? How about pellet repeater? What is the repeating air pistol you’ve tested that has the best (ie lightest and smoothest) trigger? Thanks in advance!

  21. Jeff,

    That target is a standard 10-meter air pistol target, so the bull measures a standard 60 cm across the 7-ring. The red dot was applied by a dealer who doesn’t know anything about air pistol shooting.

    BB guns are never accurate. As an experienced shooter you must know that you need the projectile to be stabilized for accuracy.

    I don’t measure group size for target shot with BBs because it is impossible to do so. BBs tear irregular holes in target paper, so no gauge can work.

    The best pellet repeater I’ve ever tested was an FWB C55 that would group five shots in less than 0.10″ at 10 meters from a rest (of course). It also had the lightest and smoothest trigger, which was further enhanced by its adjustability. A B98 pistol from the Czech Republic will come very close to the performance of the FWB and costs less than $500, I believe.

    There are no real Glock clones, because Glock will not license their look and feel. But that usually doesn’t matter, since Glocks are not used for target shooting. Almost anything that feels Glock-ish will suffice as a trainer, including the SA 177 of this series.

    B.B.

  22. Hi B.B.,

    Thanks for the quick reply and the target specifications! I agree, BBs do make difficult-to-measure holes.

    I’m sorry, let me give you some more background. The pistol needs to fire a lead-free projectile and mimic a traditional semiauto, preferably a full-sized Glock, as it is being used to train for GSSF matches. I figured I would try to find something that fires BBs, since I’ve had such positive experiences with Daisy 499Bs inthe past. I thought there might be a repeating BB pistol that, while not as accurate as the Daisy 499, may be able to hold around a 1/2″ group at 5 meters. If this isn’t possible, I would be willing to experiment with either a pellet-firing repeater using some of the new lead-free pellets, or try an airsoft gun. It is really difficult to find accuracy tests other than ‘minute of tin can’ or trigger weight specs for any of these non-match airguns, so I’m having a hard time finding something to meet my needs.

    Thanks for putting me on to the C55 and B98. They won’t work for this need, but they look like great fun and would be nice companions to my IZH-46M. I shot a FWB 300 in silhouette extensively years ago and you just can’t beat a Feinwerkbau trigger!

    Again, thanks in advance for your help!

    Jeff

    • Jeff, when you talk about mimicking the action of a semi-auto, “full metal gas blow-back” airsoft springs to mind. 1/2″ at 5 meters might be pushing it a bit, but I think that 1″ is quite feasible. In terms of realism in operation, I don’t know if you’re gonna get the same level in any other sort of non-firearm that you can get in a GBB.

    • Jeff,

      There is no BB gun currently made that meets the requirements you mentioned. And the lead-free pellets you mention are not accurate. The gun may be accurate, but those pellets will throw it off. That’s why lead-free pellets are not sanctioned for serious competition at the regional and national levels.

      The most accurate pellet pistol that’s a repeater is either the Drulov DU-10 or the IMI Desert Eagle. Both can easily shoot half-inch groups at 5 meters with high-quality lead target pellets, but I don’t think they can come close to that with lead-free pellets.

      B.B.

  23. @Vince- thanks for the heads-up about the GBB airsoft… I’ll have to look into one of those. I know a lot of people use them for firearms training, but I wondered about the accuracy. Do you know of a site with accuracy tests of airsoft guns?

    @B.B.- Thanks for the info about the Drulov and the Desert Eagle, I’ll have to consider one of these. After reading your findings on the lead-free target pellets on July 28, I have to agree. Doesn’t seem like they’ll be performing the way I need them to anytime soon.

  24. I need help searching this blog. I never seem to find what I’m loking for although I know it’s there. Today I wanted to find articles and comments on the IZH-46, specifically on what pellets seem to work best, but the only hit I get is on “Looking back at the FWB C-20 pistol – Part 3”.

    Any suggestions? Any tips on how to search past articles?

    -CJr

  25. Just purchased an Umarex SA177. Accuracy not bad. Surprised at the heavy trigger pull. I was using some older Daisy BBs. Every now and then it didn’t shoot. Dropped the magazine and shook out the BB each time. One time after doing this I pulled the trigger without the mag back in and the gun went full auto. This was after a few shots with a new CO2 cartridge. I little while later while shooting a little quicker the gun went full auto with the mag in but no BBs shot out. I shook out two BBs. Returned the mag but couldn’t get it to go full auto again.

    A couple months ago I purchased Umarex’s Beretta PX4 blow back pistol. Shot about 32 Crosman’s flat wadcutter match pellets with problems then the mechanism to rotate the magazine quit. Nothing was sheared off either plastic 8-shot rotating mag at either end of the stick magazine. I had to take out the mag and rotate it manually for each shot. I returned the gun. I was very unimpressed with how far off the sights were.

    I like the heft of their H+K bb gun and the PPK/S from what I’ve seen online. Any comments on these?

    • Tom,

      First comment is you need to read the entire report. You are on Part 1 and there are three parts.

      Go here:

      /blog/2010/06/umarex-sa-177-part-3/

      Second, the PPK/S is a wonderful BB gun, but it’s not too accurate.

      Three, your full-auto experience is usually when a pistol with blowback reaches the end of the CO2 cartridge. It’s very common in some guns.

      Four, do you mean the HK USP or the HK P30? There are two HK BB buns.

      B.B.

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