Author Archives: Dennis Adler

Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 3

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Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

Where it all began 22 years ago

By Dennis Adler

I had a fairly calm day for the shooting test and a temperature in the mid 80s. Both CP 88 models (the Compact is in the holster at my waist) functioned perfectly and I was able to shoot an average of eight rotary magazines on one 12 gr. CO2 at optimum velocity. All tests were shot from 10 meters (33 feet) fired off hand as pictured.

I suppose it is fair to ask why I would spend a week reviewing air pistols that are 22 years old, and the answer to that is simple; after 22 years they are still being manufactured, and precious few pellet-firing, multi-shot air pistols are built as well. Newer air pistols can out perform them in terms of capacity, loading system, and blowback action, but when it comes to hands down manufacturing quality very few modern air pistols can touch them. Those of you who have the Walther CP 88 know what I am talking about, and those of you reading this and wondering if you should get one of these old pellet models, are beginning to realize by this third installment, that these late 20th century Umarex Walther models are tangible proof that “new and improved” can be highly overrated. read more

Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 2

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Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 2

Where it all began 22 years ago

By Dennis Adler

The Walther CP 88 4-inch Compact and 6-inch Competition (which is the Champion barrel length) models have been around for 22 years, so they are not newcomers to the precision CO2 airgun field, but rather 21st century standard bearers, with a long enough production history to have become somewhat iconic (and if you happen to have a nickel model even rare) in the airgun world. The latest matte black oxide finish on the current CP 88 models has the same great design and can still be fitted with factory optional hardwood checkered grips.

There’s an Old West story I like, and I have probably told it before, but it seems appropriate for the Walther CP 88. It is about a young cowboy who rides into town after getting paid for a cattle drive and decides that in addition to a hot bath, a shave and haircut, he wants to buy himself a new handgun. He goes into the local gun shop, asks the proprietor what he has, and is shown the latest .45 caliber Colt revolver, a Model 1878. “How do you like this? Newest thing out; a double action forty-five” he tells the young man. The cowboy handles the gun, looks at the trigger and turns up his nose. “Ain’t worth a row of beans,” he says, “no man ‘cept a tenderfoot wants that kind of thing? Ye see, a man that’s used to the old style is apt to get fooled, not pull her off in time, and then he’ll be laid out colder’n a wedge.” He hands it back and tells the shop owner, “Give me an old reliable all the time.” A lot of airgun owners can relate to that, “…Ye see these new fangled blowback action pistols don’t always work right, shoot slower, ain’t as accurate and might even wear out. Give me an old reliable all the time.” In the world of CO2 powered, pellet-firing, multi-shot semiautomatic pistols, an “old reliable” happens to be the Walther CP 88. read more

Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 1

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Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 1

Where it all began 22 years ago

By Dennis Adler

In 1996, Umarex and Walther began a new chapter in the history of airguns with the innovative CP 88; a 4.5mm pellet-firing, CO2 powered semiautomatic pistol available in two versions based on the 9x19mm P 88 Compact and P 88 Champion (Competition). These latest CO2 models remain identical to the original 1996 versions.

If I were to go back to the very first pellet-firing air pistol I owned I would have to go back to the 1960s when I was in my early teens and had a Marksman MPR, a single shot pellet pistol (it also had a 20-shot spring fed BB magazine making it a repeater, if you call having to pull the slide back to cock it for every shot “repeating”). Pellets, however, had to be inserted individually at the breech. In a lot of ways not much has changed in that respect with single shot pistols and air rifles. The Marksman looked like a Model 1911 and was a good BB/pellet gun for the time, and I have to say, it was also what got me interested in both air pistols and small caliber revolvers and semi-autos. By the time I was in my 20s I was already a collector. I still have the very first .22 caliber rimfire semi-auto I ever owned, an Erma Navy Luger that I bought in 1972. As for the Marksman, it got lost somewhere along the way but amazingly Marksman still manufacturers a version of this same gun, the Model 2002. The MPR was built from 1958 to 1977. More to the point, at least in my case, is that one very interesting or groundbreaking BB or pellet gun can lead to a lifetime of collecting and shooting. In 1996 that happened for many Americans with a company named Walther, (yes that Walther) and an innovative CO2 powered, 8-shot pellet pistol accurately copied from the 9x19mm semiautomatic Walther P 88 model. When it was introduced in 1996, the Walther CP 88 was the first of its kind and the beginning of a new era in air pistol design and manufacturing. read more

First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 3

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First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

Almost the gun you have been waiting for

By Dennis Adler

It is a form of Glock Perfection; the CO2 model is Glock’s first .177 caliber model (there have been Airsoft versions previously) and the G19 looks exactly like a 9×19 Glock pistol in every detail right down to the finish on the slide.

As a Glock training gun the new G19 non-blowback action model serves as a basic hands-on tutorial on holstering, drawing, aiming and firing a G19. It’s a 1-2-3 process that is fundamental to learning to shoot, whether a Glock or any semi-auto or revolver. What is lacking is feedback, i.e., any sense that the gun is working beyond the audible sound of the air pistol firing. No blowback action slide to instruct in sight reacquisition. It is an imperfect trainer in that regard but for practicing the basic handling skills for a Glock, including the magazine release, this less than $80 CO2 pistol has authentic design, weight, balance in the hand, and provides a basis for learning to properly fire a pistol with a Safe Action trigger. With a Glock, aside from specially modified guns, the only safety (externally) is that thin, cantilevered blade projecting from the trigger shoe. Glock put the concept on the map, others, many others, have followed, but no other CO2 semiautomatic air pistol has yet offered a working Glock version until now. read more

First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 2

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First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 2 Part 1

Almost the gun you have been waiting for

By Dennis Adler

This is the air pistol, not an actual 3rd generation G19 but there are only two obvious differences, the crossbolt safety at the top of the trigger and the fact that the otherwise perfect slide that reads GLOCK 19 AUSTRIA is not followed by the 9×19 caliber marking. From an initial hands-on training experience this CO2 model is the same as picking up an actual G19.

How do we begin to evaluate a “new” CO2 pistol that has its design based on a 3rd Generation G19 at a time with the new Gen5 G19 models are out? First, from a purely external view, this is a physically over the top presentation in fine detail in an otherwise underwhelming package that lacks the two vital features most Airgun Experience readers and air pistol enthusiasts regard as obligatory, blowback action and a self-contained CO2 BB magazine. Nevertheless, for the Glock CO2 model, the major visual differences between a G19, G19 Gen4 and new G19 Gen5 are almost all internal, with the exceptions of ambidextrous slide stop levers, new frontstrap configuration without finger grooves (which is similar to the second version Glock grip design pictured in Part 1), new nDLC black nitride-type finish, and a slightly flared mag-well on the new Gen5. Most of these external changes (particularly the grip redesign) are also in concert with Glock 17M and 19M pistols now built for the FBI, the balance of 20 improvements over the Gen4 deal with changes to internal components and the barrel. However, Glock still makes the 3rd generation G19 and Gen4 models as well, so the new CO2 pistol, on the surface, is simply based one of three G19 designs, not a discontinued model. If you look at the 3rd generation G19 as a lower-priced “entry level” model (the MSRP for a standard G19 is $599, the Gen4 $649, and Gen5 $699), then the CO2 model is by intent an “entry level” gun. You have to think Glock. read more

First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 1

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First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 1 Part 2

Almost the gun you have been waiting for

By Dennis Adler

The G19 was the second Glock model. A compact version of the G17 it was introduced in 1988. The G19 has remained a staple of the Glock line through the current Gen4 series. This, by the way, is the new CO2 model not a 9mm G19.

Ever since the 2018 Shot Show and the debut of the Umarex Glock G19 there has been speculation as to what the first model introduced would be. The wait is over; it is an entry level, non-blowback version with a stick magazine. Don’t start screaming yet, there is a lot to understand about getting Glock to the table let alone signing on to have a CO2 version of their groundbreaking 1980’s semi-auto put into production by Umarex. Glock is, in a word, conservative in its manufacturing and marketing as only an Austrian company can be. I have been writing about and testing Glock pistols (as one of the original writers for GLOCK AUTOPISTOLS magazine) for more than a decade and understanding Glock and founder Gaston Glock makes this equally groundbreaking CO2 version of the Glock 19 Compact all the more impressive. But first, let’s go back to what makes a Glock, a Glock. They call it “Glock Perfection” and it is evident even in this entry level CO2 model. read more

1895 Nagant vs. 1895 Nagant Part 3

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1895 Nagant vs. 1895 Nagant Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

The Russian Version of BBs vs. Pellets

By Dennis Adler

The Gletcher Model 1895 Nagant pistols deliver design quality, accuracy in features as well as downrange, and a choice of either a smoothbore BB or rifled barrel version. Gletcher also has a nickel silver version which is a sharp looking gun, but very few, if any were originally nickel plated. The blued guns were, however, sometimes engraved. The Gletcher models open up a variety of possibilities for customizing as well as just being authentic copies of one of the most famous military revolvers in history.

Like the Umarex Colt Peacemakers and the ASG Dan Wesson Model 715 double action revolvers, the Gletcher Model 1895 Nagant double actions are a perfect set for BB and pellet-firing cartridges. The Nagant models are also true to their centerfire predecessors with the exception of a manual safety on some of the newer production guns, but even the Peacemakers and Dan Wesson CO2 models are fitted with these added safety mechanisms. And let me digress on that for a moment because there are several reasons for adding manual safeties to air pistols when their centerfire counterparts, except most semi-autos, were never equipped with them. read more