Category Archives: Umarex

Umarex S&W 586 Stocked Part 3

Posted on by ↓ 0 Comments

Umarex S&W 586 Stocked Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

The revolving Carbine-Pistol goes to work

By Dennis Adler

It is a totally different feel for a revolver when you mount a shoulder stock behind it. As a Carbine-Pistol you have a more secure hold and stable target picture.

Time has the effect of diminishing some things. Wear and age are not the same and most gun finishes wear unless meticulously stored, age is relative to the gun, what materials were used in its construction and the quality of the finish; some seem to be impervious to time, others can deteriorate whether they are used or not. Heavy use almost always brings about wear. Still we find 100 year old and even 150 year old pistols in excellent condition and similarly dated examples with worn finishes, broken, lost or replaced parts. This is not news to anyone who collects firearms or even follows the gun collecting hobby by looking at auction catalogs. Airguns have similar issues with the passing of time and most mechanical problems can be repaired. One of my original Umarex Walther CP99 pistols had to be sent in to have the seals replaced after 15 years. Another, now 18 years old, is as good as the day I got it. Both were stored the same and had about equal use. But, the diminishing effects of time on the finish and performance of a gun are not what I am most concerned with for this final chapter on the Umarex S&W Model 586-6; rather what happens to a model when it remains in production for an extended period of time. read more

Umarex S&W 586 Stocked Part 2

Posted on by ↓ 1 Comments

Umarex S&W 586 Stocked Part 2 Part 1

Lock, Stock, and Barrel

By Dennis Adler

When period era designs collide you can often get an interesting result. The idea of a shoulder stock on a revolver goes back to the Colt 3rd. Model Dragoon and 1851 Navy. Putting a shoulder stock on a contemporary revolver, however, is unusual, on a CO2 pellet-firing revolver, unique. The S&W combination is made in Germany by Umarex. MSRP for the 6-inch 586 is $269 and the shoulder stock $39.95 Total package MSRP comes to $308.95 but an “open box” gun and shoulder stock can cost as little as $240.

The S&W licensed Umarex S&W Model 586-6 is a hefty CO2 revolver based on S&W’s centerfire Model 586 Distinguished Combat Magnum, which was manufactured from 1981 to 1999. Just as the 586 Distinguished Combat Magnum was being phased out of the Smith & Wesson lineup, it was being introduced as an S&W licensed Umarex CO2 model. While this is counter to today’s manufacturing strategies which have centerfire and matching CO2 model at the same time for training purposes (or simply to make the airgun more desirable), this was seldom a driving force behind CO2 models back at the end of the 20th century. In fact, it was more common for a discontinued centerfire pistol to be resurrected as an airgun, but times change. And that occasionally leads to more interesting products. Such is the case with the Umarex S&W Model 586, a near 20 year-old design that is getting a new lease on life with the availability of an adjustable shoulder stock. read more

Umarex S&W 586 Stocked Part 1

Posted on by ↓ 7 Comments

Umarex S&W 586 Stocked Part 1

The revolving Carbine-Pistol has a history

By Dennis Adler

In 1855 the U.S. Cavalry was issued a large caliber, single shot U.S. Springfield pistol with a detachable shoulder stock. It was intended for combat at longer ranges than pistols, but more efficiently than the Model 1855 U.S. Springfield rifles being carried by the infantry.

When is a handgun not a handgun? When it is a Pistol-Carbine. The idea of taking a handgun and attaching a shoulder stock to the butt, thus making it more suitable for shooting accurately at greater distances goes as far back as the mid 1800s. One of the earliest and most successful designs was the .58 caliber, single shot, U.S. Springfield Model 1855 Pistol-Carbine, which was derived from the 1855 U.S. Springfield Rifled Musket. The Pistol-Carbine was designed by the U.S. Ordnance Department specifically for use by the cavalry, as it provided both a saddle pistol and, with the detachable stock, a carbine that was reasonably effective, both on horseback, or for dismounted cavalry. read more

Umarex Walther CP 88 Part 3

Posted on by ↓ 4 Comments

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

Posted on by ↓ 4 Comments

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

Posted on by ↓ 7 Comments

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

Posted on by ↓ 5 Comments

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