by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Umarex Legends MP40 BB submachinegun.
This report covers:
- Other interests
- Hornady Black Diamond BBs
- Semiauto?
- Umarex Steel BBs
- Full auto
- Back to Hornadys
- How many BBs?
- Shot count
- Summary
Today is accuracy day for the new Umarex Legends MP40 BB Submachinegun. I’ve read reviews that say it is surprisingly accurate, so I was hopeful.
Other interests
Besides velocity, you readers had several other things you wanted me to try. I tried a few and will also report those results. Let’s go!
Hornady Black Diamond BBs
First up were Hornady Black Diamond BBs. I loaded just 10 into the magazine, because I wanted to shoot a 10-shot group. The MP40 stops shooting after the last BB is fired, so there is no risk of dry-firing and wasting CO2. The gun already had two mostly fresh cartridges in the mag from the end of the last test, so I went with those until they were exhausted.
I shot from 5 meters, using the UTG Monopod as a rest. The stock was extended and I have to say, the sight picture is very clear and sharp. It reminds me of a 9mm H&K MP5 I once shot — very easy to aim.
Semiauto?
When the first BB fired I was surprised because it felt like a short burst instead of a single shot. The gun vibrated like many shots were firing. I actually walked to the target to make sure there was only one hole it it, and there was. Also, I counted the next 9 shots and after they were gone I pulled the trigger one more time. Nothing happened, as it shouldn’t. So, semiauto feels like full auto. That is a real plus!
The first round hit the target below the bull. I aimed at the 6 o’clock spot and I would say the BB hit about 1-3/4-inches lower.
After 10 shots were fired I looked at the target and was pleasantly surprised to see a tight little group. It’s in line with the center of the bull and measures 0.525-inches between centers. That is one of the smallest 10-shot BB groups I’ve ever shot with any gun except a Champion 499.
Ten Hornady Black Diamond BBs went into 0.525-inches at 5 meters when the MP40 was fired semiauto.
Umarex Steel BBs
Next up were 10 Umarex Precision steel BBs. I raised the rear sight leaf that gives a little elevation for this group. It moved the strike of the rounds up about one inch at 5 meters, but as you will see, it’s still a little low. Ten BBs landed in 1.012-inches at 5 meters. If I hadn’t shot the Black Diamond group first, this would be one to shout about.
Ten Umarex Precision steel BBs went into 1.012-inches at 5 meters.
Now we know the MP40 is very accurate. What’s next? Well, there was some talk about how large the groups would get when we fired all shots full auto, so let’s try that. I loaded 10 Umarex BBs and set the selector switch to full auto. Time to rock and roll!
Full auto
Ten Umarex BBs fired full-auto went into 1.128-inches at 5 meters. As you can see, they landed in the same place as when the gun was fired semiauto. Considering the way the gun bounces around, that’s pretty darn good!
Ten Umarex BBs on full-auto made this 1.128-inch group at 5 meters. Not too shabby!
Back to Hornadys
I thought Hornady Black Diamond BBs might do even better, since they did in semiauto, so I loaded 10 into the mag and attacked another target. This time the gun got away from me and I knew it as I shot. Ten Black Diamond BBs landed in 2.85-inches at 15 meters. This was all on me! You have to hold those subguns tight if you want them to shoot.
Yep! The MP40 got away from me. Ten Black Diamond BBs in 2.85-inches at 5 meters.
How many BBs?
Another question we had last time was how many BBs could be loaded into the magazine. And I discovered something. I thought people were saying the magazine would jam if the mag was overloaded, but they weren’t! They were just saying the mag would not accept 60 BBs. That’s all. No jamming. I misunderstood.
I discovered this when I tried to load 60 BBs into the mag. Remember that picture in Part 2 where I showed all the BBs stacked in a neat double stack? What I didn’t tell you was it took me several minutes of fiddling with the follower to get even that few BBs to organize correctly. Sometimes they just want to leave a hole for a BB, and there is no easy way to get a BB into that place. If you pull the follower down again you may fill that gap, but you will create two others somewhere else.
I was able to get somewhere between 52 and 55 Black Diamond BBs into the mag. It’s next to impossible to say how many there were for certain, but it was more than 50 and less than 60. When I fired in three long bursts, all the BBs came out as they should. Man was that fun! So, it’s the mag that has trouble filling all the way. That’s a relief!
Because of that I found it unnecessary to try Crosman BBs or to oil the mag slot, like some readers suggested. Whatever I could put into the mag shot out without a problem.
Shot count
Which brings me to the shot count I reported so dutifully in Part 2. I said 70 full-power shots were possible, but in this test I started with 10 on the CO2 cartridges already, and I shot a minimum of 90 more today. That’s 100 shots and the gas was still holding. So I reloaded a mag of Umarex BBs — 50+ more, and fired again. All 50 fired with power. That’s 150. Then I shot about 15 more before the gun ran out of gas. Let’s call it 160 shots to be safe. That’s a lot more than I shot last time.
Summary
I am still impressed by this BB gun. It is proving to be more fun than I anticipated — and I don’t like full-auto guns!
Hi BB
Nice report on the MP40. Yours basically parallels the performance on the one I bought last summer. You even managed to answer the one question I had regarding the hammer bounce in semi auto mode. Sort of reminds me of the hammer bounce found in the 2240 or the B3-10 pistols. Eventually with those pistols, and others, aftermarket debouncers became available. I wonder if the MP40 will see similar mods. At first, same as you, I found it a bit unsettling but I’m used to it now and don’t think I would bother with the mod even if it became available.
Another gun I picked up last summer was an STG44 in .22LR. My only complaint about it is the 25 round banana mags. They’re plastic with a slippery finish and really hard to hang on to more than one or two. The fix was one of the repro German Army canvas and leather 6 mag pouches.
These STG44 mag pouches also fit the MP40 mags perfectly.
Killed 2 birds with one stone there didn’t I!
Cheers
Dave
Redrafter,
For those that may be worried about any internal (or externals?) failing from wear or stress,…. since you have one,… can you give us any estimate/guess on how many rounds that you have put through it since you have had it?
Hi Chris
To date I have used more than two 40 count boxes of co2 cartridges in the MP40. Early on I found the max useable shot count in semi auto was around 72 rounds so about 3000 rounds so far. I load 36 rounds per mag. More realistic as the original gun held only 32 rounds. I have 4 mags which gives me almost 150 shots before reloading or nearly 300 before having to change out the co2 cartridges. Full auto shooting is less.
At 36 rounds per mag I don’t worry about BB jams or over compressing the spring. I load Daisy BB’s with a Umarex Speed Loader, 6 BB’s per thumb press and a few taps on the palm of my hand or a tree give me a nice double stack. The trick is to release the pressure a bit with the follower.
Since new I have done it this way and have never had a failure. Treat the mags gently and the gun should last a long time.
Cheers
Dave
Redrafter,
Where did you get your mags and how much were they?
🙂 That thing looks like a ton of fun, pure and simple.
BB,
Umarex has done it again. First it was the M712. Now we have the MP40. What’s next, the Sturmgewehr?
RidgeRunner
If Umarex comes out with a Sturmgewehr same quality as their MP40 or even close to GSG’s .22 cal. STG44 they will certainly have another winner!
I’m not a big fan of BB guns even though I own few, mainly due to poor accuracy, but this gun can shoot! And from a machine gun! This one looks like a ton of fun.
I don’t care for BB-guns and less for Co2 but with the high shot count and reasonable accuracy the MP40 looks like it could be a lot of fun. It would be the ultimate weapon for defense against herds of feral soda-cans 🙂
Did a quick check – there are several models are available in Canada ($355 > $410 at Oshoot.ca ) and extra magazines are $75 each.
Wonder if a HAP version would be possible. The back of the receiver could be the air reservoir and since it usually operates on Co2, the operating pressure could be low enough to make it easy to pump up.
Hank
Hank
Be carefull where you buy from in Canada. Most places Online overcharge.
Airgun Source in Peterborough has fair prices and sells the MP40 for about CA$240.00. Best price I’ve found so far and where I bought mine.
Cheers
Dave
Dave,
Agreed – you really have to watch and check all the Canadian sources before purchasing an item.
I bought my Royale 500 from AGS but they wanted $300 more for the Air Venturi compressor so I got that at Oshoot. Like always, buyer be aware.
Would be nice if we had a big outfit like Pyramyd AIR in Canada.
I hail from Perth, Ontario – about an hour west of Ottawa. What area are you in Dave?
Hank
Hank
I have place NW of Calgary in the foothills. Beautiful country but crazy weather. Snow drifts a foot deep here 2 days ago and then mowing my lawn this afternoon! Temperatures in the 70’s!
I also have a 50 yard airgun/.22LR range that can be stretched out to 100 yards. Maybe next summer. I use the range a lot, nearly every day depending on weather. This evening I put about 150 rounds down range from my JW25 .22LR. It was a great day.
Cheers
Dave
Dave,
Absolutely beautiful country out there! My Uncle lived in that area. Good fishing as well.
Yeah, our weather can change from one extreme to an other pretty quick but I gladly take our cold winters over the warmer areas subject to hurricanes.
I live 6 kilometers south of Perth on 10 acres of cedar bush and hardwoods that is part of a large spring-fed beaver flood. I am fortunate to have a real diversity of wildlife right in my front yard.
Like you I have a permanent 50 yard shooting range out my backdoor and use it nearly every day. By setting up a portable bench I have shooting lane that is almost 100 yards. I’ve set up a shooting trail – like those 3D archery trails – with spinner targets hidden along the way. Great fun for shooting at random distances.
I shoot with my .22 rimfire occasionally but since getting into PCPs I don’t shoot my powder-burners much.
Have a great day eh!
Hank
B.B.,
This is increasingly difficult not to buy. I’d really like to slow down my purchases of things air gun for a while. But you have only made my desire for one of these worse by showing it’s accuracy and ability to handle over 50 BBs.
Michael
OT, and forgive me if this information has been reported here already, but remember those .175 PLASTIC BBs that were surprisingly accurate? They are called ASG Blaster Plastic .177 (4.5mm) BBs, .13 grains. They seem not to be easily found in the U.S.
Michael
Michael,
Their unavailability is why I haven’t tested them.
B.B.
B.B.,
That’s a shame, because first of all, they might be accurate, second, they seem to be 1/2 a cent each, so while they aren’t cheap, they aren’t insanely expensive, and finally, I would like to know if they are ricochet-resistant. If they hit something hard, might they just shatter into tiny pieces that travel no more than a few feet? I have a gut feeling these are either very cool or very stupid (like a double-barreled springer), but I’d like to know which. Stuff like this drives me crazy.
Michael
Michael,
I hope they are not really stupid. Two days ago I received the 3 bottles of 1000 bbs that I ordered from a scuba shop in England. They were almost $28 delivered, but I want to know how they shoot and nobody else here was dumb enough to spend that kind of money to find out. As I get a chance to shoot them I’ll report my results. I plan to test for ricochet as you suggested as well as reusability when fired into a soft backstop. Accuracy and velocity will be checked from about a dozen or so pistols and rifles, but I’m facing some hand surgery tomorrow morning so this is back-burnered for the present.
B.B.
Very good shooting. Those groups look a little better than the MORPH (when the MORPH used just open sights) but not quite as good as the EBOS (both also Umarex guns) that you tested. Exciting results!
Doc
Halfstep,
Looking very forward to your findings/results. Also, hope all goes well with your surgery!
Doc
Doc,
Thanks for your concern. If I have any complications I’ll seek out your advice. 😉
Halfstep
Glad you got some of those plastic bb’s.
Was hoping and waiting for BB to get some. Or test with more of the ones he had. But looks like that all fell through.
So definitely post some pictures of results if you do get the chance to shoot some.
GF1
Will do, but even though my surgery went well yesterday, my hand is going to be sporting a boxing glove sized bandage for the next two weeks. Will make anything requiring fine motor skills tough.
Halfstep
Good on your surgery.
And whenever you get the chance is fine on the plastic bb’s.
Will be waiting to hear though for sure.
Bet it was TAL Scuba in Bournemouth
I was in there this morning 🙂
Dom,
I’m a little unsure of the company and, looking at what we call the return address on the package, I’m now unsure if it came from England,after all. It’s , TAL Shootingandscuba Ltd., 8 St. Catherine’s Parade, Fairmile Road, Christchurch. I thought Christchurch was Kiwi Land. Are we indeed talking about the same store?
Yeah, Christchurch is a suburb of Bournemouth, here in England (predates the NZ one by a thousand years or so lol)
Same shop, 🙂
Dom,
I’ve always thought it would be incredible to live in a country that has over a thousand years of civilization under it’s belt. All the ruins and artifacts that make it so tangible to you guys. Castles right down the road and all that. Way cool. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never trade it for the Second Amendment,( guess we actually have you guys to thank for that, come to think) but it would be a treasure in it’s own right.
Back on topic, are these plastic BBs especially popular over there, and if they are, why. Also, are they considered expensive there?
You can have a firearm here just not if you’re nuts, criminal or careless with them, we are also rather crammed in, you couldn’t really shoot outdoors without piling up dog walkers.
The British public more or less as a whole decided guns who’s primary purpose was human killing (assault rifles and handguns) could be lived without after a few nutjobs ran amok.
But we have a different relationship with our government (we’ve had them since magna carta) and our military, A lot more of us are in it per head of population, and I mean like 10 times more than the US, so we don’t have that concept that the security forces will come for us, because, well, they are us.
Totally different culture really, harder to draw parallels or compare than you’d think…. big money doesn’t affect elections as strongly as the US, there’s a limit on their TV time and our whole election process is done in a month
And yes, we’re falling over castles, we actually are, there’s a big Norman one 3 miles from me, we take it for granted
The paving slabs in my street predate the Mayflower 🙂
Dom,
Thanks for sharing that perspective. I didn’t realize that so much of the populace was military/police. I guess the close proximity to one another is why your government trusts that you’ll be more likely to use a suppressor as a courtesy to your neighbors than to commit a stealthy murder of same neighbor.
BB guns aren’t very popular at all, the air soft are only really popular with kids
Very much an Airgun thing here (they deal with nearly all our pest species just fine)
Your first gun over here would have been a BSA Cadet or Diana 15 rather than a red ryder, to be honest I don’t recommend them for kids now, far too bouncy
Dom,
Then what ARE the plastic BBs used for over there? I couldn’t find any outlet in the US for them. I assumed they must have a real market for them in your patch.
The suppressor thing is a bit irrational over there, I think the powers that be have seen too many movies, they actually are useful here, quite often farmland backs on to housing estates and suppressors are useful to keep the noise down a bit if you are clearing rabbits or crows
There is an air soft community, but it’s pretty niche, mind you, they take it awful seriously
We also get a few RWS pellets you don’t, it’s hard to work out the thinking sometimes
Michael,
I remembered you ( eventually remembered it was you, I should say) wondering if plastic Blasters will ricochet from hard surfaces or if they shatter. Well, the answer is, Yes. If they hit a really hard surface like sheet steel and concrete they will shatter and the pieces will bounce back with little energy. A glancing blow will deflect them with a very pronounced ping of a cartoon ricochet.( maybe because a tiny chunk gets knocked off the pellet?) On the other hand, if they hit something that is only medium hard, like plywood, they tend to bounce back at you with quite a bit of force. This is all at a velocity of about 390fps at the point of impact. Hope this makes you less crazy.
Attention All!
The time is fast approaching for the Fifth Annual North Carolina Airgun Show!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.instabuildsites.com/uploads/files/628ac11ee3d379ee1f2e2dceaa621b7b.pdf
There may be bigger shows elsewhere, but this is the biggest I have ever attended.
October 20th and 21st. Be there!
BB,
Is there any chance that you could reshoot the Black Diamonds at your convenience and just tell us as an aside how they shot while keeping control of the gun?
Halfstep,
I really was finished with this airgun at this point. Let me see if I can work it in somewhere.
Is this to support a decision to buy the gun? Because Black Diamonds are a little expensive to shoot full auto.
B.B.
BB,
Yes, a future purchase is a very real possibility with Xmas just around the corner. As for the Black Diamonds, I already buy them for several of my guns. It’s what they like and I only enjoy shooting accurate guns. They don’t always stand out against Daisy Zincs but when they do I don’t mind paying extra. And by the way, for those that are interested, everything shoots better than Crosman Copperheads.IMHO
Halfstep,
Okay, good answer. I’ll see what I can do.
B.B.
BB,
Thanks in advance. Just leaving a comment ( I read them all every day) in any of your future reports will suffice for me, when you acquire your next round Toit. 😉
B.B.
Very good shooting. Those groups look a little better than the MORPH (when the MORPH used just open sights) but not quite as good as the EBOS (both also Umarex guns) that you tested. Exciting results!
Doc
B.B., sorry about that. I have no idea how I did a double post. But it happened.
Doc
I guess I’m spoiled, after shooting a Air Ordnance SMG-22 for the last several years, the Umarex MP40 inda pales by comparison. Mine is one of the first run of these, from the start I fell in love with it, The only other air powered SMG I’d consider is the GMG in .22, but there were only prototypes made, and even those didn’t sell well.
I’ve fired enough full auto firearms, and I couldn’t accept the MP40 as a serious addition to my collection, it just comes across as the “toy” that it is, IMO.
Murph
Murph,
Welcome to the blog.
B.B.