The Umarex Notos.
This report covers:
- Why am I reviewing it now?
- I missed it in 2022
- What is the Umarex Notos?
- Description
- Fill
- Power
- Trigger
- The magazine
- My plan
- Summary
This report starts a series on the Notos precharged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle from Umarex.
Why am I reviewing it now?
I try to review as many airguns as I can for you, but I also try to review in some depth. I could just take the press releases for each new airgun and make that my report as some others do. But whenever I think about a new airgun I try to put myself in the shoes of that young guy in Keokuk, Iowa who can only afford to buy one air rifle. He’s a young family man and money is tight. Would he like it? Should he buy it?
I missed it in 2022
The Notos was at the 2022 SHOT Show and I first saw in at the 2023 show. Sometimes I get things right. Other times I miss the boat. The Umarex Notos is one of those. I heard good things about it from Ian on our drive from Texas to Ohio for the recent Pyramyd AIR Cup. When I got there I heard more good things. It was Notos this and Notos that for all four days I was there. Every time the subject came up people had nothing but good things to say about it, with a single exception I will address.
By not reviewing the Notos in 2023 when it came out, it seems I missed the chance to review an air rifle that my guy in Keokuk should hear about. That ends today.
What is the Umarex Notos?
The Umarex Notos is a precharged pneumatic (PCP) carbine that’s based on an air pistol. It weighs 4 pounds, making it very lightweight. It is 34-inches long, which makes it quite short. It sells for $260, which makes it quite affordable. It comes in .22 caliber only. Let’s open the box.
We’re looking inside the Notos box. I’ve removed the plastic bags to show the airgun parts and the hang tag is tucked into the pistol grip foam slot.
Here is the Notos out of the box but not assembled.
Description
The Notos is a repeating .22-caliber PCP carbine that can also be shot as a pistol. The owner chooses which way to use it but I plan to only review it in its carbine form with the butt stock attached.
It has a sidelever on the left side of the receiver, which is most appropriate for a right-handed pistol shooter. When it’s in the carbine mode I don’t know how easy that left-side lever will be. Of course I’ll let you know.
The Notos comes without sights because an optical sight is assumed by Umarex. But in the pistol mode there are some optional open sights available. Those sights won’t work for the carbine because the rear sight is too close to the sighting eye.
Fill
The 66cc air reservoir is small for a PCP rifle, but the Notos is regulated (at $260!) and the fill goes to 250 bar/3625 psi. The shot count is therefore quite useable at 21-24 full-power shots per fill. Remember — this is a hunting gun, so a huge shot count per fill isn’t that important.
The regulator is set at 1900 psi and is not designed to be adjusted by the user. It’s there to get the most from the reservoir’s 66 cubic centimeters of air.
Power
The box tells us to expect 780 f.p.s. from the carbine’s 11.75-inch barrel. Pyramyd AIR rates the rifle at 700 f.p.s. with a 12-grain pellet. In one review a customer says he shot 14.3-grain Crosman Hollowpoint pellets out at 745 f.p.s. and other reviewers say similar things. There seems to be no agreement on the power level, so that will be a thing I will try to establish.
Trigger
The trigger is adjustable and several owners report adjusting it to a light setting. It comes set to around 4 pounds. I will decide what I want to do after trying it.
The magazine
I said there was one exception to the general great opinion shooters have with the rifle and this is it. The 7-shot rotary magazine is almost universally disliked. Even those who gave the Notos a five-star review panned the magazine. But Tyler Patner said nothing bad about it in his video, so the dislike may on a case-by-case basis.
There were so many criticisms of the magazine that I purchased an aftermarket rotary mag from a company called Maple Custom Products. They also sell a unique single-shot loader, so I bought one of those to test as well. And that brings me to my plan for this Notos.
My plan
Remember the vendor Buck Rail from the 2024 Pyramyd AIR Cup? They displayed a host of aftermarket accessories for many airguns, including the Notos. They are among many companies that make accessories and modifications for the rifle. So I bought this rifle, because if any accessory or modification requires altering the rifle, I want it to be done to an airgun I own.
Buck Rail owner, Terry Harmon told me he makes accessories for the Notos. I plan to review some of them.
What I will not do is go crazy after power. At least one person claims to get 50+ foot-pounds of energy from his Notos. I will not go there. This is an under-20-foot-pound air rifle and I don’t need mine to become a bragging-rights science experiment.
Summary
I think this series will be be a real treat. Yes, I’m late to the dance, but that may turn out to be the best way for all of us to learn about the Umarex Notos.
Welcome to the Umarex party!
While I don’t own a Notos, I have shot several that are owned by friends, I have just never got around to buying one.
You will love the Notos!
Ian
Ian,
“You will love the Notos!”
Okay, Mr. Enabler. I bought it. Your work is done! 😉
BB
Oh no, you don’t get off that easy.
Unlike retail outlets service doesn’t end at the sale.
Ian
Tom,
The Notos seems to tick all the boxes. Lightweight, budget priced, magazine fed and handy. Seems like it only has too tick off good trigger and accurate to become a very good first choice for the above named reasons. Maybe Umarex or somebody might introduce a replacement rear peep sight for this?
Siraniko
Maybe Buck-Rail will?
OhioPlinker,
I just realized that for any product to be marketable there should be a demand for it. Since the majority of shooters have been convinced to use glass sights I’m not going to hold my breath for the demand to appear. Maybe it’s something for somebody with a 3D printer to create for himself. Just so that one could maintain the carbine as something lightweight and balanced in the hand.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
There are sights available for AR type rifles that will fit the Notos. They would likely work quite well for your stated desires.
BB,
This looks like it will prove to be an interesting series; thank you.
Blessings to you,
dave
P.S. I finished your novel; and I posted a “5 star” rating for it on Amazon; I’ll email you the text of it. 🙂
dave,
Thank you for rating the book. I was very concerned about your rating because in this area you really know what you are talking about.
BB
“…in this area you really know what you are talking about.”
BB, while no expert, I’ve read the entire Bible over a dozen times. 😉
(Also, now that I’ve read it, I am going to gift a copy each to two friends. =>)
Hi BB! Yes, it sounds as if the only problem people have with the Notos is the magazine, damage to the pellets seems a common problem for people who use it.
For a different optic, over at HAM they mounted a UTG Scout scope with good results. Might want to try that.
OP,
I even have a UTG scout scope, so I might try that. Thanks,
BB
Ohio P. Beat me to the punch.
Part of my enabling service is optics.
We have already covered the Buckrail enabling.
Ian.
Perhaps this will become B.B.’s new go to pesting gun? We shall see….
This is going to be a great series! I am going to enjoy this one from a somewhat different perspective because I already have a Notos that I am having a lot of fun with. I will try to refrain from saying too much too soon because I first want to see if your experience turns out to be anything like my experience. Also, I don’t want to spoil anything.
Elmer,
Thanks for holding back on your comments. I knew some readers owned Notos-es but I want to encounter it with a little bias as possible.
BB
“excoulter”????
edlee,
“excoulter”???? 😉
BB
Sorry,, my dyslexia must have caused me to mistake encounter for excoulter. Could happen to anyone.
edlee,
I corrected my comment and then wrote that. I have access you don’t because I write the blog.
But I didn’t know you are lysdexic. Sorry.
BB
B.B.,
In NOTOS’ reply to Elmer Fudd:
A Freudian Slip perhaps? “…but I want to encounter it with a little bias…
shootski
B.B.
As they say, “better late than never.”
Should be interesting report. Is the gun to heavy to report as just a pistol?
-Yogi
Yogi,
As long as the Notos is, it feels muzzle-heavy. I will possibly consider shooting it as a pistol, but there is another surprise coming along those Notos’ lines.
BB
I for one am glad that Umarex seems to have finally discovered that PCPs are more than just CO2.
This is one of the “new” airguns that have sorely tempted me along with the Hatsan Jet 2. Now Umarex has come out with the Zelos to tempt me further. Umarex is not likely going to find a home here at RRHFWA, but they are sorely tempting me.
I am really looking forward to what “the master” thinks of this thing.
Enable on, B.B.! This does not make things easy for FM. As for optics on the Notos, red dot sight seems an option; just an uninformed opinion here. By the way, Buck-Rail has some accessories listed for the 3622, which may be of interest for those interested in being enabled into one.
B.B.,
There are 3 generations of the Notos. Which one do you have?
Notos generation l guns had two tapped holes on top of the receiver, tighter barrels, were accurate but the bores lacked polish and often needed hand lapping to tighten them up.
The Gen ll guns lost the second drilled/tapped hole on top of the receiver but the barrels were a little better made and didn’t foul as quickly.
The Gen lll have very deep, tapered crowns, some 1/2″ (12mm) or more. These barrels are even looser but pretty smooth.
It’s difficult to determine a generation 2, from generation 3, without pushing pellets through and comparing, or removing the built-on moderator, and examining the crown of the barrel.
Kevin,
I have no clue — yet. I’ll look into it.
BB
B.B.,
I have only one issue:
How do you say (pronounce) NOTOS?
NO TOSS
NOT US
NO TOES
Ñ OTO’S
kNOT US
Generative AI has this to say:
Notos is a Greek word that means “south” and has multiple meanings, including:
The Greek god of the south wind
In Greek mythology, Notus was the god of the south wind and one of the Anemoi, or wind gods. He was associated with the hot, drying winds of late summer and early autumn, and was feared for destroying crops. Notus was the son of Eos, the dawn goddess, and Astraeus, the star-god.
A Spanish term
In Spanish, noto can mean “I can sense it”, “I can see it”, or “I can tell”. Noto bóreo means “boreal tide”.
A track by The Oh Hellos
“Notos” is also the name of a track by The Oh Hellos. The track’s imagery is said to reflect the Heaths’ yearly evacuation plans in case of hurricanes, and the animal on the cover is thought to be a cicada.
So…i hope your NOTOS doesn’t go SOUTH!
Or…i hope you CAN see it…!
Even…shoot some cicadas with it!
shootski
PS: NO hot air about it…LOL!
shootski,
I say No Toes, and everyone I talked to says it the same. I reckon a European might pronounce it differently.
BB
Team
Notos – Pronunciation =Notus Greek god of the West wind
jda001
south wind