Today reader Ian McKee, whose blog handle is 45Bravo, tells us about the velocity of the new Zelos.
If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me at blogger@pyramydair.com.
Take it away, Ian
Umarex Zelos precharged pneumatic air rifle: Part Two
by Ian McKee
Umarex Zelos.
This report covers:
- Now onto the show
- JSB Jumbo Extreme
- JTS Dead Center 18.1
- JSB 15.89-grain dome pellets
- Benjamin Single Die 14.3-grain
- Crosman Premier Dome 14.3 grain from the tin
- Stepping up the game
- Shot count and velocities
- Summary
Today we will look at the velocity and shot count of the .22 caliber Umarex Zelos.
But first I wanted to clarify a statement I had made about the shrouded barrel of the Zelos. I said the barrel was shrouded so there was some degree of moderation from the factory. I should have included a photo of the barrel centering device, that is also an air stripper that has a rubber o-ring to ensure a good fit. It is ported so the air is diverted rearward so you do get the benefit of the full volume of the shroud.
Not counting pennies here either, it’s very high quality for something that is completely hidden. Many other companies use plastic for this part, IF they even have one in their guns.
Now onto the show
Get comfortable, grab a beverage. This is going to be a little boring, a little surprising, and a long one.
All testing was done with the FX Pocket Radar Chronograph so you will get graphs.
Using the gauge on the rifle as it is easy to read, I filled the rifle to the prescribed 3625 psi between every shot string.
The regulator is set at 2000 psi from the factory, I will leave it there for now to see what pellets (or slugs) shoot well with factory settings.
JSB Jumbo Extreme
Starting with what is probably the most commonly used premium pellet — the JSB Jumbo Heavy. Ten shots had a high of 937 f.p.s., a low of 916 f.p.s., with an average of 928 f.p.s.. The extreme spread was a little high at 21 f.p.s.
The literature for the Zelos says it delivers 24.7 fpe (foot pounds of energy). But in real life it is generating between 34 and 35 fpe with this pellet.
The spread is more than I expected for this pellet, but since it was the first pellet fired from the gun I will revisit it in a bit.
JTS Dead Center 18.1
Ten of the JTS Dead Center 18.1-grain pellets clocked 937 fps high, 928 fps low, average 933 fps. The extreme spread was only 9 fps. Hovering around the 35 fpe mark, this thing is a hammer shooting well above its advertised energy level.
This is the type of spread I was expecting from the JSB pellets.
JSB 15.89-grain dome pellets
Ten of the JSB 15.89’s showed us a high of 967 fps, a low of 958 fps, with an average of 964 fps. The spread was 9 fps for this pellet as well, with a muzzle energy of 32.8 fpe.
Another pellet with only 9 fps spread. Zelos is the name and consistency is the game!
Benjamin Single Die 14.3-grain
Ten of the Benjamin Single Die domes had a high of 995, a low of 988, averaged 992 fps. They had an extreme spread of only 7 fps, while generating just over 31 fpe.
Only 7 fps spread! I hope this pellet does well in the accuracy department.
Crosman Premier Dome 14.3 grain from the tin
Ten of the Crosman Premiers gave us a max velocity of 993 fps and a low of 988 fps. The average was 991 fps with an extreme spread of only 5 fps. There were 31 fpe generated at the muzzle.
Only 5 fps spread with a budget pellet; the regulator certainly is consistent.
Moving down in weight — the lightest pellet I tested is the RWS Hobby weighing in at 11.9 grains. Unlike the others, this is a wadcutter design and we will see how it performs in the tests with the others.
Ten of the RWS 11.9 grain Hobby pellets gave us a max velocity of 1053 fps, a low of 1037 fps, with an average of 1044 fps. The spread was 16 fps. It was the second highest spread of the day, generating between 28 and 29 fpe.
While I don’t expect the RWS Hobby wadcutters to perform well, I was trying to see how fast the lightest lead pellet I have would go.
It’s a lightweight wadcutter plinking pellet that’s being pushed well beyond its intended operating velocity.
Stepping up the game
The Zelos ships with two of the 20-round rotary mags so let’s start shooting full mag shot strings with the lowest extreme spread pellets.
Now that the gun has some rounds through it and the regulator has had time to settle in, let’s revisit the JSB 18.13 domes to see if the extreme spread has settled down.
This time 20 of the JSB 18.13 domes gave us a high of 935 fps, a low of 921 fps, with a spread of 14 fps over 20 shots. That’s a little more like what I expected.
This is more of what I was expecting from this pellet/rifle combination.
20 of the Crosman Premier domed pellets showed us a high of 997 fps, a low of 988 fps, with a 992 fps average, and 9 fps extreme spread.
Only 9 fps spread, with an inexpensive pellet.
20 of the 14.3-grain Benjamin single die pellets gave us 995 as a high, 990 as a low, and 994 as an average with 5 fps as an extreme spread.
Only 5 fps spread for 20 rounds!
Shot count and velocities
Let’s see what we get for a shot count and velocities from the fill pressure to the reg pressure. Since the Benjamin single die gave us only 5 fps spread over 20 shots let’s see what it will do with 40 shots.
Again, filling to the 3625 psi, 40 shots gave us a high of 995, a low of 984, and an extreme spread of 11 fps.
Only 11 fps spread for 40 rounds!
The pressure gauge showed exactly 2000 psi after that string, so I decided to see if it was truly about to fall off the reg at 2 mags.
I refilled, then fired 6 blank shots. I had to open another tin of the Benjamin pellets as I only had a few left in the first tin. I then fired 2 full mags of the new Benjamin pellets.
This time we had a high of 993 fps, a low of 958 fps with a spread of 35 fps.
Looking at the graph, you see a dip and a bump at shots 34-36, then a steady decline. That’s when it fell off the regulator.
If you stop at the shot before it fell off the reg, the extreme spread was only 9 fps for 40 shots!
Notice the bump at shot 34-36, then the steady drop in velocity.
Summary
With the factory settings, you can expect to get 2 full mags from a fill.
The Zelos seems to have a very stable regulator, and several pellets all gave similar performance with an extreme spread of 9 fps or less.
Two different tins of Benjamin Single Die pellets acquired several months apart from different sources only had a 2 fps difference in velocity.
Consistency-wise, this Zelos seems to like the Benjamin Single Die pellets. The 20 shot string was the last string fired and is the flattest chart of the test.
I had no jams or hiccups during the tests so far. The cycling is smooth and positive. The magazines have last round bolt stop and the trigger is good out of the box.
Next time we will look at the 25-yard accuracy of the Zelos with these pellets. (Remember, 25 yards is the new 10 yards.)
Shoot safe, have FUN!
Ian
Ian,
When loading the JSB Jumbo Extreme pellets into the chamber, did they seem to require more or less effort than the other pellets? I know it is a side lever and you are loading from the magazine but did you feel anything different on loading those pellets? They are the only one’s that showed such a wide SD.
Siraniko
No I could not feel a difference in the effort needed to seat the pellets.
Now that you mention it the JTS pellets normally are hard to seat in most guns.
In the Zelos, they went in effortlessly, just like all the other pellets.
Ian
Great report! Everything is very well documented.
The rifle seems VERY consistent.
-Y
Excellent reporting as usual. Looking forward to the accuracy and tuning reports! The Umarex Notos that I have also has very consistent velocities. I tried shooting some NSA slugs (.217 caliber, 20.2 grains) here is the results:
Umarex Notos .22
Shot count: 10
Low: 665 FPS
Hi: 669 FPS
Avg: 667 FPS
Spread: 4 FPS
STD Dev: 1.7 FPS
13-Aug-2024 09:49:52,665,FPS,19.8,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:50:40,669,FPS,20.1,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:52:56,665,FPS,19.8,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:54:29,669,FPS,20.1,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:56:01,668,FPS,20.0,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:57:22,667,FPS,20.0,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:58:51,668,FPS,20.0,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 09:59:41,665,FPS,19.8,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 10:00:31,665,FPS,19.8,FT Lbs,
13-Aug-2024 10:02:04,665,FPS,19.8,FT Lbs,
Tom nor I have tested the Notos yet, but it’s on the list.
Their advertising says the Notos as a 13 ftlb gun.
The fact that yours is turning20 ft bs is amazing.
Umarex seems to be the only Airgun company at the moment that is actually UNDERSTATING the velocities their guns are capable of.
Ian
That is because that is something the marketeers can brag about. Some companies such as Umarex allow their airguns to stand on their own.
As more and more conglomerates become aware of the financial potential available in this market, we see the various companies being gobbled up by these large conglomerates and people who have no idea what is really going on put in charge of making money with this product.
After a bit, many find it is a tough market to be in and they sell it off to another conglomerate that thinks they know better. Beeman used to be associated with top-of-the-line airguns. Now you had best take a long, hard look at a Beeman before you buy it.
There are still a few out there who are taking pride in what they put out and you may rest assured, I will do what I can to support them in their endeavors.
Time to step down from my soapbox.
Ian,
That is a superbly operating regulator in that air rifle. So far, I am quite impressed.
In part one you talk about all of the adjustments that can be done to the trigger, but in neither that or this report do you mention how the trigger feels when you pull it. It looks and functions like a true match trigger, but does it pull like one? Does it have a real nice, clean break at stage two or is it a little mushy? How low can you go? Yeah, I know, questions from a trigger snob.
You and BB have just about convinced me to let one of Uncle Xi’s airguns move into RRHFWA. I am starting to think that a little oriental gal might not be a bad thing here.
I have done nothing to the gun other than fill it, and mount an optic.
I didn’t even run a patch through the bore before testing.
That’s why I thought the high spread of the first JSB’s may be from slight diesel effect from left over oils in the bore.
The trigger.
It is crisp, it has a smooth first stage.
It took me a few shots to find the wall of stage 2.
I will say once you find it, it is like rice paper.
You feel it, and with a slight pressure it breaks through.
Ian.
Ian,
You are making it terribly difficult to say no to this air rifle.
Do it, I promise she would not be a DEI hire…
LOL! She is tempting.
Wow! Ticks a lot of boxes right out of the box and performs better than advertised. Signs of The End?!
FM,
Huh? “Signs of The End?!”
My question becomes, for how long? I will be the first to admit that Snowpeak and Nova Vista are two airgun companies that seem to want to be in the airgun market for the long haul and not just out for the quick kill.
Both of these companies seem to understand that this market is a little different than some and can be far less forgiving than many. They also seem to be willing to learn from their mistakes and when possible, correct them. They understand that if their products do not work as well as or better than advertised, no one will buy them.
Both companies also will seek out the real shooters out here and listen to what they have to say. They do seem to grasp that “OK, we are this good at this point. Can we do better?” In a dynamic world such as this that is constantly changing and still growing, sitting back on your laurels is not a good idea.
Considering how much marketing hype there is out there about “new, great, improved!” to cloak the mediocrity of many a product cut loose on the market, FM’s comment was meant to convey genuine surprise to see what appears to be an honest attempt to live up to expectations; not that FM is a party to whatever expectations the Zelos marketing team was trying to create. Do hope the company does not rest on its laurels, keeps on trucking and building better airguns and mousetraps – if they so choose.
As to FM adopting one of Wang Po’s babies, only time will tell.
LOL! I for one do understand, probably more than many others.
Snowpeak and Nova Vista have not rested on their laurels yet. They do seem to be quite determined to do their best to take over the PCP world.
The sproinger world is a bit tougher to take over and I think they know it. The Germans did set that bar pretty high. So did the UK. Can Wang Po Industries beat out the best? I may live long enough to find out. They haven’t yet.
As a slight side note to any of you folks who watched the Olympics, what were Uncle Xi’s team shooting?
I didn’t see what they were shooting.
But I can say after shooting the Air Venturi Comp 10, the trigger is right, the grips are right, the sights are there as well.
I didn’t have the chance to shoot it for precision accuracy at the cup.
But it has received very little coverage on the internet.
I hope to change that.
And I have a suspicion it comes from the same factory as the Zelos.
Ian
Ian,
I do believe it is a Snowpeak also. As I have said before, they and Nova Vista, which makes the Avenger and Avenge-X are learning what it takes to do business with us. If they keep it up, they are going to steal the business from FX and the like.
FawltyManuel,
NO!
“…adopting one of Wang Po’s babies…”
Perhaps a few of these as well?
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/what-countries-eat-dogs
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/what-countries-eat-dogs
Also limited availability in Ohio…
The Snowpeak stuff…
shootski
Ian,
I am sooooo looking forward to your next installment of the Umarex Zelos. I do appreciate you and BB doing all of this for us.
Ian, it’s an interesting rifle, and the price is quite reasonable.
But I’m not sure I’d be able to afford the Storm Trooper Commander uniform to go with it, LOL! 😉
All kidding aside, this is a great report, as usual for you. 🙂
Yeah 1300 for some molded PVC plastic sheets is a little high..
Thank you.
Ian
“Yeah 1300 for some molded PVC plastic sheets is a little high..”
For sure! My wife would kill me! 😉
thedavemyster,
Dave just think!
Halloween is just around the corner….
You know you want the Storm Trooper suit:
https://www.halloweencostumes.com/stormtrooper-authentic-costume.html?mpid=9806&utm_content=fpp&tm=tt&ap=gads&aaid=ada8T6EyiYt6m&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjbHD3o3LiAMVQV1yCh1R7gRBEAQYBSABEgJtlvD_BwE
Only 3 left…LOL!
This is the one i want:
https://www.halloweencostumes.com/the-mandalorian-adult-costume-qualux-.html
“The Mandalorian outfit must be earned! Only through valor and battle prowess may you don the Beskar Steel with pride… or at least, that used to be the way.”
shootski
That’s funny..
But relevant..
Ian
45 Bravo,
If he bought the suit Dave wouldn’t have a good reason for not buying the ZELOS BLASTER to go along with it!
Relevant.
shootski
Well guys, I think my wife could live with the $90 suit better than the $1300 one. 😉
45Bravo,
Great information on the Regulator stability.
Looking forward to the accuracy at 25
…don’t believe i consider it to be the NEW 10 though…
;^)
shootski
All winks aside, many of the new air rifles that cost over $300, but less than $700 both spring and pcp are capable one hole accuracy at 25 yards.
Shooting them at 10 yards only males a slightly smaller one hole group, lower on the paper….
Ian.
45Bravo,
Ian i’ll agree that in that price range the current crop is providing impressive groups. I was spoiled by properly prepared, rifled, and hand lapped barrels long ago.
I think at the heart of the improvement is that most manufacturers have learned the importance of reaming the barrel bore before inserting the Lands and Grooves by some means. It doesn’t add all that much to the cost but pays off in providing the accuracy that folks are finally demanding of airguns.
All to the good.
shootski