Umarex Komplete air rifle.
This report covers:
- Charge the rifle
- Load the circular magazine
- Benjamin Single Die pellets
- JSB Exact Jumbo RS
- RWS Hobby
- Discharge
- Shot count
- Trigger pull
- Cocking
- Degassing
- Why no piercing the first time?
- Impressions so far
- Summary
Today we shoot the Umarex Komplete air rifle for velocity. I usually go into a test like this open-minded, but in the case of the Komplete since I did not know anything about its performance I did read some reviews before starting. They advised shooting light to medium-weight pellets, along with the Insyder video we saw in Part 1.
I also read the manual completely, just in case there were things I needed to know. Because I did that my man-card is invalidated for some time but at least I knew what to expect — I thought.
Charge the rifle
The first step was to install a 32-gram NitroAir cartridge. The manual says to put some RWS Chamber lube on the tip of the cartridge before piercing. I don’t have any so I used Super Lube o-ring lubricant. It’s silicone and safe for use in high-pressure air. The gas in the Komplete nitrogen cartridge doesn’t support combustion but if I ever attach a high-pressure air tank I want the rifle’s insides to be safe.
The cartridge did not pierce the first, second or third time. Then I really turned it so hard things started flexing then I backed the cartridge out a few turns. On that try it did pierce. I’d like to hear the experiences of Komplete owners on this. To know the cartridge was pierced I fired one blank shot which will be counted in the total shot count.
Load the circular magazine
I loaded the circular magazine with 10 pellets for the first velocity test. The mag loads easily but it is important to keep a finger under the loading hole or the pellets with drop straight through.
Benjamin Single Die pellets
First to be tested were Benjamin Single Die pellets that I call Bullseyes. Ten averaged 928 f.p.s. The low was 921 and the high was 938, a difference of 17 f.p.s. At the average velocity this pellet developed 27.35 foot-pounds at the muzzle. That’s good hunting power.
JSB Exact Jumbo RS
The second pellet tested was the 13.43-grain JSB Exact Jumbo RS dome. Ten averaged 946 f.p.s. The low was 936 and the high was 954—a difference of 18 f.p.s. At the average velocity this pellet developed 26.69 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
RWS Hobby
The third pellet I tested was the 11.9-grain RWS Hobby wadcutter. Ten averaged 972 f.p.s. The low was 957 and the high was 984—a difference of 27 f.p.s. At the average velocity Hobbys generated 24.97 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. And this pellet did exceed the 975 f.p.s. velocity quote, so this Komplete is testing as the description says it should.
Discharge
The test rifle is pretty loud. It registered 107 dB on my sound meter.
Shot count
At this point in the test I had fired 31 shots. I went back to the Benjamin Bullseyes that averaged 928 f.p.s. before and I fired the following shots.
Shot………Vel.
32………….924
33………….893
34………….907
35………….910
36………….918
37………….917
38………….914
39………….905
40………….903
41………….881
42………….903
43………….876
44………….864
45………….857
46………….845
You decide where to stop—or even if I went far enough in the test. I guess it all depends on what you want to do. If you’re hunting squirrels in the deep woods there are perhaps 40 good shots in the Komplete. If you’re shooting pigeons in the corn crib where the distances are close perhaps there are more than 46 shots per cartridge.
Trigger pull
The test rifle trigger breaks at 2 pounds 14 ounces /1304.7 grams. I think it’s a two-stage trigger but stage two, if it is there, is extremely vague. For the sake of safety I will treat it as a single-stage trigger.
Cocking
The Komplete sidelever cocks very easily. I have read on one forum where some UK airgunners prefer bolt actions to sidelevers, but I personally like this one a lot!
Degassing
After shooting I degassed the rifle and unscrewed the cartridge to keep the face seal from taking a set. Degassing was easy enough with the 5mm Allen wrench that was provided but I must caution shooters with two observations. First the degassing took well over a minute’s time. It was closer to two minutes. And when no more gas came out I unscrewed the cartridge Then more gas did come out—a lot more! So be careful.
After removing the cartridge to ensure the piercing pin completely pierced the cartridge (and it did) I screwed the cartridge part way in again to protect the face seal from airborne dirt.
Why no piercing the first time?
After examining the pierced hole in the NitroAir cartridge and seeing a clean and perfect hole I think I know why I did not detect that the cartridge was pierced when I tried it. I think the gas was contained in the cartridge by the piercing pin mechanism and I kept screwing it down because I never heard it pierce.
I should have tried unscrewing the cartridge a few turns and checking to see if it was pierced. At least I hope that’s the case. I will test my theory for you in the next report that will be the first accuracy test.
Impressions so far
The .22-caliber Umarex Komplete seems like a precharged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle to me. It’s a bit loud but entirely tolerable. The trigger is vague but light enough to work with. The sidelever works smoothly and it’s very light and feeding was perfect!
Summary
I like the Komplete so far. Yes, it hasn’t yet been fired on high pressure air, but since nitrogen comprises almost 80 percent of the gas in air I think it’s pretty close.
If an optional air tank becomes available for the Komplete I think it might be a best buy. Sure switching to air will be costly because of the support equipment needed to fill the reservoir but the Komplete let you get your feet wet at a relatively low starting cost.
In PA’s site one reviewer says the Nitro air cartridge works great with the Sig mcx. If you can verify/test this alternative it might be great news for “88 grams” users.
Tom,
Looks like Umarex is into something here. If only there was a way to make it backyard friendly.
Siraniko
I believe there’s a couple companies starting to make suppressors for it, Siraniko.
Siraniko
See my reply to BB below. In my humble opinion the Komplete is definitely back yard friendly. I would give it a 3 on the old noise scale.
Deck
Umarex may be on to something here. This may actually be a way to bring some of the sproinger folks over to “the Darkside”. Yeah, I know some will never, ever make it over the bridge and that’s OK, but this will at least give some a rather inexpensive way to test the waters without diving in headfirst. Just so you know, I used a hand pump for years before I became old and fat and went big bore. I had no problem pumping up my early PCPs and SSPs.
As I have a compressor and a carbon fiber tank and a hand pump, this has not real attraction for me, but a Discovery/Maximus/3622 does. I am really hoping for the 3677 to hit the market soon.
The latest news from RRHFWA is that I put up my dartboard in my new garage Saturday and tried out my Webley Junior some. I had to step back a good ways because of the power it has, but it does pretty good and sure is fun. I do need to get a new trigger spring though.
P.S.
RWS Hobby
Third sentence
The low was 957 band (and) the high was 984—a difference of 27 f.p.s.
RR,
I didn’t see your correction until this morning—a day later.
I corrected it. Thanks.
BB
BB
I have both .177 and .22 Komplete rifles and have had no issues with either nitrogen or CO2 cartridge piercing. I just tighten the turn screw like I do many CO2 airguns and shoot a blank shot to confirm piercing.
I don’t think mine are loud but I don’t have a sound meter, just my ears. I would estimate it as moderate.
Do you plan to test CO2 also?
Deck
Deck,
Yes, I do plan to test CO2 as well.
BB
Thanks for the interesting report. I am wondering if the odd piercing and degassing experiences might somehow be related. Speaking from no experience with the larger gas cartridges, it seems to me that the nitrogen cartridges should behave similar to the CO2 cartridges when they become empty. And therefore the extended times for degassing, and the retained gas afterwards seem abnormal to me. Maybe some others with experience with these nitrogen cartridges can chime in on this.
Definitely makes a practical “pseudo” PCP hunting rifle – the one objection FM has is if something goes wrong when installing a nitro cartridge, or even during your shooting and the cartridge degasses completely, that’s an “ouch” to the pocketbook.
B.B.
Your comments about the trigger got me thinking, always dangerous…..
Most of your readers understand that a springer trigger is a series of levers and fulcrums that are under tension. They are holding back a piston that is under extreme compression due to the compressed spring.
How does a precharged airgun’s trigger work? I dunno….
All I know it that it needs to open a hammer spring.
I find it very interesting that you can take a Rekord trigger from one HW springer and install it in any other HW springer. Breakbarrels, side cockers, underlevers, all the same.
How come PCP’s can not do that?
-Yogi
That would be an interesting series! Plus to compare how airgun triggers (of the various airgun families) to firearm triggers (of the various firearm families).
Yogi,
I don’t know why that is. It seems like a good idea but remember that Rekord triggers only work in Weihrauch rifles. We have seen Marauder triggers adapted to work in Discoverys, so it sometimes is done, but there is certainly a lot of room for improvement.
BB
Yogi,
Liability Lawyers make money advising or working for each manufacturer or plaintiff.
None of the various manufacturers are really/typically interested in STANDARDIZATION outside of their own product lines and some of them don’t even bother with that simple step. Even though many airguns are sold most are sold in Big Box Stores to folks who will never think of airguns as anything more than toys for plinking. Do those kind of folks (or even the typical CHEAP more informed airgun owner) want to spend more than many Price Point PCPs cost?
https://geissele.com/triggers.html
I would love to have a “drop in” option for most of my airguns but doubt it will ever come to pass. For now it takes gunsmithing and not many firearm gunsmiths will touch an airgun because of cheap/thin materials and on PCPs the loss of integrity of the pressure vessel/Valve body (receiver) RISK that typically is what the triggers are mounted to.
That’s my experience based take on it.
shootski
Yogi,
“How does a precharged airgun’s trigger work? I dunno….
All I know it that it needs to open a hammer spring.”
How they work: https://quackenbushairguns.com/outlaw_manual_updates.htm
The photographs of toward the end will show most of your answer.
shootski
shootski
Yogi, to expand a bit on shootski’s response, I don’t think it is entirely a matter of lisbility, the issue could be economics, as well. I would bet very few airguns sell in the volumes needed to make replacement triggers economically feasible. The “Charlie da Tuna” trigger replacement for the ubiquitous Gamo springer trigger was notable, but only for those specific triggers. There are aftermarket triggers for the millions of AR pattern rifles out there, as well as for the millions of Remington 700 rifles and certain others, but not for every limited production powder burner or airgun. It is simply not economically feasible. I have read that in certain cases, the existing adjustment screws on certain airguns could be replaced with longer screws to increase the range of adjustability. At the end of the day, all mechanical triggers hold back tension, whether it is the spring of a spring piston, the hammer spring of a pneumatic or the firing pin spring of a bolt action rifle, etc.
Hi, this is my experience so far with the .22. I have changed 2 cartridges and have not had an issue with puncture, but at first I thought I had because I did not hear a hiss or anything like that. In my research most reviewers thought it was a single stage trigger but a couple thought it might be a two stage. I find it loud but have nothing to compare to, I live in Canada and am not sure if the moderator looking thing on the end has been modified to meet our silly laws.I did come across a company in the states offering a slip on moderator sorry but I do not remember the name of the company as I couldn’t use anyway. I am having great luck with H and N hunter extremes in 18.21gr.It sure is fun compared to my break barrel.
i finally have the mtr77 dialed in how i want it shooting. third spring i tried, it is .113” wire. test fit cut one coil at a time until it was around 3/4” of preload maybe a little less. hits where i’m aiming. knocks over what i needed it to. it’s ever so slightly too loud but i can live with that.
here’s the mtr itself
springman3000,
Congratulations in making an air rifle to your specifications!
Siraniko
Springman3000,
Dittos on the congratulations on making this airgun into what you wanted. It’s very satisfying to do.
Enjoy!
Will
Good job!
Problem with this air rifle, is that finding nitro cylinders in Hawaii, and trying to order them to be shipped here is going to be an exercise in futility. If they make a pcp version suitable for a hand pump, then maybe.
The cost per shot is sure to be higher with the cost of transporting anything to your state. There are relatively low cost “price point” PCPs that can be easily filled with a hand pump or from a tank of compressed air (assuming many dive shops in Hawaii from which to refill an air tank), such as the Crosman 3622. You could go to Pyramyd’s website, select Airguns, then PCPs, and sort by lowest cost to highest and you should be able to start researching from there.
Your comment makes me think about comparing this airgun to a .22 Long Rifle powder burner, especially using lower power or subsonic cartridges, both on a cost per shot basis as well as whether one is easier to own and operate in places like Hawaii.
BB,
The Komplete shoots hard using Nitrogen and has a smooth operating side lever like a PCP and I bet it will be reliably accurate. I agree with what you said in part one, that at more than 30 cents per Nitrogen shot, the Komplete has good power for the more serious hunter/pester, who isn’t doing much plinking with the gun.
The 88 gram CO2 cartridges will give slower pellet speeds and many more shots per dollar. If the muzzle velocity is 12fps or better using CO2, it will still be a good hunting tool for smaller pests and gives the plinker a less costly way to enjoy shooting this gun. I like that the Komplete gives us the option of using two fuels for now, with a potential third choice of a nice air bottle and hopefully with a Foster fitting, coming in the future.
RidgeRunner,
Congratulations on the new garage and the dartboard setup! Glad that you had the chance to break in the new structure shooting darts from the Webley. Does it get a bench with a vice attached and pegboard behind it? And a radio? Good news!
Will