Examining the Umarex Komplete air rifle: Part Four

Umarex Komplete air rifle.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

• The test
• The test nobody asked for
• Gotta say this!
• First five shots
• Next five shots
• Honest report
• Next 10 shots
• Summary

Today we’re backing the Umarex Komplete up to 21 yards / 19.2 meters to test the accuracy at a longer distance. In time I’ll add a couple new pellets to the test and subtract the ones that didn’t do well at 10 meters. There will also be a test nobody asked for.

The test

I shot the Komplete off a sandbag rest with the rifle rested directly on the bag. I shot 10-shot groups except as noted. The scope setting has not been changed since the 10-meter test in Part 3.

The test nobody asked for

In Part Three I fired a total of 36 shots. Today I started shooting with the NitroAir cartridge that was used in Part 3, so we will see:

1. If the Komplete holds pressure for more than a week.
2. What affect shooting beyond 40 shots has on group size at 21 yards.

In case it isn’t obvious, I’m testing whether you can leave the Komplete charged and ready to use as a critter-gitter at a moment’s notice. I’m also checking to see if those close shots can be taken with confidence after 40 shots have been fired on the NitroAir cartridge.

Gotta say this!

Guys, whatever you say about the Komplete—at least it looks like a rifle and not some plumber’s nightmare like many of the purpose-built precharged pneumatics (PCP) look today. And they are all boat anchors! The Komplete only weighs five pounds! You gotta like that!

First five shots

I started the test with Air Arms Falcon pellets that were the most accurate in Part 3. The first five shots in this test (shots 37 through 41) hit the target high and a little to the left of the aim point that was the center of the bullseye.

Those are the first five shots from 21 yards. In this photo the target is still taped to the rubber mulch box.

Next five shots

Okay, the next five shots (shots 42 through 46) were shot with the same pellet. No scope adjustment was made. The 10-shot group measures 0.4-inches / 10.16 mm between centers.

Shots 6 through 10 made the group look like this. It measures 0.4-inches between centers.

I didn’t measure the first five shots but I don’t think that 10-shot group is much larger than the five. While shooting I was doing something I recently read for better accuracy—I relaxed between each shot so the rifle naturally pointed at the center of the bullseye. What do you know—it works!

Okay—what have we learned about the Komplete so far is that the accuracy at 21 yards does not fall off at 40 shots. Now, 21 yards is still close, but as reader Vana2 pointed out recently, a pellet gun is a 50-yards or less shooter.

Honest report

Just to keep things honest I will tell you that at the end of what I thought were 10 shots there was still one pellet remaining in the magazine. I discovered it when I removed the mag to reload. So what you see on the target isn’t 10 shots; it’s nine. I counted the first five shots, but as reader Yogi like to say, sometimes counting isn’t good enough. I have no idea whether it was the first five or the second.

Next 10 shots

That last pellet in the first magazine was damaged so I tossed it and loaded the 10-shot Komplete magazine again. I then shot another target with the same Falcon pellet. This would be shots 48 through 57. This time the group opened up and the point of impact dropped a little. Ten shots (yes—this time it was ten shots for sure) went into 1.016-inches / 25.81 mm at 21 yards.

The second 21-yard ten-shot Falcon group measures 1.016-inches between centers.

That target convinces me that the Komplete is out of steam after shot 47. So the test that nobody asked for revealed a lot about the Komplete. Most importantly—with the right pellet this rifle is accurate! Because the rifle was low on pressure at this point I installed a fresh NitroAir cartridge for the remainder of the test.

Summary

This report is getting long and it’s going to get a lot longer, so I’m breaking it in two. The next part comes on Friday.

Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)

Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

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