Umarex Origin – It’s The Best First PCP Air Rifle
Courtesy – Hard Air Magazine
Today we have a HAM test with a very unusual headline. It’s very rare for us to say any airgun is the best. But based on our testing, this one is clear. The Umarex Origin is the best first PCP air rifle in the market today.
In order to make this statement, we need to make a comparison. So I compared the Origin to what was – until last week – probably the best first PCP air rifle. That is, an easy, low cost, widely-available and practical way to start shooting PCPs: the Benjamin Maximus Pump Combo.
The Benjamin Maximus Pump Combo sells for $379.99 at Airgun Depot. This bundle includes a Maximus and Benjamin hand pump. All you need is a scope and some pellets to start shooting PCPs. That was the best first PCP air rifle, the combo to beat…
The Umarex Origin bundles a PCP air rifle and hand pump seamlessly as one product. It’s in one box – one SKU. That’s very important. It makes it likely that it will be the first PCP to be widely found in big box sporting good stores which – to date – have not carried PCPs due to their perceived complexity.
The MSRP is $349.99, so we can expect to see it selling for even less at retail in future.
Based on our testing below, the Umarex Origin is a revolutionary product. I predict that it will completely transform the “first PCP air rifle” market in a similar manner to the way the Umarex Gauntlet revolutionized the regulated PCP market in the USA.
Technology And Testing
If you’re using a hand pump, pumping is a big deal!
The attraction of a low pressure (2,000 PSI) PCP like the Maximus is that it takes relatively few pumps to fill. Also these pumps are relatively easy and do not require a huge amount of effort.
The Origin has a much higher fill pressure – 3,650 PSI. It also incorporates patent-pending new technology. Umarex calls this EPT. The Ever Pressure tank system. So I asked Umarex USA for an explanation. Here’s the reply…
“There’s constant pressure on the air in the onboard air cylinder by way of a gas piston. As you pump air into the air cylinder a gas piston is pushing against it. This increases the pressure more rapidly as more air is input.As the compressed volume of air is siphoned off while shooting, the gas piston is still applying pressure on the remaining air. This in effect causes the pressure in the cylinder to be higher than it would be without the pressure of the gas piston applied creating a bit more of a consistent shot string than what you would get without that pressure. “ To test out this new technology, we pumped-up and shot both an Origin and a Maximus. To make this comparison as equal as possible, we used the Origin hand pump and 14.3 Grain Crosman Premier Hollow Point pellets with both guns. Also, we placed the same high-quality, known-accurate pressure gauge in-line between the hand pump and rifle for each test. The pressures were all read from that.
Pumping And Pressure
First, we simply pumped-up both air rifles using the Origin hand pump. We recorded the number of pumps and the pressure. Here’s what we found…
The Maximus took 115 pumps to fill its 135 cc HPA tube to a full 2,000 PSI. That’s shown by the blue line on the chart above.
Now look at the red line! As you can see, the Origin fills extremely rapidly with the first 13 pumps. With only 13 pumps, we were at 1,450 PSI. That’s the Ever Pressure Tank technology at work.
Continuing on, the Origin filled to 3,650 PSI with 140 strokes of the pump. It has a 140 cc HPA tube.
Surprisingly (to me at least), it was relatively easy to fill the Origin to full pressure. Pumping only became tough above about 3,300 PSI.
Sure, individual strokes of the pump required less effort to fill the Maximus – but then we maxed-out at only 2,000 PSI after 115 pumps. The Origin had reached 2,000 PSI after only 50 pumps. Wow!
Muzzle Velocity And Shot Count
Having filled-up the guns to maximum pressure, we shot them over a Chronograph using 14.3 Grain Premier Hollow Points. Again, there was a significant difference between the two guns.
As we can see, the Origin peaked at around 980 FPS. It averaged 944 FPS for 60 shots. VERY impressive!
Then look at what happens beyond shot 62. The Muzzle Velocity collapses suddenly and dramatically:
864 FPS at shot 63,
646 FPS at shot 64,
307 FPS for shot 65.
There’s the EPT system in action again. Compared to the Maximus’ slow FPS decline, typical of unregulated PCPs, the Origin’s Muzzle Velocity holds-up extremely well until there’s just about no air remaining in the tube.
Yes, this is not regulated PCP consistency. But again, it’s MUCH more consistent than we are used to seeing in an unregulated PCP in this price range. Remarkable!
The Maximus peaks at 802 FPS, giving an average of 763 FPS for 40 shots. Last week that was great performance for a best first PCP air rifle.
Muzzle Energy
Having seen the FPS numbers, the power generated by both airguns will not be surprising.
The Origin produced a peak Muzzle Energy of 30.47 Ft/Lbs using 14.3 Grain Premiers. The average over 60 shots was 28.31 Ft/Lbs.
In comparison, the Maximus gave a maximum of 20.44 Ft/Lbs and an average of 19.37 Ft/Lbs over 30 shots.
Again. “WOW” is the only adequate description!
Let’s Compare The Numbers
| Umarex Origin | Benjamin Maximus | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumps To Full Pressure | 140 to 3,650 PSI | 115 to 2,000 PSI | Origin took 50 pumps to reach 2,000 PSI |
| Average Muzzle Velocity | 944 FPS for 60 shots | 781 FPS for 30 shots | Origin 20% faster for double the number of shots |
| Average Muzzle Energy | 28.31 Ft/Lbs for 30 shots | 19.31 Ft/Lbs for 30 shots | Origin 47% more power for double the number of shots. |
| Total Muzzle Energy | 1,698 Ft/Lbs for 60 shots | 581 Ft/Lbs for 30 shots | Origin delivers 2.92x more total energy per fill |
| Muzzle Energy per pump | 1,698 Ft/Lbs for 140 pumps = 12.13 Ft/Lb per pump | 581 Ft/Lbs for 115 pumps = 5.05 Ft/Lbs per pump | Origin gives 2.4x more energy per pump stroke |
Obviously the Umarex Origin is a step change in performance for a best first PCP air rifle. That’s an incredible achievement at a remarkably low price.