Umarex Origin .22 Air Rifle Kit

PCP In a Box!
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The Umarex Origin uses a slender under-barrel air reservoir. The regulator system
is optimized to get every ounce of efficiency from the onboard air supply.

Pre-charged Pneumatic (PCP) rifles are the Ferarri Enzo of the air rifle world. What’s not to love? Smooth operation, no “springing” noise from springs or pistols, lots of shots before having to “reload” more air and plenty of power to boot. The beauty is PCP rifles are available in any caliber from .177 to .50. As for price points, manufacturers like Umarex have brought the PCP to everyone with sub $300 rifles designed to impress.

In fact, the only downside to PCP is you need to sort out your air supply. A PCP rifle’s powerplant is an onboard air reservoir holding enough air at high enough pressure to drive 10, 20, 30, or even 90 shots before a refill. By enough pressure, I mean 3,000 psi and up. Considering my Toyota Sequoia land yacht tires run at 34 psi, the electric pump in your garage isn’t going to cut it. You’ll generally need an air supply capable of delivering 4,500 psi to the rifle’s onboard system.

You have three choices: buy a large backup reservoir like a SCUBA-type tank and get it filled periodically at a dive shop, fire station, or paintball center; purchase your own air compressor; or use a purpose-built high-pressure hand pump. The hand pump option is the most economical but unless the rifle is designed for efficient human-powered filling, you’ll get a serious workout.

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The whole kit-n-caboodle: The Origin package includes the rifle and a 4500 psi manual pump.

Origins

Umarex is making the world of PCP shooting even more accessible with the Origin 22 air rifle. Well, actually it’s not a rifle, it’s more of a kit. The Umarex Origin 22 comes with a high-pressure hand pump capable of delivering 4,500 psi air directly to the rifle, so you have your own infinite compressed air supply right in the box.

To be clear, this isn’t just a marketing bundle. The Umarex Origin rifle is actually optimized for hand-filling. You know — to shoot more and pump less. Umarex has engineered some kind of mojo into the rifle’s air reservoir mechanism to allow full-power operation with less incoming air. The Ever-Pressure system makes whatever quantity of air residing in the system more useful, doing “more with less” so to speak. All of this translates to less manual pumping on your part.

With just a few cycles using the included 4,500 psi hand pump, you get a legit full-power shot. Additional pumping won’t increase velocity or power but it will give you more shots. With about 100 cycles of the hand pump, you’ll get about 40 shots before it’s time to refill the onboard air cylinder. The company claims the Origin 22 rifle requires just 50% of the air input of comparable rifles.

Unless you’ve used a high-pressure hand pump to refill a PCP air rifle, you may not fully appreciate the benefit. Consider the underlying physics. Filling a bicycle tire with 50 psi of air is no big deal. However, when your muscles need to produce a tank filled with 3,000 or so psi, you’ll be exerting some serious effort as the tank nears maximum pressure. The first bit is easy, like a bike tire but the work increases exponentially as your rifle fills. Look at the bright side, you’ll save a ton on a Cross-Fit membership!

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Easily adjustable scope turrets (above, left) are a must on an air rifle. The variety
of pellet types, weight, and velocity options make matching point of aim to point of
impact a must.

Origin Tour

The rifle itself is a solid piece of gear. The air reservoir is a full-length and slender tube slung under the barrel. Paired with a polymer stock, the result is a smooth handling and surprisingly light gun that’s easy to shoot offhand. I found I liked the molded-in vertical pistol-like grip and found it easy to shoot off the bench with my thumb floating free. I like to rest the thumb lightly on top of the receiver when shooting for precision. Your mileage may vary, but this method allows my firing hand a relaxed grip, translating to less movement of the rifle. If you’re really into fine precision, the “thumb resting on the side” method also eliminates most of the heartbeat effect too.

A built-in receiver rail allows easy attachment of standard rings. The primary rail is standard Picatinny, but an additional 11mm rail is machined in on the top so you can use either size scope rings. If you’ve already got an airgun scope fit for 11mm, you’re good to go.

The two-stage trigger is adjustable in three different ways, using Allen screws accessible through the trigger guard. You can adjust the overall length of trigger travel, the weight of the pull, and the over-travel distance. Using a combination of 1.5 and 3mm Allen wrenches, knock yourself out and create your personalized trigger feel.

Out of the box, I measured the pull weight at precisely 2-1/2 lbs. The first stage offered about 1/8″ of near-zero-weight take-up, followed by a crisp break and no detectable over-travel. I didn’t make any adjustments as I found the trigger action just peachy as it was.

The fill mechanism is located under the forend, just forward of the trigger guard. The system uses a probe fill and the probe itself has a Foster-type connection attaching to the female Foster connection on the included hand pump. You’ll also find this connection type common on compressors and larger air cylinders. You shouldn’t have to buy any extra adapters to get the connection you need between your alternate filling systems and the Origin 22.

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The Origin features a straight-pull bolt for loading from
the magazine and cocking. Smooth and simple!

Shooting

I shot in the clean mountain air of North Carolina using the H&N Barracuda Match pellets — 21.14-grain round-nose projectiles. Using a portable Doppler Radar chronograph, I measured average velocity of 758 feet per second right at the muzzle. On my 30-yard outdoor range with little wind I set up a prone shooting position using my pack and a rolled-up sweatshirt to fire some groups for accuracy. When the smoke cleared, I measured an average five-shot group size of 0.62″.

The MSRP of the Origin 22 system is an aggressive (in a good way!) $349.99 — and includes the 4,500 psi hand pump — so you’re ready to start shooting a PCP from the get go. Just add pellets of your choice and your favorite optic and you’re off to the range.

UmarexUSA.com

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