While visiting the Umarex booth at SHOT, Scott showed me their new Komplete PCP airgun. I had forgotten about it, and then last week, they had me line up two ground squirrel hunts, a FishR AirJavelin fishing trip, and a pigeon hunt. For the ground squirrel and pigeon hunts, they wanted Abby Casey and me to test out the Komplete.
The Komplete is listed as a PCP (Precharged Pneumatic) with the thought that the cartridge is the air tank. To me it is a hybrid. It has all of the characteristics of a PCP but it has a Nitrogen cartridge which makes me think of a CO2. I haven’t ever seen anything like it before.
Umarex Komplete PCP Air Rifle
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Umarex Animal Target, 100/pack - 2218076 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 7.99 $ 5.29 |
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Umarex 9mm Blanks for PAK 50rds - 2252753 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 28.99 $ 22.89 |
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Umarex OD50 Green illuminator 50mm - 2218805 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 256.99 $ 184.99 |
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Umarex OD50 Green illuminator 50mm - 2218805 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 256.99 $ 184.99 |
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The Umarex NitroAir cartridge is unique. It is compressed to 3,600 psi so it has some serious pressure, almost equal to my PCP’s but instead of being filled with CO2 it is fill with nitrogen gas. They are supposed to function fine in both hot and cold temperatures which can be a problem when using a CO2 cartridge. I’m not known as Captain Safety but DO NOT try to use one of these NitroAir cartridges in a CO2 gun. CO2 guns are rated for much lower pressures so I can only assume that you would blow one up.
To install a cartridge simply screw it on. When it pierces the tank, screw it one more half turn. To replace a used cartridge be sure to use the air bleeding mechanism on the airgun to drain all of the remaining air before removing. If you’re worried about the environment, don’t be. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere and is a non-toxic, stable gas.
As mentioned above the NitroAir cartridge has 3,600 psi and releases a volume of nitrogen at 1,800 psi per shot and is consistently accurate for 45 shots. The Komplete is offered in both a .177 cal. or .22 cal. It spits out .22 cal. 11.9 gr. pellets at 975 fps and has 25-foot pounds. I’ve found that if a pellet is cruising at 850 fps or higher, that is adequate for hunting.
The .22 comes with two 10-round magazines, and the .177 comes with two 12-round magazines. Both also come with rings and a 4×32 scope. I recommend getting at least a 12x on airguns since we’re shooting small game with a small kill zone. On my Komplete, I mounted an Axeon 4- 16×44. It has a picatinny rail on which to mount your scope and M-LOK slots on the bottom of the forearm so you can add an accessory rail or other aftermarket parts.
So how does it shoot?
Abby and I stopped by the Idaho Air Gun store in Nampa, Idaho on the way out for our first hunt and sighted in all of our airguns there. There seems to always be at least a 10-15 mph wind out on the high desert where we were going to be hunting which obviously wobbles my targets thereby widening my groups.
I set up on the 15-yard indoor range. After getting the Komplete zeroed in, I thought I’d see what kind of group it could get. Whoa! It shot almost a 1-hole group. Suddenly, it had my attention. I’m going to like this rifle!
My first thought was, why would you buy a PCP for which you had to buy NitroAir cartridges? That would get expensive. But after hunting with it for the week and testing it out, I thought further and decided it might be a brilliant deal. The 2-pack of NitroAir is $24.99, and a 24-pack is $259.99. They say that you can get more than 45 shots per canister. So yes, it would be a repeatable expense, but a 90 cubic inch air tank is $379.00, and they have a shelf life. Plus, you have to pay a shop to fill them. Or you can buy a Umarex ReadyAir for $769.99.
I shoot a lot, like 300-350 shots per day with an airgun when whistle pig hunting but for most people that only shoot 20-30 shots per hunt, I think that the Komplete is a viable alternative for a lot of people that want a PCP but balk at paying $450.00 and up for a decent PCP plus all of the necessary tank charging accessories. You could buy a lot of NitroAir cartridges for that investment. So I think it is a good option for a lot of people.
The Umarex Komplete is a fun gun. The MSRP on the Komplete is $219.99.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoors writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
