By: Tom Claycomb

I recently received a Umarex Origin to test. I have a Umarex .25 cal. Gauntlet that has become my small game go-to airgun. It is super accurate, so I was excited to see how the Origin tested out. But one thing raised a red flag for me. The MSRP on the Origin is only $349.99, which is a super good deal, since it also includes a $140.00 hand pump, which eliminates the need to buy a $300 air tank. With an air tank, you must have access to a skin-diving shop or an air compressor to fill the tank. This is a little restricting.

So the hand pump makes this a good choice for hunting in remote situations. This kit a good choice for preppers. It is quiet, and you could use it to harvest food when the feces hits the proverbial fan. And make no mistake, it could also be used for self-protection in a pinch.

But after testing, the red flags were all lowered, and I was on board. Read on.

The first step was to mount on a scope. For this project I used a Burris 4-16 Droptine scope. I like to use as low of rings as possible on my rifles, but due to the size of the aperture, I had to use the tall Burris rings. On my airguns, I like to use 14x scopes, because you’ll be hunting small game with small kill zones. It was an easy job mounting the scope. To provide a steady work station, I used my Otis elite Range Box. This made the job a lot easier.

After mounting the scope, a buddy, Mark Green, and I then went out to sight it in. For a rest, I used the Caldwell Stable Table, a Caldwell Hydrosled, and a plethora of Caldwell range bags. I wanted to see what the rifle was capable of, so I used some JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy Diabolo 18.13 gr. pellets. I have found over time that JSB makes the most accurate pellets on the market.

When conducting shooting tests, I like to use targets with square corners. That way I can line up the cross hairs on the lines and that enables me to obtain my best groups. Then lastly, to be sure that no outside factors are restricting an airgun from getting good results, as mentioned above, I always use JSB pellets. If you don’t do all of the above, then you don’t discover what the rifles potential is.

Umarex says that as long as the Origin is filled to 1,000 psi that you can obtain consistent groups, but you can fill it up to 3,600 psi.

We were now ready to shoot. I shot a few times to sight it in. Then I shot a couple of groups. Wow, whatever my worries were about being able to get good groups due to the low price of the Origin were quickly dispelled. I got a 1/8” center of hole to hole 3-shot group. That’s about as good as you can ask for.

The shots tore the paper a little but the Origin shot a 1/8″ center to center three shot group. It’s a shooter!

The Origin comes with two, 10-shot rotary magazines, pump, and the gun. The pump is easy to assemble, and then you screw in the hose and attach the fill probe. On the bottom of the stock there is a rubber tab. Put it out and charge the gun in the third hole from the back. The fourth hole is a de-gas screw. On the right side is a pressure gauge.

It has an adjustable trigger which can go as low as 2-2 1/2 lbs. It has a slightly raised cheek piece and a picatinny rail to mount a scope. It uses a lever action to cock it every shot.

To pump with the hand pump, Umarex says with 13 pumps you can get 1,500 psi, 35 pumps 1,800 psi, 50 pumps up to 2,200 psi and 100 pumps will get it up to 3,100 psi. They caution that you need to push the plunger all the way down because the last bit of the stroke is what really fills the tank.

In the specs below, you will notice that they state that it will spit out pellets at 1,000 psi. That is alloy lightweight pellets. For hunting and accuracy, you will want to shoot JSB Exact Match Diabolo 18.13 gr. pellets. While they only cruise along at about 800 fps, they are the most accurate. Plus, I have found that while airgun hunting for small game, if you have an accurate airgun, then 800-900 fps is fine.

After sighting it in, we then went pigeon and starling hunting for a few hours. If you’re in the market for a 22 cal. airgun for small game hunting, then I’d recommend that you take a good look at the Umarex Origin.

This close-up shot allows you to see the rotary 10-shot magazine, the side mounted cocking lever, and always try to mount your scope as low as you can without the aperture touching the barrel.

SPECS

Velocity: 1075 fps (328 mps)

Caliber: .22 cal (5.5 mm)

Power System: PCP

Tank Pressure: 3625 PSI

Action: Side Lever

Magazine Capacity: 10 rounds

Magazine Width: 1.55 in. (3.937 cm)

Safety: Manual

Rail: Picatinny/Dovetail

Trigger Type: Two Stage Adjustable

Overall Length: 43.1 in. (109.5 cm)

Barrel Length: 22.9 in. (58.2 cm)

Weight: 6.8 lbs. (3.1 kg)

Trigger Pull: 2 – 3.5 lbs. (0.9 – 1.6 kg)

The Umarex Origin has an adjustable trigger which should help you tighten your groups.

Includes:

[2] 10 Shot Rotary Mags
[1] 4500 PSI Hand Pump
[1] Pump Rebuild Kit
[1] Fill Probe
[1] Multi-Tool

  • Super Easy-to-Use .22 Caliber Multi-Pump PCP
  • Patented Pre-Pressurized Air Chamber Design
  • Shoots at Full Power with Fewer Pumps
  • Multi-shot PCP-Powered Pellet Rifle
  • 100 Pumps Per Fill
  • 40 Shots Per Fill
  • Develops a Full Power shot with 13 Pumps
  • Automatic Overpressure Air Release
  • 3-stage, 4,500 PSI HPA Hand Pump and Fill Probe Included
  • (2) Auto-Indexing 10-Shot Rotary Magazines Included
  • Compact Side-Mounted Cocking Lever
  • Combination Picatinny and 11mm Dovetail Optics Mounting Rail
  • Two-Stage Adjustable Trigger
  • 1,000 FPS with .22 Caliber Alloy Pellets

Tom Claycomb III is a product tester for outdoor manufacturers, hunter, and outdoor writer, writing from Idaho.