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The Umarex Komplete .22-Caliber: Best Affordable Air Rifle?

Lightweight, compact and less than $200! The Umarex Komplete is a great .22-caliber air rifle that gets the job done at a great price.

The Umarex Komplete .22-Caliber: Best Affordable Air Rifle?
Though the Umarex Komplete is a fairly full-figured gun, it is surprisingly light- weight and a delight on the range.

The Umarex Komplete NCR is a different sort of air rifle. A manually-operated repeater chambered in either .177 or .22, the Komplete NCR is unique in that it is powered by disposable compressed nitrogen cylinders. Lightweight, accurate, powerful, and fun, the Komplete NCR represents a fresh new shooting experience. I bought my first gun, a no-frills BB-launching Daisy, at age seven. My Dad split the $7 cost with me 50/50. It was the sexiest physical object I had ever seen. The world has come a long way since the old putt-putt Daisy BB guns of my youth. Back when I was a kid, CO2-powered guns were still a novelty. These rifles and pistols most typically fired either plated BBs or .177-caliber lead pellets. Disposable CO2 cartridges called powerlets drove the things. The appeal was that you could get multiple shots without reloading, and you didn’t have to manually pressurize the weapon before firing.

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The Umarex Komplete is a very different kind of air rifle. Powered by disposable NitroAir nitrogen cartridges, the Komplete is a manually operated repeater available in either .177 or .22 calibers. The disposable NitroAir nitrogen cartridges that drive the Umarex Komplete allow you to take this PCP gun to the field without worrying about a bunch of bulky support gear. The Umarex Komplete is the PCP air gun you can use to hunt small game comfortably.

In case you haven’t yet had the pleasure, the ultimate iteration of air rifles today is the high-pressure PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) sort. PCP guns carry onboard air tanks that can be pressurized via a dedicated air compressor, a laborious hand pump, or a scuba tank. Where a typical shop air compressor might run 250-300 psi, the specialized sort that drives PCP airguns operate at around ten times that. I have logged a little trigger time on these PCP guns, and they are indeed quite nifty. The largest of the lot fires .50-caliber slugs the size of my little finger. Smaller versions shoot .177, .22, and .25-caliber pellets like a laser. However, these rifles are fairly gear intensive.

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The Umarex Komplete represents a fresh new take on air riflery.

They are also spendy. Keeping them fed demands a little planning and some relatively expensive equipment. The dedicated compressor in particular is potentially prohibitive. Now Umarex offers a fascinating alternative. The .22-caliber Umarex Komplete NCR feeds from a rotary 10-round magazine. The .177-caliber sort packs a dozen. There is a manual bolt lever on the right that cycles in fresh pellets. The gun includes a 4x32 scope with rings and two magazines. It also has a surprisingly effective built-in sound moderator. As this is an airgun that does not fire fixed ammunition, there are no registration or regulatory requirements associated with this device.

Between Two Extremes

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I acquired my first gun, this bare bones Daisy lever-action, back in 1973. My half of the cost was $3.50. The addiction has come a long way since then.

The Chinese fire lance is generally accepted as having been mankind’s first true firearm. It was initially depicted on a silk painting dated to the mid-10th century. The fire lance consisted of a bamboo tube that was packed with gunpowder and charged with pieces of porcelain or iron pellets as projectiles. It was conflagrated by means of a time fuse. This whole shebang was strapped to the end of a spear such that it could then be thrown at an enemy combatant. The gun’s maximum effective range was around three meters. Much has changed since then. Nowadays guns come in all shapes and sizes. The longest confirmed sniper kill in military history currently stands at 3,800 meters. Ukrainian marksman Viacheslav Kovalski used a custom-built anti-materiel rifle called the Volodar Obriyu to set this record. That loosely translates to Horizon’s Lord. This beast of a gun fires custom ammunition made by necking down Combloc 14.5x114mm cases to accept .50 BMG match bullets. In between those two extremes, you’ll find PCP airguns. These weapons offer greater power and precision than their manually-powered counterparts. The new Komplete NCR puts PCP awesomeness in the hands of folks of normal means.

A Wee Spot of Science…

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Here we see the Umarex Komplete along- side a high-end Rapid Air Worx HM1000 Micro Hunter PCP air rifle.

The new Komplete rifle is driven by nitrogen instead of the CO2 gas-driven airguns of my youth. The disposable NitroAir nitrogen cartridges that drive the Komplete NCR look like CO2 cartridges on steroids. They are typically sold in packs of two for about $25. That’s obviously $12.50 per individual cylinder. To get the gun ready for firing, one removes the forearm, screws the NitroAir cartridge in place, and goes to town. There’s a scant hiss to let you know it is seated. One cartridge is good for about 50 shots before velocities start to fall off—900 fps at 40 shots fell to 575 fps at 70 shots, and around 370 fps at 80 rounds. Running one of these nifty rifles is a fresh new experience, even for a grizzled gun nerd like me. Nitrogen at room temperature is a colorless, odorless gas. Its atomic number is 7. Based upon its location on the periodic table, chemists would call it a pnictogen.

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The scope that comes with the Komplete rifle is fairly pedestrian, but it gets the job done. The .22-caliber Umarex Komplete feeds from this compact ten-round rotary magazine. The gun comes with two. The action arm on the right side of the gun manually cycles fresh pellets into the chamber.

It is the seventh-most common element in the solar system. Nitrogen comprises 78% of the earth’s atmosphere. Today, nitrogen is used to create oxygen-free environments for food processing. Liquid nitrogen is commonly used for cryogenic applications like freezing off skin lesions at the dermatologist’s office. Nitrogen is a critical component of amino acids and proteins. As nitrogen floats about essentially inert in the atmosphere, spilling it is quite literally harmless. Even Greenpeace acknowledges that nitrogen is harmless. NitroAir nitrogen cartridges are made from steel. The primary component of steel is iron. Most of the earth’s core is iron. Both components of the NitroAir cartridge system are utterly harmless. Throw the empty cartridges away when you’re done without any tree-hugger-induced guilt. As a card-carrying packrat, I naturally save mine just because they look so cool. Yes, my long-suffering bride could use your prayers….

The Gun

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This polymer sound moderator does not require registration and works quite well. Installing a fresh NitroAir cartridge is both painless and stupid-proof. You can throw these things away without guilt. Everything about it is pretty benign.

The Komplete NCR rifle weighs a paltry five pounds and sports an ethereal 2.25-pound target trigger. The rifle includes a regulator system that transforms 3,600 psi gas in the cartridge into usable 1,800 psi gas in the gun. Unlike CO2-powered guns, the Komplete rifle is effective in both hot and cold environments. Velocities with lightweight .22-caliber pellets hover around 900 feet per second. The side lever requires about seven pounds of pressure to activate, but its innate mechanical advantage makes that painless. The removable forearm has plenty of M-LOK space for accessories should the spirit lead. The included 4x32 scope is pretty low-end, but it is perfectly scaled for a .22-caliber air rifle. The safety is a simple pushbutton built into the trigger. The integral sound suppressor is surprisingly effective given its modest size.

Let Us Retire to the Range

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Umarex NitroAir disposable nitrogen cartridges look like traditional CO2 cartridges only bigger.

Running the Umarex Komplete NCR will remind you what brought you into this weird quirky sport in the first place. Steel targets offer audible feedback when you connect. Empty aluminum beverage cans burst delightfully. I could easily keep my rounds inside a quarter out to 25 meters or so. Thanks to the NitroAir cartridges, all that is required to run the gun is keeping the magazine topped off and manually cycling the charging handle. The buttstock and human interface of the Komplete are delightfully executed. The pistol grip and stock geometry fit me like a second skin. The manual of arms is straightforward. Despite a wee bit of creep, the target trigger is sublime. There is, of course, no felt recoil, and the gun is diaphanously lightweight. On my first outing I shot up aluminum cans, abused steel targets, centerpunched empty shell casings, and defaced a few old pennies for flavor. The Komplete NCR shoots both straight and hard. It is also hearing safe.

Philosophical Musings

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The Umarex Komplete will remind you of the raw unfiltered joy of just shooting stuff.

Pellets are cheap in bulk. However, at $12.50 per cartridge that is good for about 50 shots, New Math tells us that this works out to around 25 cents per trigger pull, not counting pellets. That’s not chickenfeed. However, appreciate the context. I have an old Army buddy who is a fellow aviator. He tracked into fixed-wing aircraft, while I flew helicopters. By the time he retired as an O-6 Colonel he had about a zillion hours flying Gulfstream jets. He then took a job flying these same remarkable airplanes for a local private jet service. His clientele are folks with money who would sooner avoid the gate hassles at Memphis International Airport. Renting his $28 million machine costs around $25,000 per hour. At that price, it at least comes with gas and a crew. Why would anyone in their right mind shell out that kind of coin to use somebody else’s jet airplane? Well, it’s all about convenience. The kind of folks who have that kind of cash to spend on luxury transportation could indeed afford their own jets. They just don’t want the hassle. By renting somebody else’s plane, they don’t have to fret about maintenance chores or ensuring that some ex-military fighter pilot shows up for work both sober and on time. For them, it is worth the basic cash outlay just not to have to fool with the little things. In some ways, the Komplete NCR is similar.


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The Komplete shoots plenty hard. Most of my pennies zipped off into the woods. The few that remained typically imbed- ded themselves into my target backstop. The combination of the Komplete’s lovely trigger and well-executed human interface made it a proper performer on the range.

I maintain several conventional high-performance PCP air rifles in my own personal stable. They are fun, powerful, exotic, and cool. However, the high-pressure air compressor is expensive and demands a little maintenance. It is also both bulky and heavy. If you take the gun to the field, the compressor will run off of a car battery. However, that is a bit of a distraction. A scuba tank is heavier than a late-night philosophy discussion in the freshman coed dorm. That manual air pump I mentioned earlier will either transform you into a competitive body builder or just make your heart explode. The Komplete NCR does away with all of that. These nitrogen cartridges, though expensive, are undeniably convenient. If taking your Komplete rifle out to remote spaces for hunting or fun, it is awfully easy to drop a couple of spare cartridges into your cargo pockets. That is the niche wherein the Komplete NCR can be found. If the expense seems daunting, Umarex offers a wide selection of break barrel, manually-operated pellet rifles as well. However, if you are looking for convenience along with reliable, consistent performance, shot-after-shot, the Komplete is all that and more. There are lots of ways to throw .22-caliber projectiles downrange. This one is unique.

Practicalities

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The Chinese fire lance had a max effective range of around ten feet, but it sparked an arms race that burns brightly even today some 1,000 years later. (Public domain)

So, what’s the Komplete NCR really good for? It would knock the dog snot out of a tree rat or bunny if DIY wild game is your bag. Against heftier threats it would at least give pause. However, where the Komplete really excels is just plain old-fashioned ballistic fun. Putting the holy smackdown on that Coke can that has been talking bad about your momma or punching Lincoln out of a penny will cure what ails you. That’s a reliably enjoyable way to kill a lazy afternoon at the range. You may be a John Wick-grade, ex-SAS, retired professional assassin whose personal gun collection contains the tricked-out HK G36 assault rifle that George Washington himself carried when he crossed the Delaware on Christmas Day, 1776 in another dimension. However, no matter how many triggers you have squeezed, you likely have not run anything quite like this. For the neophyte just starting out, the seasoned gunman with curious grandchildren, or the competitive shooter with a lifetime total round count in the bazillions, the Umarex Komplete NCR is fresh, new, and different. If you like to shoot and rank convenience as a priority, the Komplete will get you there. 

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If you have any thoughts or comments on this article, we’d love to hear them. Email us at FirearmsNews@Outdoorsg.com.

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