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We are finally entering the warm summer months of the year, the months where getting outside for BBQs, fish-fry’s, and, of course, trigger time is made much more pleasurable by virtue of longer days and warmer temperatures. But these days it isn’t just BBQ attendees pulling the trigger on BB guns to knock over a tin can while waiting on the ribs. No, there is a whole new contingent of air gun shooters who have suddenly picked up an air gun as a training alternative to their centerfire pistols. Since Umarex has license agreements with firearm manufacturers like Beretta, Colt, GLOCK, HK, S&W, and Walther, our .177 and 6mm replicas are a natural fit for the firearm shooter looking to train with air.

This past year has led to empty warehouses and store shelves in retail sporting goods isles. Among the items that we’ve been shuffling out of our doors as fast as we can get them in are break barrel air rifles. Break barrel rifles still make up the largest share of the air rifle market, chiefly for these two reasons- 1. They are simple. 2. They are affordable.

Ever since its establishment in 1972, Umarex has been pushing towards new horizons. Umarex has created a world of adventure for sport shooters, recreational shooters, trainers, and hunters. Millions of people enjoy shooting sports around the world and they expect exceptional products from Umarex – and they get them.

Three years ago the first Gauntlet PCP air rifles hit the shelves of airgun retailers and a new frontier for Umarex Airguns had opened. No, this wasn’t the first PCP air rifle Umarex had made, far from it. But it was the first consumer friendly, hard hitting, and tunable air rifle we had made. All of the previous PCPs were set up for knocking the X-ring out of targets in competition and had a price tag to match. When we threw down the Gauntlet, we took serious performance and made it accessible with a price of just under $300.00--something that its competitors at the time couldn’t touch.

After Church a few weeks ago a buddy, Naghmeh asked me if sometime we could take her and her kids shooting. Well, it just so happened last week that I needed to run out and test out a Mossberg shotgun and SPARC red dot scope for a Turkey/Varmint Hunting article and sight it in for an upcoming hunting trip. I also wanted to test out some Air Venturi Exploding Golf Balls so we invited her along.

The number of female shooters has done nothing but go up in the last decade, particularly in the last few years. And in case you weren’t aware, ammo for those firearms has gotten really expensive and really hard to find. So what’s a good husband or kid to do? How about look for some shooting alternatives for mom? One such alternative are Umarex Airguns officially licensed blowback action air pistols. Depending on how and where she chooses to practice or train, all of these are available in either .177 steel BB or 6mm airsoft.

There was a ripple in the space-time continuum a few years back. Actually, it was more like a shot heard ‘round the world. Umarex and GLOCK partnered in a license agreement to authorize the first officially licensed airgun replicas from the GLOCK brand. Immediately we here at Umarex USA were bombarded with questions about which models would be produced and when could customers expect new GLOCK .177 airguns and 6mm airsoft guns to appear at retailers. Ever since that announcement we have been working on filling customers’ expectations for both quantity of product and diversity of product. It has been no small task, but slowly we are expanding the number of GLOCK models available.

One of the first Umarex products I purchased when I started here was the H&K USP non-blowback 6mm airsoft pistol. This version is a hard hitting CO2 powered airsoft pistol that has been a hot seller for us for years now. While the velocity is a little on the hot side for most airsoft fields, it was still a great option for those looking to pick up an accurate 1:1 replica of the classic Heckler & Koch wondernine.

I have to take a trip down memory lane today. A long time ago, in a career far, far away, I had a shooting buddy that was also a fellow teacher. Brett taught math and I taught (at the time) math and literacy remediation classes. We were down the hall from each other, but we made the most of the five minute transition periods between classes to shoot the bull and exchange anecdotes on various topics de jour. We often spoke of concealed carry guns, holsters, and ammo availability. Yes, this was in the days leading up to the election of BHO in 2007. I had just picked up my concealed carry license and a new 9mm handgun from a well recognized brand. Brett also had a CCL and his latest purchase for concealed carry was the Smith & Wesson M&P 9.

Some of the most popular sellers in the Umarex Airguns catalog of things are our blowback action pistol replicas. And it makes a lot of sense that these would be super popular since we can and do produce replicas, under license agreement, from such esteemed names in the industry such as Beretta, Colt, GLOCK, Heckler & Kock, Smith & Wesson and Walther. This past year has seen the demand for already popular models go to absolutely insane levels. Yes, not only were the local gun store shelves depleted of inventory, but air gun retailers were selling replica airguns as fast as they could get them.