Airgunning in the modern era is still as simple as it ever was, and this is because traditional airguns aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. However, most technologies tend to advance beyond the basics as the millwheel of time slowly rolls on. You can still buy a simple motorcycle for bopping around town or down country roads, but you can also buy 1,000+ CC sport bikes that easily hit 170 MPH off the showroom floor, and have brakes that could stop a full-size car.

The family of airgun product is similar. Just like the motorcycle world has specialized and modernized with the times to accommodate specific uses and better rider experience, airguns have done the same thing. You can still buy a simple BB gun for backyard plinking or family fun or a full size spring powered pellet rifle for pest control, small game hunting, or target shooting, you can now purchase specialized licensed replicas, precision pre-charged pneumatics, and now, large bore diameter pre-charged pneumatics airguns that shoot airgun slugs or even shot cups like the Umarex Primal 20.

Last year Umarex released the .62 caliber Primal 20 big bore air rifle to the market. In the shotgun world, 20 gauge works out to .62 caliber. If you aren’t familiar with either shotguns or rifle caliber designations, imagine the water pipes in your house. Most clean water transmission tubing used in residential plumbing has an inside diameter ½ an inch. The Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex USA has an inside diameter of 0.62 inches or roughly 20% larger than the pipe that carries water through your home.

What is the Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex for?

Big bore air rifles are primarily used for hunting larger game species. Many states have codified air rifles as legal tackle for harvesting large game species such as whitetail deer or feral hogs. A smaller contingent of big bore air rifle shooters just like to challenge themselves with longer range target shooting.

Big bore air rifles need a supply of high pressure air in order to work. What I mean by high pressure is filling the onboard air tank in excess of 3,000 psi. Most shooters use an electric high pressure pump to fill their gun’s onboard tank, or pay a commercial pump owner like a paintball shop or dive shop to fill a large carbon fiber tank to help speed up fill times.

Umarex USA’s Primal 20 PCP air rifle can be used with 20 gauge (.62 caliber) slugs, the same kind of slugs used in 20 gauge shotguns. In addition to slugs, the Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex can utilize shot cups for bird shot. The shooter will need to change out the rifled choke that comes with the gun for the choke profile that suits their needs. The Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex uses easy to find Invector style chokes.

The Primal 20 Big Bore Air Rifle by Umarex Makes Big Power

Using Umarex USA’s 20 gauge slug that weighs in at 395 grains (0.903 ounces), the Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex generates around 430 FPE, much more than is required by most states for human harvesting of large to medium bodied game species. Big bore airgunning pioneer, Eric Henderson has some interesting videos on his Adventures Afield Facebook page of the Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex USA hitting a milk jug filled with water at 100 yards. You can see that video here.

Using an unrifled choke and appropriate sized shot, the Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex USA will make a unique partner in the pursuit of wild turkey.

It really is a different world now with air rifles. Just like developments in the motorcycle industry 60 years ago led to the refined off-road, street, and track motorcycles of today, developments in air rifles 20 years ago are manifesting in the highly specialized and capable air rifles of today.

The hard-hitting Primal 20 big bore air rifle by Umarex is not an ideal air rifle for everyone, but with the growing interest in pre-charged pneumatics, more airgunners are discovering a place for big bore PCPs in their shooting and hunting tool shed.