Shooting BB guns is fun no matter how old you are. I won’t even put a Matel-esque 99 year age limit on it. Umarex has been in the business of making BB guns for a long time now. While we are known as the King of Replicas, meaning handgun replicas, we are also a fair hand at making BB rifles or carbines. You doubt? Check out these 5 awesome BB rifles and ask yourself why you don’t have them in your collection.
Marlin Lever Action
First on the list is our Marlin Lever Action. Classic spring power and lever action and perennial best seller for Christmas gifts, this Marlin is the only officially licensed lever action BB on the earth. This lever action just needs a healthy supply of BBs to stock the internal magazine and some good targets for hours and hours of fun. Not only does this rifle evoke nostalgia and warm memories of A Christmas Story, it is a super affordable airgun to get the whole family shooting.
Legends M1A1
Next on our list is the Legends M1A1 CO2 powered fully automatic BB carbine. This BB gun is nothing short of amazing. The M1A1 is the 1928 version of the “Chicago Typewriter” which gained fame on the gangland streets, in the trenches of World War II, and in many movies covering both topics. It’s heavy, it’s cool, and it’s fun. Buy the M1A1, lots of 12 gram CO2, and lots of .177 caliber BB because you will need them!
H&K MP5-K PDW
In the third spot on our list is the Heckler & Koch MP5-K PDW. Yes, a personal defense weapon replica of the German masterpiece of delayed roller blowback goodness in .177 BB. This is a fun, short, and sweet BB gun that will turn heads. Everyone recognises the MP5 platform and especially the MP5-K version. It has a role in scores of films and nearly every blockbuster action flick made in the last 30 years.
Legends M3 Grease Gun
Coming into the fourth spot is the Legends M3 Grease Gun. Many people will argue that the M3 is cooler than the M1A1. I am one of those people. The M1A1 was too expensive for Uncle Sam to produce and the Army needed a sub-machine gun really badly. Therefore the “Grease Gun”, a mostly stamped open bolt firearm was the answer. It was super cheap to produce, easy to assemble, and had a really slow rate of fire. It wasn’t long before the fame of the M3 spread to Hollywood and into popular culture. To be honest, a collection of Legends airguns is not complete without either the M1A1 or the M3 Grease Gun. Get both.
Umarex AER 16
Rounding out this list is a relatively new product from Umarex, the AER16. Like all the above airguns, the AER16 is a BB shooter, but that is where the similarities stop. The AER16 is Umarex’s first electronic BB gun. While electronic airsoft guns are nothing new, the electronic BB guns are a more recent revelation to the air gunning world. Charge up the battery, plug it in and load up the magazine. A single charge will fire over 400 BBs. As alluded to by its name, the AER16 is based on the AR platform and can accept all the standard accessories that the firearms can take. Not only has this platform been used by the US military for over 60 years, in one form or another, but the AR platform has become the most popular rifle in the United States among civilians.