I have been wanting to revisit the Umarex Magnum Research Desert Eagle .177 Cal. CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol for some time and looking back I just released I never did in fact make an accuracy shooting video for it. I did make YouTube Table Top Video and a YouTube Chronograph Video but never an actual Target Accuracy Shooting Video. Well it was time to fix that even though the Umarex Magnum Research Desert Eagle .177 Cal. CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol is now discontinued.
I purchased my Umarex Magnum Research Desert Eagle .177 Cal. CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol around 10 years ago but it has been on the market since I believe 2006 and was the first pellet firing blowback CO2 Air Pistol. It’s a mostly plastic exterior Airgun but still has some good weight to it and compared to today CO2 Blowback Pellets Pistols it actually performs just as well if not even better as my Complete Field Test Shooting Video demonstrates.
In my Velocity and Accuracy test for the Umarex Magnum Research Desert Eagle .177 Cal. CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol I compare it to two other more modern Pellet firing CO2 Blowback Air Pistols to see how it compares 15 years later. My selection to test agains was the Sig Sauer M17 and the Umarex SA10 which I have already done full reviews for so check them out if you re interested inmate info on those two models.
As always I put 5 rounds through my Chronograph to see what the average fps. I used a brand new CO2 along with 6.9 grain lead pellets in all airguns for all of the tests. For my accuracy test in this case I shot 8 rounds (8 round magazines in 2 of the airguns) at a paper target setup 30 feet down range using a rested and seated shooting position for stability.
I usually tell you the result in my written Field Test Shooting Articles but this time I am going to make you watch the video to find out for yourself. Let me just say the Umarex Magnum Research Desert Eagle .177 Cal. CO2 Blowback Pellet Pistol did not let me down isn was just as good as I remembered it to be shooting it over 10 years ago.
Hopefully we are back in business after the YouTube Attack on Airgun channels. I'm still waiting for YouTube to get back to me on the video that they put a strike on. I did appeal the Strike but so far YouTube has not responded...
We must push forward and so here is my first video back and it's a good one! If you haven't already watched my Table Top Review of the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol, make sure to check it out for details and some nice up and close video of this fine dual ammo CO2 air pistol.
As always during my indoor Sea Can Field Test Shooting videos, I first test out the velocity of each gun. Since the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol can shoot both 4.5mm Steel BB's and .177 caliber pellets I tested both ammo types using my Chrony Chronograph. I fired three shots of each ammo to get an average fps velocity. Interestingly the heavier 6.9 grain lead pellets had the higher average velocity of 376 fps versus 304 fps with 5.1 grain Steel BB's. I have a feeling the lead pellets fit the barrel more snug and did not let any of the CO2 blow by creating more back pressure and a higher velocity.
After my velocity test I proceeded to find out which ammo type was going to be more accurate with the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol. Since each rotary magazine holds 8 rounds it made sense for me to put 8 shots of each ammo type into the paper target setup 30 feet away. Keep in mind the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol has a riffled barrel best suited for lead pellets so going into this test I was expecting the pellets to be the clear winner here.
I was able to get about a 2 inch 8 shot grouping using .177 caliber lead pellets with the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol. All shots where fairly well centered but I did notice that most shots actually hit all within a very tight 1/2 inch group with 3 shots coming out a bit and extending the grouping more or less vertically. Switching up the ammo to steel BB's and as expected the groupings extended to about 3 inches with one outlier hitting very wide for some reason? Even with the steel BB's shot placement on the target was well centered in general.
The blowback on the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol is very pronounced but does not rock your hands too much keeping this airgun on target between shots and the trigger is one of the best rotary mag type trigger I have tested to date, extremely smooth throughout the entire trigger pull. Overall the Umarex SA10 CO2 Blowback Pellet and BB Pistol has great looks, decent power and good accuracy going for it and could perhaps be one of my top pics if you're looking for a blowback pellet pistol option.