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Are you ready for the next installment of Wheelgun Wednesday? We sure are. This week’s episode will start off with a slightly different tone. Maybe tone is not the right word? Be that as it may, paintball is nothing new on the geologic scale of pew-pew time, but they are pretty new in the Umarex USA catalog. And since this is “Wheelgun Wednesday,” it should not surprise you that we have paint splatterers that fit this description.

It's Wednesday somewhere, right? No? Well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere but we aren't talking about clocking out of work and heading home for some stress relief. But we are talking about stress relief and getting some shooting satisfaction through beloved wheelguns! Yes, magazine-fed handguns have never been more popular than they are right now, but the appeal for the wheel has never died out! This is true for firearms as well as airguns. And guess what? We happend to make a healthy selection of both .177, 6mm, and paintball wheelguns. Take the first installment of this three-part tour with us.

Early in 2022, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice approved legislation that legalized airgun hunting for both small and big game. The changes to the state’s laws require air rifles of at least .45 caliber shooting at least a 200-grain bullet. For small game, a minimum of .22 caliber airguns are required. Airguns are allowed during regular firearms seasons only. Groups like the Airgun Sporting Association and Airgun Hunting Legion are often at the forefront in convincing state legislators and Game & Fish personnel to approve airguns for big game hunting. But in West Virginia, Ted Nestor put aside his TV host cap and played the role of lobbyist.

This year has been fun, at least it's been fun in ways. With the emergency and crisis of the past two years minimized in people's memories, it has become evident to us that people are wanting to get outside and have some fun doing the things they have always liked to do. As a result, fewer folks are saving their spending money for a rainy day and choosing to pick up some fun Umarex gear to maximize their time away from work. We are going to take a few moments to go through the top 5 “fun” airguns that you guys are buying this year.

While the name UMAREX® is relatively new in the US market, we know you have heard of Smith & Wesson. What you also likely don’t know is that Smith & Wesson has had a long relationship with this family-owned German company. You see, inside the mystery of the name “Umarex” lies a tie to the storied Walther® brand. The very much abbreviated version of the story is that, due to the 1968 Handgun Control Act, the PPK® had to be made stateside or it couldn’t be sold in the US at all. At first, Interarms manufactured the PPK and PPK/S® for Walther, but as that business had some difficulties arise, Smith & Wesson stepped in to help the German manufacturer with distribution, manufacturing, and even developed some joint projects with Walther along the way.

The Umarex Origin is appropriately named. This line of airguns from Umarex USA has undoubtedly become the “Origin” story for a whole new wave of shooters who were gun-shy to try out PCP Airguns until their release. As of the release of this article, the Umarex Origin is available in both .22 and .25 calibers and three different configurations. This article will look at the original Origin and how it put PCP Airgunning within reach of thousands of new airgunners.

Whew, it’s been a hot summer so far. At the time of this writing, mid-July, we’ve been completely dry for the month which is rare but not unheard of. August is traditionally the most miserable of months for us Arkansans. That being said, the one and only slight benefit to this oppressive heat has been the lack of humidity. This has helped to keep the heat index more or less on par with the actual temperature whereas in a typical Arkansas summer, the humidity works to add 5-8 degrees of perceived misery to the great outdoors temperatures around the clock.

I know, I know, it’s still July, super hot everywhere, and deer season is, seemingly, a long way off, but time does fly and the fall hunting season will be here before you know it. With the roster of states allowing big bore PCP and air archery hunting growing every year, there is likewise increasing demand for heavy duty air gun products. If you’ve been on the fence about getting into big bore air, now is the time to get equipped and familiar with the gear so you can get in the field and represent the airgun hunting community.

The Student Air Rifle Program (SAR) is excited to expand to Kentucky. A total of 17 individuals were certified as SAR Basic Air Riflery Instructors (BARI) during the BARI training workshop in Nicholasville, KY occurring on June 30, 2022.

In June I had the opportunity to travel to Provo, Utah, to shoot the Rocky Mountain Airgun Challenge. RMAC was held at the Garth Killpack Shooting Range in Hobble Creek Canyon. I loved being on the range and learning about the different airgun competitions. I was signed up for 100-yard Benchrest, other Umarex shooters were signed up for that and the other competitions like Precision Marksman Challenge, Speed Challenge, and Big Bore Slug Challenge.