I’ve spent many nights in an old hunting cabin out in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains in western Arkansas. The cabin is rustic. By that I mean it suffers from a bit of an infestation. There are numerous squirrels living in the roof. The rats and mice have made themselves at home inside. If I were to be honest, I’d have to admit that I’ve killed more game inside the house than I have out in the woods.
This fall, those rats are doomed. Mice, too. The squirrels might want to consider relocating. I’m taking a Trevox with me. And if it punches wood rats half as effectively as it punches paper, I’ll be happy.
The new Umarex Trevox break barrel air pistol is ideal for sneaky pest control. It's powered by you and the Turbo Nitrogen Technology piston and has the integral SilencAir noise reduction system that keeps it quiet. It's one of the most comfortable break action pistols I’ve shot and will be available under $80.
The 3 chamber SilencAir system is hearing safe. It has a pop like most of the Umarex rifles I’ve shot with the SilencAir system, but it is hardly loud.
The grooved grip makes cocking easy. It also makes holding onto the gun easy, too. It is a big pistol and stability would suffer if the grip were any smaller.
Don’t let the word pistol snow you. This is a sizable gun. The overall length is 18.11”. 7.08” of that is rifled barrel. It weighs in at 3.38 pounds. The specs say the trigger breaks at a consistent 5.78 pounds. The one I tested pulled higher than that, at 7.2 pounds. The break is clean. I found the weight of the gun a nice balance for the heavier trigger pull. I had no difficulty making precise shots.
One exceptional feature of this gun is the ease with which it can be cocked. The 25-pound single-stroke piston is quiet. There’s a click at the end, but it is much less likely to scare off a squirrel than a typical multi-pump design.
At 25 pounds, the cocking effort of the T.N.T. piston is hefty, but not an impediment. It will feel stout for those accustomed to the extra leverage of a break-action air rifle, or the ease of a traditional pump. You don’t have a long barrel and stock to hold onto, but it becomes second nature. Be safe, though, and (like always) keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
The RWS Superdome 8.3 grain pellet is my go-to. I tend to use these with each new gun I test to get a baseline I understand. They’re great all-around pellets. The Trevox was shooting them right at 500 fps. That equates to roughly 4 foot-pounds of energy, which may not sound like much, but it is devastating to a rat (when a shot is placed well).
Loading is simple. I didn’t experience any difficulties with the Trevox. The barrel’s initial break is stiff, but that’s a product of its positive lock-up. I have big hands, and .177 pellets are small. As ungraceful as I am, I still didn’t end up bending any pellets with the Trevox.
The Trevox has an 11mm dovetail for optics milled into the tube. I ran the pistol with the irons and with an Axeon red-dot that Umarex sent over with the pistol. While the front sight is fixed to clear the SilencAir noise reduction system, the rear is adjustable. And the bright contrast of the two color fiber optic sights makes rapid target acquisition easy—something you’d want on a pistol designed for pest control.
With the Axeon red-dot, it was even easier. Out to 25 yards, I had consistent reliable hits. The one day I had on the range with the photographer was blustery. Still, at 25 yards, I could pop an 8” steel plate as fast as I could get it loaded. Considering how light these pellets are, that’s worth crowing about.
Slowing down provided better accuracy. We had a small spinning target on the range. The squares of the spinner were just over an inch wide. At 15 yards, I could put a pellet in that square every time.
The Trevox would be a beast to holster, but it is small enough to pack easily. And I will end where I began, with hunting. This would make a great persuader for those pesky woodland creatures that like to sound the alarm when you’re sitting in your tree-stand. You know the squirrel I’m talking about. He shows up at the crack of dawn and starts barking at you, alerting every whitetail within a mile to your presence. If it’s legal where you hunt to carry a pellet gun, too, I’d recommend the Trevox. One shot will shut up a squirrel.