There a re a few Red Ryder type BB Rifles out there now, of course the original Red Ryder that dates back several decades. Since then Crosman came out with their version of the Marlin Cowboy BB Rifle, then there was an Air Venturi John Wayne licensed version of the Red Ryder. Recently Barra came out with their slightly different take on the Red Ryder with the Barra 1866 dual Ammo Air Rifle, which though it looks a lot like the Red Ryder, it is not spring operated but rather pump operated and can shoot both Steel BB’s and Pellets. That brings us to the most recent version of Red Ryder type BB Rifles, Umarex Marlin Lever Action Spring BB Rifle which is the focus of this Field Test Shooting Video Review. You can watch my Table Top Video Review for details and specifications along with more close up video of it here.
To start things off with my Field Test Shooting Video of the Umarex Marlin Lever Action Spring BB Rifle, I shoot 5 rounds through my Chronograph to see what the real world velocity is in fps. Umarex claims around 300 fps. I was able to average right around 274 fps so not far off of the claim. My lowest performing shot was 270 fps with the fastest shot hitting 278 fps, so all very close in velocity which is typical of a spring piston Airgun, this will help with consistent accuracy especially in terms of elevation.
When it comes to the accuracy, the Umarex Marlin Lever Action Spring BB Rifle did as well or perhaps even better than my other testing using previous Red Ryder type Air Rifles. If I through out one flyer I got, my 10 shot grouping was able to get around a 2 inch grouping that was overall well centered on the target, maybe juts a hair to the right. Even with the flyer the grouping spread out to a 3 inch grouping. I am pretty sure I could do better as this was the first time shooting this rifle. Keep in mind as I have to work the lever action for each shot that requires me to hold the rifle straight up and down in order for proper BB loading, this means I need to fully reset my hands on the sand bag and re-aim for each shot which will effect accuracy consistency a bit. Still a good result.
All in all I do really like the Umarex Marlin Lever Action Spring BB Rifle, mainly as it has a longer shoulder pull more suitable for adults. I feel adults get left out a bit in terms of target marketing with the standard Red Ryder which is a very compact BB Rifle with a short shoulder pull more suited for kids and youth shooters. This makes the Umarex Marlin Lever Action Spring BB Rifle more comfortable to shoot as an adult but will still work for youth and kids as is is not too large in size or heavy or even very hard to work the lever action. Now the whole family can really take part in the fun experience of shooting a Red Ryder type BB Rifle!