Testing the Umarex AirSaber Arrow Launching Rifle
June 2, 2021The popularity of air guns that fire arrows has grown over the past few years. In 2020, Umarex introduced the AirSaber as its addition to this category. We recently conducted a long-term test on the AirSaber and the results are appealing to hunters and target shooters alike.
What makes air archery appealing is that you have the benefits of a crossbow without the drawbacks, literally. Air archery products provide speed, accuracy, and compact form factors. Additionally, they do not require any upper body strength to shoot. The Umarex AirSaber embodies all these traits and more. The shooter or hunter looking to transition to archery products from a rifle will find the AirSaber to be an intuitive choice.
First Impressions
The Umarex AirSaber includes everything you need to get starting shooing right in the box except for an air supply. It includes three arrows and an Axeon Optics 4×32 Scope with an air archery reticle. The air gun itself is light and balanced at just 6.3 pounds. It has a narrow profile and a length of pull of 14.25 inches. Overall length is 41 inches without an arrow, fit and finish are great, and it feels good in the hand. However, if you have large hands, you might find that grip is a bit small, especially if you are using gloves.
There are three picatinny rails at the front of the gun that allow you to attach various accessories. This is a nice addition for adding a quiver, bipod, or any other accessory might need.
The gun is operated by working the bolt as you would on a rifle: lift up, pull back, and push forward. Because there is no tension on the bolt for lifting, you can manipulate the bolt with gloves without issue.
Overall, the dark green and black coloring make for a good-looking gun. With an MSRP of $379.99, the AirSaber exceeded my expectations on the quality of the presentation and fit and finish.
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If you are new to air guns, there are some things you need to know. First, you need an air supply. This is not like the air guns of your childhood; you will not be using CO2 cartridges. Pre-charged pneumatic air guns work by filling a reservoir with compressed air from either a SCUBA tank, like the one we used in our testing, or a pump. A few things to note here is that most people find a SCUBA tank to be easy to use, but refilling it or renting it might get tricky. Some dive shops require a diving license to fill or rent a tank, so unless you plan on taking up another hobby you might be looking at pumps.
With pumps, there are two options: manual pumps such as this one and compressors. Not just any compressor will work, so you need one designed to fill up to the high pressures that these tanks hold. Keep in mind that the AirSaber holds 3,625 psi of compressed air; your shop compressor isn’t going to be up to the job. However, Umarex makes one of the most easy-to-use compressors on the market that can fill up the AirSaber from 0 to 3,625 psi in 11 minutes.
Since we are using a SCUBA tank, filling the AirSaber is quite simple. Just attach your line to the tank and then attach the included quick-fill probe to your foster #12FS quick disconnect socket. After that, just push the probe into the fill port on the bottom of the tank at the front of the gun. Keep an eye on your pressure gauge at the bottom of the AirSaber near the trigger and do not overfill it.
Note: You have to have the AirSaber cocked before you fill the tank.
With the tank filled, slide an arrow over onto the air tube at the muzzle of the gun. The arrow fits very tight over the air tube so there is no risk of the arrow coming off. One thing to note about the AirSaber is that it is only designed for use with the 276-grain carbon fiber arrows made by Umarex.
Once the arrow is seated just cock the bolt and you are ready to fire. The safety of the gun is located on the trigger and is easy to use even if you are wearing gloves.
Accuracy
The Umarex AirSaber launches an arrow over 480 feet per second and 178 fpe. This makes it faster than just about every crossbow or compound bow on the market in 2021. As we learned when testing air archery products before, it is not all about speed. Accuracy is the number one thing that matters regardless of what you are shooting. As Larry Vickers says, “Speed is fine. Accuracy is final.” While Vickers is talking about have fast you can get on the trigger, this also applies to what you are shooting. In the category of accuracy, the Umarex AirSaber does not disappoint.
You get about 30 shots out of the AirSaber before the tank loses enough pressure to affect accuracy. In our testing, we did not fill the tank in between our three-shot groups, and we would almost always have two arrows that were almost touching and the third would be about an inch away. Our testing was done at 30 yards and it was a very windy day. I would say this gun can easily do 1-inch groups at 30 yards.
We shot until the tank was about 1,500 psi. After that, we would fill the tank back up. Our SCUBA tank would only fill up to 3,000 psi so we never reached max pressure for the AirSaber. Twenty shots was about a 1,500 psi drop from our testing.
Below is the chart of our velocity readings from 3,000 psi down to 1,500 psi. Keep in mind if we had started off at the max tax pressure for the AirSaber the numbers would have been much higher across the board.
AirSaber Velocity Readings from 3,000 PSI to 1,500 PSI
| Shot Number | Velocity (FPS) |
|---|---|
|
1 |
395 |
|
2 |
380 |
|
3 |
377 |
|
4 |
379 |
|
5 |
368 |
|
6 |
362 |
|
7 |
359 |
|
8 |
340 |
|
9 |
330 |
|
10 |
312 |
|
11 |
306 |
|
12 |
305 |
|
13 |
303 |
|
14 |
302 |
|
15 |
282 |
|
16 |
280 |
|
17 |
272 |
|
18 |
270 |
|
19 |
269 |
|
20 |
269 |
Final Thoughts
The Umarex AirSaber is a well-thought-out air gun that provides a lot of features and performance for the money. The AirSaber has a very nice two-stage trigger that in our testing came in around 2.5 pounds. It was crisp and had a solid wall for the first stage, the second stage has very little movement before the break. It really added to the quality of the gun.
At the range, the sound of the AirSaber was quiet enough that we didn’t need hearing protection. If there were several animals in the field, you could get a few shots off before you alerted them. The sound volume is borderline what I would consider for backyard shooting.
Umarex thought of all the features that you might want from an air archery product and put them into the AirSaber. It is easy to fill, maintain, load, and shoot. From a hunting perspective, it is more than accurate and powerful enough to take down anything in North America. The arrows accept your favorite broadheads. This would be a great gun for people who want to get close to the feel of a firearm in an archery product.
Key Features: UMAREX AIRSABER AIR ARCHERY ARROW RIFLE AIRGUN
ACTION: Bolt Action
AMMUNITION: Umarex Straight Flight Technology Arrows – 22.63″ w/field tip
POWER SOURCE: PCP
CAPACITY: 1-shot
VELOCITY: Up to 480 FPS
ENERGY: Up to 178 FPE
OVERALL LENGTH: 41″
WEIGHT: 6.3 lbs w/0 scope
CAPACITY: 14.6 cubic inch air volume
MSRP: $379.99
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.