Way back in 2006 I made a video called the World Smallest Full Auto BB Pistol and uploaded it to YouTube then I kind of forgot about it fro a while… A few months later I went back and checked on it and had received around 100,000 video views and I lost my mind for a bit. It made me wonder perhaps if people wanted to see more Airgun Videos so I started making the occasional Airguns Video when I bought a new Airgun and uploaded them to YouTube. They kept getting decent views and people seemed to want to watch them so I decided maybe starting an Airgun Blog that I could link my YouTube Videos to would be something people would be interested in?
Well that was how the Replica Airguns YouTube Channel and Website all began and since then things have really grown with over 300 thousand Subscribers, 138 million Video Views and over a thousand Video made to date.
I figures it was time to take a look back at the Airgun that started things all off and see if it still stands up to the newer Airguns on the market. That Airgun is the Umarex Walther PPK/S CO2 Blowback BB Pistol which by the way was Umarex’s first ever BB Pistol and was also the first BB pistol to have a working blowback slide. I tried to find out exactly when the Umarex Walther PPK/S CO2 Blowback BB Pistol went into production but could not find this exact info but I’m guessing it is around 20 years old by now.
As far as I know there are no new Walther PPK or PPK/S Steel BB pistols on the market, perhaps some in 6mm Airsoft versions so the closest 4.5mm BB Airgun I could compare it to was the Makarov line of Airguns, Umarex and KWC have made versions of the Makarov including the original Umarex non blowback all metal Makarov, the Umarex Legends Blowback Makarov Ultra and the KWC Full Blowback Makarov PM. Of course there is the Baikal Makarov but that is a gun that is hard to compare to other Airguns so I left that one out of the picture.
In this video I compare the Umarex Walther PPK/S CO2 Blowback BB Pistol to the newer Makarov BB Pistols to see if it holds up at least in terms of appearance and features and to be honest other than the plastic stick magazine it really does hold up considering its age and how much time Airgun Manufacturers have had to make improvements over the years.
Make sure to watch this video to see how the Umarex Walther PPK/S CO2 Blowback BB Pistol compares to todays modern Airguns and stay posted for my shooting comparison where I test out the much older Umarex Walther PPK/S CO2 Blowback BB Pistol to the much newer KWC Makarov PM in the Replica Airguns Indoor Shooting Range.
In this Makarov comparison video I look at a variety of different versions of Makarov BB Airguns and compare them to each other to determine which one I feel is the best in their class. My final choice is of course based on my own personal opinion and even then I found it hard to pick a clear winner.
I finally got some brand new Umarex pistols to share with you in this Vimeo video, all three of these CO2 4.5mm Steel BB pistols have blowback and use full size drop out magazines. They also all share single action only operation.
The Umarex Makarov Ultra (Legends Series) is an all metal pistol with very heavy blowback and a long but fairly smooth and medium pull single action trigger. Everything works just like the real steel version including the slide catch/release and safety. It is also fully field strip-able.
The Beretta 84 FS (Cheetah) also has a decent blowback feel but the trigger was a bit heavier on this model, perhaps the trigger will break in a bit over time? Still a really great full metal and fully licensed CO2 Blowback BB shooter with awesome weight to it. The Beretta 84 FS is fully field strip-able and has a working slide catch/release and safety.
Lastly I show you the Umarex Mauser C96 Boomhandle (Legends Series), although much of the external materials are plastic, there is lots of metal throughout like the barrel, bolt, rear sight, hammer, safety, trigger and most of the drop out magazine, giving this pistol a good overall weight to it. The blowback is super fast and crisp with a nice short and light single action trigger making rapid fire very quick.
Umarex Makarov Ultra CO2 Blowback 4.5mm BB Pistol
Full metal
Blowback operation
4.5mm Steel BB
12 Gram CO2
Single action only trigger
Fixed sights
3.5 inch smooth bore barrel
1.4 pounds
16-17 round magazine
350 fps
Umarex Beretta Mod. 84 FS CO2 Blowback 4.5mm BB Pistol