VALUE FOR MONEY
At one cent short of $200, the Legends Cowboy BB rifle is expensive for a BB gun. But read this review and you’ll find that it’s worth every penny!
It’s also been worth the wait! First shown at the 2018 SHOT Show, this gun was originally to have 410 FPS and a much less realistic stock. Moving to 600 FPS and the fantastic faux wood that’s on shipping guns has made a huge difference.
| HAM Test Rating | 97% |
|---|---|
| Value For Money | Fantastic lever action replica, and powerful too. |
| Firearm it Copies | Winchester Model 1894 |
| Best BB Tested | ASG Blaster |
| Street Price at Time of Test | $199.99. |
| Ammo Type | .177 BBs. |
| Power Source | 2 x 12 Gram CO2 cartridge. |
| Useful Shots per Fill | Up to 110. |
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Umarex Legends Cowboy Lever Action CO2 BB Air Rifle![]()
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Umarex Legends Cowboy Rifle
REALISM – LOOK AND FEEL
In a word: outstanding!
Everything about the Legends Cowboy BB rifle is a remarkably close representation of the .30-30 caliber Winchester 1894. Overall length is the same and the proportions of the powder-burning original are captured extremely well.
The CO2-powered gun is slightly lighter than the firearm – but not by much. At 6 Lbs 3 Oz including CO2 and cartridges, the Legends Cowboy BB rifle is around 5 Ounces lighter than the original – empty at least. This is probably as a result of the hollow synthetic stock being lighter than the solid wood original.
While the black, powder-coated metal parts are very well finished, it’s the “wood” parts that really shine. Yes. they’re actually synthetic, but this is BY FAR the most realistic wood effect finish that any of the HAM team have ever seen on an air rifle.
At first, we actually thought is was wood! It’s difficult to describe or photograph the realism of the printed wood effect, but – take it from us – you’re most unlikely to be disappointed by this synthetic stock.
The obligatory BB gun warning text is printed very small and inconspicuously under the magazine tube. This will be appreciated by many.
In fact, only the “Legends Cowboy Rifle” stamped on the barrel and the presence of a safety on the breech tang indicate that this is not an original 1894. And even the safety is similar to that fitted to current-manufacture 1894 powder-burners.
HAM Tester Doug Wall summarized the look and feel concisely in his test notes. “It’s great!” he wrote.
ACCURACY AND POINT OF IMPACT
“This is probably the most accurate BB gun we’ve ever tested”. Doug Wall’s testing notes confirm what you can see in the test targets below.
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle gave 10-shot groups at 6 yards that averaged about 1-Inch Center-To-Center. This is spectacularly good for a BB gun!
What’s even better is that the most accurate BBs in the Legends Cowboy BB rifle tested by HAM – ASG Blaster BBs – gave a 10-shot group of just 0.75-Inch CTC at 10 Yards. That’s as good as some pellet-firing air rifles at this range.
With accuracy like this, soda cans will need to be moved out to more like 20 yards to be a challenge for the Cowboy and its happy owner…
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle is fitted with an elevation-adjustable rear sight. This would be very beneficial in adjusting the point of impact in the vertical plane to accommodate individual eyesight variations.
Windage adjustment of the iron sights was dead-on. That’s good in itself and even better as the sights are not adjustable for windage.
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The main claim made by the manufacturer for the Legends Cowboy BB rifle is that it has a Muzzle velocity of 600 FPS. The sample tested by HAM gave results very close to that even at a cool 59 degrees F ambient temperature.
We know that Muzzle Velocity increases by around 2 FPS per degree F of increasing ambient temperature. It’s also known that any CO2-powered airgun is likely to suffer “valve lock” at temperatures somewhere around 95 degrees F.
So, taking the 590 FPS test data, that means that the Legends Cowboy BB rifle tested by HAM would produce a Muzzle Velocity of 600 FPS at 64 degrees. That would increase to around 650 FPS at 90 degrees F.
That’s extremely strong performance for any CO2-powered BB gun and significantly exceeds the manufacturer’s claim.
Umarex also stresses the extreme accuracy of appearance and action of this BB gun. Again, these claims are easily met!
CONSISTENCY
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle tested by HAM exhibited outstanding consistency.
Muzzle Velocities varied only between about 570 and 590 FPS, dependent on the type of BBs used. (Like any CO2-powered airgun, FPS will vary with ambient temperature and the rate of fire).
Standard Deviations (the shot-to-shot variation of FPS within a string) was very low, in HAM testing, with most being below 10 FPS. This are figures that would not disgrace some regulated PCP air rifles!
The trigger pull weight varied by only 8 Ounces either side of the 3 Lbs 1 Oz average. This is pretty-well undetectable in use.
Additionally, accuracy was excellent with all the BBs in the standard HAM test suite. Overall, there’s no complaints here…
REALISM – TRIGGER AND ACTION
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle has a fantastically-realistic action that puts most other CO2-powered replicas in the shade!
BBs are loaded into individual cartridges and these are then thumbed into the magazine tube through the side-loading gate. This is exactly like the firearm original.
Pulling down on the lever action chambers and ejects successive cartridges after firing. The HAM team found that a fairly stout pull on the action gave the best results in ejecting the “empties”.
The trigger pull of the Legends Cowboy BB rifle tested by HAM averaged 3 Lbs 1 Oz. Again, this is a good representation of the original.
Of course, it’s this realistic cartridge loading and ejection that makes the Legends Cowboy BB rifle such a stand-out. This is as much fun as you can get with a BB gun – short of full-auto, at least.
But one word of warning…
Buy a lot of extra BB cartridges!
Unlike the firearm original, these need to be re-loaded and re-used. The realistic extraction sends these cartridges flying and – if outside – you’ll be hard-pressed to find them all again. Also remember to carefully clean any dirt off of them before re-loading.
SHOT COUNT
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle tested by HAM gave 110 shots from two, 12 Gram CO2 cartridges. That was before the muzzle velocity fell to around 300 FPS.
Given the high muzzle velocity of the gun, this is extremely good performance, although there is, naturally, no blowback to absorb energy.
MUZZLE VELOCITY
As always, HAM testing was undertaken in relatively cool conditions. This time it was just 59 degrees F on the range.
This is rather cool for CO2-powered airguns, however, the Legends Cowboy BB rifle tested by HAM produced a spirited performance in spite of the temperature. The maximum average Muzzle Velocity for a 10-shot string was 590 FPS. This was achieved with Umarex Steel BBs.
| BBs | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosman Copperhead 5.13 Grain | 575 FPS | 3.77 Ft/Lbs | Very Good. |
| Umarex Steel 5.29 Grain | 580 FPS | 3.95 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| ASG Blaster 5.32 Grain | 571 FPS | 3.85 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
| Hornady Black Diamond 5.36 Grain | 574 FPS | 3.92 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| Daisy Avanti 5.44 Grain | 572 FPS | 3.95 Ft/Lbs | Excellent |
APPEARANCE AND FINISH
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle is beautifully finished, as is the case with all Umarex Legends products.
The casting and machining of metal parts is excellent and the black powder-coated finish – while not exactly matching a traditional blued finish – is very good.
We’ve already raved about the quality of printing on the synthetic “wood” parts. But the inevitable molding seams are very well controlled, too.
The saddle ring is well-executed and there’s a nicely-machined brass bead for the front sight. Even the molded “screw heads” in the receiver are realistically-done. That’s impressive attention to detail.
BUYING AND OWNING
The Legends Cowboy BB rifle is available online from the usual favorites such as Pyramyd Air and Airgun Depot. With Umarex USA’s strong distribution, it may also be available in big box stores too, in future.
The owner’s manual is comprehensive, well-illustrated and in multiple languages. However – as with all Legends products – the warranty is just three months.
Many other CO2-powered replicas include the valve in a separate magazine. This is not the case here, so there’s no user-replaceable parts in the Legends Cowboy BB rifle.
HAM Tester Doug Wall found the easiest way to load the BBs was to pour a few in an up-turned pellet tin lid. Then just push the cartridges down onto the BBs to load them. That’s much easier than attempting to push the BBs in with your finger…
One possible issue to be aware-of is that the Legends Cowboy BB rifle can sometimes pierce just one of the CO2 cartridges when loading. Full FPS is achieved in this case, but with only half the shot count.
This happened to HAM Tester Doug Wall on one occasion. However he overcame it in future loads by ensuring that he continued to turn the cartridge loading key against the pressure of the CO2 that had been released when the first cartridge was punctured. Just don’t overdo it, cautions Doug!
Should you just want a short shooting session with your Cowboy, just load a full CO2 cartridge into the gun, followed by a used (empty) one. Again, full FPS will be achieved but with half the shot count.
SAFETY FIRST. As with all BB-firing airguns, it’s necessary to wear shooting glasses when firing this airgun. Also do not shoot at hard surfaces or water. BBs tend to bounce off these surfaces and may hit you, or something other than what you intended. If in doubt, don’t pull the trigger! Due to the realistic appearance of this product, handle it as you would a firearm. Do not display it in public or in any place where it could be mistaken for a cartridge firearm.
6-YARD TEST TARGETS
10-YARD TEST TARGET
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Umarex Legends Cowboy Lever Action CO2 BB Air Rifle![]()
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Umarex Legends Cowboy Rifle
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