Want to own a replica of WWII at a fraction of the cost and be able to fire on full auto or semiautomatic? Take a hard look at the Umarex Legends MP40 airgun!
The German MP 40 is said to have begun as the MP 38. The MP 38 submachine gun was reportedly created for armored troops and paratroopers. The Germans saw an opportunity to improve mass production of the MP 38 and turned to stamped receivers that could be made quickly by less-skilled workers. These guns were made to the tune of over a million before the newly designed MP 44 was born. Research on the MP 40 shows that it was fed by a double stacked, but tapered, magazine holding 32 rounds. The original weighed 9 pounds and reportedly fired over 500 rounds per minute. It is said to be front heavy and therefore controllable by the user more so than other automatic guns.
The new Legends MP 40 is based on the original German MP 40. As with other Legends airguns, this gun is an accurate representation of history!
Specifications:
Action: Semi or full auto powered by 2 CO2 cartridges
Caliber: .177 steel BBs
Magazine capacity: 52 BBs
Weight: 7.7 pounds
Sights-front is fixed, rear adjustable for elevation
Dimensions: 24.5" – 33" Barrel is 9 inches and smoothbore
Safety: Manual
Velocity of BBs: Up to 465 fps
Trigger pull: Averaged 9 pounds when I tested my gun
Reported danger distance is 350 yards
CO2 Life—On semi-auto, I averaged about three magazines. On full auto I got 2 to 2.5 magazines out of each charge when firing on bursts vs. just holding the trigger down. CO2 life is variable depending on firing rate, temperature and other factors.
Likes
Out of the box, just as with the other Legends military replica guns, I was impressed. I like the heavy and “real” feel of the gun. I have admittedly never fired the real thing so I cannot compare this gun to the real MP 40, but it was instantly clear that this was no plastic toy.
The charging handle on the left side of the gun was great because I am predominantly right-handed, although quite capable of shooting southpaw. Any time I needed to rack the bolt back it was quick, convenient and easy to do.
Accuracy was pretty good. The gun I tested tended to shoot a bit right and a tad low, but it is a submachine airgun and not made for target practice. Groups were very good until CO2 dropped off.
The power of the gun firing up to 465 feet per second (fps) was impressive. I tend to be less structured when I test things to include firearms. I would even say I am an opportunist. Perhaps being confined in the classroom all day teaching equates to me needing to “break out” of the lines on the road.
Case in point? I saw what appeared to be an empty spray paint can that I had recently used to touch up the duck boat for the upcoming season. I hurled it to the other side of the range at approximately 25 yards. I locked and loaded a fresh mag and cut loose on the can. The can was not flimsy or thin, so I figured there would be some ricocheting BBs.
Imagine my reaction when gas and a bit of paint erupted, and the can was spinning like those screechy fireworks that spin on a post every July 4th! The power of the gun easily punctured the can multiple times. So … mind that danger range of 350 yards!
The gun was comfortable to shoot. The trigger pull was reasonable at approximately 9 pounds. I was not straining to shoot it. I had my youngest daughter, who is very small framed, come take a turn and she easily hit targets and had no issues. I even shot the gun without the shoulder stock unfolded. Great fun!
Cons
The gun had a few hiccups that I noticed. The gun I shot did better with Hornady BBs vs. other brands. The issue appeared to be the way they loaded in the magazine. I am not sure if the problem I am about to describe was a magazine, spring, magazine follower or BB issue. From time to time the gun would fire but no BBs would come out. I noticed when examining the magazine that the BBs were not always perfectly staggered in the magazine lineup. When the gun spit out CO2 and no BBs, I would pull down on the BB follower, let it slam home and then rack the charging handle. Then the gun would go back to work hurling BBs downrange.
I kept trying to be careful when loading BBs per the manual’s instruction and found that if I stopped loading when the BBs were not staggered properly, I was able to shake the magazine and correct the problem much of the time. Summary: take your time loading BBs to avoid having to stop shooting to fix the BB follower.
The only other snag I ran into was using other brands of CO2. The seal was not broken a few times when using Crosman CO2, but it was fine using Umarex CO2. I think that was just coincidence, but I ran out of Crosman CO2 and could not try more of them. The piercing screw may just have needed to be worked a few times and tightened more.
Overall, I really enjoyed shooting this gun. It looks good and feels good. It is compact but realistic and fun to shoot. I can imagine getting a few of my friends to drop in and set up a BB gun range and each one of us having these military replica guns to use when tearing up targets. That would be a blast (pun intended)! MSRP $239; UmarexUSA.com.
