UX BlaMer

Watch The video review here!

With the Umarex Glock 17 Gen5 MOS pistol that I tested last month coming in at £209.95, I thought it would be a good idea to try something a bit cheaper. A quick search led me to the UX BlaMer, which comes in at a more palatable RRP of £124.95. However, the appeal of this pistol does not stop there, because the BlaMer is a modern interpretation of the legendary Colt 1911, meaning that it is a real looker and certainly an attractive option for any shooter looking for an affordable air pistol to add to their collection. To help keep costs down, this particular model fires .177 metal BBs, which can cost as little as £3.99 for 1500! Anyway, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at this offering from Umarex.  What have we got here? So, upon opening up the box, you will find the pistol, a magazine, a large Allen key, and some instructions. On handling the BlaMer, you will immediately feel its low weight, as the frame and top slide are both manufactured from lightweight polymer, with the majority of the pistol’s 635g weight coming from the metal magazine. Does this low weight mean the pistol doesn’t feel as ‘real’ as it could? Well, yes. Does it mean that there is minimal fatigue while using it over extended periods therefore making it suitable for a wide group of shooters? Again, yes! The polymer frame feels pretty good, and the narrow grip associated with the 1911 is pretty darn comfortable. Extra grip has been added to the polymer scales by incorporating horizontal grooves across the entire surface, and Umarex has included panels of stippling on the front and rear of the grip. Under the hammer is a large beavertail that fits comfortably in the web of your hand, further adding to the supreme comfort offered by this pistol. Overall, it is very appealing and practical. Moving forward from the grip, the pistol shows a squared-off trigger guard with a smooth front face. Ahead of this, there is a 4cm length of Picatinny accessory rail for a light or laser, and it is features like this that help to modernise an old pistol design like the 1911. To add some excitement into the mix, Umarex has fitted a blowback mechanism, ensuring that the polymer slide slams to the rear after each shot. This reciprocating action not only cocks the hammer but also provides some lively recoil. So far so good! Incidentally, the BlaMer is single action only, so unless the hammer is cocked, no dice! The top slide itself shows serrations on each side, for additional grip, as well as some along the top. To the rear, you will find a decent ramped U-notch sight that is complemented with two white dots. Along with the green fibre-optic front sight, the shooter is presented with an easily obtained sight picture that really adds to the effectiveness of this air pistol. Controls Importantly, the design includes two safety systems, with the first being the ambidextrous thumb safety. In use, this offers minimal resistance, while also offering you a place to rest the thumb of your firing hand. It can only be applied when the pistol’s hammer is cocked, moving up for safe and down for fire (red dot exposed). The second safety comes in the form of a rear-mounted grip safety that is integrated with the beavertail. The concept is simple, as it requires the pistol to be gripped correctly before it will fire, while also reducing the chance of the pistol discharging when dropped. Nice! As you would expect, the slide locks to the rear when the magazine is empty, and with a replenished magazine inserted into the pistol, you can operate the slide release on the left-hand side of the pistol to get back into the fight. Sorry southpaws, it is only on one side! The trigger is up next, and I must say that I found it a real pleasure to use. The flat blade shows a boxy profile, distinguishing it from a traditional trigger blade, and it moves straight to the rear with no ‘back and up’ movement, no matter where you press on the serrated edge. In use, it offered up a pseudo-two-stage pull, with a weight of 2lbs 6oz, and in use it allowed me to extract decent performance from the pistol. Seeing as the BlaMer is single action only, the hammer could be considered one of the controls. This skeletonised, ‘commander style’ hammer is in keeping with the modern look and shows some ridges for grip. It also offers a decent amount of sprung resistance when pulled to the rear. Finally, you will find a sprung magazine release button on the left-hand side, just behind the trigger. It’s simple and effective. The magazine To get the pistol up and running, you will need to insert a 12g CO2 capsule into the metal magazine. Once in position, you can then use the supplied Allen key to do up the bolt at the base of the mag. The key is pretty large/beefy, so be careful not to do the bolt up too tightly, as this may prevent the CO2 from flowing correctly! Once the capsule has been tensioned/pierced, I recommend inserting the mag into the pistol and firing off a few blank shots, ensuring everything is working as it should. Next, with the spine of the magazine facing away from you, it is time to pull down the sprung follower, allowing you to insert the .177 metal BBs into a hole halfway down the magazine. Although it is easy to exceed the 16-shot capacity, you shouldn’t, as this will cause the BlaMer to misfeed. Once full, gently release the follower. The mag is now ready to be inserted into the pistol. Tin can alley Given that this pistol fires metal BBs, it is basically pointless shooting at paper targets. The accuracy, as with all pistols of this type, can be measured by your success rate of knocking over tin cans! With the magazine inserted, I pulled the slide to the rear, cocking the hammer in the process. With the bright green fibre-optic sight placed on each target in turn, I smashed down ten cans in a row at 10 yards, before firing the rest of the BBs off at the ones that did not fall off the table. It was great fun, and even though the top slide is lightweight polymer, the amount of recoil still provided a satisfying experience. Refilling the magazine each time took minimal effort, with a single CO2 capsule offering up four magazines worth, so 64 shots before the power reduced and I started to get failure to feed malfunctions. This was at an ambient temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. Not bad at all! Conclusion I am really starting to enjoy CO2-powered pistols, and this Ux BlaMer really hit the mark. Admittedly, I prefer the Glock I tested last month, due to its authentic weight, metal top slide, red dot compatibility, and 21-shot pellet capacity. That said, I still had just as much fun with the lightweight BlaMer. It’s easy to use, cheap to run, has excellent sights and a great trigger, plus effortlessly knocked over every tin can I pointed it at. My only parting advice is that you should make sure that you swap out the CO2 capsule before the power gets too low, otherwise you will get malfunctions, and nobody wants those.