Like a lot of kids, my first “gun” was a BB gun—the Daisy Red Ryder to be exact. Dad cut the wood stock down a couple of inches so it would fit my 5-year-old frame, and I was out the door and on the hunt. I shot a lot of birds with it. None died. When the sun was just right I could even see the BB fly through the air and impact them right before they flew away, mildly annoyed. If only I had a PCP rifle that shot arrows, like the Air Javelin Pro from Umarex.

The Umarex Air Javelin Pro

A few years ago, we moved to Phoenix and got a house with a pool. The birds pooped all over the spillover, and my wife’s love of all animals suddenly turned cold when it came to the airborne variety. I was told to “terminate with extreme prejudice.”

Now, whacking birds in a heavily populated area requires a little finesse. The suppressed .22 was still a little too powerful. So, I bought a pump-up pellet gun and a cheap scope, then brought down hell on our unwelcomed feathered friends. It was immensely entertaining and surprisingly effective. The pneumatic gun world slowly earned my respect.

A short time later, I found myself at the 2021 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous, where manufacturers introduce their new products to writers and photographers before releasing them to the general public.

Umarex was set up at the end booth with a variety of air rifles and pistols. Off to the side was a foam animal target, dotted with arrows. While they had a large selection of new air guns, it was the Air Javelin Pro that had everyone’s attention.

It looked like the lovechild from a crossbow and a pellet gun. Virtually all polymer, it still felt extremely solid. A full-length Picatinny on top allows the mounting of different sights and optics. Likewise, M-Lok down the sides allows for a sling mount or light/laser.

The stock is collapsible with a slot for a sling attachment. An oversize charging handle can be screwed into either side of the bolt, and a crossbolt safety sits in front of the trigger. The safety and charging handle are really the only controls that you use.

I never saw a single shooter miss, and everyone got up laughing about how insanely fun it was to thwack an arrow into the target.

Let it Fly

A few months later, a few packages arrived on my doorstep, including an Air Javelin Pro, a ReadyAir Airgun Compressor that goes up to 4,500 PSI, and lots and lots of arrows. I went right out and bought a foam bear target to set up in the backyard.

My first shooting test began 20 feet from my back door. I live in a heavily populated area, but I figured a 6-foot-tall cinder block wall should be plenty of backstop when I was shooting slow fire from a benched position.

The test Air Javelin Pro came to me with an Axeon Trisyclon red-dot scope already mounted and sighted in. It worked great. Fifteen yards was the longest distance I could set up with my DOA shooting bench and Labradar.

The red dot made it super easy, and I had arrows touching each other right from the start. My wife must have sensed I was having more fun than I am allowed because she came out and told me the neighbors were going to hear it, so I had to stop.

My next test was at Cowtown Shooting Range, north of Phoenix. This time I was able to set up at 25 yards. I was curious about how much velocity would drop as the pressure in the air tank went down.

I kept shooting for hours (hey, arrows are free after you buy them once) and drained and refilled the tank over and over. Here is what I learned.

Using the Air Javelin Pro

First, using the Umarex ReadyAir airgun compressor was a breeze. In typical guy fashion, I never read the directions. I simply hooked up the two clamps to my battery (red to positive, black to negative), hooked them to the air compressor, and popped the air hose onto the end of the air tank on the gun.

It was just like hooking an air chuck onto a regular air hose; you pull down the coupler, push it in and let go of the coupler. I started the timer on my phone and went down range to retrieve arrows.

On my way back, I could hear the sound of the air compressor change, so I hurried over. The air compressor automatically stops pumping at whatever pressure it is preset. It had taken less than four minutes. That was fast.

Consistency is Key

I also noticed that the point-of-aim and point-of-impact stayed pretty much the same as long as the air pressure was in the “green zone” on the air tank. My arrows started off at approximately 350 fps and pretty much stayed there.

It had been nearly two weeks since I was shooting in the backyard with no top off on the air tank, and the velocity was still within 2 fps from two weeks prior. About five shots later, I had dropped into the red zone, and feet per second dropped from 350 to 320, then 305 in two shots.

I refilled the tank, and my next shot was 368 fps. Over the next 21 shots, it dropped about one or 2 fps each time until it got down to 350 again. Then, when it went into the red, it dropped suddenly to 321, 295 then 296.

The lesson: keep it in the green zone. Top to bottom of the green, there is about a 15-20 fps spread total over approximately 20 shots. Point-of-impact never noticeably changed.

Hunting with the Air Javelin Pro

Would I hunt with the Air Javelin Pro? In a heartbeat. The arrows were 170 grains. I only had practice heads on the arrows, but they still buried a minimum of 7.25 inches into new, dense foam. As the foam wore, I had arrows going over 11 inches deep and sticking out the other side of the target.

Kinetic energy stayed pretty consistent at 45 to 50 fpe from the muzzle clear out to 60 feet. At 75 feet, it was dropping into the low 40s of kinetic energy. A quick check online of several sights recommended 25 to 41 fpe for medium game (deer, antelope, etc.) and 42 to 65 fpe of kinetic energy for hunting large game (elk, black bear, boar).

The Air Javelin Pro qualifies for that even before attaching the heavier broadhead tips that will increase the kinetic energy. Umarex recommends the Air Javelin Pro for hunting game at 35 yards and under. I know I would be more accurate with the Air Javelin Pro than a compound bow. Experts also weigh in that it is also more accurate than a crossbow.

Legalities of Hunting with an Air Rifle That Shoots Arrows

So, is it legal to hunt with an air rifle that shoots arrows? The law refers to these as airbows, and a quick search revealed they are legal in a handful of states. These include Arizona, Virginia, Missouri, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Maryland, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Washington State, and possibly others.

For those of us who don’t want to buy a compound bow and spend months learning how to shoot it at different distances, this is just the ticket. You could literally fill the air tank at home, grab a handful of arrows and head out on a hunting trip without having to worry about refilling the air tank. When was the last time you went deer hunting and fired more than 20 rounds?

Parting Shots

If there was a downside to the Air Javelin Pro, I would mention that it is louder than I expected. I would say it is still quieter than a .22, and you won’t need hearing protection, but it is not as quiet as a traditional bow.

Something I would consider is changing out the buttstock. I somehow managed to keep collapsing it because I grabbed it when I pulled the charging handle and accidentally depressed the release.

Other than that, everything worked perfectly. I did kill a few arrows, but only because it was so accurate, I kept hitting them with other arrows.

Reviewing the Umarex Air Javelin Pro turned out to be both fun and eye-opening. I never ventured into the world of air rifles, and certainly, not professional grade that could actually be used to hunt large game.

Not only would I really like to take this one hunting, but that Umarex ReadyAir Airgun compressor has me browsing through Umarex’s PCP rifles to see what large-bore pellet guns I might like to purchase as I find myself heading down the air rifle rabbit hole.

For more information, please visit UmarexAirGuns.com.

This article originally appeared in the June/July Gun Annual 2022 issue of Tactical Life magazine. Get your copy today at OutdoorGroupStore.com.