"socaloldman"Hajimoto, this is going to be a great project. I understand how much fun you are having and the results are very revealing. However curiosity makes me want to know at the end how much time and money would it take to duplicate and would there be a comparable off the shelf gun to match the results and how would it compare? None of this is a put down of your research, rather just another question needing answer. I honor your work. Nick
Hello Nick,
Please entertain me while you are greeted by this wall of text I call a reply to your question. I will give you the short answer to your question giving the ability to ignore anything after.
Short answer: No there is not another turn key option currently available with the feature set that is even close the Gauntlet price. At the time of this writing all the tweaks and or mods that I have available can all be completed in as little as 1 hour with a total cost of $15 to buy the parts and do the work yourself.
Long answer: You are correct about me enjoying myself in documenting and sharing my tweaking and adjusting the Umarex Gauntlet. You question about the value of time and effort being put into the Gauntlet if its value were better served in another rifle. Some people think my series on the Gauntlet are in some way a knock on Umarex or the Gauntlet and that is not the intent. Instead they showing people real honest discoveries of a product issues that they can expect if they purchase the same rifle. Just because my rifle exhibited this traits does not mean all Gauntlets will be its good to know what to look for. So that being said, this is what I do, I will be doing these things to the Gauntlet whether it is captured on video or not so my thinking is, why not share it, why not offer a consumer reports meets Bob Villa approach to consumer awareness.
All in all the Umarex Gauntlet is a great rifle out of the box, it really is. There is not another rifle (currently available) with the out of the box feature set of the Gauntlet at its price point. The average person will open the box and be completely satisfied and happy with the performance of the Gauntlet. The average consumer is so far ahead of the curve on the real world value scale that even if they spent $50 for simple tweak resolutions to make the rifle 100% whole, they would be way ahead on the value curve.
Umarex was tasked with addressing the top three things folks in the air gun community consider important in order for the average new shooter to step into the PCP arena. They are and are listed in no certain order, price, shot count and consistency. Of these three variables Umarex controls cost right out the gate, shot count can be achieved by high air volume or efficient use of a limited air volume and lastly, consistency, which goes hand in hand with accuracy and repeatability. I would say the balance of shot count and consistency were both simultaneously achieved by regulating the rifle. The power they achieved is respectable as well, I sound like a broken record in saying this again, they did an excellent job in pulling all the required minimums together and called it the Gauntlet.
All that said, let us consider the process that the consumers endures when he or she buys a product and finds that there is a mechanical issue with the product, not a design issue of functionality but a real world broken part. The options are:
- Send the entire product back for a replacement.
- Contact the manufacturer and receive a replacement parts.
- Send it back for a refund.
- Fix it themselves.
- Throw away or give away the rifle.
These are honestly the only options that are viable. Of these five options all have a time or money implication, they all have inconvenience to the consumer on some level. Some folks are OK with waiting a week for parts to correct the problem other folks are steadfast that they paid for a complete and functioning product and that is what they want, period, right up until the find out that they are responsible for the return shipping costs and have to bring it to the postal carrier themselves. Because I personally do not have the patience to wait in most scenarios my mind instantly starts working on a quickest resolve to any given scenario. For me the inconvenience of shipping a product back disrupting my routine, incurring costs even if they are refunded later and waiting for a replacement is more of a burden than attacking the problem myself. There are others that are like me, and if they have a resource that they can use to help minimize the amount of time they have to invest in a known issue, would be a God send.
My videos are an attempt to be that friend in the business, that guy that you know could help in a given scenario, that guy that helps but never asks for a payment. My video are not intended to be the know all end all to any given situation that offers the one and only solution to a problem. I am just a lifelong air gunner who wants to share and give back to a sport and community that has given me countless amounts of joy and useful information. I know you stated that you were attacking me in your question and I do not take it as such, this is just my mind pouring to page and responsible for build the wall of text.
Thank you for taking the time to comment,
Hajimoto
