UMAREX HDX .68 40J HOME DEFENCE S/GUN - DEMO

Enter, the HDX .68 - .40 J / 29.50 ft.lbs of muzzle energy.

This is the newest release from UMAREX, featuring unprecedented, never before seen realism. This gun is something which, to the civilian market, has little in the way of equal and we'll explain the why of that in just a moment.

Normally on guns like these, especially with its hefty pricetag, the sensible buyer looking to invest this much in personal safety or property protection, would ask,

"Should I invest in this, a PCP such as the HATSAN GALATIAN AUTO or a blank firing AR-15 replica, all of which are in the same price range.

We would specifically advise this option, the HDX 40J option if you intend on combating rioteers or other serious threats and here's the why of it:

This shotgun has an all-weather synthetic stock w/ a proper quality feel to it - no loose parts / bits or such that lends a toyish / cheap feel. It resembles a tactical pump shotgun w/ a frontal fluted muzzle brake, which is removable btw. The compartment that retains the spring for the pump action also realistically threads off for access into that compartment. The back of the receiver is completely metal, as is the rail which the pump action runs on. The pistol grip is polymer, rock-hard by the feel of it despite being hollowed out. The side panels are stippled, as are two thirds of the rear of this grip.

Moreover, the rear sights on this shotgun is fully adjustable, both for windage and elevation. It features a post-and-diopter type w/ an amber fibre optic inlay into the frontal sight blade. These come mounted out of the box onto the metal Picatinny rail running over the entirety of this gun's receiver, so the mounting space on top is ample. The fine tuning of the open sights is already indicative of the accuracy this shotgun is capable of..

 To compliment this as a serious anti-riot tool, you'll find a 5-slotted sliding-action mounted Picatinny rail, where your flashlight can mount onto for night time patroling / guarding. We recommend this flashlight as an entry-level option that will throw out some modest illumination, but for those who are serious about their torches and need weaponized illumination as an handy addition to this shotgun, which we highly recommend for raiding operations. This can be found here. For longer range illumination power, specifically if you need to cover the rooftops at night or need to scan the distance at night in a rural/open setting, then we recommend this. To mount either of the latter two flashlights, you'll need this.

Alternatively, if you don't need illumination that much, and need to spook the rioteers lingering around at night in small, scattered gangs, then this laser module comes recommended.

This shotgun is further equiped w/ an ambidextrous set of sling loops, and we recommend using a HK-mounting two-point tactical sling, which will but of use to you whether you are right handed or left handed. This sling is fully adjustable and allows you to carry thisdd shotgun by your fore, w/ the buttstock always close to your shoulder and enough allowance to let you swing the shotgun up when need be.

Did we mention that this shotgun operates and loads up the way a pump-action shotgun does and moreover, that the trigger on this gun is full metal as well?

That all being said - this shotgun loads up w/ sixteen (16) rounds, which are discharged by consecutively cocking this shotgun per shot discharged.

With the buttstock configuration that this shotgun comes off of the manufacturing block of with, you'll be able to preload an 88/90 gram CO2 cartridge which sits flush inside the buttstock / concealed. This is how this product is/was intended to be used by the manufacturer, and for most everyone, we will recommend it this way as this will not cause your warranty to be voided.

However, for the aspiring out there, since 88 gram cartridges can be expensive, we recommend using a paintball tank adapter which can be used in conjunction with this beefy boy, however, on that CO2 tank, you will need one of these taps installed on the tank - it will allow you to keep your shotgun on standby and let you pressurize your gun at the twist of a valve screw, whereafter that red nub will protrude.

Now we get to the fun part of this product!

This gun is chambered in .68, 17.3mm which equals to about 14 gauge / 14ga. a shotgun firearm is chambered 12 gauge / 12ga, which measures to a bore diameter of .729" or 18.51mm. So the difference in bore diameter between this gun and a shotgun firearm, is 1.21mm, which isn't THAT much.

Using a 20 oz CO2 tank at around 12 oz filled, we got muzzle velocities as high as 673 FPS using 50gr ammunition! The manufacturer claims this gun is powered at 40 Joules, meaning it will shoot 50gr ammunition at 516 FPS. So if it shoots 50gr ammunition at 673 FPS, then the actual muzzle energy is 68.1 J / 50.3 ft.lbs of energy!

Again, we don't recommend this setup as this can be very dangerous and have serious implications if you were to shoot someone with it.

Just to give some context - a shotgun firearm normally discharges between 1200 and 1800 FPS, depending on the payload. Rubber ball loaded shells shoot at almost 700 FPS, loaded w/ 2x 60gr balls (116 J of energy)

Our final thoughts on this product:
Loosehandedly the most potent .68 calibre marker commercially available. Definitely worth investing into instead of a blank-firing rifle / 9x22mm P.A.K. shotgun, that sounds nevertheless exactly like a blank firing pistol.