Umarex UX Trevox

Take a close look at the main photo of the Umarex UX Trevox, and hands up if it conjures up thoughts of that classic pistol of yesteryear – the BSA Scorpion. The Trevox doesn’t quite have the looks up against the BSA, with some of the stock design visually clumsy by comparison, yet that extended muzzle assembly, long sight base and 18” overall length are enough to fool the eye.

Handful

Handle the Trevox and the significant 3.2lbs weight soon makes itself felt. But there’s something about the big, bold design, like the Scorpion, that just works. Consider that the BSA tipped the scales at a not-dissimilar 3.5lbs, and it may just be that the Umarex designers had one eye on that classic from the off.

So, we’ve established this is a beefy pistol and visually striking, with real presence, and that long sight base should help accuracy. The Trevox is a break-barrel design that’s fitted with a gas-ram instead of a mainspring, and Umarex specifies this as their ’ T.N.T gas-piston system’. It’s actually a sealed unit of Nitrogen, and whilst I’m often quite critical of various gas-rams on the market, that offer little to no benefit over a conventional spring setup, the Trevox is in the category which has to get the thumbs up.

There’s a manual safety catch fitted and this comes in the form of a push-through button design. It is pressed ON from the left side, and then OFF from the right side. You know when the gun is in ‘fire’ mode, as a red splash shows on the top of the button on the left. If you don’t fancy using it, then just ignore it.

Sighting

Look to the receiver and the run of dovetail rails is fairly short, so sight selection needs to be carefully thought through. Any pistol scope selected needs to be sufficiently compact, so as not to foul the barrel as it arcs through the cycle. I’m stating the obvious here, and it’s no great shakes let’s face it, given the plethora of red dot sights and pistol scopes from which to choose in today’s market.

For the purposes of my test, I opted to stay with the open sights as fitted, and the sight picture on offer is pretty good. Fibre optics are used and that means two green dot elements at the rear and a snazzy red sight up front. Adjusting the rear sight is irritating, given the elevation requires a small screwdriver, and it is fiddly. That said, as usual, once the sights are set, the likelihood is that they will be left thereafter. Switch to a scope, and this model warrants it in the long run, and the fibre optics become largely academic.

Getting to grips

Cocking the action is an easy task in terms of the physical effort (or lack of it) involved, courtesy of that sizeable silencer/cocking aid up front. With a good stretch of leverage to play with, there really is no need to be anywhere near that vulnerable-looking front sight. One negative point here is that, given the layout of the Trevox, it is possible to nip the hand between the trigger guard as the cocking stroke is completed, which is something that took me by surprise initially.

Adopting a particular grip is the answer and being aware, but the fact that it’s possible is a minor irritation and a weird oversight at the design stage. That trigger guard could have been smaller from the off, probably sorting the problem in an instant.

Back to the positives, and the T.N.T. gas-ram mechanics are super-smooth as the action is cocked and the trigger set. As for the firing cycle, I have to say everything feels very refined, with no harshness, modest recoil and just a slick ‘phut’ on discharge. Look to the muzzle, and as previously touched upon, that isn’t just a barrel shroud, as there are three baffles contained within, all doing their bit to trim and dissipate any emissions from the muzzle. So yes, that moulded assembly up front is an active silencer too.

The trigger here is, unusually, specified as ‘single action’, but given that many units are pseudo-2-stage, where there’s no actual movement of the sears on the first stage, this in itself is no big deal. In use, the let-off is fairly light, although I found it operated with what’s best described as a continuous creep. Gently squeeze through that and it’s possible to arrive at the point where it is ready to trip. Experience and familiarity are the key here, and practice as always will benefit in the long run.

Stats & figures

The Trevox is designed to produce power close to the UK air pistol limit of 6 ft/lbs, and selecting the right pellet will get it close. A fairly pointless task if accuracy doesn’t also figure, but here this pistol shouldn’t disappoint. Using H&N Field Target Trophy pellets on test, energy levels hit 5.1 ft/lbs, although I tended to get the best results from some Top Shot wadcutters that I had in stock. A total velocity spread of just 12 fps and energy still around 4.8 ft/lbs, showed the Trevox wasn’t particularly fussy when it comes to its diet. Decent accuracy is on the cards too and 1” groups at 10 yards seemed to be representative, plus given this is a punchy sporter rather than a tricked-out target model, I reckon that’s pretty handy results. Again, bear in mind I was using open sights throughout, and I just know those groups could be trimmed further with not only more sophisticated sights bolted on, but also increased familiarity.

Clever Trevox?

OK, maybe the Trevox isn’t quite that clever, since there’s nothing new on show here, yet its execution is classic Umarex. ‘Subtle’ is a term I keep coming back to, and despite that slightly comical name, and less-than-sophisticated styling, this full-powered sporty pistol delivers nicely where it matters, whether for really close range vermin despatch or informal target duties.

Thanks to Range & Country Shooting Supplies in Sleaford, Lincs., for the kind loan of this pistol.