Freeze Gopher—The Rise Of Umarex Precision Airguns

The scene from the iconic 80s blockbuster hit, Caddyshack, kept playing in my head as I settled in behind the air rifle. Bill Murray, in full Carl Spackler mode, stalking varmints with wild eyes and even wilder ideas. My target was a real gopher at a laser range of 52 yards. I couldn’t help myself. Before I eased into the trigger, I whispered Murray’s unforgettable line with a grin: “Freeze, gopher!”

It was a spring day on the prairie, and the Richardson’s ground squirrels, better known as gophers, were out by the hundreds. We easily obtained permission to hunt the edges of some hayfields. We enjoyed a little predator control with three Umarex air rifles, each offering unique benefits for the heavy shooting we were doing.

Ground squirrels are responsible for some of the biggest smiles you will see on a prairie. When mounds begin to pop up in hay fields and along pasture edges, and those little brown heads rise above the dirt, it signals the start of one of the most enjoyable shooting seasons of the year. For hunters who like stretching distances and testing real marksmanship, modern PCP air rifles have changed the game. Rodents can be problematic for ranchers. We had one stop by to ask us to visit his property to help provide some control. What we found was an unbelievable shooting gallery. In total, we shot about 1,500 ground squirrels.

Umarex is right at the front of that evolution. The Zelos .22 PCP, the Komplete .22 NitroAir rifle, and the Gauntlet .30 PCP combine to create a setup that can turn a simple gopher shoot into a long day of high-volume, long-range action. With a compact Umarex ReadyAir G2 High-Pressure Airgun Compressor clipped to your truck battery, you can keep the rifles filled and ready without ever leaving the field.

A good gopher shoot usually starts with a willing landowner and a piece of ground dotted with burrows. It might be a prairie hillside, an irrigated hay field, or a long pasture cattle depend on. The holes can break legs and destroy equipment. For this reason, most ranchers are more than happy to have someone reduce the population.

Ground squirrels are small, twitchy targets that rarely sit still. By midday, the heat waves rise from the dirt, and the wind begins to swirl. What used to be a short-range rimfire game has quietly become a precision sport that often reaches past 100 yards. High-powered, regulated PCP air rifles allow hunters to make consistent, ethical shots at distances that were once nearly impossible with airguns.

This is where the Umarex trio truly comes alive.

The Umarex Zelos in .22 caliber is made for long days in gopher territory. It is built as a bullpup, allowing the rifle to fit a full 26-inch barrel into a short, maneuverable platform. That long barrel helps with velocity and accuracy. The compact size keeps it steady when shooting off sticks or on rough ground. The rifle produces velocities up to 1,100 feet per second and delivers power in the mid-20-foot-pound range. This is more than enough oomph to cleanly anchor gophers.

The Zelos stands out in several ways. It uses a 20-round auto-indexing rotary magazine. The magazine keeps shooting fast and efficient. The externally adjustable regulator allows the shooter to fine-tune performance for specific pellets or slugs. A 250-cc air tank filled to 250 bar provides a generous shot count. This means you can stay focused on glassing and shooting instead of running back to the truck to charge. The smooth side lever makes follow-up shots nearly automatic when more than one gopher pops out of the same colony.

The bullpup design pushes the rifle’s weight into the shoulder, which steadies the gun and makes it forgiving in field positions. With good pellets and reasonable wind, the Zelos is easily capable of holding gopher-sized accuracy out to 80 or 100 yards. With careful ranging and wind calls, it can reach well beyond that.

We were like kids in a candy store. We giggled and laughed and cheered each other on as new targets popped from the ground. The Zelos was popular, and we took turns shooting it from a corner fencepost that provided the perfect rest and pivot point for acquiring the next target. “You’re gonna get it now, gopher!” Another classic Carl meltdown from Caddyshack, murmured before sending the next pellet downrange.

The Umarex Komplete .22 is for shooters who want PCP performance without carrying pumps, bottles, or compressors. Instead of a typical air reservoir, the Komplete uses compact NitroAir cartridges filled with high-pressure nitrogen. Screw in a fresh cartridge, and the rifle is immediately ready. There is no need to monitor pressures or plan around fill cycles. This makes the rifle ideal for quick hunts or spontaneous opportunities.

Shooters in our crew put an extra cartridge in their back pocket and shot their way across a sprawling pasture, never running out of targets or firepower.

The rifle comes with its own 4×32 scope, mounts, and a detachable magazine for quick reloads. Velocities range from 950 to 1,000 feet per second with standard pellets. The valve system ensures consistent shot-to-shot performance, which keeps holdovers predictable in the field.

The Komplete is ideal for shooting from 30 to roughly 75 yards, although it can reach farther once you learn the trajectory. It was a gopher-slayer with economic benefits. It is quiet enough for use around farmyards and livestock, and it is extremely packable. Keep a few NitroAir cartridges in the truck console, and you can be shooting within seconds whenever you roll past a field full of gophers.

The Umarex Gauntlet .30 is for shooters who want a significant step up in energy and long-range authority. The rifle is a true powerhouse, delivering around 99 foot-pounds of energy at velocities approaching 1,000 feet per second. It is far more rifle than you need for small varmints, which is precisely what makes it so effective at longer distances where the wind can push smaller pellets around.

I became addicted to the Gauntlet, shooting gophers over 100 yards, even if it was only their heads sticking out of the burrows. The accuracy was exciting and highly addictive.

The rifle uses a regulated system that operates at roughly 2,800 psi fed by a 4,500 psi, 24-cubic-inch air tank. A 7-shot magazine and side lever action make it fast and comfortable to run. The fully shrouded barrel helps moderate the report, which is impressive for a rifle with this level of energy.

In big open gopher country, the .30-caliber Gauntlet shines at distances that stretch to 120, 150, or even 200 yards when conditions allow. Heavier .30-caliber pellets and slugs maintain their stability in the wind and deliver unmistakable hits. It is also a great crossover tool for coyotes or rock chucks, and other predators, where legal.

The Gauntlet is a serious long-range rig and an exciting option when you want to push your limits. I would shoot my magazines until they were empty, and the rifle needed a recharge. As the gun was charging, it provided the time to refill magazines before heading back to gopher control. The movie quote, “In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre: ‘Au revoir, gopher.’” was Carl’s words to elevate his battle with philosophy, and mine with the Gauntlet.

One of the most significant advantages of using PCP rifles for gopher hunting is the ability to stay in the field all day. A small 12-volt compressor that clips directly to the truck battery turns the vehicle into a rolling air station. Park on a rise overlooking several colonies, hook the alligator clips to the battery, attach the fill hose, and top off the rifles as needed. Keeping the truck running prevents battery drain and allows the compressor to maintain steady power.

Most of these compact compressors are specifically designed for airgun pressures and can bring a rifle from 2,000 psi back to 3,500 or 4,500 psi in just a few minutes. It is a lightweight, dependable system that keeps rifles shooting and shooters focused on the hunt. The Komplete rifle does not need this system since it runs on NitroAir cartridges, but the Zelos and Gauntlet benefit enormously from it. Compared to what three or four bricks of .22 ammunition cost, our day could only be described as frugal.

Even in open country with air rifles, responsible shooting matters. Always know what lies beyond your target. Pellets can ricochet, especially on rocky soil. Confirm the legal status of ground squirrels in your area since regulations may vary. Close gates, avoid tearing up fields, and pack out every piece of trash, including used NitroAir cartridges.

For shooters, it is one of the most exciting ways to sharpen wind-reading and precision skills. Modern PCP rifles like the Zelos .22, the Komplete .22, and the Gauntlet .30 offer tremendous advantages, including low recoil, quiet shooting, and regulated consistency. They allow hunters to extend their effective range, practice solid fundamentals, and enjoy a level of precision that was nearly unheard of in airguns just a decade ago. A day in the field with unlimited shooting opportunities is a fantastic way to hone your skills, learn proper trigger control, and hold steady on target.

Combine that performance with a truck-powered compressor and a good stretch of prairie, and you have everything needed for a memorable day. Bright sun, long shots, steady shooting, and the satisfaction of helping a rancher manage a persistent problem. For anyone who loves testing their marksmanship on small targets in big country, the Umarex lineup might be the most enjoyable way to spend a day on the gopher patch.

“I have to laugh… because I’ve outsmarted even myself,” the Spackler line said, while attempting yet another elaborate trap for the gopher that never works. It did come true for us with over 1,500 gophers shot in a single day.