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Introduction

In the 1950s and 1960s, German firearms legislation was relatively relaxed and shooting for sport

and hunting was very popular. Large numbers of sport shooting clubs were formed and German

shooters enjoyed considerable success in international competition (in the 1960 and 1968 Summer

Olympics, German shooters finished third overall in the medal tables behind much larger teams from

the USA and the Soviet Union). Firearms were widely available in Germany and were even supplied

through mail-order services. However, the emergence of terrorist groups such as the Red Army

Faction in the early 1970s prompted concerns about the possible criminal use of guns. In 1972 the

Federal Weapons Act was introduced, imposing a range of restrictions and licensing requirements on

the private ownership of firearms.

Suddenly, it was much more difficult for German shooters to buy and own guns. However, it was

notable that Federal Weapons Act included exemptions for air guns with a power output of less than

7.5 Joules of muzzle-energy and signal guns and guns designed to release tear gas. It was quickly

recognised that the continuing interest in guns and shooting in Germany might offer a large market

for both air guns and blank firing replicas which could be sold as gas and alarm guns.

One of the first people to identify this potential new market was German industrialist Karl Mayer.

Mayer owned "Mayer & Riem KG", a company based in Arnsberg, in north-east Sauerland in the

Ruhr valley, a pleasant rural area of rolling hills and forests which is close to Germany's commercial

and industrial heartland. Mayer & Riem produced small numbers of blank firing pistols under the

"MaRie" trade name. In 1972 Karl Mayer entered a partnership to form a new company, Uma

Mayer & Ussfeller GmbH to manufacture and sell blank firing replicas (the "Uma" part of the name

comes from the initial letters of the partners surnames - Ussfeller and Mayer). One of the first

products offered by the new company was the Perfecta pistol, a .22 calibre blank firer which could

be fitted with an adaptor to shoot 7mm flares and tear gas canisters.

The Perfecta Model G

In retrospect, the tiny Perfecta seems an unlikely start for a company which would go on to

dominate the world of replicas. It was not a replica of a firearm and was not even a new design,

having been created in the 1937 by Karl Riem (the other partner in Mayer & Riem KG) an engineer at

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the Carl Walther factory in Zella-Mehlis and sold from 1958 under the "MaRie" trade name. What

made the Perfecta stand out was the emphasis on quality in construction, assembly and testing

which ensured that this replica was reliable and long lasting. In the new climate of German gun

control, sales were surprisingly good. This was also due to an aggressive campaign of direct sales to

retailers and mail order companies instituted by Wulf-Heinz Pflaumer. At the time, guns in Germany

were generally sold by manufacturers to wholesalers, who then sold on to retailers which were

mainly very traditional gunsmiths who specialised in hunting and target shooting equipment. Very

few guns (other than simple air guns) were supplied over-the-counter and manufacturers generally

had very little direct contact with the people who actually sold their products. The approach

develop by Pflaumer was very different, involving a team of sales personnel who toured the country,

meeting directly with retailers. In many ways the quirky Perfecta embodies the ethos which would

lead Umarex to world-wide success - a quality product backed up by carefully planned marketing

which emphasised direct contact with potential sellers.

Karl Meyer Jr. (seated, left), Karl Mayer Sr. (seated, right) and Wulf-Heinz Pflaumer (standing) at the

Umarex stand at the IWA show, Nuremberg, in the 1970s

Through the 1970s the company continued to grow, expanding its range to include additional blank

firers and becoming a distributor for airguns imported from companies such as Daisy, Milbro, Norica

and Marksman. In 1978 Wulf-Heinz Pflaumer became Managing Partner and the company was

reorganised as Uma Jagd - und Sportartikel GmbH & Co (the Uma Hunting and Sporting Goods

Company). In 1979, Karl Meyer retired and Franz Wonisch became the second Managing Partner.

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These two men, Pflaumer and Wonisch would continue to be responsible for the day-to-day running

of the company for the next 35 years.

In 1979, commercial success allowed the company to buy

Reck Sportwaffenfabrik Karl Arndt GmbH & Co, a German

manufacturer of sporting air rifles and pistols. This was

the first of a number of significant acquisitions and would

lead to a new company name. To signify that it now

owned Reck, the Uma Hunting and Sporting Goods

Company simply added that "Reck" to its name, initially

becoming Umareck and then, in 1984, changing to the

more pleasing sounding Umarex (as Umarex Sportwaffen

GmbH & Co).

By 1979 Umarex was producing what would be one

of its most successful replicas - the Reck PK 800, a

blank firing gas and signal gun which was also an

extremely accurate visual and functional replica of

the famous Walther PPK. However, the lack of a

licensing agreement with Carl Walther meant that

this replica could not carry Walther markings and

that no information about the gun could reference

Walther or the PPK. Umarex recognised that

licensed replicas, which could be sold using the

name of the original gun and include accurate

markings, had a greater sales potential.

The first licensing agreement Umarex reached was

with US firearms manufacturer Harrington &

Richardson and in 1981 Umarex launched a blank-

firing, licensed replica of a Harrington & Richardson

revolver. During the next ten years the company

also negotiated license agreements with FN

Browning, Mauser, Walther and Heckler and Koch.

All were used on replica blank firing pistols and air rifles. Some license agreements were more

unusual. For example, Umarex licensed from the family of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the right to use

the name of that author's most famous creation: Sherlock Holmes. In 1983 the Sherlock Holmes

pistol kit was launched. This comprised a blank firing revolver, flares and a magnifying glass and was

presented in a package which looked like a book. The Sherlock Holmes set was an instant success,

with Umarex selling more than 80,000 examples per year for several years.

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By the 1980s Umarex was

exporting beyond the borders

of Germany to markets as

diverse as Egypt, France and

Switzerland and in 1985

Umarex Austria was formed,

with a manufacturing and

distribution plant being built in

Niederndorf. Commercial

success allowed the company

to take its biggest step to date

in 1993 when Umarex

acquired German firearms and

air rifle manufacturer Carl

Walther. Umarex and Walther

continued to have separate corporate identities but both operated as part of the PW (Pflaumer and

Wonisch) Group and the companies shared resources and personnel. Production of Walther

firearms continued in the Walther manufacturing plant in Ulm, with assistance being provided as

required from the Umarex plant in Arnsberg.

By the early 1990s, Umarex was a highly successful and

respected manufacturer of blank firing replicas and, through

Walther, firearms. The company was exporting to a network

of retailers around the world, had acquired a number of

significant license agreements and had established an enviable

reputation for producing high quality, reliable products.

Umarex were also marketing air rifles and pistols for a number

of established manufacturers. However, there was one

notable gap in the Umarex range: The company had never

produced an air pistol of its own. But that was about to

change…