Norica Omnia ZRS.
This report covers:
- The rifle
- Sights
- Why?
- Description
- BB’s first take
- Other thoughts
Today I have the start of a very strange one for you. I’m reporting on the Norica Omnia ZRS breakbarrel spring-piston air rifle. Think that isn’t strange? Just look at the picture above and ask yourself, is this an air rifle BB Pelletier would have chosen for himself?
Are you curious? So am I. Let’s get started.
The rifle
It’s a breakbarrel spring-piston air rifle — nothing strange there. But look at the picture! BB is a dinosaur, not a couch commando. The only thing this air rifle didn’t have to keep me away was an armed guard! I am the high priest of the TX200 Mark III and the Diana 27, for gosh sakes!
But it doesn’t end there. Oh, no! This rifle must be made by Harley Davidson, because it retails for $400!!! Yep! I looked at it and thought $120, but no — $400!
Sights
The Omnia has open sights. The front is a post and bead with a removable hood. The rear sight is adjustable in both directions with screws that require a screwdriver, and a Swiss Army knife works fine. There are click detents but they are almost silent. The windage has a very visible scale so you know where you are. Nothing like that for the elevation. The only complaint is that both sights have fiberoptics (yuck!) but neither one is that visible.
There is also a long 11mm dovetail on top of the spring tube that serves as a scope base. There is no hole for a scope stop but as you will soon see, one isn’t needed.
Why?
Why, BB, why are you reviewing this air rifle? I am because I was asked to review it by Air Venturi, who is selling this rifle in the US under their corporate banner. I looked at the picture and thought, well every once in awhile I have to get an inoculation. The pain is temporary. Okay, I wondered. What’s the velocity? When I was told the .177 shot at 984 f.p.s. I became mildly intrigued. With the rifle looking like a Chinese mega-magnum, I didn’t expect that. So I asked for a .177 to test for you. Maybe there is something here after all. The looks would keep me away, but the velocity tells me that someone might have thought this one through.
Description
The Norica Omnia ZRS (Okay, that’s starting to sound like a new car with all those names and letters. How about Norica Omnia, or just Omnia?) is a spring-piston breakbarrel air rifle that incorporates a gas piston. Here, I’ll let Pyramyd AIR tell you because they did a great job with this one. And besides — I want to read it for myself.
The Norica Omnia ZRS Air Rifle is the first airgun of its kind to be available on the global market, and it delivers recoil-free operation that rivals the results available from a PCP airgun. It is capable of speeds up to 984 FPS in .177 and 755 FPS in .22 to yield excellent performance for target practice, pest control, or small-game hunting.
The heart of this air rifle is the patented ZRS System that allows the barrel to move independently of the rest of the airgun. That results in a stock that exhibits no movement from the effects of recoil, meaning the scope will not move or get damaged, and the rest of the airgun is easy to hold and control, without needing a special hold or shooting technique to achieve maximum accuracy.
The Norica Omnia ZRS Air Rifle offers a two-stage adjustable trigger for a crisp and clean break that is customized and repeatable. In addition, the textured ergonomic pistol grip combines with the textured buttpad to provide both comfort and control.
This air rifle includes a hooded fiber optic front sight and an adjustable fiber optic rear sight to provide accuracy without requiring additional accessories. It also features a long 11mm dovetail optics rail to accommodate scopes or other optics that will benefit from the recoilless operation of the ZRS System, as well as a height-adjustable cheekpiece to help achieve ideal cheek weld.
To get a groundbreaking airgun that eliminates felt recoil for PCP-like accuracy from a gas piston powerplant, buy a Norica Omnia ZRS Air Rifle from Pyramyd AIR today.
The description says that the barrel moves independently of the rest of the airgun, but it’s really the barreled action — I think. The whole thing is shrouded in an outer receiver/housing, so it’s difficult to say what moves and what doesn’t. But it’s more than just the barrel.
The rifle weighs just over 8 pounds. The overall length is just over 47 inches, so this is a large air rifle. But the cocking effort is only 30 pounds — or at least that’s what the specs say. Guys, I’m not saying this is true but do those numbers remind you of anything? They do me.
It was in 2018 that I introduced you to a new breakbarrel from Sig. That’s right — the ASP20. Now, the Norica Omnia isn’t as conventional as that rifle, but that rifle wasn’t completely conventional, either!
BB’s first take
1. The rifle feels weird in the hands. It’s large and heavier than it looks. The forearm also feels wider than it needs to be, but after reading the Pyramyd AIR description, I understand why.
2. The tactical-style buttstock feels exactly like it looks. The straight line of the butt puts BB’s fat face too high to acquire the rear sight comfortably. I have to roll my cheek to acquire the rear sight — otherwise the front sight is too high in the notch — even with the adjustable cheekpiece down as far as it will go. I may try it with the cheekpiece removed.
3. Cocking feels more like 35 pounds instead of 30 at this point. It does get considerably easier when the barrel is broken way open and I will tell you about that in Part 2.
4. The trigger is light but creepy in stage two so it will need to be adjusted, but the Pyramyd AIR description tells us that can be done. Perhaps a Part 3 will be needed before we get to accuracy.
5. The firing cycle is JUST AS RECOILLESS AS AN FWB 300!!!!! Yes, it is! They say this is like firing a PCP and in my opinion they are right!
Other thoughts
Now the stock is completely synthetic but it’s not that hollow, cheapie-sounding synthetic stuff we get from China. This stock feels solid! The pistol grip is vertical which means you riflemen can hold it properly while hunting. It’s matte black and smooth looking but not slippery. It’s not rough textured, but it also doesn’t slide around in your hands. I would say they got it right!
I was told that the accuracy is great. Recoilless operation and great accuracy — what’s not to like? Guys, the Norica Omnia ZRS is like the homely girl next door who suddenly becomes attractive while you were away for awhile. My only hope is that she can also cook!
Cool! I too am interested to see if it is accurate.
I’ve one of those Hatsan Mod25 Supertacts with the adjustable buttstock, and had to remove the cheekpiece so I could line my eye up with the sights. Then I rolled an old wool sock over the buttstock skeleton to keep it from scratching my cheek with every shot. Looks dopey but feels comfy!
I found an exploded view for that Norica, but a lot of the part numbers don’t match the legend:
https://noricaairguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Exploded-view-Omnia-ZRS-GRS.pdf
Cheers,
Mike
BM,
it looks like a lot of the parts are illustrated for the GRS, which must be the gas piston version. From this illustration I can see why it shoots so smoothly. In many respects it is very similar to the FWB300.
RidgeRunner,
I agree, very similar to the FWB300. It even costs about the same as a nice (used, obviously) FWB300 and weighs about the same. Unlike the FWB the Omnia should not be a scope-breaker, and it is significantly more powerful than an FWB300 (except perhaps Gunfun1’s :^). It requires more effort to cock than the FWB in exchange for that extra velocity.
How might the Omnia compare to the FWB300 in terms of accuracy? Well . . .
Michael
B. B.
I suppose I must have urged you to this test with my last week’s comment.
Thank you
Bill,
Believe it or not, Pyramyd AIR called me just as you asked your question. I did it for everyone, but since you are one of everyone — I did it for you! 😉
BB
So that makes me an enabler in the eyes of PA? I will keep this thought anyway.
Bill,
enabler, enabler… 😉
BB
Tom,
Easy to see where the ZRS in the name comes from as in Zero Recoil System.
Siraniko
That rear stock gives me goosebumps.
At least make the butt straight, so I can rest my shoulder on any desired place.
And if the comb’s height is adjustable anyway…why didn’t they lower the whole comb to allow for proper use of iron sights?
Mel83,
Think Mattelomatic.
Mel
I think for shooting with open sights you can just remove that adjustable piece. It seems that you will have a little lower stock.
BB
I like recoiless springers and I especially like low priced recoiless springers. I sure hope this baby pans out! BTW, I almost opted out of reading the blog after the first few lines and seeing the gun being discussed, but you buried the lead, you clever boy, and once I got to the juice, I was sucked in! (or I sucked it in? I might of messed up my metaphor, pardon the alliteration 😉 )
Half
I dunno. I just can’t see this thing being a big seller. What market demographic is it targeted at?
The “tacticool” looks will appeal to spotty teenagers, but they are going to be put off by the price tag and lack of a 1400 FPS claim on the packaging.
On the other hand, discerning airgunners with $400 to spend are not going to give a second glance to an air rifle that looks like a $99 big box store Chinese mega magnum.
A powerful springer that fires like a PCP would have been a huge deal just a few years ago, but with the advent of price point PCPs that ship has sailed and the market has moved on.
If classy, innovative springers such as the Sig Sauer ASP20 and Walther LGV range can’t cut it in today’s marketplace, I don’t see how an overpriced, gimmicky Spanish springer can.
But let’s see how it shoots, maybe it will surprise us all.
Bob
If it turns out to be an innovative, no recoil, accurate airgun discerning airgunners will buy it. And the price for the European market is on the average…
I found a nib LGV in a black plastic stock and it turned out to be one of the best airguns I have ever used.
Bill,
Out of curiosity, did your New-In-Box Walther LGV happen to look like this one?
/blog/2020/08/walther-lgv-challenger-part-3/
/blog/2013/03/walthers-new-lgv-challenger-breakbarrel-spring-air-rifle-part-6/
BB
Tom
Ahhh, I know why you ask. Yes, it was that exact gun in. 22, 12fpe, black plastic stocked. It was YOUR enabling statement about it being the “TX 200 break barrel equivalent” that made me jump on one nib remaining on the shelves of a dealer in my country.
Thank you for the Great Enabling to get a Great Airgun.
Bill,
It sounds like you got a good one! Congratulations, as the good ones are very good, indeed.
The terrible ones, unlike Mae West, are not even better, not by a long shot.
One which was terrible until Tom Gaylord fixed it:
/blog/2021/04/michaels-walther-lgv-part-1/
/blog/2021/04/michaels-walther-lgv-part-2/
/blog/2020/08/walther-lgv-challenger-part-3/
Michael
Bill,
The Norica costs 400 euros in Germany which is more than most Weihrauch and Diana breakbarrels. Will be interesting to see if it can outshoot them.
You were lucky to bag one of the last LGV Challengers! There was another version of that air rifle sold in Europe called the Walther Century GT. It came with a Walther 6×42 scope, but strangely no iron sights. It got great reviews also. I am kicking myself that I didn’t buy one before they were discontinued.
I doubt that the ASP 20 and the Walther LGV were discontinued because they did not sell. The LGVs being 12 fpe in 22 and high power in 177 may have turned people off. I had one in my sights but was put off by evasive answers by Walther when I inquired about why the 22 was the low power version. Why was the ASP discontinued? That was beaten to death here inconclusively. Sig is tight lipped. Both would have been in my collection.
Ton,
Yes, it was bizarre that the .22 LGVs were only 12 ft-lbs, whereas the .177s were 17+ ft-lbs.
I guess we will never know for sure why Walther and Sig dropped those models, but I suspect that if they had been launched a decade before PCPs became mainstream that they would have had a much better innings.
BB, PA and AV,
I have to agree with Bob Ryan. F.O. sights? Really? Mattelomatic looks? Seriously? A price tag in the Weihrauch range? What?!
Even if this air rifle has the felt recoil of a FWB300 and the trigger can be adjusted to as nice as a Rekord, FWB300 or Air Arms, I would need a fresh inoculation every time I went to pick this thing up. I did not do that for the Chinese Bioweapon, why should I do that for a Spanish sproinger?
Listen, I am an old curmudgeon, not a couch commando. Make this thing look more like a real rifle and lose those %&*$#*@#!!! fiber optic sights. Otherwise I will just wait until you guys unload it like what happened to the Webley/Hatsan Tomahawk and one in a custom stock. I can afford that and it would be worth owning.
R. R.
If you please read my reply to Bob just above. I hated the LGV plastic glowing front sight arrangement so I removed the whole ugly set and mounted a classic 1-4x Nikko Stirling with a small (4.5″) moderator. It’s now quite classic in appearance and the most advanced and accurate springer I own. For me maybe better than the Air King T01.
I thought long and hard about the LGV. I just could not get the one I wanted with decent sights unless I bought one with those glowy thingys and changed them out. I was not so sure I could find any.
As for nice air rifles, I have a few around here. I would have liked one of those things, but I have more now than I can shoot. I have to take a day or two to go through them now as it is.
Bill,
The Norica costs 400 euros in Germany which is more than most Weihrauch and Diana breakbarrels. Will be interesting to see if it can outshoot them.
You were lucky to bag one of the last LGV Challengers! There was another version of that air rifle sold in Europe called the Walther Century GT. It came with a Walther 6×42 scope, but strangely no iron sights. It got great reviews also. I am kicking myself that I didn’t buy one before they were discontinued.
Bob Ryan, currently there are a couple LGVs for sale on Egun. I’ve found a fair few used, good old solid wood’n’metal toys there… 🙂
RR,
Well done on resisting the pressure to take the “vaccines”!
I am highly allergic to fiber optic sights, especially on an upmarket air rifle. It’s like seeing a beautiful, well dressed woman wearing Crocs.
Careful Bob! I love both fiber optic sights! I own a bunch of crocs and live them as much as I love my airguns
Ton,
Nice meeting you… 😉 https://youtu.be/JJdXMrFRDGk
Good comparison, IMMHO.
This will be really interesting. Just the other day I said I believed we have maxed out the latest technology and need something new for any improvements.
The most complicated thing I have ever seen is the rudder control system on a Boeing 767. It was beyond the capability of the school instructors to explain how it operated. “Just follow the Maintenance Instruction Manual if you ever need to work on it.”
It involved electrical, mechanical and hydraulic components with automatic return to neutral follow-up linkage on the actuators, trim control, sensors for autopilot, position feedback, and automatic airspeed operational movement restrictions. A mind-boggling thing to look at.
Airguns should be a walk in the park for talented designers to improve on. Money would probably be the big restriction.
Kind of looks like they eliminated the need for an artillery hold by allowing the entire barrel / spring tube assembly to recoil back within the enclosed stock.? Not too new there. Wait, that firing bush in the blow up is something else.
Seems like they tried to incorporate a little of everything new in the overall design and that left it without any specific purpose for use. Too many cooks in the kitchen?
Still looking forward to how it all comes together.
At least they didn’t repackage the exact same rifle in five different stocks like Crosman has been doing of late. Agreed that at $400, this probably isn’t going to set the world on fire. I’d like to try one in .22 as there are very few recoilless spring rifles in that caliber.
Derrick,
If this one is accurate I would like to test the .22, also. That is my favorite caliber, but the .177 is more popular, so I thought I would go this way — first? I hope so!
BB
BB,
That diagram is interesting. It looks like it floats in the bushings inside the stock. You said that you felt no recoil, but it looks like the trigger mechanism would move as much as the barrel and tube move. How did that feel?
AlanMcD
Alan,
The trigger stayed still, as far as I could tell.
BB
Whatever the system. It looks like it works well in the felt recoil department. The pellet placed on the tube in the advert did not fall when the rifle was shot! A scope saver for sure
Please review the 22 as well BB
B.B.,
In .22 caliber, they are claiming 755 fps with 11.9-grain pellets for 15 fpe of energy. If it also proves to be that the accuracy is there, that would make this a nice pester or hunting rifle…once it was scoped, of course. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
B.B.
Even if it is “not my cup of tea”, I love the fact that somebody is doing something new. I hope they sell tons of them and hopefully get others interested in the springer market again! Still PO’ed at SIG for getting everybody excited about the ASP20 and then they pulling it! ARF…
Hopefully in blog 5 or 6 in this series you will get into the nitty gritty. Total swept volume, piston size and weight, transfer port length and diameter, all need to be known. What makes this beast so tame?
-Yogi
Yogi
+1
BB
Assuming she hits what she aims at the homely girl next door needs new clothes.
Deck
B.B.,
This is one series I will certainly be following. (Who am I kidding, I follow them all.) I hope you are able to test both calibers thoroughly (if the .177 delivers on the claims). I agree; the stock is not to my taste. Though, if the performance is there, a recoilless springer is attractive. I guess there could be something to having a stock on which I am not concerned about minor damage. Thanks for bringing us something interesting.
Regards,
Airman
BB,
Different and potentially interesting. Might be a good plinker/pester in .22 presuming that the accuracy is there and the trigger creep can be addressed with the adjustments.
I don’t like fiber optic sights on a target rifle but they’re fine for fast shooting at moving targets or blasting an attacking horde of feral soda cans. Not a deal-breaker for me.
The high cheek piece interfering with the sights is a concern though. Maybe the stock is designed with teenager sized people in mind or the manufacturer presumes that you are going to mount a scope. Guess that we’ll see if the accuracy justifies a scope.
I prefer traditional stocks but after so much exposure to tactical designs I’m more tolerant of them as long as the ergonomics are ok and the performance is good. …See – old guys can learn new tricks 🙂
Hoping the .177 pans out and you get to test the .22 caliber!
Hank
I have said before, a low cost springer with an adjustable stock might be perfect for introducing kids to the sport. I had purchased an Umarex Embark for that purpose and because it had a 12″ length of pull and a spacer to increase it to 13″, but that was still too long for my 8-year-old’s arms. So when I saw the stock, I was immediately interested to learn how adjustable it is. Of course, it turns out this rifle is not for beginners, but it still may have an interesting set of features. Perhaps if the recoil-less feature works and if the system is accurate, a lower power version can be made.
BB,
Like most I am not a fan of the tactical look or fiber optics sights. That said, I will be following this series with interest as it brings technical innovations, with a new take on recoil-less operation.
IF it is accurate, and IF the trigger can be adjusted, then mounting a scope will make the stock more ergonomic and the glowy things irrelevant. But, as Yogi said, there is the question of future. I am still bitter with SIG for pulling the plug on the ASP 20.
Too many open questions at this time. Let’s see where this goes.
Henry
Tom,
I was VERY excited by the Omnia when I first saw it on the Pyramyd AIR site. That is until I saw the price tag. There are a lot (most of, actually) smooth-shooting, classic air rifles in the same price, power, weight range: Diana, Weihrauch/Beeman, Walther, Webley, FWB, vintage BSA and Anschutz just to name a few.
Michael
Michael,
Sure the price is more than a cheap springer, but at $400, I don’t know of another brand that is recoilless that is that cheap. A Diana 54 is $700+ ??? I’m not saying I expect this rifle to be as good, but I am saying I think if this rifle pans out, $400 is well within the ballpark of where it should be. Just my thoughts.
Doc
B.B.
Oh I’ve been waiting for this one. I’ve read about it on Hard Air Magazine. I’ve read all I could find on the web about her (which isn’t much). Then I saw were PA was going to carry it. I thought, Oh I can’t wait for B.B. to test it. I do not agree with some on here that it’s a waste. A girl doesn’t have to be pretty if she can cook. Hitting the target mean more than looks ever will with shooting. And who would want a break barrel that can shoot like a PCP when you could buy a PCP? Me and I’m sure several others. No compressor, hand pump. No leaks. Quick to plink at any time. So who knows. Maybe this is it? While I was on the PA page the other day, I did also notice a Norica Hawk (Classic Style break barrel with wood stock) that was pretty. Now if she can cook and be pretty…hmmm.
Doc
B.B. and Readership,
Gas Spring in .177 & .22 high mid power with synthetic stock. Sounds like a hunter/pester pair ready to shoot for at least hours at a time. Hopefully they will prove to be accurate shooters for the Pesters and Small game hunters.
Requests for the future testing that you haven’t discussed: mount scope to check mostly for droop. Next item: Safety Operation; enable/disable how?
Cocking noise: some or little to none?
Is the cocking shoe Zink, Steel, or some alloy?
Muzzle report: how loud?
Length of pull: fixed or adjustable?
The rest of the things you normally cover,
Please.
shootski
aesthetics versus “shoot-ability”
Dear B.B. & Readership,
I was pondering this rifle today as I spent most of the afternoon plinking with my Sheridan and Crosman 362. Many here mentioned the plastic stock as in “a lack of aesthetics.”
We airgunners are a funny lot (myself, especially, included! =>); function is important to us, but nostalgia and emotion can hold much sway in which airguns we choose to like.
For me, the Sheridan wins in terms of aesthetics; and, since it was a Christmas gift from my now-departed Dad, it also wins on emotion; also, being as it was my first-ever airgun, it gets points for nostalgia.
The Crosman 362 was a totally non-emotional buy; many of you praised it, so I bought one. The rifle is in the same size an weight category as my Sheridan; and with 6 pumps, both guns generate about the same power, the 12 fpe category, which is fine for small game, pesting, or plinking.
Both rifles are similar to shooting my Hawken muzzleloader…as in, both are suited to a more relaxed style of shooting; and I like to shoot them the same way as my muzzleloader, which, per NMLRA match rules, means offhand.
So, here is where the 362 starts to shine; the Sheridan is easy to pump for the first 4 pumps; I have to work much harder for the last two (Note: not when I was a teen, but I do now!). The Crosman is much easier to pump 6 times; and since these rifles are pesters as well as plinkers, I like to plink with them at the same power level I would use for pesting (and both are sighted in dead-on at 15 yards with 6 pumps).
Hence, the Crosman 362 wins in the “shoot-ability” category; it’s just plain easier to shoot without getting tired. Also, the rear sight is a bit closer to my eye, and that makes using the peep sight easier. Yes the stock is plastic, but it feels solid, not flimsy.
And B.B. noted that the stock on the Norica feels solid.
So, if the performance is there; if, in a later report, B.B. says, “I put on ‘XYZ’ scope and found I could easily and consistently hit walnuts at 25 yards, regardless of the type of hold used,” then this rifle might have a place as a hunter/plinker; and the performance may outweigh the aesthetics.
“The performance may outweigh the aesthetics”…that’s what the Crosman 362 has taught me.
Yet, as I’ve said before, “What do I know?” LOL! 😉
Blessings & good shooting to all,
dave
thedavemyster, what a picture!
If I ignore pretty much everything you say about the Crosman 362, then, to me, the black plastic looks somewhat like the shadow of the Sheridan. 🙂
Yes, Sir; that’s a good observation; and you got me to thinking, so I just dug them both out and measured their pump arm lengths; from the pivot point to end of the pump arm, the Sheridan measures 13-5/8″ inches, and the Crosman measures 15-1/2″ inches; that nearly 2″ increase in pump arm length no doubt contributes to the easier pumping. 😉
Nothing says someone with the necessary skills could not design a nice “traditional” wooden stock for it, or possibly someone with the necessary clout at Norica pays attention and tells the designer(s) to come up with a good-looking “traditional” synthetic or wood one. More so if enthusiasts are willing to ante up for the upgrades. Hope springs eternal – pun intended.
I don’t get the “hate” for fiber optic sights. I’ve used both and the fiber optics are easier to see and use.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
MisterAP, for me those light emitting sights are too bright in daylight, especially in the sun and so I find them a distraction.
I may not hate the little coloured rods but I would prefer not to have to paint or remove mine. 🙂
MisterAP,
Yes, fiber optic sights are easier to see, but the problem is that they are much harder to “aim small” with than a good set of iron sights. It becomes very noticeable at ranges greater than 15 or 20 yards.
I tryed an Omnia shooting indoor to 25 m. and the best results I got with JSB EXACT DIABOLO pellets for cal .177. If anyone get better accuracy with other pellets let me know, please.
Nice shooting, Romell!