The Umarex Hammer .50 Cal was a long time coming. But now it’s here and working!
At AoA’s price of $849.99, the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal can’t be beaten in terms of power for price. If you’re in the market for an air rifle to hunt big game at the lowest price, the Hammer is the obvious choice.
The Hammer provides a combination of uniquely-outstanding performance and somewhat unusual quirks. I found that it’s VERY ammo-sensitive. Michail Kalashnikov would definitely not have approved of this design!
But keep reading, there are some real benefits too…
First The High Points
Accuracy was very good indeed!
Given the design of the Hammer and its intended use solely as a hunting tool, I specified only two-shot groups when testing the gun. Why use two shots? Well the Hammer has a 2-shot magazine, so I wanted to see how it performed in a “rapid follow-up shot” situation.
At 50 Yards, using Umarex 320 Grain SLA bullets, accuracy was 5/8-Inch CTC for two shots. That’s definitely better than required for successful big game harvesting.
At 25 yards, Both shots went through the same hole!
For testing, I did not have access to the 550 Grain bullets that give the Hammer its’ claimed 700 Ft/Lbs muzzle energy. However, I saw a maximum Muzzle Velocity of 889 FPS with 320 Grain slugs. This represents a muzzle energy of 561.7 Ft/Lbs. This is a powerful air rifle!
The trigger of the Hammer I tested by had a rather long, and rather creepy pull. However the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal is not intended to be a target rifle. It’s a hunting gun and the trigger is perfectly usable for this task.
Trigger pull weight was also acceptably consistent. The average was 2 Lbs 13 Oz.
Next, The Unique Benefit
The Hammer .50 Cal is unique as the only regulated big bore airgun. Umarex claims that three full-power shots are available from one 4,500 PSI fill of High Pressure Air.
But as the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal I tested used 600 PSI per shot and the regulator is set to 3,000 PSI, it’s clear that – even when fully filled – the gun will give just two full-power shots per fill. The third will have – at most – 2,700 PSI to work with. As this is below the regulator set pressure, it will – therefore – generate a lower velocity.
So, the Hammer I tested gave just two really consistent full power shots per fill. However, two consistent shots is better than any other – unregulated – big bore out there, so this is a big benefit for the Hammer.
Another benefit for the Hammer is that those two FULL POWER shots are also available even when filled from a tank that only has 4,200 PSI inside.
In testing for this review, I was able to achieve no less than 14 full power shots from a 550 Cu. Inch tank with a starting fill pressure of 4,500 PSI. I filled the gun multiple times before the tank pressure fell to 4,200 PSI.
So, if you want to shoot a significant number of full-power shots in a day with a big bore airgun without having a portable compressor, booster pump or additional HPA tanks available, the Hammer is unique. There’s no other big bore that can match this performance!
But There Are Some Downsides…
With no less than three safeties, this is a complicated airgun to use. So it’s mandatory to read the Owner’s Manual before operating. But once you understand the workings, it’s not so difficult to shoot and handles surprisingly well.
The position of the Field Safety is fine for use by right-handers. However, it’s a pain for left-handed shooters as it’s located exactly where the cheek rests.
During testing, I experienced a couple of misfires when shooting the Hammer. However this was traced to operator error. I was being too gentle with the bolt handle!
Yes, it does say in the Hammer’s Owner’s Manual that the bolt handle must be pushed “ALL THE WAY FORWARD”. It fact, the bolt handle needs to be pushed all the way forward with a fair amount of force to ensure that it’s correctly engaged. Once I understood that, the gun worked correctly.
Also the Hammer uses a Ninja Paintball regulator and pressure gauge. In my opinion, this gauge is extremely difficult to read accurately. The graduated angle on the gauge plate is too small, the maximum indication (6,000 PSI) is too high and there’s no red warning section to advise that the HPA bottle is being overfilled.
In addition, the Hammer Owner’s Manual indicates (with a rare degree of honesty) that the gauge has an accuracy of +/- 10%. That’s a full 450 PSI either way at the full 4,500 PSI fill pressure!
So I agree wholeheartedly with the Owner’s Manual. When filling the Hammer, do not rely on this built-in gauge but consult the more accurate and larger gauge on the HPA tank or compressor being used to fill the gun.
One additional issue with the Umarex Hammer .50 Cal is also covered well in the Owner’s Manual. This is the considerable blast of air that emerges from around the magazine well when the gun is fired!
Because it has no conventional bolt, the Hammer fires slugs directly from the magazine. They “jump” across to the barrel at the moment of firing. The magazine is a close fit in the magazine well, but there are no seals, so air escapes from all around the magazine when the gun is fired.
In fact, a surprisingly large amount of 3,000 PSI air is expelled in this way when the gun is fired. You definitely do not want your hand or face in the way – or even to be next to the gun!
This means that fit of the slug (or bullet) in the magazine is extremely critical. Too loose and the slug can fall out of the magazine. Too tight and it will not load fully into the magazine.
Importantly, the difference between “too tight” and “too loose” is very small. This would have upset our Mikhail!
The diameters of the chambers in the magazines for the Hammer I tested measured 0.507 Inches. So, .510 caliber Umarex SLA ammo is – in theory – 3 Thou oversize. This allows the slug to be pushed into the magazine without too much force, yet there’s enough swaging effect of the ammo for the slug to be an appropriately-tight fit into the magazine.
In fact, the base of the SLA slugs measured a consistent .509 Inches diameter. They inserted perfectly into the magazine – all except one which measured .511 Inches. That did not.
The additional 2 Thou made all the difference. There’s a very fine balance here between ammo that works and that which doesn’t!
Yet if you are prepared to select or size your slugs carefully, the Hammer does deliver – very well. The AoA team will be pleased to help you decide if this is the big bore for you.
