The Hammerli Forge H1 Hammer-Fired Rimfire Pistol: Review

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New from Hammerli Arms is the Forge H1, a dedicated .22 Long Rifle 1911-pattern pistol. Currently, it is available in two models, both with full-size frames, one with a 4.25-inch barrel, one with a five-inch barrel. I secured a sample of the second for testing. Hammerli is originally a Swiss company founded in 1863. It is known for precision, Olympic-grade air guns and .22s, rifles and pistols, and still makes those. So, if you see the “Made in Germany by Umarex” on the side of the Forge H1’s frame, you might be a bit confused. But Umarex, Walther, and Hammerli are sister companies, sharing resources. The Forge H1 is a pistol seemingly built for general-purpose fun, and priced to match, and offered through the non-Olympic side of the house, Hammerli Arms. First, if you were wondering if this pistol might be a good choice for training, it is the exact size as a standard centerfire 1911 with a rail (so it will fit into those holsters), with the same controls, and a similar weight. This single-action-only semi-auto is fed by 12-round stainless-steel magazines, and two magazines are provided with the pistol.

With an empty magazine in place, the Forge H1 was 32.8 ounces on my digital scale. The lighter frame and slide help keep the weight down, shaving over half a pound off the total when compared to a standard centerfire steel 1911 with a rail. The slide is aluminum (a European type comparable to 7075) with steel inserts, and the frame is a zinc alloy. Both are proven in this platform. This is a good-looking gun. Only the rear of the chamber, and the roll pin through the rear of the slide, indicate this is something other than a standard 1911. The slide has a traditional rounded top, with iron sights dovetailed front and rear. The front sight is a post with a white dot. The rear sight is styled like a Novak Lo-Mount, with white dots to either side of the notch. Note that both the front and rear sight have set screws to prevent them from drifting in the dovetails. Hammerli provides a small hex wrench to loosen those screws if you have to drift-adjust the sights to correct windage.

For a .22 with a very light recoil spring and an alloy slide that weighs next to nothing, the Forge H1 sports very aggressive slide serrations—and they look good. There are wide, flat-bottomed angled serrations front and rear. At the rear of the forward serrations there are fine vertical serrations, and I found that I liked the combo. The finish on both the slide and frame is black Cerakote with a finish somewhere between matte and satin. It looks very businesslike. There are a lot of markings on the gun, as you find with most pistols made in Europe, but most of them are so small or subtle that they don’t detract from the looks of the gun. The serial number is etched on the frame behind the trigger on the right side, on the top of the barrel chamber, and on the slide (in white) just below the ejection port. Mostly what you’ll notice is the stylized “H” Hammerli logo on the right side of the slide. On the left side of the slide is “HAMMERLI ARMS” in large letters, with “FORGE H1 22” in smaller printing.

The barrel is threaded, although not extended. There is a thread protector that is revealed when you pull the slide back. This will allow you to mount any suppressor with 1/2x28 threads. Hammerli provides a small wrench to remove the thread protector. Unlike a standard 1911 with its swinging link and tilting barrel, the barrel of the Forge H1 is fixed to the frame. There is a not-quite-full-length polymer recoil spring guide rod that is revealed when the slide is retracted about an inch. The recoil spring is as light as you might expect for a .22, and that’s one reason .22s are great for training new shooters—it’s easy for them to cycle the slide. The hammer spring actually provides more resistance than the recoil spring. Just like its full-size brother, the Forge H1 has a barrel bushing and a recoil spring plug. At the front of the frame, you’ll see a four-slot MIL STD 1913 “Picatinny” rail for mounting lights or lasers. The slide release and magazine release look like standard GI pieces. The manual thumb safety is single-sided, and extended like you’ll see on most modern 1911s. At the rear of the frame, you’ll see a beavertail grip safety with a bit of a hump at the bottom to ensure deactivation. The magazine and slide releases are steel, the thumb safety and beavertail are aluminum.

Beneath the grip safety is the mainspring housing. It is aluminum and smooth. With so much time behind centerfire 1911s, my mind recoils at the sight of a smooth (not checkered) mainspring housing, especially in conjunction with a smooth front strap, but this is a .22, with minimal recoil. To help with what little recoil there is, the grip panels of the Forge H1 are rubber, with just a little bit of texturing. They sport the Hammerli logo. As I said, this pistol has the exact same controls as a standard centerfire 1911. The manual thumb safety, when engaged, keeps the trigger from being pulled and also blocks the slide. The grip safety is functional, physically blocking the trigger when not depressed. At the top of the breech face, you’ll see a slot that works as a loaded chamber indicator. My only real complaint was the action of the thumb safety—the clicks weren’t positive enough, and it took much more force to rotate it down than up. If this was a high-end conversion kit, that would be cause for serious complaint, but on a budget-priced gun like this I consider it just a minor concern.

And let’s talk about budget-priced guns. Back in the day, the only .22 1911s were really expensive conversion kits on existing frames, or toy-like pieces of junk. The Hammerli Forge H1 is neither of those. Umarex has extensive experience building .22s, air guns, and the like, and from another manufacturer I’m guessing this pistol would cost more. The trigger is styled like a “long” 1911 trigger, with an aluminum body and three holes to lighten it. It has a smooth face. Trigger pull on my sample was excellent—just the tiniest bit of take-up, and a very crisp break with almost no overtravel. Total pull weight was five pounds. Honestly, I just reviewed a $2,000 1911, and this pistol has a nicer trigger pull. The stainless steel magazines have black polymer non-tilt followers. There is a flat steel thumb stud on the left side of the magazine attached to the follower that makes for easier loading. The polymer baseplate of the magazine sticks a bit out front of the frame, making it easier to pull a reluctant magazine out of the gun.

If you’ve got compromised grip strength or are having your kids load magazines at the range, Hammerli provides a simple magazine loader—it’s a piece of polymer that slips down over the top of the magazine, and has a lip all the way around. You can use two fingers or more on the loader, pulling down from both sides, allowing you to slip a cartridge under the feed lips. As the barrel is fixed, disassembly is a bit different. Remove the magazine, and ensure that the pistol’s unloaded, then twist the barrel bushing to the side to remove the recoil spring plug and free the spring. Remove the bushing. Retract the slide to the right spot to pull out the slide stop—so far, traditional 1911 disassembly. But now you’ll need to pull the slide back all the way and lift the rear of it up for clearance before it can be slid off the front of the barrel. The barrel is permanently affixed to the frame. No type of firearm is as reliable as a centerfire—not shotguns, not air guns, and not .22 rimfires. And .22 semi-autos can be somewhat picky about ammunition, either not being accurate, or reliable, or both, as there is such a wide range of .22 LR ammo out there. Whether you’re talking a single shot, bolt action, or a semi-auto pistol like the Forge H1, you have to try a number of different loads, and see which your gun likes.

For my first trip to the range, I took three different loads just to see how well the H1 would function: Armscor’s 36-grain high velocity HP (1,260 fps), CCI’s 40-grain Mini-Mag SHP (segmented hollow point) at 1,235 fps, and also CCI’s Quiet-22, a 45-grain lead round nose subsonic at 835 fps. Firearms News’ own Dave Fortier lives on a farm in Kansas and shoots critters constantly. He’s found that segmented hollow points are the best-performing .22 load on small animals. But a 40-grain SHP at 1,235 fps is a far cry from the subsonic Quiet-22. The Forge H1 digested it all, but the noise and recoil were very different. I’ve fired airsoft guns with more recoil than the H1 loaded with the Quiet-22 ammo. I think the H1 didn’t have any problems with the subsonic ammo because its slide is so light. With a suppressor this ammunition would be Hollywood quiet.

The Forge H1 was completely reliable with every type of ammunition I fed it. The few problems I did have were ammunition related—three rounds that just didn’t ignite after good firing pin hits to their rims, due likely to unevenly distributed priming compound. This is not uncommon. Over the years, I’ve shot everything with .22s: paper and cardboard targets, balloons, clay pigeons, water bottles, golf balls, bowling pins, squirrels, and several types of small birds. Back in the day, I was an avid bowling pin shooter, and occasionally we would have .22 fun matches. Unlike a standard match where you used a .45 ACP to roll the pin off the table, with a .22 you just had to knock it down. The Forge H1 would be great fun doing all of that in addition to it being an inexpensive way to practice for USPSA or IDPA, as it is the same size/weight as a centerfire 1911.

But, weirdly, the marketing for the Forge H1 barely mentions any of that, instead seemingly pushing the pistol as an apt choice in the face of societal collapse. “Harshest of environments,” “struggle for survival,” “Customization for the Apocalypse,” “the grueling conditions of an uncontrollable world,” “in a world consumed by chaos” and, of course, “when the world crumbles” are all phrases found on the Hammerli webpage for this pistol. The accompanying photos look like they came from the set of a Mad Max movie. I asked Jens Krogh of Walther about that, and he smiled, shrugged, and told me, “Yeah, we wanted to have a little fun.” As an apocaloptimist who has penned a modern civil war novel and a zombie trilogy, I love it. It makes me smile, but I don’t know how well it’s going to resonate with the average consumer, if they’ll get that it’s all tongue-in-cheek. Even hinting that a full-size five-inch 1911 in .22 Long Rifle might be a suitable choice for personal defense seems ill-advised, beyond the “any gun is better than no gun” philosophy. But as the famous advertising saying goes, “You sell the sizzle, not the steak.” Then again, Mad Max imagery and a tacticool .22 might be just what you need to get your kids out to the range. This gun plus some zombie targets sounds like a hugely fun afternoon at the range, whether or not you have kids, and the cost of ammo won’t bankrupt you. .22s are fun, period. If you’re not having fun shooting a .22, you are a zombie.

Hammerli Arms Forge H1 Specs

• Type: Single-action, semi-auto
• Caliber: .22LR
• Capacity: 12 rds. 
• Barrel: 5 in. (4.25 in. available) 
• Length: 8.4 in. 
• Height: 5.5 in. 
• Width: 1.3 in. 
• Weight: 32.8 oz. 
• Finish: Black Cerakote
• Frame: Zinc alloy
• Grips: Rubber
• Sights: 3-dot
• Trigger Pull: 5 lbs. (tested)
• Safety: Manual safety, grip safety
• Price: $399
• Contact: Hammmerli Arms

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