Hammerli Forge H1
Hammerli Forge H1
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Hammerli Forge H1 Minuteman Review
Hammerli Forge H1 Minuteman Review
The Hammerli Forge H1 1911 styled 22LR pistol.
The heavy 32.4 ounce Forge H1 is pretty far down on my rounds per size and weight spreadsheet, just edging out the Ruger MK IV.
The heft does make it easy to shoot well. A heavier pistol deflects less when you carelessly jerk the trigger. My MantisX scores with the Forge H1 were excellent right out of the box.
Given the alternatives, the Hammerli is too heavy for CCW. And…I do not own a centerfire 1911, so I'm not interested in a Rimfire trainer.
So why did I buy it?
It just looks cool. Classic 1911 styling but with very edgy slide serrations and a pic rail for running a non-traditional Tor-X laser. Going to have to try my “bloody hands” test on those serrations. Beautifully cerakoted aluminium slide and frame.
Elegant ejection port scallop looks to be functional for helping the rimfire brass get clear. Grip safety works well and the thumb safety feels right…just needs to be Ambi.
While it LOOKS and FEELS like a 1911, the slide internals are not. It's actually designed to be a solid 22LR pistol, rather than an unreliable museum replica. No troublesome tilting barrel, just simple 22LR blowback. The fixed barrel reminds me of the Walther P22Q as do the magazines…brief hope that the Hammerli’s 12 rounders would work in the P22. Nope.
I replaced the non-symnetrical rubber grips with some wood grips I found in our parts bin. Looks even cooler.
At first glance I thought that standard 1911 triggers, mag release buttons, and safeties might fit the Forge H1. I decided to see if I could get an Evolution Gun Works ambi safety installed on the Forge H1. It is frustrating that Hammerli chose to shift the detent spring housing aft just enough that fitting requires reshaping the leading edge of the safety…as well as the internal interface with the sear. Not sure if I can make it work. Dumb…just enough of a change to really fuck things up.
Lower gripframe parts….Disconnector, sear, hammer, sear spring, and trigger all kind of LOOK like their standard 1911 counterparts.
I took the Hammerli to the range with muted expectations.
The pistol chewed thru 200 rounds of Mini-Mag with zero malfunctions. It swallowed up 100 rounds of Remington Golden Bullet. Successfully launched 50 rounds of CCI Velocitor. Stumbled once over 50 rounds of Federal Punch and Once out of 50 rounds of CCI Stingers. A great start for its first 350 rounds.
A second trip to the range, another perfect 100 rounds of Mini-Mag and another 100 of Golden Bullet, 50 rounds of Punch saw some malfunctions. 5 malfunctions out of 50 rounds of Federal bulk range pack ammo. So after 750 rounds, it looks like Mini-Mag or Golden Bullet. I’m pretty sure my support hand thumb generated some malfs due to coming into contact with the slide…thankful for the radiused bottom edge.
Field strip starts out 1911 like. Press in the recoil spring plunger, rotate barrel bushing, remove spring, rotate bushing in the other direction to remove it. Move slide back to align slide stop with take down notch, and press out slide stop. Here things deviate…pull the slide back, up, and then forward to remove off the front of the barrel…like a P22.
The ejector looks kind of janky…no problems so far…has anyone broken one?
I bought the H1 because it just looks cool. I guess many will buy it as an affordable 22LR training pistol to stand in for their 1911 in 45. But if you’re wedded to the 1911 layout, why 45 ACP? According to Greg Ellifritz’s study of homicide data the 45 has an average of 2.08 number of rounds until incapacitation. Whereas 22LR is 1.38 rounds. This means that the Hammerli Forge H1 with 12 rounds has 8.7 incapacitations per mag versus the typical 8 round 45 caliber 1911 having only 3.8 incapacitations per mag.
Regardless, the P17 has far more incapicitations per ounce than either.
But still the Forge H1 is a recreational 4 star favorite and a pleasure to fondle. 5 stars if it was more compatible with standard 1911 upgrade parts.
The heavy 32.4 ounce Forge H1 is pretty far down on my rounds per size and weight spreadsheet, just edging out the Ruger MK IV.
The heft does make it easy to shoot well. A heavier pistol deflects less when you carelessly jerk the trigger. My MantisX scores with the Forge H1 were excellent right out of the box.
Given the alternatives, the Hammerli is too heavy for CCW. And…I do not own a centerfire 1911, so I'm not interested in a Rimfire trainer.
So why did I buy it?
It just looks cool. Classic 1911 styling but with very edgy slide serrations and a pic rail for running a non-traditional Tor-X laser. Going to have to try my “bloody hands” test on those serrations. Beautifully cerakoted aluminium slide and frame.
Elegant ejection port scallop looks to be functional for helping the rimfire brass get clear. Grip safety works well and the thumb safety feels right…just needs to be Ambi.
While it LOOKS and FEELS like a 1911, the slide internals are not. It's actually designed to be a solid 22LR pistol, rather than an unreliable museum replica. No troublesome tilting barrel, just simple 22LR blowback. The fixed barrel reminds me of the Walther P22Q as do the magazines…brief hope that the Hammerli’s 12 rounders would work in the P22. Nope.
I replaced the non-symnetrical rubber grips with some wood grips I found in our parts bin. Looks even cooler.
At first glance I thought that standard 1911 triggers, mag release buttons, and safeties might fit the Forge H1. I decided to see if I could get an Evolution Gun Works ambi safety installed on the Forge H1. It is frustrating that Hammerli chose to shift the detent spring housing aft just enough that fitting requires reshaping the leading edge of the safety…as well as the internal interface with the sear. Not sure if I can make it work. Dumb…just enough of a change to really fuck things up.
Lower gripframe parts….Disconnector, sear, hammer, sear spring, and trigger all kind of LOOK like their standard 1911 counterparts.
I took the Hammerli to the range with muted expectations.
The pistol chewed thru 200 rounds of Mini-Mag with zero malfunctions. It swallowed up 100 rounds of Remington Golden Bullet. Successfully launched 50 rounds of CCI Velocitor. Stumbled once over 50 rounds of Federal Punch and Once out of 50 rounds of CCI Stingers. A great start for its first 350 rounds.
A second trip to the range, another perfect 100 rounds of Mini-Mag and another 100 of Golden Bullet, 50 rounds of Punch saw some malfunctions. 5 malfunctions out of 50 rounds of Federal bulk range pack ammo. So after 750 rounds, it looks like Mini-Mag or Golden Bullet. I’m pretty sure my support hand thumb generated some malfs due to coming into contact with the slide…thankful for the radiused bottom edge.
Field strip starts out 1911 like. Press in the recoil spring plunger, rotate barrel bushing, remove spring, rotate bushing in the other direction to remove it. Move slide back to align slide stop with take down notch, and press out slide stop. Here things deviate…pull the slide back, up, and then forward to remove off the front of the barrel…like a P22.
The ejector looks kind of janky…no problems so far…has anyone broken one?
I bought the H1 because it just looks cool. I guess many will buy it as an affordable 22LR training pistol to stand in for their 1911 in 45. But if you’re wedded to the 1911 layout, why 45 ACP? According to Greg Ellifritz’s study of homicide data the 45 has an average of 2.08 number of rounds until incapacitation. Whereas 22LR is 1.38 rounds. This means that the Hammerli Forge H1 with 12 rounds has 8.7 incapacitations per mag versus the typical 8 round 45 caliber 1911 having only 3.8 incapacitations per mag.
Regardless, the P17 has far more incapicitations per ounce than either.
But still the Forge H1 is a recreational 4 star favorite and a pleasure to fondle. 5 stars if it was more compatible with standard 1911 upgrade parts.
I really like the 22 caliber, 1911 style, Hammerli Forge H1. But since I advocate carrying and initially presenting left handed, I really wanted an ambi safety on the pistol…or, at the least, a left hand safety.
For my heavy left handed use, I needed a very strong link between the right side lever and the left side lever. There are some unbelievably janky ambi 1911 safeties out there. Some that use the grip to retain the right side lever. And these same cheap safeties, crosslink with a tongue and groove or flat blade and split tail interface between the two halves. Maybe these work ok for occasional left hand use, but with any regular use the split tail gets wallowed out by the right side’s leveraged molestation.
I chose to try the Evolution Gun Works slim ambi safety on the Hammerli pistol. I liked the heat treated hardened steel used and the coupling sleeve that reinforces the linkup between the right side and left side levers. The EGW kit uses a special hammer pin to retain the right side lever and they included three lengths of this hammer pin to accommodate different frame widths. I used the medium length with the Hammerli.
Very well made the paddles feature length wise serrations that provide excellent grip while also allowing the thumb to slip a bit fore and aft. I found the underside gripped well for engaging the safety. Although, I can only use my left hand thumb for that task as my right thumb has a torn UCL from back in my motocross days.
This is an excellent choice for those who want an ambi safety on their real 1911 pistol. Unfortunately, Hammerli strayed a bit from standard 1911 dimensions…their safety detent spring housing is extended a few hundredths further to the rear and the drum that blocks the sear is smaller. This is not your typical “fitting” job you’d expect to do with a real 1911. Given what’s at risk, I wonder if your typical gunsmith would even dare try it.
I could have shortened the detent housing, but I wanted to preserve the ability to reinstall the stock safety if things went horribly wrong. So I reshaped the leading edge of the left paddle to clear the detent pin and then went to work reshaping the portion that blocks the sear.
During the project the detent pin achieved escape velocity multiple times. One pin completely vanished. Get replacements from NicTaylor00. In advance would be smart…smarter.
Once fitted, I am extremely pleased with the Evolution Gun Works safety. There is no flex between left and right. The levers have great thumb traction and just feel perfect. I would really like to see EGW produce an ambi safety just for the Hammerli Forge H1. That could be a drop in or near drop in installation.
I highly recommend the Evolution Gun Works ambi safety for those installing on an actual 1911. Installing on the Hammerli is not for the faint of heart…only for the most adventurous tinkerers. I recommend Hammerli Forge H1 owners encourage EGW to create a dedicated ambi safety for the 22LR 1911.
For my heavy left handed use, I needed a very strong link between the right side lever and the left side lever. There are some unbelievably janky ambi 1911 safeties out there. Some that use the grip to retain the right side lever. And these same cheap safeties, crosslink with a tongue and groove or flat blade and split tail interface between the two halves. Maybe these work ok for occasional left hand use, but with any regular use the split tail gets wallowed out by the right side’s leveraged molestation.
I chose to try the Evolution Gun Works slim ambi safety on the Hammerli pistol. I liked the heat treated hardened steel used and the coupling sleeve that reinforces the linkup between the right side and left side levers. The EGW kit uses a special hammer pin to retain the right side lever and they included three lengths of this hammer pin to accommodate different frame widths. I used the medium length with the Hammerli.
Very well made the paddles feature length wise serrations that provide excellent grip while also allowing the thumb to slip a bit fore and aft. I found the underside gripped well for engaging the safety. Although, I can only use my left hand thumb for that task as my right thumb has a torn UCL from back in my motocross days.
This is an excellent choice for those who want an ambi safety on their real 1911 pistol. Unfortunately, Hammerli strayed a bit from standard 1911 dimensions…their safety detent spring housing is extended a few hundredths further to the rear and the drum that blocks the sear is smaller. This is not your typical “fitting” job you’d expect to do with a real 1911. Given what’s at risk, I wonder if your typical gunsmith would even dare try it.
I could have shortened the detent housing, but I wanted to preserve the ability to reinstall the stock safety if things went horribly wrong. So I reshaped the leading edge of the left paddle to clear the detent pin and then went to work reshaping the portion that blocks the sear.
During the project the detent pin achieved escape velocity multiple times. One pin completely vanished. Get replacements from NicTaylor00. In advance would be smart…smarter.
Once fitted, I am extremely pleased with the Evolution Gun Works safety. There is no flex between left and right. The levers have great thumb traction and just feel perfect. I would really like to see EGW produce an ambi safety just for the Hammerli Forge H1. That could be a drop in or near drop in installation.
I highly recommend the Evolution Gun Works ambi safety for those installing on an actual 1911. Installing on the Hammerli is not for the faint of heart…only for the most adventurous tinkerers. I recommend Hammerli Forge H1 owners encourage EGW to create a dedicated ambi safety for the 22LR 1911.
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