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UMAREX HAMMERLI 850 AirMagnum CO2 AIR RIFLE
by Dennis Brooks
The Hammerli 850 is billed as the “fastest” CO2 air rifle available. I received one chambered in .177 caliber. The chronograph results for a variety of alloy and lead pellets (below) support the claim for the “fastest” production CO2 rifle available, well exceeding 760 fps with several pellets.
The 850 comes very well packed and protected. The scope is pre-mounted and the air rifle packaged in a plastic bag. Tags, documentation, and accessories are all packed neatly in the foam tray with a nice foam cover inside the printed sleeve. This was shipped in a brown cardboard box.
 Here you can see the rifle, extra magazine, Allen wrench and significant pack of dehydrant. |
The AirMagnum is a bolt action air rifle with an automatic safety, eight shot rotary magazine, 24 inch rifled barrel, front and rear fiber optics sights, and an adjustable trigger. It is available in .177 or .22 calibers. Powered by CO2, it is sensitive to temperature. The colder the day and/or the faster you shoot, the slower the pellet speed with the CO2 expanding less in a cold valve system. You should wait a few seconds between shots for the most power and least variance in feet per second (fps). I use an old electrically heated hunting sock to keep the chamber and CO2 source warm on cold days. Generally you should not leave the air rifle with the CO2 source installed, or leave the CO2 sources in your car or open sunlight where they may exceed the safe limit of 120 degrees farenheit. However, on cold days it is best to keep the rifle in the sun enough to make it feel warm to the touch for effective CO2 expansion.
The art work on the sleeve was done before the air rifle was prepared for the US market and the air rifle does not come with the muzzle brake. The sleeve back shows a variety of options available for the Hammerli 850 in addition to the operation of the safety, the bolt, loading the clip, and adding a CO2 88 gram source. The only optic shown is the scope which comes which comes with the .177 combo package, which is the one I received. You can add the Picatiny rail accessory for mounting other optics such as the Walther PS55 or MRS (Multi Reticle Sight).
The second tag is one I added. It shows the maximum chronographed velocity of lead (785 fps) and alloy (838 fps) as well as the air rifle and date. This lets me know when things begin to degrade by comparing results to future chronographs of the same pellet types.
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I added the optional muzzle brake later. Note how far back the front sight was when the air rifle arrived. This is a secondary position that allows for the mounting of the muzzle brake. For optimal use of the fiber optic sights only, it can be moved forward, increasing the sight radius. The muzzle brake attaches with two Allen screws after you move the front sight back to the shown secondary position. The screws bite into the finish, so I recommend using nylon tipped Allen screws unless your accessory is going to be permanently mount.
This 850 does have a very nice parallax adjustable Walther 6 X 42 scope pre-mounted. The optics are clear with a sharp reticle and the parallax adjustment brings the target into focus giving you a fairly accurate range estimate. The 850 comes with an Allen wrench for the scope and two rotary clips (one in the rifle and one in the styrofoam insert). I received the available Hammerli 12 gram CO2 adapter (allows you to use two 12 gram capsules instead of the 88 gram cylinder when you will only fire a limited number of shots), two Walther 88 gram cylinders.
I highly recommend the 12 gram adapter for shooters who will fire 1 to 20 shots then put the air rifle away for a while. The expensive but well made adapter is self-sealing when removed, meaning minimal CO2 loss. You have the ability to store it separate from the air rifle and reattach as necessary. The 88 gram cylinders do not seal when removed and any left over CO2 is lost. This is both hard on the seal area and expensive.
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If you shoot a lot or a variety of pellets, extra magazines are a good investment. A black rubber ring holds the pellets in the clips. You can carry a number of the same pellet or a variety for using the right pellet for the distance and target. |
In the profile picture you will see the rifle with the scope removed and the fiber optics sights used. They are very nice, providing excellent sight picture and accuracy. I also put a Walther PS55 red dot style sight on the rifle by adding the Picatinny rail option. This gives you a wider field of view and quick acquisition of targets. The PS55 is certainly one of my favorites in the red dot style optics with the scaled ladder style reticle and levels of brightness.
Adding optics other than a scope with 11mm ring mounts requires Umarex’s very well milled Picatinny Rail mounted on the 11mm scope grooves.
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Here is the 850 with the fiber optic sights. The front moved back to the secondary position.
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 While the fiber optic sights are very bright and easy to acquire, the rear sight is not protected by the grooved hood like the front sight. You must be careful when handling the air rifle, especially when putting it down, to avoid damaging the mounted rear sight fiber optic rods.
I suggest covering the voids left by the sight screws with black electrical tape to prevent debris from accumulating in the holes.
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This is the setup that I used most while testing. For me, the scope is necessary for distance shooting.
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I generally remove the manual sights when using a scope unless I have “see through” scope mounts, which this stock rifle does not come with. Removing the manual sights not only reduces the chance of damage to the fiber optic rods, but it removes the distortion in the bottom of the scope caused by the fiber optic sights and front hood.
The enclosed directions are very clear on loading the 88 gram or 2 X 12 CO2 sources. You compress the back of the fore grip where indicated and slide forward off the hook. The CO2 source screws in until you hear it pierce or activate. Umarex recommends that you place a drop of Chamber Lube on the tip of the CO2 capsule before installing to preserver seal life. You replace the fore grip cover by sliding it back until it engages the hook then clicks. The rotary magazine is inserted by pulling the bolt fully back (activating the safety), moving the magazine spindle slide switch on the right side back and inserting the magazine from the left side of the 850 with the silver gear insert to the rear. I could add photos, but the diagrams are clear.
To use the long pellets in the chronograph tests, I used the 850 as a single shot, inserting each pellet with tweezers. With the sealed bolt, you can do this and leave the clip out. This allows use of a wide variety of specialty pellets.
CHRONOGRAPH RESULTS - TEMPERATURE 52 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
| PELLET |
MAXIMUM VELOCITY FPS |
| RWS HYPER MAX 5.2 gr |
828 |
| RWS HYPER VELOCITY |
786 |
| RWS R10 MATCH 7.0 gr |
785 |
| RWS HOBBY 7.0 gr |
767 |
| RWS SUPER H-POINT 6.9gr |
761 |
| RWS MEISTERKUGELN 8.2gr |
726 |
| RWS SUPER DOME 8.3 gr |
720 |
| RWS SUPER MAG 9.3 gr |
706 |
| GAMO PBA RAPTOR 5.4 gr |
805 |
| GAMO PBA ARMOR 6.6 gr (6.8 PYRAMYD) |
762 |
| GAMO PRO MAGNUM 7.8 gr |
699 |
| GAMO HUNTER 7.6 gr |
761 |
| GAMO MAGNUM 7.9 gr |
747 |
| GAMO MATCH 7.7 gr |
746 |
| GAMO MASTER POINT 7.9 gr |
740 |
| GAMO ROCKET 9.6 gr |
671 |
| CROSMAN SILVER EAGLE 4.8 gr |
838 |
| CROSMAN FIREBALL 10.5 gr |
608 |
| CROSMAN HOLLOW POINT 7.9 gr |
774 |
| CROSMAN POINT 7.4 gr |
741 |
| CROSMAN TARGET 7.9 gr |
721 |
| CROSMAN PREMIER 7.9 gr |
706 |
| CROSMAN PREMIER HEAVY 10.5 gr |
674 |
| JSB PLASTIC |
830 |
| JSB HYPER VELOCITY |
826 |
| JSB STEEL FIST 6.2 gr |
809 |
| JSB BLACK MATCH 6.4 gr |
784 |
| JSB PREDATOR |
721 |
| JSB BIG BOY 13 gr |
602 |
| DAISY MAX SPEED |
685 |
TRIGGER PULL MEASURED BY LYMAN ELECTRONIC GAUGE: 1.51 LBS
Please read all instructions, manuals and warnings before use! While I did have some problems with the pellets refusing to feed as the bolt came forward, overall I was very impressed with the Hammerli 850 and accessories. I do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who wants a quality CO2 air rifle that is well built and capable for targets or small game. From the 4.8 grain Crosman Silver Eagle to the 13 grain JSB Big Boy, this rifle handled them all in style. Please keep the safety on any time you are not pulling the trigger.
By the way, is it accurate? Well, this is a dime-sized center on a plastic jug at 30 meters. With palsy and partial paralysis in my hands I leaned against the door jam. I would call this accurate enough!
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