Fort Smith, Ark. (January 22, 2019)– The Umarex® Hammer, being built in the USA, is the most powerful .50 caliber production airgun on the planet and it achieves its speed and power without gun powder.
The Hammer was conceived, designed and engineered in America and is being built in the U.S.A. Its production assembly is taking place in Fort Smith, Arkansas within the facility of Umarex USA and is set to begin in March 2019. “It’s been exciting to see the concept come to fruition right here in the states. Now we’re seeing the final parts inspected, measured and verified. The production cell and process has come together and seeing all of this has made it well worth the wait,” said Richard Turner, President of Umarex USA, Inc. “There’s no better team of hunting and shooting enthusiasts and no better air rifle to start building in Fort Smith than the Hammer. The whole process represents the powerful innovation that our company’s German founders started in the 70’s.” Turner went on to say they expect the first units to ship in March of this year.
The sheer energy, speed and three full-power shots delivered by the .50 caliber Umarex Hammer is achieved by its proprietary, patent-pending, Lightspeed™ valve. The innovative engineering used to design this internal mechanism coupled with a .50 caliber, 180-grain non-lead bullet exceeds 1,130 feet per second. Just as monumental, a 550-grain lead slug is responsible for the generation of its 705 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. Almost as impressive, it only takes two pounds of effort to operate its straight-pull bolt. This short, effortless, bolt action is all that’s required to cock the rifle and advance the magazine.
Umarex USA’s team of engineers have produced multiple prototypes of various mechanisms for the Hammer during nearly a three-year process that has resulted in the most innovative, fastest and powerful production big bore hunting air rifle on the planet. The soul of the Umarex Hammer is powered simply by natural atmospheric air, no gun powder. 4,500 pounds per square inch of compressed air fill its custom, on-board carbon fiber tank to a capacity of 24 cubic inches. The Hammer’s Lightspeed valve, coupled with a precision regulator instantly pulses a measure of air, compressed to 3,000 psi, behind the projectile. This innovative patent-pending system efficiently propels a .50 caliber 550 grain lead slug at a muzzle velocity of 760 feet per second and a 250-grain slug at over 1,000 feet per second.
The Umarex Hammer has a multitude of useful and user-friendly features that both hunters and shooters appreciate. In addition to being the most powerful airgun delivering three regulated, full-power shots, it is the only production .50 caliber air rifle that offers multiple shots from its patent-pending double-chamber magazine. Unique to the Hammer is the utilization of three safeties—a conventional trigger block, a magazine lockout that prevents it from discharging without a magazine inserted and a field safety. “You won’t find safety mechanisms to this extent on any other big bores. The Umarex Hammer is the most powerful production air rifle on the planet, so we charged our engineers, from the beginning, to incorporate safety mechanisms that would help prevent unintended discharges.” said Steve Lamboy, Senior Director of Strategic Development at Umarex USA.
Umarex USA collaborated with PolyOne Corporation, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, in the design, engineering and material selection for the stock and barrel shroud of the Umarex Hammer air rifle. As a result, the stock, forearm and other key polymer components are produced from Nymax™, an advanced polymer that withstands the rugged trials of outdoor hunting and shooting. Together, the advanced polymer materials and innovative design, including smooth edges and tight-fitting joints, form a modern and functional stock for the Hammer rifle that is both shooter-friendly and made to last. Richard Turner, President of Umarex USA, Inc, said, “In working with PolyOne, we targeted certain design and performance aspects of the polymer portions of the Hammer. The PolyOne team embraced our concept and the performance targets and worked hand-in-hand with our product development team to develop specific options that met our design, weight and most importantly, performance goals.”
Expected to begin shipping in March of 2019, the Umarex Hammer is equipped with additional features that include a standard Magpul AR grip, Quick Disconnect Foster fitting to fill the onboard air cylinder, externally visible air pressure gauge, a button-rifled .50 caliber barrel made in Germany, and 8.5-inches of Picatinny rail. Its full-length composite shroud helps to dampen its report and each Hammer comes with two double-chamber magazines. MSRP $799.99.
Umarex Hammer Speed and Energy Generation
Grain Material FPS Energy (ft. lbs.)
180 Non-Lead 1130 510
200 Lead 1055 495
250 Lead 1000 555
275 Lead 945 545
300 Lead 930 576
330 Lead (Lyman) 935 641
350 Lead (Lyman) 875 595
550 Lead 760 705
Umarex Hammer Features & Specifications
- Built in the USA
- Fastest and most powerful .50 caliber production air rifle on the planet
- Delivers 705 foot pounds of energy
- Shoots a 550 grain lead slug at 760 feet per second
- Delivers 3 full-power shots plus an additional effective shot
- Places 3 rounds of 350 grain lead slugs touching at 50 yards
- Straight-pull bolt with 2 lb. cocking effort and just 2 inches of travel
- Patent-pending Lightspeed™valve
- Two double-chambermagazines included
- 24 cubic inch custom carbon fiber tank holds 4,500 psi compressed air
- Regulated to 3,000 psi per shot providing less than 10 fps standard deviation
- Utilizes Quick Disconnect Foster fitting for filling
- Standard Magpul AR grip
- Machined Picatinny Rail 8.5-inch in length with 20 slots
- Modern, rugged polymer stock design manufactured with materials from PolyOne
- Three slot locations incorporated in forearm for M-LOK attachment
- Rear sling stud built-in
- 43.75-inch overall length
- 8.5 pound overall weight unloaded without scope
- German-made 29.5-inch barrel length with 1:24 twist
- Full length long-fiber composite shroud dampens sound report
- 4 lb. trigger weight
- Three safeties: magazine lock-out, trigger block, field carry safety
UMAREX sporting airguns, optics, long distance lights, and accessories are available at local sporting goods dealers and retail locations around the world. Sporting goods dealers may order UMAREX products from many established outdoor goods distributors.
About UMAREX USA
Umarex USA, Incorporated is one of North America’s fastest growing outdoor sport and recreation companies. Umarex USA innovates, develops and markets products under brands owned or licensed by its parent company, UMAREX GmbH & Co. KG. Such brands include Axeon®Optics, Beretta®, Browning®, Colt®, Elite Force® Airsoft, GLOCK®, Heckler & Koch®, Hornady®, IWI®, Optical Dynamics®, Ruger®, RWS®, Smith & Wesson®, UMAREX®, Walther®and others. For additional information regarding Umarex USA visit UmarexUSA.com.