It’s more than fair to say the Hammerli Arms Tac R1 22 C pistol falls on the affordable side of .22 LR plinking guns, but that didn’t translate to poor performance on the range. These tactical-looking AR plinkers have some unique quirks to them, yet there’s something charming about them as well.

Founded in Switzerland all the way back in 1863, Hammerli Arms (technically Hämmerli) now falls under the Umarex umbrella that includes companies like Walther Arms. Hence, you’ll occasionally find these guns listed as Walther Hammerli firearms. 

Hammerli originally focused on precision parts and even Olympic-quality competition firearms. The Tac R1 22 line represents the company’s pivot to more marketable, budget-friendly shooting platforms. From my testing and other reviews on the Tac R1 22 rifle variants, Hammerli is still keeping its eye on accuracy.  

Here’s what I found when I took this gun out for 625 rounds of testing without any cleaning.

Table of Contents

First Impressions
Specs & Features
Range Testing
Pros & Cons
Final Thoughts

First Impressions

The suppressor-ready Tac R1 22 rifles arrived in the states back in 2016. This pistol variant retains the suppressor-ready status in a chopped-down format. Since it’s chambered for .22 LR and uses mostly aluminum and polymer parts, it comes in at a scant 3.825 pounds. That makes it easy to operate with just one hand.
 

You can feel that lightness the instant you pick the gun up, but it hardly feels like it’s rattly or flimsy. The upper and lower are both aluminum. The textured grip is beefier than expected with a squared-off shape that locks positively into my hands. Even the polymer backup iron sights seem perfectly functional and better made than most of the flimsy sights I see that come with budget-friendly guns.

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I assumed the controls would feel incredibly familiar given this is an AR platform. However, the safety has more of a sliding feel rather than the positive flick-and-click I get from true AR-15 rifles. It’s not bad, just different. Similarly, the trigger is stiffer than a mil-spec AR and the bolt hold-open/release on the left side is non-functioning and purely there for ascetics.
 

That said, the charging handle and ejection-port cover function as expected, and the layout of the AR-style controls makes the gun very easy to use. I personally like the overall looks, weight, and feel for a gun in this price range.
 

Specs & Features

The least AR-like quality of the Tac R1 22 C is the operating system inside the gun. There’s no gas piston or gas tube, just your simple blowback operating system. As far as the dirty, cheap, and sometimes finicky .22 LR ammo is concerned, that’s a good thing. Blowback systems are simple and reliable on top of being easy to clean. It also compensates for the lack of a buffer tube.

This pistol variant offers flip-up polymer iron sights, 13 inches of top Picatinny rail, and a 6.5-inch aluminum handguard with M-LOK attachment points at the 3, 6, and 9-o’clock positions. Both the upper and lower are aluminum. The suppressor-ready steel barrel is threaded at 1/2x28 TPI and covered in a heat-resistant, non-metallic sleeve. 
 

Unlike your standard mil-spec AR, the safety works whether the internal hammer is cocked or not. The bolt locks back on an empty magazine, but the bolt release is purely cosmetic. You’ll have to always use the T-shaped charging handle for your reloads, sorry. There are also QD sling attachment points on the right and left side of the handguard and at the rear butt plate. 

Here’s a rundown of some of the basic specs:

Weight: 3.825 pounds
Length: 17.8 inches
Barrel Length: 10.5 inches with flash hider
Top Pic Rail: 13 inches
Sight Radius: 11.5 inches
Handguard: 6.5 inches
Height: 7.25 inches
Width: 2.25 inches
Capacity: 10, 20, and 30 rounds
Barrel Threading: 1/2x28 TPI
Trigger Pull: 8.9 pounds

While it doesn’t necessarily feel that heavy, the nearly 9-pound trigger is by far my least favorite feature of this gun. There’s almost zero take-up to get to the wall, which is stiff and breaks like you are snapping a toothpick. 

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It’s just harder to keep your gun perfectly steady for precision shots when trying to break a stiff trigger. That said, my 25-yard testing had this gun doing decently well for an AR pistol boasting a simple 3-MOA red dot.

Here's a closer look at that trigger in action:
 

I really like the texturing and shape of the pistol grip. The texture is positive but not grating, and the semi-squared shape locks into my hand nicely. I’m less of a fan of the safety, which works fine but slides along the receiver until you push it into place. It’s not stiff and provides an audible click when locking into place, but the feel is less positive than the flick-and-click I get from a standard AR.
 

I opted to slap a FAB Defense Ergonomic Pointing Grip to the handguard mostly because I had one lying around. It also allowed me to test the M-LOK on the handguard. I found that addition of a foregrip helped with my hand placement on this very light and short AR pistol.

The optic up top was a co-witnessed Gideon Mediator featuring a 3-MOA dot and 38-MOA circle/circle with a dot. It offers 1-MOA adjustments for windage and elevation, and I had no issues getting it zeroed with just a few shots. That brings us to the shooting portion of this review.
 

Range Testing

I don’t like the feel of this trigger, but that’s not a deal-breaker by any means for this gun at this price tag. The trigger feels like you’re trying to snap a toothpick with your trigger finger. The break is sudden and somewhat hard to predict. Yet, somehow, I shoot this thing pretty well for an AR-pistol format.
 

AR pistols are not guns I normally shoot very well. The lack of a stock on a relatively large gun and a short forend just doesn’t lend itself to much accuracy. However, this gun shot unusually well for me after popping on a 3-MOA Gideon Mediator optic with a riser that co-witnessed with this gun’s polymer iron sights.

Related: Hammerli Unveils New .22 Force B1 Straight-Pull Rifle

The trigger is heavy and stiff, but the recoil with .22 LR ammo is hardly worth mentioning. The gun is plenty controllable. I also popped on a FAB Defense forend piece so my wrist didn’t have to angle sharply on the short handguard. 

The combo left me with the below groups at 25 yards.
 

As far as tactical plinking is concerned, this compact little gun can get the job done at a bargain price. It also does that with what has been stellar reliability so far. I have had exactly one malfunction over the course of 625 rounds of a mix of .22 LR loads. That was a light primer strike that, upon inspection, wasn’t really a “light” strike on the part of the pistol. The primer simply didn’t ignite even though it was well dimpled by the firing pin.  

My ammo selection included 100 rounds of 40-grain copper-plated hollow-point Aguila, 325 rounds of 40-grain lead round-nose Federal Champion Target, and 200 rounds of 40-grain lead round-nose Federal Range. 
 

As an AR pistol with no magnification and a fairly large red dot, I’m more than happy with the accuracy and reliability. The gun feels decent in the hands and even better with an angled foregrip. Loading the magazines is fast and easy thanks to the loading tabs on the sides of the mag.

I’ll ding the gun for only coming with one 20-round magazine. That’s part of the cost savings given the gun’s low price, and you can grab additional magazines for a reasonable price in 10, 20, and 30-round options. 

It’s a nice plinking option with potential as a training gun. My only issue with using it as a trainer is that the trigger doesn’t line up with the feel and pull weight of any of the 5.56/.223 AR rifles I’ve shot.
 

Pros & Cons

Here’s my short list of the pros and cons for this budget .22 LR AR pistol:

Pros:

• Very affordable
• Reliable
• Accurate
• Lightweight
• Compact
• Suppressor ready (1/2x28 TPI)
• AR-style controls
• Adjustable folding sights included
• Bolt locks back on last round
• Metal upper and lower
• Extra mag options in 10, 20, 30 rounds

Cons:

• Heavy, stiff trigger
• Only comes with one magazine
• No stock or brace options
• No bolt release button
   

Final Thoughts
 

For a gun in this price range, it offers some nice perks that range from a suppressor-ready barrel and included folding iron sights to plenty of top Picatinny rail for optics, nice accuracy, and solid reliability.