The Hammerli Storm is a relatively new entry from RWS/Umarex, obviously an attempt to expand the company's offerings and increase its market share, especially in a lower price segment than their German-entry-level Diana 34. Previous attempts to do so with the BAM B20 (RWS 320) and the Mendoza rifles (RM600, etc) didn't work out that well. So, after recently killing the Mendoza line they've started importing rifles made by Norica of Spain.
Norica is no stranger to the United States market, as their rifles have been available for some time under the Beeman name (the old S1 and the current GS and GH series). In addition, Shang-Hai of China has been making Norica clones - virtually identical ones - for a little while now.
Now, Norica seems to have three basic "magnum" breakbarrel powerplants in this power range - one with a cheap direct-sear trigger, and two with a much nicer 2-stage affair. The basic powerplants seem to be comparable. The first is imported as the "Beeman GH1050", the second as the Beeman GS950, and the third as the GS1000. The 950 seems to be a little less powerful than the other two, I don't know if it's a slightly weaker spring or a smaller powerplant.
The Chinese seem to be copying the GH1050 and GS1000 actions. The copy of the cheaper action is sold as the Beeman SS1000H while the GS1000 copy is available as the SS1000, the AR1000, and the TF89 - at widely varying prices. The Beeman offerings can be a little confusing, and last year when I bought what I though was an SS1000 I got an SS1000H, and returned it because of that lousy trigger. The vendor apparently didn't know the difference, and advertised the "H" model as having the better trigger. As for the Hammerli Storm... well, it seems that it's not really a new rifle at all. As a matter of fact, it appears to be identical to the Beeman GH1050 model - but at a lower price ($171 vs. $132 at Midsouth).
In any event, the gun itself is roughly comparable in size and heft to a Gamo Shadow. The reach from the grip to the trigger is a smidgen longer - certainly nothing objectionable - and the recoil pad to grip length is about the same. The powerplant and barrel on the Storm are longer overall than the Shadow and thus a little bit heavier (less than 1/2 lb), so it is a bit more muzzleheavy than the Gamo product. But just a bit. Overall workmanship is comparable to the Gamo, with good-fitting parts and a solid lock-up.
Cocking the gun takes a bit more effort than the Shadow, and there is an annoying "catch" right at the end of the cocking stroke that takes a little extra oomph to get past. This seems to be where the automatic (inside the trigger guard) safety gets set, and just reinforces my opinion of auto-safeties as being little more than an annoyance. Popping the safety off isn't too difficult, although it doesn't move as slickly as the one in the Norica-built Beeman S1 or the Norica-copied AR1000.
Shooting the gun certainly reminds you that this is an economy model. First, there is some Gamo-ish "twang" (is this genetically a Spanish thing?) and the recoil is a bit harsher than its Spanish cousin. Mainly, though - there is that trigger pull. It certainly breaks cleanly, but it does need a good yank - as you would expect from from that direct sear trigger (ala B1/B2 and Fast Deer). It does have a fake "two stage" mechanism (the first part of the pull merely moves the trigger blade and nothing else), but this is really pointless. Granted, the trigger could possibly be improved with some polishing - but one has to be extremely careful when messing around with a mechanism like this. A little change in the sear face angle could result in a gun that shoots whenever it feels like it. In all honesty it isn't as bad as the last B1 that I tried, and it might get a little better with use, but I don't expect it ever to feel as good as a broken in Shadow or Quest trigger. Needless to say, it's not adjustable.
The predominantly plastic sights are fiberoptic, the front has a nice hood over it that protects the delicate front fiber. Unlike the Quest, the supports for the front light pipe are very thin - when you sight the gun all you really see is the little red dot. Without the hood, I suspect it would get ruined rather quickly. For some reason, though - I have a hard time pulling a consistent sight picture with these sights. No doubt it's somewhat attributable to my eyesight going down the tubes, but I don't have quite as difficult a time with my other rifles. As a result, my shot consistency left something to be deired.
Fortunately, that problem went away when I put an old 3-9x32 Powerline scope on it... at which point it shoots about as well as my Gamo, despite the stiff trigger. Where the gun really shines, however - is when you place a couple of shots across the chrony.
RWS advertises this thing as doing 820fps in .22, but RWS really seems to be overly optimistic when it comes to rating some of their Diana guns. By the same token, the "Chinese-Norica" guns are capable of putting out some decent power, so I didn't know what to expect. Regardless - what I actually GOT is quite decent. After a few dozen rounds (the gun never dieselled noticeably) it put several Gamo Wadcutters (14.3gr) across the chrony at anywhere between 735 and 760fps, averaging close to 750. Those are good numbers... maybe a little lower than a B30 or RWS48/52/54, but excellent considering the reasonable cocking effort and weight of the rifle. With Hobby pellets, that advertised 820 figure might be possible. In any event, this seems to put it past the Quest/Shadow .22's as well as RWS's own model 34. Although I haven't tested it, I suspect that it might be bested by the MP513 - but unless one really needs that extra bit of power, well, the Russian gun is more crudely made, harder to cock, harsher to shoot, and its trigger really isn't much (if any) better.
So, in the final analysis, the Hammerli really isn't a bad rifle for the money ($130 at MidSouth). It handles and shoulders nicely... compared to the common Gamo Shadow it does offer a little less refinement (especially with regards to the trigger) but noticably more power. It compares in a similar fashion to the Crosman Quest series rifle, with a bit of an edge in workmanship as well (although later Crosman guns seem to be improving). In a sense it doesn't really compare to RWS's own model 34 - which is a larger and heavier rifle with better workmanship that doesn't shoot as hard.
Of course, one could get its Chinese "blood brother" AR1000 for significantly less (<$85 at Dauven's) and get comparable power, a wood stock and a much better trigger. The powerplants are similar. But one would also be giving up the fiberoptic sights, the tighter QC of the Spanish guns, and any semblance of a warranty or parts support. The TF89 or Beeman SS1000 get over at least a couple of these hurdles, but at a higher price. The GS/GH series Beemans are, of course, more directly comparable - probably coming off the same assembly line - but as I mentioned before, they tend to be a bit more expensive.
Oh, and one final thing - if this rifle is indeed identical to the GH1050, this pretty much confirms what I've come to expect from Beeman. First, the GH1050 is being advertised as having a "two stage" trigger, which is really misleading. Second, Beeman CS is full of it - when I asked them about the 1050's trigger, they told me that it was a "true" two-stage mechanism that was similar to their better rifles, except that it wasn't adjustable. They made a point of telling me that the mechanism is superior to that of the Gamo, which it certainly is not. Third, the Beeman is overpriced.
Needless to say, I'm very glad I didn't get the Beeman...