Hammerli 490 Express

Nicely shaped and good looking stock; reasonably priced. Easy cocking action, although if you have the gun inclined after loading a pellet, the pellet will sometimes fall out of the breech while closing the action.

The trigger is lousy - a better trigger would dramatically improve the accuracy and overall experience of this rifle. The automatic safety is a pain in the neck, gritty and stiff - you need to release it using your left hand. Once the safety is released, it cannot be re-engaged. Pretty anemic power: I wasn't looking for 1,000 fpm, but this gun is definitely on the wimpy side. The scope mounting rail is 11mm or 3/8", so if you have a scope with a Weaver style dovetail, you'll need to buy new mounting rings. Reasonably accurate, but not up to the standards of even another inexpensive rifle like the Gamo Big Cat.

This could be quite a good value IF you could replace the trigger with a GRT trigger like you can do with the Gamo guns and variants. The action on the 490 is completely enclosed and basically cannot be worked on without significant disassembly. With a better trigger (or at least the ability to modify or easily tune the trigger) and a little more power, this would be a terrific bargain at the price. As it is, it's an OK buy, but not much more than that.

I love the color and finish of the wood. The sights are also very good. Unfortunately, I cannot tell if the accuracy is spot on since I just got into spring-piston rifles and need to improve my hold. From how well I can shoot, it seems to do very well, hitting anything I throw at it (meaning household objects). The cocking effort is virtually nonexistent for someone teen-sized or larger. The power on mine isn't great, but because cocking effort it's not a problem.

The bluing on the metal isn't great, but it's not too bad. There is a flaw in the wood, but again, not an issue. The trigger is fairly stiff though, breaking at around the advertised 6 lb.

For $90 you'd be hard pressed to find a better plinking/target practice air rifle.

Absolutely thre best looking rifle in any category in cosmetic beauty. OMG, it looks just like my Beeman S-1 ( made in Spain) Superb quality material appearing, fit and finish. You will not believe this at this price point. Nice heavy quality Hammerli carton for storage.No, I never cocked it. It was too beautiful to even use. Tom is right, it is beautiful quality, so I packed itr up, and returned it. Some people do interesting things.

Nothing. Super Pyramyd Air packing, attention to customer details, great communications.

If you do not care how you use your air guns, and just bang them around, this maybe is not for you. It is simply too beautiful.Get a Polymere stock rifle like my GAMO Big Cat 1200, which will not show any marks from rough handling. Yes, the cocking effort is higher.

great dollar value-excellent accuracy

safety is awkward- trigger could be lighter

beyond 20 yards accuracy drops off- but but this is not a 1000fps gun-it stands up to any air rifle at double the price

Easy cocking, light weight, really accurate. Nice medium-power rifle. Beautiful finish on wood, and metal is nicely blued.

Plastic trigger has long, long creep. Tom mentions a heavy trigger pull; mine has been quite light all along, but it does have that long creep, with virtually no load on the trigger until the end, then a decent bit of proper resistance, but nothing too heavy. Automatic safety: it works fine, but personally, I don't like auto-safeties.

This gun is made in China and is also known as the QB-18 (mine is a .22 caliber QB). I haven't chronied it, but it shoots about as hard as my Crosman 180 - about 450 fps or so. That's a pretty good for plinking out to the extreme of my 35-meter backyard range. This rifle is more than accurate enough for Coke cans and the like, and it is absolute murder on all my Gamo field targets.
Because the 490 is medium powered (at best), the spring is less stiff than in a magnum springer (and the piston stroke may be shorter, too... not sure), so cocking is very smooth and easy. There is also a less-pronounce recoil, which is easier on me and a lot easier on my scopes. The open sights are passable, this would be absolutely great with diopter sights, though.

One easy pump and it's ready to fire. Auto safety everytime you pump. Seems accurate. Only fired a few times so far, but have hit everything. Nicely balanced and a handsome looking gun.

Nothing so far.

Have some fun. Every weapon you own doesn't have to be a magnum.

When I rate the Hammerli 490 Express with 5 stars, I feel that I have to explain the rating. This rifle is a budget-level youth model breakbarrel spring rifle that is way better than its low price would seem possible, but it is not the equal of a TX200 or a Beeman R1. So don't buy it thinking that it is. However, what you get with this rifle is an honest (wood and steel) air rifle with WAY more accuracy than the price dictates! The trigger is too heavy, but I overlook that because of the accuracy, the light weight and the easy cocking. This is a little spring rifle you can fall in love with, if you overlook that trigger. The firing behavior is smooth and even--way better than you would expect. And although I called it a youth model, adults will like it too. This is a rifle anyone can love!

I would put a smoother, lighter trigger on it. But I won't rate the rifle lower for just that, because when you see the accuracy you will learn to live with that trigger.

This isn't a magnum air rifle. It's a fun gun--the kind you will shoot ten times more often than you do those huge magnums. This is an all-day air rifle. And there are aftermarket tuners who can smooth and lighten the trigger. You can find them in our daily blog.