Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its many different types of firearms, history, trends, ammunition, and much more! The TFB and TFBTV crew have just come back from SHOT Show 2024 and to be honest, it was kind of a blur. This year was probably the busiest we have been and probably the most heavily trafficked I’ve ever seen the show in recent years. That being said, the yearly grind of booth assaults is still one of the most enjoyable events of the year for me mostly because of the good company of the entire TFB/TFBTV crew, but also for the sheer amount of cool and new stuff we get to see. This year I was excited to see a couple of new 22LR offerings including the brand new Hammerli Force B1. This new 10/22-esque-looking firearm not only uses Ruger pattern BX magazines, but it features a quick change barrel system so you can swap between cheap and fun 22LR to the much more potent and reliable 22WMR with a lightning-fast and neat quick change barrel system. While that’s cool news in and of itself, I think the rimfire sector of the firearms industry is finally starting to see a lot more of its deserved attention. As we’ll discuss today, I think the Hammerli Force B1 is a great indicator of things to come in the rimfire firearm world, and of course, take a closer look at this neat new convertible rimfire rifle.

More Rimfire Report @ TFB:

• The Rimfire Report: France’s Gevarm 22LR Open Bolt Semi-Auto Rifles
• The Rimfire Report: The Forgotten Mitchell 50/22 50-Round 10/22 Magazine
• The Rimfire Report: The Eternal Debate – SBR or Takedown 22LR Rifle?

The Rimfire Report: Is The Hammerli Force B1 The Way of the Future?

The Hammerli Force B1 is just the latest in a long lineage of firearms from Swiss gunmakers who have a penchant for Olympic-grade firearms. Hammerli has since then pivoted towards firearms for the average gun owner and came out with their TAC R1 22 AR-15 style 22LR rifle and their Forge H1 1911-style 22LR pistol. The Force B1, like their previous offerings, is chambered in 22LR. Hammerli has now made their first step into rimfire magnum calibers with the Force B1, a straight-pull rimfire rifle with a neat quick change barrel system.

Introducing the Hammerli Arms Force B1 Rifle, a designed for those who demand nothing but the best in the chaos of the wilderness. With a nod to the legendary Hammerli legacy, the Force B1 stands tall alongside the historic products of Heritage & Innovation since 1863.

The Hammerli Arms Force B1 Rifle – a masterpiece of adaptability, precision, and power. When the world demands resilience, answer with the Force B1 by your side, ready for anything the wilderness throws your way.

In the lineage of Hammerli’s competition history, the Toggle Style Straight Pull Action in the Force B1 represents a bold step forward, marrying tradition with innovation for a shooting experience that embodies the essence of Hammerli Arms excellence.

Caliber: 22LR/22WMR

Barrel Length: 16.1″

Overall Length: 35.5″-37.4″

Magazines: Ruger BX Magazines

Weight: 5.75 lbs

MSRP: $649

The Hammerli Force B1 is also compatible with Ruger 10/22 pattern trigger groups.

The price of the Hammerli Force B1 is pretty amazing in my opinion. The quick-change barrel system is just the cherry on top of what looks like an already great straight-pull rimfire rifle that takes Ruger BX Magazines. The rifle comes standard with a stock that is adjustable for both comb height and length of pull, an integrated Picatinny rail section, 1/2×28 TPI barrel, and the fore-end of the stock is also adorned with a handful of M-LOK slots at the 6 o’clock position.

The rifle gets its versatility from both its quick-change barrel system as well as its magazine adapters. Hammerli likely designed this firearm around the 22WMR cartridge as the receiver and its magazine well are designed to take the longer 22WMR BX rotary magazines. After the barrels are swapped out, a small adapter is attached to your existing BX-1 22LR rotary magazines which allow them to fully seat in the magazine well. This likely means that the Hammerli won’t be able to take larger capacity magazines as the design of the BX-15 and BX-25 is ever so slightly different than the BX-1.

More Like This?

The Hammerli Force B1 and the new Fletcher Rifle Works OpenTop 11/22 Takedown were two of my favorite rimfire releases for the SHOT Show and they both indicate to me that there is now a much stronger market for this kind of stuff. Even though we aren’t cursed by some of the restrictions found in Europe that often necessitate quick-change barrel systems, I still think rimfire enthusiasts like the idea of one gun that is capable of doing many things.

More to the point, I think my generation, one that grew up playing a litany of video games where your primary gun was one capable of being adapted to meet different situations. The idea has probably permeated the mind of every firearms designer since the first piece of shot was blasted out of a smoothbore barrel.

The DC17M from the video game “STAR WARS Republic Commando” was a pistol, sniper rifle, machine gun, and grenade launcher all in one.

All that being said, I think the idea of firearms that are packable, convertible, or otherwise capable of being taken apart and tinkered with is becoming much more popular, and the Hammerli Force B1 and the FRW OpenTop 11/22 are just two examples of that.

Of course, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. Are these the types of rimfire firearms that you guys like to see? Do convertible caliber firearms have a place within the American firearms market even though we aren’t limited by firearms licenses? Let us know in the comments and as always thanks for stopping by to read The Rimfire Report and we’ll see you again next week.