I think this is a highly under rated pistol. It had some issues early on I guess (sig trailside) but those have been fixed for quite a while now. I have been target shooting .22s for over 30 years now and have had quite a few target .22s. I started out with a RUGER MKI, then a HS victor, sold it to buy a stainless mitchel arms clone of a victor (young and stupid at the time) and it was a piece of junk so I bought a S&W M41. I shot it for many years but I started having trouble with my right shoulder so I had to switch to my left. The M41 felt a little heavy for my left and that is when I came across the EXESSE . It is about 10oz lighter at 36 oz which was perfect for me. It is one heck of a shooter and has never given me any mechanical problems or feeding issues, all i have done is clean it. I have had 20 yard groups where 4 or 5 shots could be covered with a quarter (i won't mention the other 5 shots as I am still not great with my left just OK) What is hard to believe is that the rear sight slides back with the slide just like my old COLT WOODSMAN's I have but that doesn't affect it's accuracy. I have since added a steel barrel weight, 2 stage trigger and wood NILL grips which makes it even better but it was also very good out of the box. for someone starting out it would be a very good gun as it's a little more than a RUGER but cheaper than a S&W M41.
Anyone else shoot a HAMMERI EXESSE?
- Thread starter barny961
- Start date
The S&W and others with both sights affixed to the solid barrel/frame are more inherently accurate by design, even if this is not proven out on the range. Having said that, my Colt Woodsman Match Target is very accurate.
All the target pistols you mention (S&W, Colt, Hi Std, Ruger) are all steel manufacture. The Hammerli is not.
I have owned/shot all the ones you mention, but not a Hammerli Xesse.
Some have reported feeding/cycling issues with the Xesse while other have had no such problems. The other reported issue has been cracking of the trigger guard, and if you google that you will plenty of reference to it and methodologies for preventing it.
Just bear in mind that the frame and trigger guard is alloy, but then so are many other fine pistols like some Berettas just to name one. The important thing is not feed it a steady diet of high velocity ammo and stay completely away from the hyper velocity stuff. This means no CCI Mini Mags. CCI Std Vel is your friend. But then of course I only shoot target velocity ammo in the other all steel frame pistols as well. It is more accurate and why create premature wear in an expensive well made machine like a quality target pistol.
Have fun shooting your 22 target pistol. I love shooting 22cal rifles and handguns for so many reasons.
CD
All the target pistols you mention (S&W, Colt, Hi Std, Ruger) are all steel manufacture. The Hammerli is not.
I have owned/shot all the ones you mention, but not a Hammerli Xesse.
Some have reported feeding/cycling issues with the Xesse while other have had no such problems. The other reported issue has been cracking of the trigger guard, and if you google that you will plenty of reference to it and methodologies for preventing it.
Just bear in mind that the frame and trigger guard is alloy, but then so are many other fine pistols like some Berettas just to name one. The important thing is not feed it a steady diet of high velocity ammo and stay completely away from the hyper velocity stuff. This means no CCI Mini Mags. CCI Std Vel is your friend. But then of course I only shoot target velocity ammo in the other all steel frame pistols as well. It is more accurate and why create premature wear in an expensive well made machine like a quality target pistol.
Have fun shooting your 22 target pistol. I love shooting 22cal rifles and handguns for so many reasons.
CD
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I don't have this specific Hammerli but I do own a Model 150. It's a superb shooter if you don't mind the ultimate in bullseye slow fire. The barrels must be the same quality at the very least. My only single change was after market Morini grips. Shoots very well with SK Rifle Match ammo, second runner up SK Standard Plus. Enjoy sir!
I shot one for a few years, along with Hi Standard Victors, and Olyimpic's Mine had the adjustable grips, there was one just like it listed couple days ago.
I liked it, a bit light, but I did not shoot formal , just against my self ( no one around , I shoot much better) had my own range.
I found a 215, all steel , but the same thing almost, that was a super gun, never had a misfire or anything with it.
The little rib on the barrel would hold one of those old burris clamp on scope base and worked good with pistol scope. (the exxe)
I never changed to a steel weight, as I had 3-4 other steel ones also.
They are a great gun, not full fledge match gun , but not many of us shoot that good any way.
BTW, I still have 2 new mags left in stock for those guns.
I also made those mags work in the 215 series guns which are steel mags, the bases are different, the top ends and angles are the same.
All this was about 2007
I liked it, a bit light, but I did not shoot formal , just against my self ( no one around , I shoot much better) had my own range.
I found a 215, all steel , but the same thing almost, that was a super gun, never had a misfire or anything with it.
The little rib on the barrel would hold one of those old burris clamp on scope base and worked good with pistol scope. (the exxe)
I never changed to a steel weight, as I had 3-4 other steel ones also.
They are a great gun, not full fledge match gun , but not many of us shoot that good any way.
BTW, I still have 2 new mags left in stock for those guns.
I also made those mags work in the 215 series guns which are steel mags, the bases are different, the top ends and angles are the same.
All this was about 2007
I think the cracked trigger guards and function issues were with the early models (sig trailside) back in late 90's early 2000"s. mine has functioned flawless but I will agree that they are a little light for a full blown competition gun, I added the steel barrel weight which helps. The S&W M41 is an awesome target gun and I shot mine for over 20 years but it was just a little heavy for my left when I switched shooting arms. After shooting for 5 years or so with my left I could likely handle a M41 again, i have shot a club members recently and I did pretty good with it but I did drop the sight on 3 shots(extra weight) I think for someone starting out the EXESSE is a option at $950 or so. cheaper than a 41 and a little more than a RUGER MKIV. For target/bullseye shooters like me the options are pretty limited now, I remember when i first started shooting you could go into a GUNSHOP and part of the display would be kinda dedicated to target guns, S&W M41, M52, HS VICTOR, TROPHY, CITATION, BROWWNING MEDALIST etc.
I forgot a couple , RUGER MK II, COLT MATCH TARGET, HAMMERLI 208 AND THE AMT LIGHTNING. The amt was a ruger clone but with improvements. it had a better trigger and sights out of the box, A friend of mine had one along with an AMT HARDBALLER (1911 clone) both great guns.
I forgot a couple , RUGER MK II, COLT MATCH TARGET, HAMMERLI 208 AND THE AMT LIGHTNING. The amt was a ruger clone but with improvements. it had a better trigger and sights out of the box, A friend of mine had one along with an AMT HARDBALLER (1911 clone) both great guns.
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Interesting that you bring up the fitting a 215 mag to the Xesse.
If I remember correctly, the 208/215 series were actually what the Xesse is based on??? Can anyone shed light on this?
I have an early 208 that is more accurate than I can hold anymore. (RWS pistol ammo)
Interesting about the AMT Lightning and Hardballer.
Always wanted to try them, but never got the chance. I had a hardballer longslide in my hands at a local gun shop back in the 90s with a reasonable price tag but hesitated. Silly me................
I read online a while back about someone who had a bad experience and called the Lightning a piece of junk and to stick with the Ruger?
I am no expert but from what I have read up on is that the EXESSE IS based upon a 208/215. After WALTHER brought out their GSP model (mag ahead of trigger) the 208 wasn't as competitive so HAMMERLI brought out the 280, Since they already had the design and tooling for the 208 they decided to make a simplified version and call it a SIG TRAILSIDE but there were issues with it(as mentioned above), Hammerli addressed these problems and renamed it HAMMERLI EXESSE. Now the EXESSE does not have awesome rear sight, fancy grips and olympic trigger that the 208 had but you can get them for it. I put a 2 stage trigger, nill wood grips and a heavier barrel weight on mine,
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I had an AMT Longslide once. Had mysterious split groups quite often. Tiny but split at 20-25 yards. Finally got rid of it when I found out via my own research the Corvina made 45s often had out of spec front end where the bushing locked in place. I don't miss it. Sold it to a dealer after full disclosure.
I did a search and found a dealer in SASK. that sells the Exesse guns and parts, hope it's ok to mention them. Airgunplus
The other thing that I like about my Exesse is that the sights are almost identical to my CZ85B/KADET. I liked shooting KADET so much I leave it dedicated on the 85b frame and bought an 85 combat for 9mm ( plus a few other CZ's since then)
My 3 favourite .22's, CZ 85b/KADET, EXESSE and my COLT PEACEMAKER (ARIZONA RANGERS MODEL)
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The other thing that I like about my Exesse is that the sights are almost identical to my CZ85B/KADET. I liked shooting KADET so much I leave it dedicated on the 85b frame and bought an 85 combat for 9mm ( plus a few other CZ's since then)
My 3 favourite .22's, CZ 85b/KADET, EXESSE and my COLT PEACEMAKER (ARIZONA RANGERS MODEL)
**Image and video linking functions will be enabled after you have contributed more to the forum**
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