New Hämmerli X-Esse IPSC

I picked up my new X-esse yesterday and headed to the range with it using the iron sights. First impressions were that the pistol is very light compared to the Ruger Mark IV that I am currently shooting in my league with a Ultradot on it. The stock grips feel ok but I really hated the trigger and I shot all over the place. To be fair I am very new to Bullseye shooting and never shot with iron sights in the league so I had a lot to get used to. I tried a few different brands of ammo but they all seemed to shoot the same. Feeling that maybe I was having a off day I pulled out my Ruger and shot 5 shots in the black and decided to go home. Today I took the pistol apart and took a good look at the trigger to figure out how it works and adjusts. After some playing around and dry firing I had the trigger perfectly the way I like it. 

Today I took it back the the range and after a few sight in shots and rear sight adjustment I shot the tightest group I have ever shot using Aguila pistol match competition. I normally don't shoot this ammo because it seems to be very picky and dirty. I have also had it fail to feed and even sound like one or two rounds had a double powder charge. I could definitely see that the x-esse preferred the Aguila over the CCI Standard velocity and the federal I tried. My real concern now is will it cause an alibi during a match? 

So after a little bit of a nervous start the X-esse seems like it is going to be a very accurate shooter. Now I have to decide if I am going to like a Ultradot on it or not. I am thinking I may shoot a bit better with the red dot and if that is the case the rest of the season should be fun.

Hello, 

I don't know if these comments will really help with your decision but I will add to the thread.  My wife and I have 2 x-esse pistols.  I bought one for her 2 years ago and she started shooting my Feinwerkbau about that time, and now I can't get the AW 93 away from her.  We recently bought the second x-esse because we have found that they work very well for steel matches.  

She shot the new x-esse not having shot one in 2 years and scored a 278 NMC at our practice.  Both of our pistols have Larry's aftermarket trigger which helps, IMHO them to shoot better.  They also have had a steady diet of CCI SV without any problems.  

Whether used for steel or NRA precision these pistols perform well.  I have the Larry's mount on both pistols and this makes for easy cleaning without losing point of aim on the red dot.  We had ultra dot sights on both when shooting NRA precision but I have put a reflex sight on mine for steel for quicker acquisition of the target. 

Good luck with yours.  

David

Thanks for the info. I do have a Larry's mount on the way with a pair of the sport grips to try as well. With all the adjustment of the factory IPSC trigger besides Larry's trigger being metal do you think there is a big difference between them? I am thinking the extra weight of the mount and the Ultradot will help with muzzle flip during rapid fire.

Larry's trigger is a two stage trigger.  I think that you might be able to adjust it into a single stage trigger.  PM me your email and I can send you PDF files that I got from Larry about the adjustment of the trigger.  

The mount will help keep the muzzle down in sustained fire.  I was considering taking the mount off and mounting the reflex sight on the iron rear sight mount slot but was unable to find a bomar to weaver rail adaptor.  Later in the spring I might machine one.  

David

Actually the xesse trigger is a 2 stage from the factory. 1st. stage is adjusted by  the second screw on the trigger. Second stage is controlled by the adjustable screw in the frame behind the trigger. This screw can also serves as the trigger stop.

Other than being aluminum the only difference between Larry's  trigger and the xesse trigger is Larry added a third screw for a trigger stop.

The original trailside trigger lacked most of these options. Easy to upgrade though.  
Yes the trigger can be set to a single stage by making the first stage very light.  It ends up like a long takeup or roll. A Smith can also work on the sear to shorten the overall pull.

BYW I've shot a ton of the aguilla pistol match as my older marvel loves it.. i found it to be quite reliable in my marvel

The xesse / trailside will pretty much eat anything

jglenn21 wrote:BYW I've shot a ton of the aguilla pistol match as my older marvel loves it.. i found it to be quite reliable in my marvel

The xesse / trailaide will pretry much eat anything

I am hoping after the gun breaks in it will do the same. The aguila def shoots the best so far.

Ray Dash wrote:

jglenn21 wrote:BYW I've shot a ton of the aguilla pistol match as my older marvel loves it.. i found it to be quite reliable in my marvel

The xesse / trailaide will pretry much eat anything

I am hoping after the gun breaks in it will do the same. The aguila def shoots the best so far.

I have had good luck with SK Standard Plus ammo, no FTF in 3 years and real consistent.

I had two failure to feeds with the Aguila last night. It seems like the rounds are not cycling smoothly through the mag. I am wondering if the stock mags can be sprayed with silicone or graphite to make them more smooth. I have done this with factory Ruger mags and it worked great. Being that the Xesse mags are plastic I an hesitant to spray them with silicone.

Ray Dash wrote:I had two failure to feeds with the Aguila last night. It seems like the rounds are not cycling smoothly through the mag. I am wondering if the stock mags can be sprayed with silicone or graphite to make them more smooth. I have done this with factory Ruger mags and it worked great. Being that the Xesse mags are plastic I an hesitant to spray them with silicone.

Hi Ray,

I know you said that the Aguila works best in your Xesse.  I have the lower priced trailside, and have tested with Aguila Pistol, CCI SV and Norma TAC 22 (and some others).  In that pistol, the Norma TAC 22 ammo beats the others in accuracy and is as reliable as the CCI SV, I've actually had a couple of hangups with the Aguila.  Downside to the TAC 22 is a waxed bullet, so it doesn't feed well when its cold (need to keep the ammo warm).  Just FYI.

Doug

Doug, I will look into the Norma ammo but ammo is hard to buy here in NY. If the local stores don't stock it there is only one or two online stores that I know of that will ship to NY.

I shot my league today using the safe CCI ammo and had a failure to feed during the timed fire. The weird part was the round was sitting in the mag and the slide was locked back. I have had failure to to feeds before but in every case the bolt was forward and it just failed to strip the next round. This one was different and even when I tried to slingshot the slide it wouldn't slide forward until I ejected the mag and tried it again. Have any of you guys seen this one before?

Check the nut on the slide lock to see if it has come loose. When loose it can allow the catch to bind.
Jon

Ok thanks I will take a look and see.

Jon Eulette wrote:Check the nut on the slide lock to see if it has come loose. When loose it can allow the catch to bind.
Jon

Jon its nice and tight, any other idea's?

Mark you mags and monitor them when you have failures.

Is this gun new or new to you.

Larry's upgraded magazine springs were longer and applied more presuure. I'd try removing your springs and stretching them a bit..you can also sand off any mold lines on the follower at that point.

I marked the mag that had the failure and will use it exclusively during practice to see if it happens again. The gun is almost brand new (300 rounds through it) and so far besides the one failure to feed I have had no problems with CCI ammo. Aguila ammo is a different story and that is why I am no longer using it. 

As far as the springs go I have never really had much luck stretching springs as they seem  to bounce right back to their original size shortly after. I wonder if I can add a spacer to the mags to create a little more tension since I am only loading 5 rounds at a time any way? If not I will start looking to see if anyone has any of Larry's springs laying around that they are not using.

sure a spacer would work fine. Usually Larry's springs fix the issue of the slide not staying open on the last round,but your issue with the gun not picking up a round may well be a spring issue..