Hämmerli X-Esse IPSC model giving me grief

Figured I would give an update on my new Xesse pistol. At this point I can't get through a match, actually I can't shoot 5 rounds without some sort of failure. It may be time to send the pistol back and have it looked at. I have tried all kinds of ammo and while the normal stove pipe or failure to feeds happen from time to time my biggest problem is that the slide is locking back with ammo still in the mag. 

Unless I am off or this pistol is different from any other pistol I have owned there are only two ways the slide will lock back:
 1) If the mag is out of ammo 
 2) I manually lift the slide release up while pulling the slide back. 

If number 1 is correct then then there is no way that its possible because there is a round in the mag and the slide is locked back with the slide release up. I have noticed that the slide release seems like it just flops around and I am wondering if its possible that its bouncing up during the shot and catching on the slide just right locking it back? I am going to try to take some slow motion vid of the pistol while shooting to see if that is the case, I honestly can't think of any other reason how the slide can be locking back with the release all the way up and a round in the mag. 

I really like the pistol and it shoots great, when it shoots but I am getting very frustrated with it at this point. My buddy bought the same pistol at the same time and his runs perfectly. I felt his slide release and it feels just like mine with a lot of play. I also checked to make sure the countersunk screw that is holding it in place is not loose at all. Any help would be great, I am hoping I don't have to send it off to Germany.

Do the issues go away when you shoot your buddies Xesse? Not familiar with the pistol, but wondering if something about your grip is causing it. Just a thought.

Dave

I haven't shot my buddies but I have thought that maybe my thumb is hitting the release and pushing it up but after taking a good look at it my sport grips come up and make it impossible for me to hit the release with my thumb.

Well, weirder things have happened. I'd let you buddy shoot yours and you shoot your buddy's and see what happens. A lot less hassle than sending across the Atlantic!

The lever shouldn't flop around.  There's a little spring that keeps it down until the mag follower pushes it up. If that spring is not present or not installed correctly, the lever would pop up due to recoil .

The spring is there and it appears to be installed correctly and while it does add a little resistance it is really barely any in my opinion. I will try to take some video of it with the grips off so you can let me know if its correct.

exactly, you should be able to lift it up and watch it go back when you release it.. if not, then the spring or the grip may be the problem

It def springs down but it just seems like it can jump up without much pressure.

https://youtu.be/woIBtAREHeA

if it was any stronger it would never lock the slide back..

be sure you're not slapping the mag home. just push it up till it catches

jglenn21 wrote:if it was any stronger it would never lock the slide back..

Well then I am really at a loss here as to why its happening. 

When I load the mags I push the mag release to ease them in where they hit resistance from the mag release. Once the mag is past the mag release then I let go of the mag release button and push the mag up until it clicks. I never smack them in place.

I have had this problem since the pistol was brand new and I thought it was just the ammo or the pistol needed to be broken in but after thinking about it more I don't see any way that it could be ammo related. I have tried 6 different mags and it has happened on each of them. I even brought 2 more brand new mags out today and it still happened.

Be careful, Jimmy’s about to offer you $200 for your broke pistol;)
All kidding aside I’m bummed that you’re having all these problems. He knows his way around them very well. Keep at it!
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:Be careful, Jimmy’s about to offer you $200 for your broke pistol;)
All kidding aside I’m bummed that you’re having all these problems. He knows his way around them very well. Keep at it!
Jon

I was so frustrated today at practice I was about to give it away to the guy next to me.

nothing worst than an alibi inducing pistol.. Does it do this with all you magazines? when it happens is the mag still straight in the mag well. take a look at it from above.

will have to take a close look at my two and see what would cause this. honestly most folks have the opposite issue of the slide never locking open.

jglenn21 wrote:nothing worst than an alibi inducing pistol.. Does it do this with all you magazines? when it happens is the mag still straight in the mag well. take a look at it from above.

will have to take a close look at my two and see what would cause this. honestly most folks have the opposite issue of the slide never locking open.

It looks to me like the mag is still straight in the well. At this point I would kill for the slide not locking so I can at least get though a match. I am debating skipping league tomorrow or using my backup pistol. The problem is I got a little spoiled using the Xesse and going back to my old pistol is going to be hard. 

Have you ever taken the slide release out of the gun? It looks like one torx screw but I am not sure if the spring is going t go for a flight if I take the screw out. I want to at least take it out and make sure its clean and moving smoothly. It might be bouncing up a little on a shot and just getting stuck where normally they will just fall back down. I know I may be reaching a bit here but I am not sure what else to do at this point.

worth it to remove your grips and make sure the little spring for the catch is locked in it's hole in the frame.



I've replaced all my mag catches over the years to get them to lock back.. the spring will be fine. It captured inside of the catch.  there is a small washer under the catch... not sure how Walther locks the screw but Sig used to put a cap of sorts over the end of the screw which made is pretty much impossible to get it off without ruining it,  so take a look at the end of the screw when you get the grip off..

Yeah I have looked at it, its just a T10 torx screw but its in there real good and I am betting it will strip the screw before I am able to get it out. The spring is captured in the hole like it should be. The release actually feels a bit gritty so I am going to clean and oil it real good and see if its just dirty and not moving as freely as it should.

My buddy also suffested that I put the factory grips back on and see if the sport grips are the problem. I measured and they may be dragging a little on the grips. If that is the case I will lightly sand the inside of the grip where the release sits and see what happens.

I had some issues with my wife's trailside(that's a whole other story) with the Xesse sport grip. if you can't move the screw they may have used locktite to keep it from moving.. a little heat may help

one thing came to mind is to check the height of the mag locked in the pistol compared to your friends gun.

Jon is just pushing me on so I'll get frustrated with another Xesse/trailside...

I will have to check his mag height next time I see him and compare.

just for grins, I'd remove the slide then insert a mag with 5 rounds in it. strip a round at a time out and watch the slide catch.. the only thing that should raise the catch is the left side of the little button that retains the follower. that small piece of pin is what grabs the slide catch

I will try that too and see what happens

The more I think about it, the slide may be locking back with the last round in the mag each time. I may try loading a dummy round in number 6 and see if all 5 of the live rounds fire. If it continually locks with the last round in the mag then maybe the mags are sitting too high?

Hi Ray - Did you ever resolve the issue with the slide locking back with 1 round left in the mag? I also have an Xesse and have been experiencing the same problem. Annoying as hell.

KB2MBC wrote:Hi Ray - Did you ever resolve the issue with the slide locking back with 1 round left in the mag? I also have an Xesse and have been experiencing the same problem. Annoying as hell.

I made a couple changes so it hard to tell what actually fixed the problem but mine has been problem free for a while now. What I think made the biggest difference was I stripped the pistol and cleaned the slide release real good. There was a ton of gunk under it and was pretty gritty.  After cleaning it it shot without a problem again. I also nodded the red sport grips because they seemed to be pretty tight and may have been causing the mechanism to bind a little. If you are using the stock black plastic grips then I would suggest cleaning the release real good, at least that seems what fixed mine.