Hammerli Trailside

I like to hear from owners of Hammerli Trailside. 22's. I am looking to get one. It's unfired in the box , with 7 magazines. Standard barrel length.  Wood 1911 style grips from Larry's Guns.  Steel barrel weight .I  don't know anything about these pistols but at a price it looks like an attractive package. Any Information will be appreciated.

Becoming very popular in the sport both as the trailside and X-esse( later model made by Walther). Pistols have a somewhat long roll type trigger which can be improved. As with most European pistol they are setup to be a 2 stage trigger but can be changed to more of a single stage.

A few known issues but nothing really to keep you away from the pistol.. we have 2 in our household. I have a 6" and the wife shoots a 4.5". Plenty of shooters here using them..

Because the pistols are virtually the same many parts on the Xesse are identical to the trailside and can be ordered from walther USA or redfeather. If its a good deal go for it. Heck you can sell the mags for over 50 ea.

I shoot a trailside and it shoots very good, better than I can shoot it. There are a few differences in the X-esse and trailside but to me not worth the price difference. I bought mine before the X-esse came out and had Larry do a trigger job on it. Being older I wish mine had the newer extractor. Mine's just a spring like extractor and it broke once so I ordered 2 more for backup in case it happens again. Both are very much like a 208 that I just got rid of.

Larry2520 wrote:I shoot a trailside and it shoots very good, better than I can shoot it. There are a few differences in the X-esse and trailside but to me not worth the price difference. I bought mine before the X-esse came out and had Larry do a trigger job on it. Being older I wish mine had the newer extractor. Mine's just a spring like extractor and it broke once so I ordered 2 more for backup in case it happens again. Both are very much like a 208 that I just got rid of.

Are extractors ( spare parts) still available ?

I have two.  Both shoot extraordinarily well, run perfectly, and are relatively simple to fix.

I have 2 Xesse. Early Trailside then early Xesse had issues with trigger guards breaking. The view is that part like a firing pin where you need to keep an extra , Red feather has them. and there are things you can do to enhance the longevity of the trigger guard. 

The only other know thing about these which is really not deal killer is the slide stop may stop working for a 2 or 3 reasons. Personally I think you pick up a little accuracy by the slide not holding open on the last shot and I plan on loading snap caps as my last round and see if that helps me pick up a point or two per string. 

They shoot great I have two , one that was Built by Larry and Xesse SF 2022. The trigger on my Larry's gun is better (near perfect), but for some odd reason I think I am shooting the plastic trigger better.

I do not know how much you are paying. I would expect a good discount on a Trailside. They did round off the catch on the slide affecting hold open after last round. They also had early issues with trigger guard breakage. Both these issues were addressed by running production changes. some also have an integral ejector.The X-Esse have a replaceable ejector. Only an issue if you break one.
With the reliability improvements and increased stock trigger adjustments the X-Esse are better guns. But both are smooth shooting and about as accurate a pistol as you can get.
I have never shot an Trailside. But others have shot both. Feedback is scores should be the same. Which is whatever you are capable of.
I also have two X-Esse, IPSC SF set with a microdot and a 2020 model Long with factory sights. Both are more accurate than my 7” M41 and Belgium Browning with a new Medalist International barrel, or a low round count 6.75” Challenger barrel. Plus are easier to shoot well.
BTW, Champions Choice has new Trailside mags for 28.00. That is where I ordered my extra mags from.Those five extra mags are worth a 100.00 at best.

I believe there is a Trailside listed on commercial row. I think I have shot that gun and it's very good.

I purchased one recently, it had Larry’s trigger on it and then Jon E went through it.  I like it, although I had to put it very heavy front weight on it because the gun is rather light. For me, it’s not on the same level as a.Pardini or Marchgun. I compare mine to my 41’s, 208s, And Victor.  I like 10round mags when I’m shooting for fun.

I for one, would like to know what you guys mean when you say things like " It shoots very good , better than I can shoot it " and also, " Both shoot extraordinarily well."
Please define this in terms of mm or inches at 25 yards. I'm interested in these guns and since you guys have tested accuracy, I thought this might be a good source to find out if I need or want one. Also , how were these accuracy tests conducted? I'm assuming that you rested the guns and used some type of optic to come to these remarkable conclusions. No?
You know something like this:
This target was shot using Lapua Center X at a measured 25 yards. The target is 12.3mm outside edge to outside edge. Or, .48 of an inch.
Center to center the group measures 6.7mm or .260 of an inch.

Be well

I love my Xesse Sport, and when I did have an issue with it, I sent it in to Walther for repair. They couldn't repair it and sent me a brand new Steel Frame Model.

They shoot better than me, so I'd go for it!

Val

Does anyone have instructions for the Larry's sear modification? I do not want to take a stone to my sear like a monkey and not know what to do.

Is like a puzzle to remove and reinstall...

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t13762-difference-hammerli-208-and-the-hammerli-xesse

If you google, Larry's trigger instructions, you'll find a pdf of the actual pages