Hammerli 280 vs Walther GSP in 22lr
Larry Riffle
Opinions?
--
Larry J. Riffle
l...@camaton.cac.psu.edu
Alexander EICHENER
l...@cac.psu.edu (Larry Riffle) writes:
#I'm saving to buy one of these in the spring for NRA bullseye competition.
#Opinions?
Both excellent top-of-the-line pistols. You just *must* shoot a full
program with both and decide which pistol's handling suits you better
personally. There is no other advice to be given (at least, not from
ignorant me :-)
Alexander Eichener c...@vm.urz.uni-heidelberg.de
Mark Kapzynski
the Walther and have been very happy with this decision. Prior to this,
I used a Unique DES69 for competition, and I have found the Walther to be
a significant improvement. Particularly if you plan to use an optical sight,
the Walther will provide a more sturdy platform than the Hammerli 280.
An aftermarket sight mount is available which replaces the rear sight.
Ads for this mount appear in the back of the NRA's "American Rifleman" and
"Shooting Sports USA" magizines. Since I compete mostly in ISU/UIT style
matches, I use only iron sights. However, two people in my club use the
optical sight mount which I described, and it appears to be very well made.
If you would prefer to buy a Hammerli, I would recommend the 208 rather than
the 280. The 208 model is all-steel, and is considered to be a classic
top-of-the-line target .22 pistol.
James M. - Seattle, WA
Quoc Tuan Pham
#In article <1993Dec14.1...@atl.com>, <asbestos!mka...@uu3.psi.com>
## If you would prefer to buy a Hammerli, I would recommend the 208 rather than
## the 280. The 208 model is all-steel, and is considered to be a classic
## top-of-the-line target .22 pistol.
##...
#Just a few quick questions on your posting about the Wather GSP and Hammerli
#208. I'm just beginning to toy with the idea of bankruptcy, and figure
#a new pistol is as good a start as any.
#1) Do either of these have a dry-fire feature? I know there is a 5 shot
# trigger assembly for the GSP, but does the standard model have anything?
Only the Walther models have dry-firing trigger assembly. For the
(all steel) Hammerli 208, you can put a piece of rubber inside the slide
(behind the firing pin block, over the hammer) to stop the hammer
going all the way and hitting the firing pin. If you don't want
the extractor to rub against the slot on the chamber when the
slide is released, put a rubber plug in the chamber (the manual
also warns against releasing the slide without a cartridge).
You don't have to disassemble the gun to remove the piece of
rubber from the slide because it can be retrieved from the bottom
of the slide. All of these are my improvisations.
#2) Do either of these automatically lock the slide back after the last shot?
Yes (at least for the 208). No for the 280.
#3) The MIT team has had problems getting replacement parts for older GSP's.
# Do you have any feel for the parts/service situation between Hammerli
# and Walther?
Hammerli seems to stock parts for old models. They have made quite
a few modifications for the 208 model but I didn't have any problem
ordering parts for an old 215 (which is similar to the 208) or an
old 150 free pistol.
#4) I'm hopelessly addicted to an American style crisp 'breaking' trigger.
# Any comments on how easy it is to adjust either pistol to do this?
Well, "crisp breaking" is a relative feeling. In light of that, the
answer is yes. Maybe you should borrow and try these models out
before making your decision. Do you really have time in rapid and
time fire series to appreciate and feel the crisp trigger?
Doug White
In article <1993Dec14.1...@atl.com>, <asbestos!mka...@uu3.psi.com>
# Having handled both the Hammerli 280 and the Walther GSP, I chose to buy
# the Walther and have been very happy with this decision. Prior to this,
# I used a Unique DES69 for competition, and I have found the Walther to be
# a significant improvement. Particularly if you plan to use an optical sight,
# the Walther will provide a more sturdy platform than the Hammerli 280.
# An aftermarket sight mount is available which replaces the rear sight.
# Ads for this mount appear in the back of the NRA's "American Rifleman" and
# "Shooting Sports USA" magizines. Since I compete mostly in ISU/UIT style
# matches, I use only iron sights. However, two people in my club use the
# optical sight mount which I described, and it appears to be very well made.
#
# If you would prefer to buy a Hammerli, I would recommend the 208 rather than
# the 280. The 208 model is all-steel, and is considered to be a classic
# top-of-the-line target .22 pistol.
#
# James M. - Seattle, WA
#
I tried e-mailing the following directly to Mark, but it bounced. Hopefully
he will see it here, and others may be interested as well. (Some of my
concerns may look familiar from my responses to other postings about
target .22's)
Just a few quick questions on your posting about the Wather GSP and Hammerli
208. I'm just beginning to toy with the idea of bankruptcy, and figure
a new pistol is as good a start as any.
1) Do either of these have a dry-fire feature? I know there is a 5 shot
trigger assembly for the GSP, but does the standard model have anything?
2) Do either of these automatically lock the slide back after the last shot?
3) The MIT team has had problems getting replacement parts for older GSP's.
Do you have any feel for the parts/service situation between Hammerli
and Walther?
4) I'm hopelessly addicted to an American style crisp 'breaking' trigger.
Any comments on how easy it is to adjust either pistol to do this?
Thanks for your help.
Doug White
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Mark Kapzynski
#Just a few quick questions on your posting about the Wather GSP and Hammerli
#208. I'm just beginning to toy with the idea of bankruptcy, and figure
#a new pistol is as good a start as any.
#
#1) Do either of these have a dry-fire feature? I know there is a 5 shot
# trigger assembly for the GSP, but does the standard model have anything?
The standard GSP has a firing pin designed so that neither edge of the
chamber nor the end of the pin which contacts the rim of the cartridge will
be damaged by a reasonable amount of dry firing. I typically dry fire at
least a couple times during the preparation period before the beginning of
a slow fire stage in order to warm up.
I'm not sure how the Hammerli pistols deal with this.
#2) Do either of these automatically lock the slide back after the last shot?
The GSP has this feature, but it is not activated reliably on my pistol. The
recoil spring is fairly stiff, and the bolt must be all the way back for the
hold-open mechanism to function. Again, I can't comment on this feature in
the Hammerli pistols.
#3) The MIT team has had problems getting replacement parts for older GSP's.
# Do you have any feel for the parts/service situation between Hammerli
# and Walther?
I've had no experience with Hammerli service. Walther service and parts
availability appears to be quite good. Our local distributors are responsive
and Champion's Choice stocks the various modules which make up the GSP.
#4) I'm hopelessly addicted to an American style crisp 'breaking' trigger.
# Any comments on how easy it is to adjust either pistol to do this?
I also prefer a crisp single-stage trigger. The GSP has both single-stage
and two-stage trigger modules available. The two-stage trigger has
what I consider to be a "mushy" feel to it. Briefly, a two-stage trigger
places most of the trigger pull weight in the first stage of travel. The
second stage consists of a final smaller additional effort to release the sear.
There is a noticable transition between the two stages. The Hammerli 280 has
a two-stage trigger. Also the trigger itself is a composite which seems to
contribute to the springy feel of the mechanism. This was one of the main
reasons that I chose the Walther. The original Hammerli 208 had a crisp
single-stage trigger.
The GSP trigger module is adjustable for length of pull (distance from grip),
angle of trigger (over a narrow range), amount of take-up or slack, amount
of travel after sear release, and (again over a narrow range) weight of pull.
Modules are available with either 1000 gram or 1360 gram pull weight.
#Thanks for your help.
#
#Doug White
#MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Sorry I can't offer more information on the Hammerli pistols. Here in the
Seattle-VancouverBC-Portland area the Walthers dominate the high-end
competition .22 market. (No, I don't get any kick-backs for this! B-)
James M. - Seattle, WA
(I seem to have unreliable email at this site, I didn't even see my own
post show up on the net.)
Geoff Miller
##2) Do either of these automatically lock the slide back after the last shot?
#The GSP has this feature, but it is not activated reliably on my pistol. The
#recoil spring is fairly stiff, and the bolt must be all the way back for the
#hold-open mechanism to function. Again, I can't comment on this feature in
#the Hammerli pistols.
On my GSP there is a lever to hold the bolt back but it's not
automatic. I've been led to believe there is a very good reason
for this, namely that anything that can happen "automatically" can
happen accidentally when you don't want it to.
Geoff