Hammerli X-ESSE 22 vs. Walther ksp 200

jmomofshooter

Any thoughts on what might be a better of the two for competition shooting? Hammerli X-ESSE 22 or a Walter KSP 200 (22 cal)?

Bananaman

Well - the Xsesse is quite popular here with the majority of .22 competitions being won by them but then there are a lot of them about.

B'Man

Sparks

Personally, I'd have gone with the KSP200 out of those two just because it was aimed (ah, punny) at the kind of matches I'd be likely to take it to; but either should merrily outshoot pretty much every pistol shooter in the country. If you're planning on shooting in an ISSF match though, whichever one you choose, make sure you have decent grips on it. The straight grips you'd see on something like a 1911 just won't cut it for ISSF, it should look more like this:

jmomofshooter

Do you know if the Hammerli X-ESSE is the same as the Hammerli Trailside?

Sparks

As far as I remember, they're different variants of the same basic pistol, but I could be wrong.

happyjack

jmomofshooter wrote: »

Any thoughts on what might be a better of the two for competition shooting? Hammerli X-ESSE 22 or a Walter KSP 200 (22 cal)?

I've got a Benelli MP95E and I'd swear by it, it's like a laser it's that accurate,
you can pick them up handy here and there, plus unlike the Walter and Hammerli it's got a built in weaver scope mount, and better in line recoil feature. Even in rapid fire their is very little to zero flip, I reckon it's a great gun for the money, plus you get a proper Nil walnut stock, not plastic.

I've fired the Xesse a good few times, it's a great gun, but I really dont like guns that have the back sight jumping about, it's a personal thing with me, I reckon 22 pistols that have sights that dont move when fired have to be that bit more accurate.

HJ

rrpc

jmomofshooter wrote: »

Any thoughts on what might be a better of the two for competition shooting? Hammerli X-ESSE 22 or a Walter KSP 200 (22 cal)?

The Hammerli X-Esse and the Sig Trailside are the same machine. Sig asked Hammerli to develop an intermediate pistol for them to market in the US and so that's why it came with two different names. The partnership broke up and Hammerli continued to make the X-Esse whilst Sig discontinued the Trailside.

As a target pistol it's fairly accurate, but has one major disadvantage in that it doesn't like getting hot. As xesse (poster here) found out, the loctite melts and the barrel moves forward in the shroud which stops it going bang. A messy job to fix and not one you'd like to be taking on. The other disadvantage it has is the external slide which as happyjack points out, moves the back sight around.

The Walther KSP200 is actually an IZH35M polished up by Walther. There's a better grip than the IZH, an action lock and a couple of other refinements (like polishing the metal) to make it a better machine. As a pistol, it can't really be faulted, although the grip rake is slightly upright due to the mag being in the grip. Sometimes fussy with ammo and inclined to stovepipe, but very accurate and built like a tractor (a Russian tractor)

The KSP200 is no longer being marketed by Walther as they now have the SP22 in their own stable and don't have to finish making Russian pistols

I've shot with both, and I'd prefer the IZH/KSP myself.

rowa

rrpc wrote: »

The Hammerli X-Esse and the Sig Trailside are the same machine. Sig asked Hammerli to develop an intermediate pistol for them to market in the US and so that's why it came with two different names. The partnership broke up and Hammerli continued to make the X-Esse whilst Sig discontinued the Trailside.

As a target pistol it's fairly accurate, but has one major disadvantage in that it doesn't like getting hot. As xesse (poster here) found out, the loctite melts and the barrel moves forward in the shroud which stops it going bang. A messy job to fix and not one you'd like to be taking on. The other disadvantage it has is the external slide which as happyjack points out, moves the back sight around.

The Walther KSP200 is actually an IZH35M polished up by Walther. There's a better grip than the IZH, an action lock and a couple of other refinements (like polishing the metal) to make it a better machine. As a pistol, it can't really be faulted, although the grip rake is slightly upright due to the mag being in the grip. Sometimes fussy with ammo and inclined to stovepipe, but very accurate and built like a tractor (a Russian tractor)

The KSP200 is no longer being marketed by Walther as they now have the SP22 in their own stable and don't have to finish making Russian pistols

I've shot with both, and I'd prefer the IZH/KSP myself.

i've read reviews online about the izh , and everyone who shot it seemed to like it , i believe the russians polished it only in places where it actually mattered to accuracy and left everywhere else rough or as machined , suppose they were right if they were selling it as a budget pistol .

kowloon

How much do you end up spending fitting out with contoured grips and the likes for high end competition? All the bits look like they're produced in low volumes and with corresponding price tags.

rrpc

kowloon wrote: »

How much do you end up spending fitting out with contoured grips and the likes for high end competition? All the bits look like they're produced in low volumes and with corresponding price tags.

Not much if they already come with them. You do need to spend a bit of time getting it to fit you, but pretty much all target pistols come with (or can come with*) a good grip.

*You have to buy the X-Esse sport to get the proper grips.

fat-tony

If you need to buy after-market grips such as Nill, then you're looking at €150 - €200 depending on model, wood type etc. Rink also provide grips to order at similar price ranges. Denis Marschal in Hungary also makes grips and will do them in fairly exotic wood for less than the Nill or Rink prices.