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Hammerli 150/ 160 Free Pistols

Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 6:39 pm
by daotoys1
I have been considering buying a Hammerli free pistol for a target pistol.

Many years ago I had a Hammerli 150 with mechanical trigger and I was very happy with it.

I know that the 160 series pistol was the last FP made by Hammerli in Switzerland before Walther bought them and moved production to Germany.

Im not interested in a German made gun right now. Currently I am working on improving and adding to my Swiss gun collection so I am looking to stay with something made in Switzerland.

How does the Hammerli 160 and/or 160 Special with the manual trigger compare to the earlier 150 model?

How does a Hammerli 150/160 series FP compare to a new Swiss made Morini FP for that matter???

Other than Hammerli, I believe my only other choice for a Swiss made Free Pistol would be a Morini......Am I correct, or is there any other Swiss made Free Pistols out there that I am not aware of???


THANK YOU for any constructive feedback that may help me find my next gun.

I greatly appreciate any and all replies.

:)

Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 10:38 pm
by lastman
The last FP made before Hammerli before they were taken over I believe was the FP10.

From memory the 160 had a few problems with the electronic trigger model. But is also around with a mechanical trigger.

The newer FP10 had a few problems as well although the FP60 looks like it will be pretty good.

You can be guaranteed that the barrels on these guns will be of typical Hammerli standard and will be great guns for many years.

I am not aware of any other Swiss Free Pistols, but there may be some. The Morini is still the dominant Free Pistol and definitely worth a look

Re: Hammerli 150/ 160 Free Pistols

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 11:01 am
by scerir
daotoys1 wrote: How does the Hammerli 160 and/or 160 Special with the manual trigger compare to the earlier 150 model? How does a Hammerli 150/160 series FP compare to a new Swiss made Morini FP for that matter???
The 160 had a new (re-designed) trigger mechanism. In principle the new trigger was much better. But frankly the 160 was a difficult pistol to shoot, i.e. too 'nosy', and the feeling of the trigger mechanism itself wasn't so good.

Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 1:09 am
by 6string
Having shot most all the Hammerli free pistols, and having owned more than a few, I'll add my 2 cents.
I consider the 160 an improved update of the 150. Both are mechanical triggers. The electronic versions are the 152 and 162 respectively.
The 160 trigger has a wide range of adjustment in terms of feel and position, much more so than the 150. You can have a crisp or roll feel. The position range of the trigger shoe is very wide. You can have it sticking out the side of the trigger guard if you wanted. The weight and balance is quite adjustable. The paddle fore end can be removed completely, although you'll need to rig up something to re-install the trigger guard. This lightens the gun considerably. Another version of the 160 is the "Special" which left off the fore end and replaced it with a barrel mounted adjustable rail and weight system. The weight set up was sold separately for upgrading the standard 160. The grip on the 160 has the usual free pistol adjustments, but can also be adjusted for grip angle, which is quite nice.
Another important improvement of the 160 over the 150 is the improved mechanical leverage of the action and set trigger levers. The 150 and 152 can feel quite stiff to open and cock, and can be quite frustating to remove a loaded cartridge. If a cartridge is even slightly on the large side, it can require a lot of force to close the action. The 160 is much easier to manipulate. The set trigger lever is also easier to cock.
Having said all this, the 150 is still quite nice and exhibits excellent workmanship, particularly in regard to fit and polish.
Regarding the FP10, I believe the gun was mostly made on contract by SAM, with only the barrel being made by Hammerli. I think the final assembly was done at the old Hammerli factory in Switzerland.
Wade and Hannelore Anderson were the Hammerli USA importers for years. They are very nice and honest people. They imported a few FP10s and then stopped carrying them. Wade told me they shot poorly, dime to quarter size groups at 50 meters. His preference was for the older Hammerlis, such as the 100 series. They were very helpful when I was having trouble with my old Hammerli model 100. They retired from the business a few years ago. I suspect, from phone conversations, they became disappointed with the drop in quality after SIG sold Hammerli and the 160 and 208s were discontinued.
If you liked the 150, I believe you'll like the 160.