TargetTalk

I just purchased a Hammerli 120 as an introductory target pistol. It is late 1970s vintage and it obviously hadn't been lubricated since the 1980s...dry as a bone. I have spent most of the day trying to break it down for a good cleaning and lube but the end cap is frozen and won't budge. I removed the retaining screw as the manual states, but then the instructions simply say "remove end cover". I don't see a pry point, it doesn't seem to unscrew and I am tired of reading false leads on the internet. Can anyone out there give me a hint/clue/solution???

This ole dawg is definitely in need of new tricks.

If it's just old oil (or rust) that has fossilized, the best solvent to loosen it up is probably Kroil.

Frozen you say...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MK7qz13bU

I had two Hammerli 120s (one for each hand/New York reloads), from memory it was just a press fit plastic cap on the end. I never saw the point in taking mine apart. I would have a go at it with a plastic spudger tool. Two from adjacent sides would help most likely -- getting it off square might keep it in one piece.

Thanks for the suggestion on Kroil...searched every hardware and auto parts store in town yesterday and couldn't come up with it. I did get the cover to budge after several soakings with a different brand...SIGH. But it moved into the pistol and not out of the pistol.

SamEEE I don't know if your memory failed or not but my 120 end cover is solid steel and about 6mm or 1/4 inch thick. A plastic cover would have been a blessing.
The pistol was in beautiful cosmetic condition at time of purchase, definitely a shooter now.

I think a trip to the gunsmith is in order soon.

if it moved, you are most of the way there. That means there is now room to get more penetrating oil into the cracks. it sounds like the problem is getting force on it in the right direction. Would some sort of hook work? Even if you can wiggle it back & forth just a little, that will help to free it up.

It's too bad Kroil is so scarce. It works great, but only a few hardware stores carry it. I have been stuck getting it mail order most of the time. If I find a store that has it, I buy a can just to encourage them, whether I need more immediately or not. It's actually a recommended bore cleaner for benchrest centerfire barrels, so I go through a fair amount of it.

I saw a huge display of Kroil about a week ago at O'Reillys auto parts. Some use it to free sticky hydraulic valve lifters.

Try a spray can of "freeze" from an electronics store. Alternatively, a can of "canned air" (which isn't air) held upside down will have the same effect. It is a spray of liquid that rapidly evaporates and will chill whatever it's sprayed on. Spray it on the inside part to shrink it a bit.

Another idea!! A little compressed air on the other side of the cover? If you managed to move it, this should help move it out instead of in.

Best of luck.