Hammerli 120

[Misny]

I know that this is not the choice of champions, but is there any downside to these pistols? I was thinking of getting one for club shooting. I think the straighter grip would be better for me as I shoot 1911's much more than international air and free pistol.

[Rover]

I had one back in the day, but traded it for an air pistol. They are beautifully made and occasionally available for a good price.

It sounds like it would be fine for your use, but could also be used for small game hunting and silhouette pistol.

[BenEnglishTX]

I know that this is not the choice of champions, but is there any downside to these pistols? I was thinking of getting one for club shooting. I think the straighter grip would be better for me as I shoot 1911's much more than international air and free pistol.

I have a 120 Sport Pistol and like it very much. The 120 Free Pistol is obviously different only in that it has different, adjustable grips. Depending on which you have or how it was put together, there may also be one externally accessible trigger adjustment screw on the Free Pistol version. I'm not sure. I do know that the innards of my 120 are different than those illustrated here. On mine, the trigger stop screw is simply not present and the large L-shaped lever to which all the adjustment screws attach is completely different, being a larger, vertically split piece.

It's a pain to take apart to clean and adjust the trigger. You'll probably only need to clean it once to save it from any past user who may have seen that hole in the bottom of the grip where the shoulder stock attaches and thought "Oh, look, a handy hole to spray in an entire can of WD-40." When I got mine, it was clear that something like that had happened. The inside was gunked up with lots of dried, gummy brown stuff. Luckily, this type of cleaning should only be needed rarely if at all.

Trigger adjustment, however, is potentially painful. If you don't like the trigger, it's not terribly difficult but quite tedious to take the pistol apart and turn some screws then put it back together and try the trigger. The entire grip frame assembly splits in half for this, meaning all the parts are sitting on pins and subject to falling out all over the place if you turn the pistol sideways while it's apart. It's not practical to dry-fire to check your work while it's apart, so after making an adjustment if you don't like it you have to repeat the tedious takedown.

If I had needed to do multiple takedowns, I would have probably thrown it away out of frustration. This is the only thing about the pistol that I would call "fussy" but I don't think it's a major issue. If you're attentive you can probably get the trigger close to right the first time. Mine needed some obvious changes that were easy to see and feel, so I only had it apart once. If you're a person who needs to endlessly tinker with trigger settings, avoid this pistol.

As for handling, the frame is large and upright. The Sport grips are fat. Long, thin hands and fingers would probably be happiest with it, though the trigger reach is adjustable. I have extremely pudgy hands (just like the rest of me), so it feels rather too large in my grip. However, since the trigger reach is adjustable and the grip isn't ridiculously large (we're not talking Desert Eagle or anything), I adapted quickly.

I'm told that the trigger shoe comes loose. Mine certainly was when I got the pistol. It attaches to a round rod and mine freely pivoted around the rod so it could flop out of the trigger guard to the left or right with just a nudge. If you want the trigger tilted, I suppose this could be an advantage. Use it in various positions, decide what you like, and then glue it in place. If you re-attach the trigger shoe and decide you don't like the position, it's adjustable by going back into the frame.

The trigger feel is truly odd. It's not bad, just weird. I've shot lots of pistols where the trigger moves straight back or pivots from the top. This is the only pistol I've used where the trigger pivots from the bottom. Well, not exactly from the bottom; it actually pivots around the pin holding the L-shaped bar inside the frame. If you look at the pictures on that pilkguns page again, you'll see that your trigger finger will move in a perceptible arc higher as it moves to the rear. Funky, truly funky, and I've never really gotten accustomed to it. It doesn't stop me from shooting the pistol or liking it but I don't think I'll ever fully adapt to this quirk.

The rear sight mounts to a grooved rail atop the receiver. The rail can accommodate scope rings if you like but it also allows you to move the rear sight several inches back and forth, anywhere on the receiver except actually in the loading port, until you find the position you like. I think that's a nice feature.

Beware of people selling incomplete guns. I've seen a pistol for sale with a missing rear sight blade while, at the same time, another seller just happened to have a rear sight blade for roughly 80% of the cost of the pistol. I don't believe in coincidences.

Loading is not a particularly ergonomic process. If you're taking your time on a calm range, it's no big deal but there's no ramp, no guide, and access is through a fairly small loading port. Loading requires you insert the cartridge straight into the chamber, a process that can't be hurried lest you start the cartridge into the chamber cockeyed.

If there's supposed to be an ejector on this pistol, it doesn't work. Therefore, loading and firing requires some deliberation. For me, the process often goes like this: Open the operating lever after a shot and the case falls to the bottom of the receiver. Twist your wrist 90 degrees to the right to drop the case out of the bottom of the receiver. Twist your wrist 90 degrees to the left to expose the loading port. Insert new cartridge. Attempt to close the operating lever only to feel it suddenly stop short. Twist your wrist 90 degrees to the left to look into the port to figure out the problem. Notice that the used case didn't fall out the first time. Twist your wrist 90 degrees to the right, shake pistol, drop the empty case and the new cartridge on the floor. Flustered, twist your wrist 90 degrees to the left, shove in another cartridge, try to close the handle and this time it doesn't stop suddenly but slows against resistance until it stops. Twist your wrist 90 degrees to the left, look in the port and realize that in your haste you've inserted the new cartridge less-than-fully into the chamber. Reach in with your fingers, pull it out and take note of the fact that the bullet is now pointing 20 degrees off center of the rest of the cartridge. Calm down. Slowly insert a new cartridge at least halfway into the chamber, close the operating handle, then try to remember which target to shoot.

OK, so I'm a klutz.

Once you've gotten accustomed to the quirks, you'll find the pistol quite accurate, just as you'd expect. It's also a simple, rather beefy (if that word can be used to describe any pistol suitable for 50M matches) mechanism with not much to go wrong.

I like mine a great deal and shoot it often. If you can get a good price on one in good condition, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

One PS - I note that you're in Indiana and that Rover mentioned silhouette shooting. If you're considering shooting under IHMSA sanction, please note that IHMSA considers this an unlimited-class pistol. I fully realize that a strict reading of the rules puts the Sport Pistol version in the production class but I've discussed the matter with the head of the committee that approves production designations who is also the man who gets final say at the International championships. As far as he's concerned, it's an unlimited pistol, period, no discussion. (The ghost of Elgin's hatred of European pistols lives on.) As much as I'd like to use it for production classes, too, it makes a fine unlimited pistol. Traditional free pistols don't work well in that environment and a better choice at a decent price, realistically, would be an Anschutz Exemplar. Or you could go for something completely custom, like a Calfee XP (be still, my heart!), that would cost an arm and a leg. If you're not planning to shoot silhouette competition, just ignore this entire paragraph.

A PPS - Many thanks to Paul B and Alan Brown on this board for providing me with advice and assistance when I first got a 120.

[Misny]

Wow, thanks for the detailed answer. I shoot free pistol only at the club level. I wouldn't be using it to shoot any other competitions or hunting. If I find one for a good price, I may have to give it a try.

[J]

I was planning to offer a 120-2 on the for sale board, but certainly can consider offers from readers of this forum. Excellent mechanical condition, it does have the external trigger adjustment as well as the internal. The -2 model used the adjustable grip. Like most, this has the rear dovetail for the rear sight, and the front dovetail for the scope. Also includes a good quality xerox of the ENGLISH language (actually, multilingual) detailed manual for the gun.

I have only one extra 120 now. More should be available around May of next year. Same quality and condition.

For those who just want the manual, I can prepare more for sale, if desired.

Direct email is Nikita@alum.MIT.edu

And the usual disclaimer: this particular gun was not used by Peta Wilson, to the best of my knowledge.

[BenEnglishTX]

And the usual disclaimer: this particular gun was not used by Peta Wilson, to the best of my knowledge.

Two questions -

Is your pistol the 10" barrel or that fat little 5" barrel? Now that I have a 10", I'm not sure I'd want the short version but if I had originally had a choice, I would have gone for the short one.

Also, my memory isn't what it once was. In which movie did Peta Wilson use a 120?

[J]

The short barrel version actually was 5.7".

The ones offered soon and next year are 10" barrels.

The film TV character never used free pistols in thr Nikita series, nor as far as I'm aware, in her prior life with the Australian special forces.

[BenEnglishTX]

... nor as far as I'm aware, in her prior life with the Australian special forces.

Nice to see a sense of humor on a shooting forum these days. Thanks.

[dschaller]

I believe in the movie she used a Hammerli 280 in her "graduation exercise" where she shot someone in a restaurant. I don't recall her using a free pistol either.

[J]

References to my namesake Nikita are a little open to confusion. The movie original was Anne Parrilaud, followed by Bridget Fonda in a US remake under a different title. The tv series, Nikita, had Peta Wilson in that role for the run of the series. Her distant past was of life with the Australian special forces in New Guinea. I suspect that gave her more understanding of the characters than the two prior actresses, or Margaret Quigley. Wilson's training day gun looked like a Walther to me. One of the others may have had the 280. In general, the .32SWL caliber was popular only with the KGB, who used the SAKO with cyanide in the bullet cavity.