Hammerli 208 buffer notice

I recently noticed my slide had minor dragging resistance to the
final battery closure. This gun has had a lot of use over a 10 year
period and more than 5 years use with a trigger guard type buffer.

I found the dragging to be due to some impact swelling of the
crossmember at the front of the slide. This is the part that hits the
trigger guard tab in recoil. It appears that this swelling can
eventually contact the barrel and or the frame thereby slowing down the
slide. A few strokes of a medium india stone on the top and bottom of
this crossmember returned the slide function to normal.

In the worst case, if one paid no attention to a faulty
misoperating gun, and if the slide was damaged enough, an out of battery
discharge is possible.

If you are using a trigger guard type buffer, please be aware of
this possibility and either discontinue use, or use as you see fit going
forward. Many have cracked slides by using American market ammo (vs
softer Euro shells) so there is always a trade off.

In my case, further evaluation, measurements, and study will
continue to see when or if the dragging threshold reappears. Just wanted
to get this finding out for your consideration.
regards

I find this rather interesting. You've shown me your buffer setup and I can't see why it would promote the peening you're describing. I would rather expect it to minimize it. I've thought of installing your buffer, but have never gotten around to doing so. My gun is about 12 years old, but I interchange between two slides, so my peening is not as pronounced.

Take Care,
Ed Hall
Air Force Shooting Teams
Things of Interest to Bullseye (and International) Competitors