208s Problems

Maybe someone has some ideas as to what is causing my 280s not to function properly.

First off lets rule out ammo. I'm using the same SK and Aguila that worked fine before, same lot, same case. Second, we can rule out mags as I use four mags when I shoot and this happens with all the mags.

I started getting light firing pin hits so I changed the firing pin and hammer spring.

No more misfires, but the slide didn't go back far enough to pick up the next round about 1 out of 5 shots.

I put the old hammer spring back in and the gun functioned but I started to get misfires again.

I put the new hammer spring back in and also replaced the recoil spring.

I ended up back at no misfires, but the slide not always going back far enough to pick up the next round.

I ended up with a double alibi on Sunday and ate six shots in rapid fire.

208s or 280?

My 208s would sometimes have the slide rub on the scope mount, check the slide for any contact, We were using larrys and hammerli mounts, we fixed it by cutting off the back section that went rearward past where we had the dot mounted. If no rubbing, then you could put a lighter recoil spring in, id drop 1lb to start. you could also cut a coil off the hammer spring to help ease the slides resistance during rearward movement. Have you checked to see if your ammo is seating all the way in the chamber? a dirty chamber can hold a shell off slightly and act like a light strike.

jakuda wrote:208s or 280?

Sorry about that, it is a 208s.

DavidR wrote:My 208s would sometimes have the slide rub on the scope mount, check the slide for any contact, We were using larrys and hammerli mounts, we fixed it by cutting off the back section that went rearward past where we had the dot mounted. If no rubbing, then you could put a lighter recoil spring in, id drop 1lb to start. you could also cut a coil off the hammer spring to help ease the slides resistance during rearward movement. Have you checked to see if your ammo is seating all the way in the chamber? a dirty chamber can hold a shell off slightly and act like a light strike.

Good point about checking the scope mount, I will do that. I did cut it off flush with the back of the barrel when I first got the gun because I had a couple of cases get stuck under the mount.

My thought was cutting the springs to tweek them in, but only wanted to do this as a last resort. I'm not sure if Hammerli made springs in different weights??? I wanted to ask here before I did anything to see if anyone else experienced these problems.

A GOOD chamber cleaning, as already recommended may solve your problem.

BE Mike wrote:A GOOD chamber cleaning, as already recommended may solve your problem.

I keep the gun clean including the barrel and chamber. I'll brush out the chamber before I try to shoot it again to rule out a dirty chamber. At one time Larry Carter said to take a .22 rifle cleaning brush and put a 90 degree bend in it to use for cleaning the chamber. Maybe I'll do that and keep it handy in my box.

I'm not trying to be accusatory regarding your cleaning practices. I thought I was keeping my 208s clean as well, but still got a buildup in the front of my chamber.You need to use a .25 caliber bore brush. If you haven't been doing that, there is a very good chance that you have a significant buildup of lead at the front of the chamber. If so, it will be very stubborn to remove.

I would do a drop test, take a handful of your different bullets and drop them in the chamber, they should drop right in or at worst just require the lightest pressure to seat fully, if the dont then your chamber is tight and the only cure is to have it reamed out or find what ammo fits and works. I had to do this with my AW93, it would not run a whole box of federal 711b, due to some being too big to seat. Eley and most other European brands are slightly smaller than USA brands and work fine.

I took the slide off and dropped a few rounds in the chamber. They just needed a very light push to seat the last 1/8". I brushed the chamber and then they all fell right in up to the rim.

Being the pack rat that I am I found a spring in my toolbox that appears to be the original recoil spring that was in the gun when it came from the factory. The end has obviously been cut off and it is about 1/2" shorter than the new one.

Is it common to have to cut this spring to tweak it in?

Anyway, I probably will not get to the range until the weekend. I think my next step is to shoot a few more rounds through the gun and see what happens.

Keeping the chamber clean is the key, the aw93 and 208s are built to tighter standards than say a ruger. Another thing, throw away your bent 22 brush and get one for a 270 rifle, the 22 is too small to effectively clean the chamber, the 270 will do it in 2 in outs, I brush mine before every string in a match. As to springs, the only way to know what will work right is to test fire with them,

DavidR wrote:Keeping the chamber clean is the key, the aw93 and 208s are built to tighter standards than say a ruger. Another thing, throw away your bent 22 brush and get one for a 270 rifle, the 22 is too small to effectively clean the chamber, the 270 will do it in 2 in outs, I brush mine before every string in a match. As to springs, the only way to know what will work right is to test fire with them,

I was searching the internet for 208s info and found something form Larry Carter that says use a bent .25 cal brush. I will look for a new brush in .25 - .270 size range.

.250 -.270 cals will work, i prefer the .270 cause it does a quick job in 2 stokes, perfect for not taking too much time in a match, here's another tip, get one for a rifle, they are twice as long, then take a empty 22 case and bend the tip of the brush to that length, then take a piece of small rubber hose and slide it over the other end for a handle to hold with.

DavidR wrote:.250 -.270 cals will work, i prefer the .270 cause it does a quick job in 2 stokes, perfect for not taking too much time in a match, here's another tip, get one for a rifle, they are twice as long, then take a empty 22 case and bend the tip of the brush to that length, then take a piece of small rubber hose and slide it over the other end for a handle to hold with.

That sounds like a good idea, I'm going to do that.

I got to the range this morning to do some shooting. I fired 20 rounds of CMP Remmington white box which is hotter than the Aguila I've been shooting. The gun functioned fine.

Next I tried Aguila and the slide didn't go back far enough to pick up the next round. After this happened three times in a row, I went back to the white box and fired 50 rounds with no problem.

I loaded up a mag of the Aguila again and fired all 5 rounds with no problem. I then fired two more mags of Aguila with no malfunctions.

After that, I fired 2 five round mags of SK which is lighter than the Aquila and had no malfunctions.

I shot my .45 for a while but this was bugging me, why did the Aguila not feed the first time I tried it but worked ok the second time? After I put my .45 away I pulled out the 208s again and fired another 5 rounds of the SK and the gun worked fine.

I did clean the gun the other day, but I did not brush out the chamber or do any type of cleaning during my shooting session today.

This has me curious, I hope to get back to the range again on Sunday to try it again.

Ive found that once you shoot one brand of ammo, sometimes when you switch to a different, the gun acts up for a few rounds. Ive never really heard a good answer why, some say its due to the different lubes, or powders but it happens. It happened to me in a match 2 weeks ago, I shot from a clean gun eley club for slow fire then switched to eley sport (which is really just agilia in a eley box) for the short line. Had a couple that felt light then it ran fine the rest of the match. Could be your oil, if its a little thick could be why it worked better after it had been shot some or Since the rem ran fine, you might want to cut 1 ring off the recoil and it should run the lighter stuff with no problem.

I fired another 30 rounds of Aguila in practice this morning with no malfunctions. Hopefully the problem is resolved.