Hammerli 208 Parts Coming Loose

So I recently acquired a 208 and absolutely love it!  Except that stuff like the weight and then the Larry's Guns Scope mount, the red dot mounted to it get loose and move around and finally today the rear sight plate actually fell off.  Is this normal?  I'm loctite-ing stuff as I go but jeeze this is getting silly.

Doesn't seem normal. I've not used loctite on any parts you've mentioned. What ammo are you using? Have you replaced the recoil spring? Just spitballing here, as I'm certainly no expert.

Dave

You have to keep an eye on the rear sight screw tension; it's a very fine thread. Just keep it snug, not tight. The front 5 mm hex can be tightened down, l haven't had it come loose.

Don't use locktite

I've been looking for a nice 208-S.
It's good to have this information because, dollar value vs mechanical reliability.
Vs price...............because everybody wants about 1000.00 more than the Hammerli is worth.
Think about it. A gun that has been discontinued for decades

It's making the case for Pardini, Instead.

dieselguy624 wrote:So I recently acquired a 208 and absolutely love it!  Except that stuff like the weight and then the Larry's Guns Scope mount, the red dot mounted to it get loose and move around and finally today the rear sight plate actually fell off.  Is this normal?  I'm loctite-ing stuff as I go but jeeze this is getting silly.

I was working a recent 2700 match so I loaned my Hammerli 215S to the young lady that used to be our junior shooter as she dearly loves to shoot it and her scores reflect it. During the 1st string of timed fire, she called for an alibi because the Larry's Gun mount w/an Ultradot on top came loose and was dangling off the pistol. After advice and assistance from a half dozen eager male helpers, the mount was reattached and the match continued. Obviously, because of this she lost her hard zero and for the 2nd string of timed fire she made adjustments on-the-fly; consequently, her aggregate score took a nose dive. At home, after the match, I rechecked the Larry's Guns mount and the barrel weight screw tightness, then discovered that only 1 or 2 screw threads were holding the rear sight plate on the pistol. I have not made the decision to Locktite the offending screws on the gun and do not plan to do so, just made a mental note to check those screws prior to a match and during a match. Either of these events could ruin a potential good score or worse, loose the small sight plate screw at the range. Finding a replacement screw could be a challenge and costly too.

As for the dovetail scope rail to gun mount, you can remove the mount and put some tension on the Allen screw to spread the gap a little, then release the tension and recheck until the mount takes a little friction to slide into place. Then, make sure the contact areas are clean with a degreaser and remount it.  The Allen screw can then be tightened well.  Incidentally, that connection can be removed/replaced without any zero change. (Larry Carter once said the mount could be moved to another Hammerli without zero change, and I have found this to be true.)

As for the rear sight mounting, make sure you have the external tooth lock washer under the screw head and do not torque this screw.  If you don't have the proper lock washer, you might be able to get away with an o-ring, but the washer is preferred.

Ed, your Hammerli insight is always well received by this member.
Thanks!

Sorry for taking so long to thank you guys! I think I have the 208 figured out without any loctite.

Pat