Hammerli Magazine Resurrection

Dear Friends,

I was recently shooting my quite old and much loved Hammerli International American Model at an indoor range.  Much to my surprise the magazine would not load for the next 5 shots.  Looking at it it was clear something major had happened.  The base, spring, and base latch were all missing.  After some help from a very kind range officer we were able to spot the base and the spring down range.  I didn't know about the metal piece that latches the plastic base on under the spring so it did not get recovered.  I had one other magazine so I was not as upset as I would have been otherwise.  At home that night I was able to examine the aftermath and see that the plastic of the base had failed and I would have to go on a parts safari.  I was able quite quickly to find replacement metal base latches at Red Feather and almost as quickly found 3D printed replacement bases from Shapeways! I was really surprised.  It is my understanding that Hammerli as we always knew it does not really exist any more so parts will be hard to come by.  I received the bases from Shapeways today and with a minimum of fitting and fiddling they worked perfectly with my old magazine tube.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/W646T6MAF/hammerli-208-208s-magazine-base-standard-size?optionId=61340925&li=marketplace
https://www.redfeatheroutfitters.com/208-215-212-magazine-base-plate-1204060.html

I guess this may be old news but I thought I would share.

Yours,

Dwight


I don't know what the model number of the gun I have is but it is a joy to shoot and I hope to always keep it running.  Model 207?? perhaps. I don't know why it is called the American Model either.

I bought a bunch of those Shapeways 3D bases years ago to replace the aging original Hammerli pads on my set of mags. They've been working great for at least 5 years now, and are showing no signs of wear or failure at the attachment point.