Hammerli 208

[injb]

I'm thinking of buying a Hammerli 208 on GB or maybe from some online importer (wherever I get it from I won't be able to inspect it first).

I've heard that they have a known issue with the frames cracking. How common is this? It is inevitable? The way some people talk about it, it sounds like it's a matter of when rather than if. If I get one that's not cracked do I have a reasonable chance of escaping it?

[6string]

I'd never heard of this until internet forum hyperbole came along. Perhaps I've seen a photo or two of an isolated case, but I'm not even sure of that. The 208 and 208s are still very much in demand, particularly for American "2700" bullseye shooting. So, thry're still getting full use decades after being discontinued. High Standard offers some new production spare parts, with more being planned.
Have you read any of the maintenance information, such as by Ed Hall? Very good stuff! Follow that and you'll avoid trouble.

Condition and prior use is important in selecting a 208. Avoid heavily worn "club guns" despite attractive pricing.
Ask sellers to offer lots of photos. Look at the breechface of the slide, the chamber face of the barrel, etc for excess wear.
Go with a seller that offers a good return policy.

[injb]

I'd never heard of this until internet forum hyperbole came along. Perhaps I've seen a photo or two of an isolated case, but I'm not even sure of that. The 208 and 208s are still very much in demand, particularly for American "2700" bullseye shooting. So, thry're still getting full use decades after being discontinued. High Standard offers some new production spare parts, with more being planned.
Have you read any of the maintenance information, such as by Ed Hall? Very good stuff! Follow that and you'll avoid trouble.

Condition and prior use is important in selecting a 208. Avoid heavily worn "club guns" despite attractive pricing.
Ask sellers to offer lots of photos. Look at the breechface of the slide, the chamber face of the barrel, etc for excess wear.
Go with a seller that offers a good return policy.

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at one that looks to be in good shape, and the seller assures me has no cracks. But its missing the barrel weight. They seem to be around $150 typically. How critical is the weight? I mean can you shoot without it or is it essential for barrel harmonics? I'm just wondering if I should try it out without the weight first and then only get the weight if I need it.

[Gwhite]

Barrel harmonic effects for short barrel .22 pistols are pretty much non-existent. The weight is there to increase the moment of inertia so it doesn't flop around as much due to your wobble.

[David M]

The supplied factory standard weight is 80g.
In addition to the standard 80g weight, there are 200g, 270g and 300g, all factory weights.
My 208 International is now over 40 yrs old, still shot and no cracks.

[Will Hart]

Frame cracks on the older 208 pistols are not isolated cases. In the 90s, at Camp Perry, Hammerli was there with Christian, one of their gunsmiths. He replaced many frames, in very short time, for free. He was partial to Sam Adams, though, so we'd always keep him well supplied. The cracks were on the left side of the frame, and many owners never knew their frames were cracked. I still have a cracked 208 and 30 years later it shoots very well (I bought it cracked from a shooter who wanted nothing to do with it. He asked $500 for it).

I have seen them expertly micro-welded with great results, so that's an option. They are, though, much cheaper with a crack than without!

If you are going to use the pistol with iron sights, I'd advise a 200 or 270g weight for steadiness. Otherwise, many dot mounts come with an 80g pre-installed.

[injb]

Well I bought the one I was looking at on gunbroker. It should be arriving at my local dealer tomorrow. Any tips on how I can best inspect it for cracks before I start the paperwork? The seller assured me it didn't have any but I might as well do what I can to check it out.

[Will Hart]

First step would be to make sure the gun is unloaded, with the magazine out, obviously, and remove the grips and the slide. Then, examine the pistol, especially around all of the machined holes/openings. I've only seen cracks on the left side of the 208, near the slide lock/release. Look forward of the slide lock, close to the barrel, and check around the machined openings for cracks.

This is from memory, but should work.

[Black_Talon]

I own 3 208's and have never had a cracked frame on any of them.

That being said, here is where they (supposedly) crack most often. This crack is claimed to be the result of a worn recoil spring, which allows the slide to impact the frame too heavily. Note that some of the coils on this spring are quite visibly worn flat.

[j-team]

This crack is claimed to be the result of a worn recoil spring, which allows the slide to impact the frame too heavily.

And/Or the use of high velocity ammo.

[Black_Talon]

This crack is claimed to be the result of a worn recoil spring, which allows the slide to impact the frame too heavily.

And/Or the use of high velocity ammo.

I didn't bother to note that. I figure that if someone owns a gun of this type and doesn't know not to use HV ammo, they shouldn't complain if/when they break it.

[Gwhite]

There are plenty of people with more money than brains who will buy a high end pistol just because it's "high end". They will then go to the local gun shop where nobody knows anything about target pistols, and buy what's on sale for ammo. It's actually hard to get standard velocity ammo in a lot of shops around here. I've lost track of the number of people I've run into who are beating their pistols to an early grave with high velocity ammo.

[injb]

Thanks all for the input. Fortunately I do know not to use HV ammo and I think this pistol was imported so it probably belonged to someone who also knew that since most shooting in Europe is more club oriented. I had a look at it today and it looked to be in good shape but I couldn't disassemble it for a closer look. I'm waiting for the background check to come back so I should have it in a couple of days.

[injb]

Well it's mine now and I've shot a few hundred rounds. I can't see any signs of any cracks and it looks to be in good shape. I'm a bit disappointed in the grip though. It's pretty uncomfortable, but maybe I just need to get used to it.

I definitely think I need the weight, maybe a pretty heavy one.

[KDZ]

I also like more barrel weight but not sure how much. You can trial different weights with lengths of lead cord strapped below the muzzle:

https://postimg.cc/4HKXB9vh

I like the anatomic grip, but not until I filed / sanded down areas that didn't fit me well