TargetTalk

I have a Hammerli 280 in .32 previously owned by a friend, that has a bulge in the barrel approximately mid point.
My understanding after talking with others is that releasing the circlips holding the barrel in place will allow it to be removed in a rearward direction.
However, in this case, even with the circlips eased from their seats the barrel will not budge.
If anyone can help with ideas/experience, it will be appreciated.

To remove the barrel, release the circlips and move then froward and the barrel extracts to the rear.
If it is bulged you may not be able to slide the barrel out, nor slide the circlips forward.
It may require cutting the barrel to remove it so as not to damage the frame top.
I hope you have a replacement barrel or can get one made, but if you damage the top I dont think they are available anymore.
Be very careful.

I used to have a 280 but could never figure out how the barrel came out after the circlips were moved to one side. Good luck.

Thanks David and JB. Being careful is at the front of my mind David, as the conesquences of making a heavy handed move would end this guns career. The funny thing is another shooter said that he removed the two circlips and the barrel almost fell out. And yet I remember buying a 280 kit new around the mid nineties. I decided to remove the barrel, to then remove the front bismuth weight. To my surprise the barrel would not move, as was the case with JB.
I may remove the rear bismuth weight, which sits in between the two circlips, as when pouring it, some may have spread, preventing the barrel from moving. Or as David has pointed out the bulge could be the interference. Whichever way, the bismuth removed should shed more light on the problem.
The front circlip moves easily enough along the barrel, and from what I have observed, the rear one doesn't need to be touched as its function seems to be to prevent forward movement of the barrel only.

Problem solved. I was initially unsure what lay underneath the two bismuth weights, and was reluctatnt to use force.
However, as another member had been able to remove the barrel without melting the bismuth weights, I felt confident there was not a third circlip hidden away. So I turned a stepped tool from wooden dowel, inserted it into the barrel at the front and gently tapped with a plastic hammer. Slowly the barrel moved rearward.
The source of resistance was discovered only after removal. The barrel does have a third circlip groove machined between the front and rear ones. When the bismuth was poured into place, it enters this groove and forms a circlip of bismuth, preventing the barrel from moving without first being sheared.
My conclusion is that any 280 .32 that will allow the barrel to be removed by releasing the circlips, has had the barrel removed before, and any guns like JB's and mine simply need a little persuasion, using the appropriate care and tools.

Now...... if anyone knows of a company or person that may have stock of a new 280 .32 barrel ( wishful thinking ). or any details of the number of grooves/twists so I can try and source an appropriate length of barrel, and have it machined.
Any help/advice will be very welcome.

A barrel blank is easy to find either European or local, American is a little harder.
Lother Walther in Germany do a very high quality blank.
http://www.lothar-walther.de/

calibre .32S&Wlongf .Pist. .32S&Wlongf. Rev.
ext. diam. [mm] 23.00 23.00
length [mm] 285 285
land diam. [mm] 7.80 7.74
groove-diam. [mm] 7.96 7.90
twist [mm] 476 450
grooves 6 6

David Wilson hangs out here. He is a wealth of knowlege on 32s. Also crafts a variety of custom 32 S&W long barrels for target shooters. I pretty much have been going through what you have been going through . Except I have an older Pardini 32. I had to cut my barrel up to get it out. And without thinking threw all the pices away. The breech end of the barrel mushroomed inside the slide. Give him a shout.

Sadly, it is nearly impossible to get firearms parts exported out of the US.
It is a lot easier to source items from europe.