Les Baer Premier II Slide Problem

[dennis carter]

I know this has been written about before, but I can't find the posts.
I've fired 317 rounds through a new Premier II with the 1.5" accuracy work. The first couple of hundred rounds fired quite reliably. The rest frequently jammed. Specifically, the slide does not go fully forward and it's difficult to eject the round. It's gotten so this happens once or twice with each magazine.

I cleaned the gun after firing 200 rounds. This still happens.

The shok buff is not noticeably worn.

I'm thinking of replacing the recoil spring with a Wilson heavy duty 18 pound spring and removing the shok buff. Les Baer recommends using the shok buff if I'm going to be shooting a lot of hardball. I will be. I do a lot of target shooting. But, they also said that it would not harm the gun if I didn't use it and they don't recommend using a shok buff if the gun will be used for carry.

What are your recommendations? At this point, I don't think a trip back to LB is required, but I'd like to get this corrected.

Dennis D. Carter

[Handy]

If the chamber is tight and you're using handloads, or if the chamber has junk in it, that could be the cause. I can't see how the buffer could affect what you describe. See if factory ammo does it. Does that portion of the slide cycle feel tight or sticky without a round being chambered?

How much did this weapon cost? I don't think, if ammo is not the cause, you would have to pay anything or wait long to have Les Baer correct the problem.

[faiello5]

Dennis, I would shoot at least 500-600 rounds through the gun before I became concerned. My Premier II did the same thing up to about 500-600 rounds. Since then it has been 100% reliable.
Baer's are pretty tight out of the box (especially the 1.5ers) and some need more of a break-in period than others. It the slide still won't completely return to battery after 600 rounds, send it back to Baer.

Regards,
Frank

[blades67]

I would call Baer and see what they recommend first.

[Peter M. Eick]

Put some more rounds down it. My premier 2 was pretty stiff for the first 500 rnds then it became 100% and no problems since. My 10mm Heavyweight Monolith took nearly 1000 rnds to steady down and now it is 100% reliable.

Also talk to Mr. Baer. He is usually available after 4 pm workdays (central "god's" time).

[dennis carter]

Well, I discovered the source of the problem and I'm embarrassed to say that the cause was the penny-pinching antics of the shooter, NOT the gun.
The reloads causing the problem were Winchester cases I'd reloaded at least a half dozen times and some of which I'd picked up at the range. The case rim on some of this brass, particularly stuff I've picked up at the range, was very ragged, making extracting the cartridges difficult.

With new case Winchester loads and reloads using IMI and Starline brass I've bought, there was no problem.

On occasion, the slide still fails to go all the way forward, but a slight nudge with my thumb and I'm ready to go. And, extracting proper cases is a piece of cake. I only have about 400 rounds through the gun, so I don't anticipate any problems once it's properly broken in.

Is this gun accurate? You bet. My thanks to Les Baer for a fine gun and to you for your advice.

Dennis D. Carter