GEW 88 Safety Issue

[bob q]

#1 about 95% have the gas shield , ones without are rare . #2 That problem was caused by bad ammo , it was not a chamber problem . It was changed early in production to the thicker barrel . Also the Germans keep the old barrels in service once the ammo problem was fixed and those barrels fired S ammo at 55,000 PSI for decades and through out WWI with no problems . #3 Was not a German military problem as the Gew-88 could fired any German ammo in service when the rifle was in service . It can be a problem today , but any rifle can have that problem if you fire the wrong ammo . #4 Was not a design problem as the round nose bullet it was designed to fire could not set off a round . Also setting off a round with a bullet is not easy . I have tried to set off primed cases with bullets and hammers and buy using another cartridge [ it just pushes the bullet back in the case . It may of happened now and then but no more than firing with a plugged bore [ again a user problem ] . #5 As I stated , I own over 100 Gew-88s and have looked at many more and have never seen a pitted barrel .