can firing mag w/o bumper damage the valve?

[salomon16]

I let my brother use my minimag this weekend and I was showing him how to clean it afterwards and I noticed the blue rubber bolt bumper was missing. He said he cleaned off the bolt twice during the day and it shot fine the whole time. Could this have done any unseen damage to my marker? If so, what needs to be done to fix it??

[PyRo]

Just put the bumper back, and if it works its good if it doesn't come back here and we will figure out whats wrong. Your probably ok.

[athomas]

It should be fine but prolonged use without the bumper could cause damage. The bumper prevents damage caused by high velocity metal hitting metal.

[Maffer]

Smack the kid! sheesh. It shouldn't have 'harmed' anything. but metal on metal is a no-no... Don't worry about it, but don't let your brother use your gun again if he doesn't know how to take care of it

[Branchvillian]

Well, he was teaching him to take care of it after a day of play. I'm sure it didn't do any damage, just make sure you show him that it is supposed to be there, and to always do a quick check to make sure all parts are on the gun after each clean.

[ChucktheMAGician]

I spoke w/ someone who couldn't figure out why he kept breaking LX powertube tips. Eventually he said that he wasn't using his bumper, so yeah, not using one is bad.

[soccer4minimags]

I bet you that made a horrible sound while firing.

[Evil1]

I bet the gun had more kick w/o the bumper absorbing some of the shock.