From what I'm reading, the pre-11 and early 11 didn't have the fiber buffer people are concerned about-recently had my 1908 gun apart to replace a broken bolt handle and noticed mine has one(but who knows how effective it is now?). Question is, the bolt handle broke while shooting Winchester bulk light target loads-want to do what I can to prevent another breakage before shooting it again.

Would the most likely cause of the handle breaking be the worn buffer, or 100 year old springs? Planning to replace the springs in any case, just thought the buffer being in a gun that supposedly didn't have a buffer was interesting. The bolt itself looks to be fine, it was just the handle that broke(break was about 1/2" from the rear edge)..

Could be caused by a worn out forend letting the charging handle smack into the receiver.

Check this thread out.
www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_1/479695_Model-11---Browning-A5-Owners--Need-Help-with-Forend-Barrel-Placement.html

Been watching that thread too, there's about 1/16" clearance between my bolt handle and receiver.I suppose it's possible, I've toyed with the idea of a full reblue and replacing the wood but considering what I paid for the gun can't bring myself to do it.

If the fibre buffer is intact, I don't believe there is any need to replace it. If it is missing or breaking up into pieces then yes, replace it.

A spring job is probably in order. make sure you replace the action spring in the stock while you have it apart along with the recoil spring and friction ring spring.

When you reassemble, make sure you have the recoil system parts (all FOUR) oriented correctly for the load you are shooting.

Also, make sue that you are NOT lubricating the exterior of the magazine tube. This should be bone dry. It should be kept clean and free of rust but do not lube. The bronze friction ring acts like a brake against the tube. Lube is just going to force the rest of the parts of the gun to work harder.