Browning high power

[Carlos]

Ahh - a mechnical solution to drop free mags - taht would seem to be the way to go (I hate tweaking on mags that are non DF). Anyway, I would concentrate on just shooting in Production for now; go to as many matches as you can, ask questions, observe, and try out other classes after you "shoot the heck out of it" as planned.  Your gun, it seems to me, can be just as competitive as any other gun in production class.  Some may criticize the trigger on the Hi-Power (and w/ 9mm major loads, the name IS appropriate) but top shooters have done well w/ triggers as heavy as the HP. If you want to fiddle w/ trigger weight w/o spending much, just get some engine assembly grease w/ Moly from an auto parts place and try de-greasing all the trigger parts, then coating w/ moly - its similar to that "Trigger Magic" product that Brownells used to sell.  Also, Wolf makes springs for that gun to let you try your hand at trigger tuning. Anyway, you have an perfectly good tool for production so on w/ the shooting!

D.

[kellyn]

#Moderation Mode

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[kellyn]

#Moderation Mode

You've been moderated

Moved here

[warpspeed]

Scott,

I have researched the hicap mag issues in CA as I live here too and this is what I have found:

1) It is not illegal to have hi cap mags. you can have 30 rd AR mags or 20 rd STI mags and you are not breaking the law. So if you have any, hold on to them. You don't have to destroy them (not yet anyway )  

2) However, it is illegal to import, sell, trade, offer for sale or trade, loan, give or otherwise transfer a magazine with a capacity >10 in CA. This means that if you move to CA, you can't bring 'em with ya. If you were a CA resident before the ban, you are OK. For now.

3) NO ONE WILL SHIP TO CA. NOT CDDN, NOT ANYONE. It is a bigtime crime to do so. Felony as I recall . You may not go to jail but will never be able to possess a gun again. Not worth the risk.They will however track down anyone who advertisies or  sells them. That is why all the ads say "we wil not ship to CA". If they did not say that and the newspaper or magazine is sold in CA, they are breaking the law simply by advertising.  

4) The info I have gotten from DOJ is that they are not interested in running around checking on the ownership validity of hicaps. Too hard to prove. (Remember that whole innocent until proven guilty thing.)

Hope that helps.

[Trader]

I purchased a MKIII Hi Power this summer. I bobbed the hammer, it looks like a Para LDA hammer). This allows a very high grip on the pistol, with no hammer bite.

I installed meprolite night sights. The gun shoots poa at 25 yards. I also purchased the South African 17rd mags from CDNN.  They work great, with hollow point defense ammo, but I download to 15 rds.

I have 3 ,1911/2011 guns with 28oz trigger pulls on them. I  still can't believe I like this Hi Power so much, with its crisp 7LB trigger pull weight . It shoots great!

[Duane Thomas]

"Your gun, it seems to me, can be just as competitive as any other gun in production class."

Single action guns like the Hi-Power aren't allowed in USPSA Production division. You'd have to compete in Limited-10 or Limited.

The Hi-Power is one of my favorite handguns. The only major downfall of this design is that, compared to a 1911, it isn't much in the long-term durability department. Cracked slides seem to be the most common problem on high round count Hi-Powers. I remember reading, years ago, an article on Scotland Yard's armory - and the huge drawer in the armory that was full of nothing but cracked Browning Hi-Power slides.

Pistolsmith/USPSA Grand Master Bruce Gray has told me, flat out, "The Hi-Power is a 15,000 round gun." In this month's Gun World, editor Jan Libourel mentions that the owners of two different gun ranges have told him of rental Hi-Powers that have cracked their slides, one at 10,000 rounds, one at 14,000.

For the average shooter, 15,000 rounds equates to about 100 lifetimes' shooting. For a serious USPSA/IPSC/IDPA shooter, it doesn't.

Carry a lot, shoot a little.

(Edited by Duane Thomas at 6:11 pm on Dec. 27, 2002)

[scottzerger]

Hey Trader

 

  You have done some great stuff to that gun. I like this

gun alot . Do you feel that you could be as competitive

with a stock b/hi-power as you are now? My goal is

to leave the gun stock and see how far i can get in

what ever pistol sport will have me.

     

  I like that trigger.

Scott z

[scottzerger]

Duane

 When i first picked up the browning i was surprised

to find that it " fit " better than any other auto pistol

i have tried so far . Knowing what i know now , i will

continue to shoot it but in the future think about finding

a replacement. Your right 15k rounds = a lifetime to

some but only 2-3 years for me .  Just bought my 2nd

case of 9mm. Going to give 3 gun shoots a Try with

the browning.  

  Thanks for your advice

 Scottz

[Duane Thomas]

Yer welcome.

[2alpha]

The trick to getting the mags to fall out is to remove the magazine safety which is a spring loaded plunger that bears against the magazine.  Don't put the mag in a vice to fix this problem, you'll crush the mag and it still won't fall out.

[Sam]

Duane, thanks for the heads-up on the life expectancy for HP slides. Not knowing that, I would have gone on a wild goose chase if mine ever cracked.  Now, I'll just make arrangements to find another slide.  

Dude, you are a national treasure!  

     Thanks - Sam

[Trader]

Scottzerger:

    My Hi Power may never see a match unless I get the urge to "shoot what you carry" at the few IDPA matches I attend.  I do carry the BHP to work a fair ammount, as it is light , and puts no strain on my back at all.

The trigger pull is stock, with magazine disconnect  in place, it is a crisp 7lbs, but I like it.

As far as the issue of slides cracking, welding the crack has worked in a number of cases on 1911 slides. I would just replace the slide,as they are not expensive

[whiskey]

Long time lurker,first time poster here.My experience with the Hi-Power is that has a good "feel"to it,and is very accurate.I did not like the long reset of the trigger as I am used to a 1911.However I would assume that if you shot it awhile you would get used to it.I never shot one enough to crack the slide.One guy who shoots the local matches here has one that he has used since back in the 80's,He says that the gun has over 50,000 rds through it and all he has done is replace the extractor a couple of times.He has not said anything about the slide.

[scottzerger]

2alpha

Trader

Whiskey

   

 Thank you all for your info. Next month will be the

start of my first match . And i am looking forward to

using the browning for it. I will keep the gun stock

with the exception of some minor de-burring of the

slide release.

                      Thanks   Scott

[Patrick Sweeney]

Wayne Novak does a lot of Hi Power work, and it might be worth your time to ask him aobut slide durability.  If anyone knows a trick for making them last longer, he would.

I find the grip shape wonderful, except for the hammer bite.  I once got less than a magazine through a Nazi-proofed tangent sight Hi Power before I was bleeding.

To make it comfortable, Novak can recontour the hammer.  That, and a set of Navidrex grips make the P-35 a wonderful 9mm.

[Duane Thomas]

I get bitten badly by a stock Hi-Power. It's not the hammer spur that gets me, but the base of the hammer crushes flesh between itself and the frame. I once attended a shooting class at which I fired 800 rounds through a stock grip/hammer configuration Hi-Power in a single day. By the end of the day I had a hole about half the size of a dime in the web of my hand. As I sit here at the typewriter, I can look and still see the scar. I've had two Hi-Powers that were modified to prevent this. Novak's undercut the hammer; Cylinder & Slide Shop welded on a beavertail. Both worked.

[scottzerger]

Patrick

Duane

  I"ll will get those things done.

 I was told years ago that the only stupid question

is the one you don't ask. So here goes. If i have the

gun modified will it keep me from shooting 3gun,IDPA

or action pistol  at a stock or beginner level ? Also do

i shoot myself now for selling my glock ?

You guys are the best

 Thanks

[Loves2Shoot]

Depends on how much you modify it I guess, the rules are different for IDPA and IPSC, no bull barrels in IDPA for example.

Glocks are a dime a dozen, so you can always get another if it suits you better than having to customize your HiPower to make it fit you, it might be cheaper too.

If you are going to shoot stock I would find a stock gun that works for you without modifications, there are plenty to chose from. Stock, to me, should be a close to stock as it can be. I like 1911's myself for IPSC competion, the trigger is  a big deal to me, and they are made sturdy enough to shoot a TON of rounds.

I carry a KelTec .32 a Glock 23 for the real world, but the games we play aren't the real world and I am not into the whole "tactical" thing. This thing we love doing is a game, so I would say get a gun that best suits what you want to accomplish playing the game. If you figure out what you want to accomplish, you might find yourself spending more money now and saving more in the long run by getting an appropriate tool instead of buying 3 or 4 guns to get what you really want.

Good luck and most of all be safe and have fun!!!

[Duane Thomas]

"If i have the gun modified will it keep me from shooting 3gun, IDPA or action pistol at a stock or beginner level?"

Nah. There's an entire laundry list of modifications you can make to guns in USPSA or IDPA. The only division that's really restrictive is USPSA's Production division, and you can't shoot an SA auto in Production so that's a non-issue.

[scottzerger]

loves2shoot

Great idea , one gun for all games. I'll stick to the bhp

and see how much i improve over the next year. This

gun shoots great and points like my old duty revolvers.

Stick to one gun and master it.

Thanks

[scottzerger]

Duane thomas

   Hey , i found a backissue of G&A handguns magazine.

The article states that they may have fixed the problem

with the hammer pinching the web of the hand. I hope

so.

Magazine date 11-02

Scott

[Larry H]

I ordered some a couple of magazines from CDNN investments for my hi-power. The 30 round mag didn't work (slide would not go into battery), the 13 round mag caused the slide to lock open on the 12th round and the 17 round magazine would not feed the rounds into the chamber unless I struck the back of the slide. I was-needless to say- dissapointed with their performance. Have had great luck with Mec-Gar mags in my other guns and am told they work great in Hi-powers.  

As to Hi-Power hammer bite, I find that when I shoot thumbs foward, I get bit. Thumbs locked down I don't. My hand must be higher on the back strap using the Shaw grip.

[Duane Thomas]

Mec-Gar BHP mags are great. AAMOF all my BHP mags are from Mec-Gar. At least a few years ago - that last time I checked - Mec-Gar was making the "factory" mags for BHPs, as well.

[Duane Thomas]

" Hey , i found a backissue of G&A handguns magazine.

The article states that they may have fixed the problem

with the hammer pinching the web of the hand. I hope

so."

Me, too. I should get my hands on a current production BHP to test out. It would be so cool if that were true.

[Trader]

Larry H: Load your 17 round mags full and let them sit for a day. Then use them with 15 rounds max. Mine feed 115gr jhp's just fine when loaded with 15 rounds.