Hi-power gunsmith?

[dand38s]

I have a friend that lives in southern Indiana. He inherited his uncles Hi-power. He would like to get some work done on it. He wants a new safety, he says that the one on the gun is very small. He is also thinking about changing the sights. Does anyone make a adjustable sight for the Hi-power? Any gunsmith recommendations would be appreciated.

[Anon]

http://www.garthwaite.com/BrowningHighPower.htm

I have a 1911 he built up. I haven't seen his Hi Power work, but the 1911 work is nice.

[fatcat]

Competent Hi-Power 'smiths are not as plentiful as those that work on 1911's. Here's some suggestions:

Don Williams (saw his work @ Shot show & looks very nice. Looks like he'll handle small & full-house jobs)

http://www.theactionworks.com/

Novak's (Haven't seen their work, but it looks good and others have recommended)

http://www.novaksights.com/browning.htm

Heirloom Precision (Ted Yost & Jason Burton. Specializes in full-house packages. Unsure if they will do smaller jobs. I personally have an SRT Hi-Power from them and it's one of nicest guns I own. Check out the pics!)

http://www.heirloomprecision.com/

If you're talking about the "thumb" safety, the only aftermarket one that I know of is Cylinder & Slide. LPA makes a nice sight set that would not need to be milled into the slide but it would be sit kinda high.

[Hi-Power Jack]

EGW is good and Cylinder & Slide has been working with Hi-Powers

for decades.

Depending on what you want to do with the gun, there are some

other things to consider doing to the gun besides the safety &

sights - the trigger is usually heavy/creepy - removing the mag

safety really helps a great deal, but you lose the safety?? (I've

had it removed from both my Hi-Powers, and it made a huge

difference in the trigger pull).

The hammer will bite your hand, unless you have it cropped -

take the bottom part off and you won't bleed anymore.

Get some new mags from Mec-Gar (they're stainless steel, and

really work well with 15 rounds each (avoid the mags from Cheaper than Dirt,

they don't work).

There are two Browning Hi=Powers (P-35's) - the early one has an

internal extractor that is no longer being made - so, once you have

5,000 - 10,000 rounds thru the gun, you will need to locate an old

antique extractor and pay $75 for it (that's what I did last year).

The newer models have an external extractor, and I presume they're

still being made. If it's an older model, you might not want to think

about shooting 10,000 rounds/year thru it - buy the newer model

and shoot that.

You got a great gun - it shoots well - mine runs with any type of ammo

and never jams (except in matches, occasionally:(( - and is a great

gun to shoot - and you can also add a magwell & beavertail if you

would like, down the road (EGW has both).

Good luck with it, and welcome to the Wonderful World of P-35's.

Jack

[SDM]

http://www.fletchercustompistols.com/

I've only seen one example of his work, but I was impressed. If I had one to work on this is where I'd send it.

[Hi-Power Jack]

And, if the gun has the small, thin wooden grips,

try a Hogue rubber grip (if he has larger hands)

Much more secure in your hand than the original

grips.

Jack

[wooddog]

I have a Garthwaite Hi-power. He is among the best and very good to deal with. Don't hesitate just send it to him, you will be more than pleased! Everyone who has seen my Hi=power wants to touch it, feel it and wishes they had one like it!

[davidwiz]

EGW built mine - here are the pics.

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

Robar

[MichiganShootist]

Yost. Nuff said!!!!!

Try google and you'll see what I mean

[Beretta Lover]

http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com/

this guy (Mark i think) re did my argy hipower with a nice extended safety, removed the mag brake and painted it with a semi gloss HK black.

If you dont want to spend boutique money and put up with a long wait send it there

He is very knowledgeable on the P35 Hi Power and has worked on them extensivley.

He also come across as very honest in his e mails.

He is currently backed up until February of 09.

One other thing. When he says you wil get your gun done ontime and correctly you can bank on it

[Chuck Anderson]

I have a friend with Hi-Powers done by Cylinder and Slide, EGW and Bob Marvel. All of them are awesome. I would recommend any of these folks.

[longrange2]

+1 on Garthwaite, he is a true artist with steel. His Hi Powers and 1911s are superb.

[pjb45]

Cylinder and Slide has two guys that are members of the pistolsmith guild. That does say sometime about C&S. The names mentioned are great but mine went to C&S.

The HP has a tendency to have a flier- a tight group with one shot off an inch or so. Bill took mine to Bar-Sto and Irv helped fit the barrel. I have not fliers. It is dead on accurate-one ragged hole at 20yards.

I have Novaks sights on it, which are fine. I have factory adjustable sights on my other HP, and they work fine for me. However, the factory adjustable sights have two screws on either side which if you lose them you will pay Brownells about $9.00 per screw.

I did screw up---many years after it was done by C&S, I had a local smith blue it. WHAT A MISTAKE! If you have work done on it and want to get it refinished have it all done at the same time by the same smith.

OMT: The back log at C&S was huge. Call all of them and get an estimate time to complete from them.

[dand38s]

Thanks for all of the advice. I have passed this information on to my friend. He is going to call around and see what he wants to do and how much it is going to cost him to get it done.