Current Browning / FN Hi-Power

[noonesshowmonkey]

So, I tore the thing down to the frame; a total detail strip. You wouldn't believe (well, if you deployed to OIF/OEF, you might) the amount of crud inside this thing. Israeli dirt/dust, mixed with carbon, gun oil, a bit of rust, etc. I pulled a few mL of shit off of the ejector, literally peeling it off with a screwdriver tip. It was a bit crazy. Makes a lot of sense out of the gritty trigger feel at first. There was a bucket of sand inside the gun.

Pulled the magazine disconnect safety off, which was more of a pain than I expected. YouTube videos show that you just drive the disconnect safety pin from the trigger, and you can pry it out. Apparently, only on certain models. Others, like mine, require you to drive the trigger bar pin out, and remove the entire trigger group. Thus kicked off my detail stripping of the whole damn thing.

I haven't reassembled it yet to enjoy the grit/dirt/sand free gun and to check the trigger sans magazine disconnect. There's a bunch of springs arriving from Midway later this week, and a hammer & sear that I may put in on this go around.

Finally, I found a guy that will nitride refinish the thing for a great price. I've been reading around on the gun forums, which are notorious breeding grounds for horseshit with more of it per square yard than most barns, that the QPQ process is too hot for the BHP. Apparently, the barrel bushing is suage fit, and then silver soldered into place. Most silver solder have a melting point in the 400-500 degree F range, and the QPQ process is generally 900-1150 degree F, so if this is true, there's some credence to it. What I wonder, however, is that the BHP has been refined since the 1930s, and that a process like silver soldering the bushing has been replaced by something more sturdy, perhaps of milling the entire slide, given the quality of 5-axis-machining.

After writing to him, he claims to have done several BHPs with no incident. I'll be ordering a few more parts so that I can send off everything to QPQ in one continuous motion. If this works out, I'll have a gorgeous, modern classic.

[yoni]

I am in a different state from where this pistol is, so don't ask for pictures.

But for those that suffer hammer bite I bobbed the hammer on my stock Hi Power. It never missed a beat in terms of lighting off the rounds after I did it. I would do it on my 2 custom guns, but one has a gold hammer and I worry about lowering the value on the other one.

I will do the same thing to my P09 when I get time.

[noonesshowmonkey]

Well, I detail stripped it, cleaned all of the crud out like I was saying. After getting a bit bored, I decided to reassemble as-is, but less the magazine disconnect. The trigger pin took an absurd amount of force to get moving to drift it out, and likewise took way too much force to get set back in. Perhaps after some polishing compound in the pin holes on the frame, and/or some light sanding with high grit on the pin, plus a little graphite lube and I think it'll clean up nicely. I drove it in and out a few times without the trigger in place to try and open the holes up a touch, and that helped some, but not as much as I wanted.

Either way, the thing came together really nicely. The only thing every Browning / FN Hi Power owner needs is a small spring clamp to hold the hammer down to the frame while you set the leaf spring, sear, extractor in line, and push the sear pin. I tried it without, and just ended up swearing a ton until I dug up a clamp.

Less the magazine disconnect and grit and sand, plus some oil and grease, the weapon is night and day. What a clean, crisp trigger. It definitely needs an extra power trigger spring to clean up the reset a bit. My Sig P229 and Glock 19 with extra power trigger return springs both have spoiled me with very clear, very defined, very positive resets. I can't (and won't) tolerate anything less.

The spring kits and hammer should be arriving soon. I'll be placing an order for ambidextrous mag release and safety, as well as an extra power safety detent spring to provide a more positive safety actuation. It seems like a lot, I guess, but it really isn't that much. Working on the BHP is a cinch, and I can see the clear genetic legacy between it and my Sig Sauer. The P229 is essentially an FN HP with a DA/SA sear, plus a few minor mods such as the locking block being a separate piece from the frame, etc. The similarities are amazing, and having worked a great deal on my P229 prepared me for this FN HP project in a big way. Overall, I think I am becoming a pretty decent gunsmith.

Can't wait to get the next steps completed and shoot it a bit. Then, meloniting!

[kaltesherz]

My Hi Power can beat up your Hi Power...

Here's the before and after of my formerly Izzy early Mk III (forged frame) that I sent to Don Williams to work his magic. Currently my EDC in a TT holster. Trigger makes 1911's jealous.

[williejc]

Noon, unless I'm terribly wrong, the trigger spring doesn't effect reset. Observe the complex linkage with the trigger hitting a long bar in the slide which then pivots down to trip the sear in the frame. With the slide off, you can trip the trigger by pressing this piece. The BHP has a really long reset. Congratulations on your purchase.

[26 Inf]

Question here, I have a MarkII (I believe) Hi-Power made in 1988. Slide has a narrow rib running the full length. Front sight is not dovetailed, it is either silver-soldered or integral.

My question is this - is there enough material to machine a dovetail and put on new sights?

[williejc]

I disassembled my Mk 111 which has the dovetail you referred to. I can't answer your question with confidence so I'll report what I saw. Peering into the top of the slide, I saw a pressed in bushing. The dove tail was directly over the top of the bushing. I then wondered whether or not this cut entered into the bushing itself. If it did not then it's close. Browning's Service Department has knowledgeable and courteous techs who could tell you. The Cylinder and Slide guys definitely can discuss this question.

[26 Inf]

I disassembled my Mk 111 which has the dovetail you referred to. I can't answer your question with confidence so I'll report what I saw. Peering into the top of the slide, I saw a pressed in bushing. The dove tail was directly over the top of the bushing. I then wondered whether or not this cut entered into the bushing itself. If it did not then it's close. Browning's Service Department has knowledgeable and courteous techs who could tell you. The Cylinder and Slide guys definitely can discuss this question.

Thanks for doing that. I've got a message out to Don Williams at the Action Shop to see if he can do it. Cylinder and Slide lists out slide work and sight install at double what The Action Shop does.

[noonesshowmonkey]

Noon, unless I'm terribly wrong, the trigger spring doesn't effect reset. Observe the complex linkage with the trigger hitting a long bar in the slide which then pivots down to trip the sear in the frame. With the slide off, you can trip the trigger by pressing this piece. The BHP has a really long reset. Congratulations on your purchase.

Well, then I'll have to try and figure out what I can do, if anything, to clean that portion of things up. Off to more research, I guess!

[plain old dave]

If I'm looking at my clone right, I don't think there's a way to make the reset (the point in the trigger travel in a selfcocker or selfloader where the sear is re-engaged) have a more definite click. There's just too many moving parts.