Alloy hi power problems.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

Just snagged an alloy BHP.

1. Does not feed well. Slide fails to close on the round at least one or twos times per mag. Usually a tap on the butt gets her going.

2. Trigger is insanely bad. Does anyone have clear instructions for removing the mag safety? I tried to tap the trigger pivot pin out and it was insanely tight. Did not budge. Right to left?

Ideas?

[TOrrock]

1) Probably needs to be resprung, meaning everything, but especially the recoil spring and the mainspring.

2) Removing the magazine safety (http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=133740)

3) Check the frame for cracks...the alloy framed Hi Powers were not known for their durability, and the ones that recently came ashore are Israeli surplus, if I'm not mistaken.

[Dienekes]

New springs are probably in order. It's highly likely that the ones in it are all original.

I'd be somewhat skeptical of the durability of the alloy frame. I've had a LW Commander frame let go at the dust cover, and the HP frame is even thinner than that in some areas. Browning didn't make all that many of them and there may be a reason for that. Stevens' book mentions the military testing of prototype alloy framed guns.

I've removed the disconnectors on an Inglis and a Mk III. The trigger in on the Inglis was easy to drift out, and the Mk. III was scary tight. As I recall they are a one-way setup but I felt lucky to get the second one out without cracking the frame. Personally I would be inclined to leave yours alone if it's that tight. One of the BHP smiths out there might have an opinion on it.

Stephen Camp's BHP book and website is good; there might be some useful input from them. Interesting little guns.

[joe scuba]

Just snagged an alloy BHP.

1. Does not feed well. Slide fails to close on the round at least one or twos times per mag. Usually a tap on the butt gets her going.

2. Trigger is insanely bad. Does anyone have clear instructions for removing the mag safety? I tried to tap the trigger pivot pin out and it was insanely tight. Did not budge. Right to left?

Ideas?

I had the same problem. Have you tried a different mag? To my surprise, my problem was a weak mag spring. Most of the light weight HPs are from an Austria contract.

Regards

[dewatters]

Does anyone have clear instructions for removing the mag safety? I tried to tap the trigger pivot pin out and it was insanely tight. Did not budge. Right to left?

Ideas?

You can remove the magazine safety without physically removing the trigger from the frame. You just pop the pin that hold the magazine safety, and pull/twist the trigger lever out of its frame recess. One thing I've noticed is that by completely removing the magazine safety, the trigger overtravel increases. I used to remove the magazine safety, pull out its spring, and then pin the magazine safety back into the trigger. The tension of trigger spring against the trigger lever was enough to keep the springless magazine safety in the "off" position.