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Browning bullet question

5K views 46 replies 11 participants last post by  Joetee 
#1 ·
My dad passed away and left me his Browning 9 mm p Belgium made pistal. I remember him saying it was modified and needed hot loads.

Question is, I know nothing about ammo or what mod he was talking about.

Can you tell me what mod this may be and what bullets to buy?

The ammo he gave me with it all shot great with no problems. I went and bought some standard 9mm ammo and now it can only shoot at most 3 rounds without the cartridge catching and not ejecting it.
 
#11 ·
That's a fine looking Hi Power.
You say that it was modified to only shoot hot loads? About the only thing I can think of that would do that is a heavier recoil spring.
Like tuckered1 suggested, try some +P ammo. Then I would try some standard and see if the gun functions. About the worst that will happen is the slide won't come back far enough to extract the fired round and strip a new one from the mag.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Well thank you. Ill have to look it up and see if I can figure it out.

My dad passed away and left me his Browning 9 mm p Belgium made pistal. I remember him saying it was modified and needed hot loads.

Question is, I know nothing about ammo or what mod he was talking about.

Can you tell me what mod this may be and what bullets to buy?

The ammo he gave me with it all shot great with no problems. I went and bought some standard 9mm ammo and now it can only shoot at most 3 rounds without the cartridge catching and not ejecting it.
Well update. I cleaned and oiled it real good. Shot about 9 rounds before it jammed up again. An improvement but not good enough yet.
Cleaned and old again and shot all 13 rounds without any trouble. Still gonna look for a new spring and see.
 
#19 ·
Ok... Reading about all day getting educated on 9mm ammo, here's what I learned: (correct me if I'm wrong please)

I think it was about 1972 that ammo manufactures lowered the standard pressure rates of ammo.
So to get the original pressure ammo rating for your gun before they lowered it, you would go with a +p. If you wanted a little more punch, you'd go with a +p+, which would be better for say defence, not so much say target shooting because it would likely wear out your gun faster.

Does this make since and am I on the write track?
 
#20 ·
I have a Hi Power manufactured in 1969, before the pressure adjustment you mention, and it has reliably fired all ammo I feed it for years, including the 'soft' ammo I reload for practice. I think the 'right' track for your gun is to order the stock recoil spring and install it. I suspect that you'll find this fixes the problem.

I would not risk +P or +P+ ammunition in this fine weapon; it wasn't designed for either. While I think that the Hi Power is so well designed and manufactured that it will handle the increased pressure, I see no reason to risk damaging the gun. You can do far better, for defensive purposes, by selecting a quality defense round from a reputable ammunition maker.
 
#22 · (Edited)
That IS a very nice Hi Power. Being a family treasure - as yours is - if it were mine I'd locate a standard recoil spring and see if it functions with off-the-shelf target ammo, like Winchester 115 grain FMJ ammo. If it does, use of this ammo will make that pistol last a lifetime.

The Browning Hi Power is regarded by some as "The Cadillac of Semi Auto Pistols'. I'm not a huge fan of +P 9mm Luger ammo as a steady diet to feed a pistol. The hotter ammo isn't any more accurate than standard 9mm Luger ammo, and if you need something stronger/more powerful than a 9mm Luger - buy a .40 Smith&Wesson caliber. That +P 9mm ammo will only end up battering the daylights out of a very nice, precision instrument for no reason.

And Joe - your Browning looks pretty "dry" and there are finger prints on it. Get a soft, clean cotton cloth and some good gun oil. Be sure to wipe it down gently every time you handle it. Your skin salts will cause rust spots. But keep that oil away from the wood, and do not store it in any leather or plastic.
 
#26 ·
Please feel free to give me any advice you have. I'm learning here. I've shot guns on and off all my life. Retired Air Force. But don't know really much about guns.
I understand gun safety. A little about cleaning. Shooting. But I can tell that there is a lot more to learn.
 
#27 ·
Hi Joe,

Just my $.02. Just because it is rated to shoot +P ammunition doesn't mean it's a requirement. It's a mechanical device and in my opinion the more it's stressed the shorter it's life will be. My car will do 140mph but if I were to drive it hard all the time, jumping on the throttle and taking hard corners something would break a whole lot sooner than if I drive it "normally". If it were just another gun I'd say knock yourself out but it being a family treasure why put it through the added abuse?
 
#28 ·
Joe, I think the "P" stamped on our pistol is part of the caliber designation "9mm parabellum" not +P.
That is a fine cleaning product. I have used it and like it a lot. I used Hoppe's for years and Break Free, but I like the Mil.com better. It works a little slower than the stronger solvents, but eventually the bore becomes so slick the fouling won't stick.
 
#29 ·
I have to agree with Kweeksdraw - that's a P, not a +P. Parabellum is also known as Luger, which is also designated 9 x 19mm. I still think that the Browning is strong enough to handle the +P ammo, but I sure wouldn't risk my gun or fingers testing the theory. Play nice with it, and that gun will outlive your grandchildren's kids.
 
#32 ·
Joetee,
The fact that your Hi-Power shot the whole 13 rounds is an indication of that Mil.comm's excellent lube quality, unless of course it was dry. That stuff made all my triggers lighter and crisper (a free trigger job), and slides easier to rack. I wasn't even looking for any of that but will take it.
I've been shooting for a long time. Tough call on whether to try +P or a new stock spring.
I would go with the spring.
 
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#34 ·
Given that what you have been told, if the the gun has been modified, I would replace the recoil spring first, then see how it behaves at the range. If that doesn't help, I'd look closely at the extractor and ejector. I've never done it, but I like your idea of getting the whole spring kit - it is usually best to respring the whole group, rather than trying to match individual parts.
 
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