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Browning hi power

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  Lanrezac 
#1 ·
I have seen plenty of these guns over the years but never fired one. I have had a curiosity though. This week, one of my tenants brought me a belgium hi power that he just inherited due to his father in law passing away. The gun was dry as a bone and had plenty of surface rust on the barrel and frame. When I first saw it, I kind of cringed but told him I would do my best and check it out. I tore it down yesterday and took my oil and steel wool and lighty went to work. It literally cleaned up like a new gun! The barrel was perfect and everything was good. I cleaned it all up and oiled it up with Silver Bullet gun oil (best oil on the planet) and took her out just now for a test drive. Wow. I am impressed. Great 3.5 lb trigger pull and a pleasure to shoot. Now, is it possible they want to sell it? Its worth asking anyhow....
 
#4 ·
I am going to say commercial but since I am not really familiar with them, how do I know besides serial numbers?
 
#5 ·
I love Browning Hi Powers almost as much as I love 1911's.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Im not a big 9mm fan but I really enjoyed shooting this hi power. I looked up serial numbers and came up with somewhere around 1980...
 
#7 ·
To me the big problem with John Browning's last pistol design, that he did not live long enough to complete, is the trigger. At some point a magazine safety was added (when, I don't know except the current offerings for decades include it). The feature is implemented with a finger that touches the magazine that has to slide on the magazine for a letoff. It makes the trigger pull gritty and terrible. For years Brownells offered a conversion to get rid of the magazine safety which improves the trigger pull by a bunch. I handled a modern version and its trigger was terrible.

I have a Charles Daly 9mm clone High Power from which I removed the mag safety. What a total difference. Since all pistols sold new in CA have to include the magazine safety we'll never see a new High Power here without that terrible mag safety. The Charles Daly High Power included a commander style hammer that was guaranteed to give anyone hammer bite. I suggest staying away from any modern version that includes the commander style hammer. I discretely machined the back off the hammer and the hammer bite is now gone.

In its present form I really like my version of the High Power. The gun is another John Browning winner!

LDBennett
 
#8 ·
Your description of the trigger is not anything like the one I have. This trigger is fantastic. Just like many of my 1911s...
 
#10 ·
My Hi-Power is the same, DoubleD; just a pure pleasure to shoot, and no mag safety I've been able to find. It may have had the mod done to remove it, but today it's a smooth, fairly light trigger. I've never had a 1911, nor any interest in a .45, but if the 1911 is as nice in the hand as the Hi-Power, I may have to expand my horizons!:cool:
 
#9 ·
DoubleD:

Does yours have a magazine safety? I have tried several High Powers with mag safeties and even tried to smooth mine up. All with mag safeties have terrible triggers. I have seen here others complain of the trigger problem. For years Brownells has offered a trigger to eliminate the mag safety :

http://www.brownells.com/handgun-pa...high-power-competition-trigger-prod42636.aspx

Someone might have the secret to a good trigger with the mag safety but I sure don't know what it would be (??).

Maybe it is perception. Without work there is no out of the box 1911 trigger that satisfies me but the High Powers with the mag safety are no where near as good as a 1911 trigger out of the box. Of all my many guns, few have escaped a good trigger job by me. My son-in-law never complained about triggers till he shot one of my guns. Then I was having to do trigger jobs for him. The fact was he didn't know what a good trigger felt like until he used one and he a collection of guns bigger than mine..

LDBennett
 
#12 ·
DoubleD:

I'd have you come shoot some of mine but the trip is a bit excessive as I live 3000 miles away.

Believe me when I say an out of the box 1911 trigger is nothing to brag about. A new out of the box S&W revolver with no trigger work is miles better and the change of one spring makes it one of the best triggers in any center fire hand gun. A trigger job on a 1911 makes a world of difference and the gun, the way I do it, is still safe and the gun is not limited to low power wad cutter ammo, either. There some people out there that make my trigger job feel terrible in comparison.

Did you tell me if your High Power has a magazine safety?

LDBennett
 
#13 ·
My High Power has a magazine safety and the trigger is good. Not as good as an S&W Model 15, but better than the H&R 999 that was my first pistol. I bought the High Power used, but as far as I can tell, it was factory stock.

Double D, I think a 1980 High Power is probably commercial.
 
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