The new old Hi Power finally arrived, and it's actually in better condition than photos seem to indicate (always nice when that happens
)
A small bit of pitting or scuffing on the LH side near the muzzle on the "shadow line" but other than that, very consistent bluing with only minor surface scratches/general wear otherwise. No noticeable holster wear, which is weird considering this was probably a service pistol. The trigger take up sucks (mag safety is still in place) but stages right up to the break point, and seems pretty clean and light past that point. I also immediately saw why the mag safety is so terrible for trigger feel; it's also much more complicated than that feature really needed to be (I'd have just used a plunger instead of a piece that slides with the trigger pull). The barrel is immaculate; I honestly can't say that I can imagine a new barrel being much sharper/shinier. The bore isn't a mirror, but the grooves are, and not many of my handguns had shiny/polished lands from the get-go either. The muzzle is a tad worn, may benefit from a light crown job at some point if I ever get good enough to warrant one. The barrel/bushing has a small bit of play, probably .01" diameter mismatch, so if my calculations are correct, not much to worry about at reasonable distances unless I **** off the Olympic Biathlon team
The gun feels amazing in the hand. Grip feels a bit fat, but only because it is round rather than oblong like modern designs, and is nothing a replacement can't fix. But the balance and sight axis over the hand are both perfect. I don't feel like I'm sweeping the barrel (or butt) past the target and having to use my wrist to fine tine; the amplitude of the correction is so small as to be unnoticeable by me when I do it (bear in mind that I usually shoot a CZ52, S&W N-frame, and FNH Five-Seven when appreciating that observation
). Very cool to have a gun that "works" with my wrist geometry a bit better, though. I cannot readily see how anyone (or "I" at least) can get hammer bite with a good grip on the gun; my trigger finger bones simply put my palm web in the deepest part of the beavertail, well out of harm's way. I'll have to make time to go to the range this weekend
I didn't buy this piece with the intention of carrying, and probably still won't since it's both old
and purty, but I will seriously consider later versions/derivatives for that role if this one shoots half as well as it handles (and if the R51 sucks
). I still have yet to locate pictures of a HP given the full melt-down carry treatment. I think such a soapy beast with a set of thin grips would be fantastic.
TCB