Browning Hi Power reliability question ?

[RickB]

I bought a used Mk. III in 1999. It couldn't have been shot much, and now has maybe 2000 rounds through it. I have had a lot of feed failures, but would now blame them all on trying to not have to replace the three "South African/South American" 17-round mags I bought. The tubes are strong, but the springs are weak. Since fitting springs that allow only eleven rounds capacity (for competition), I've had no problems at all.

[K1500]

New hammer spring after only 6,000 rounds...that shouldn't happen. We're you getting light strikes?

[g.willikers]

A gunsmith I know specializes In HPs and 1911s.
He says the HPs generally are 25,000 round guns, but not as long lasting as 1911s, which can be 100,000 round guns, depending.
Not that either is ready for the junk heap by then, just that they will probably need some serious attention.

[Skans]

sold his BHP and replaced it with a SIG 226 because the stock internal parts on BHP's are too soft

What does he think the frame of his SIG 226 is made of??? (Aluminum) In any event, take a look at some of the Israeli BHP's that have been used in service. They have been used and abused, but still function just fine.

[lechiffre]

So I was shooting my BHP at the pistol range the other day and I got to talking with this other fellow about pistols and he said that he sold his BHP and replaced it with a SIG 226 because the stock internal parts on BHP's are too soft and delicate and wear out quickly

Good luck with the stamped/welded/roll pinned slide, and aluminum framed P226 outlasting the steel Hi-Power.

[tipoc]

One of the most authoritative sites on the web for matters relating to the BHP and handguns in general is Stephen Camp's...

http://hipowersandhandguns.com/

About the only controversial issue related to the BHP's longevity is the suggestion to limit the amount of +P and +P+ ammo through it. The gun may tend to shoot loose a bit in the neighborhood of 5000 rounds of +P 9mm ammo and need a tune up sooner than with standard velocity ammo. Bill Laughridge over to Cylinder and Slide holds this opinion.

tipoc

[WVsig]

Good luck with the stamped/welded/roll pinned slide, and aluminum framed P226 outlasting the steel Hi-Power.

IMHO with proper maintance the Sig will outlast the BHP. If you keep he rails well lubed on a P226 you are easily looking at a 75,000+ round count gun.

[WIN1886]

So in other words , you should own both a SIG and BHP and only shoot the Browning Hi Power 1/3 as much as the SIG ! Good point.....I'm glad I added a P220 !

The gunsmith that commented the BHP was a 25000 round pistol vs the 1911 being a 100000 round pistol.....do you think the fact that the 9mm has a SAAMI standard pressure of 35000 psi in comparison to the 45 ACP with 21000 psi has anything to do with it or is it more the design/internal parts of the pistol ?

I heard they beefed up the newer BHP frames ( cast I guess ) so they could handle 40 s&w ammo which of course they discontinued offering that caliber choice but still kept the frame change anyway ?

After reading more about potential lawsuits , I'm thinking of reinstalling my magazine disconnect safety on my BHP.....I did notice that the trigger pull feels smoother and maybe a tad lighter but am now considering having a carry trigger job done by a good Hi Power gunsmith with the mag disconnect left in place !

[DPris]

It would be beneficial if people would stop calling the mag disconnect a "safety".
It isn't, and if the terminolgy carries too far it CAN work against you in a lawsuit.

You are not removing a "safety", you are enhancing function in a defensive tool to protect your life.
Denis

[WIN1886]

Good point.....I like to think of the magazine disconnect as the device that makes the stock trigger pull feel gritty and way harder then it should have to be!
Responsible handgun owners know to check the "chamber and magazine" to avoid a firing mishap just like any other firearm that does not have this feature ! Still I feel obligated to re-install it because if you sold it in this condition or if it was mishandled by someone then the ??? would be avoided ! I 've heard a good pistol smith can give a reasonable trigger pull ( about 5 lbs ) with the mag disconnect still retained !

[DPris]

For me it's less about the trigger than making the pistol functional as a single-shot IF mags are lost or damaged, and more importantly enabling the mag to drop free under its own power during a reload.

You can always stick the disconnect back in if & when you sell the thing.
Denis

[GunBugBit]

The main downside I know of to removing the mag disconnect is that the factory trigger return spring appears too weak to ensure positive trigger return without the help of the mag disconnect's spring.

Wolff has a strong 2-coil trigger return spring (stronger than the factory 3-coil spring, counter-intuitively) that is just the ticket for solving this.

Just by reading and heeding the Browning 9mm Field Service Manual, you can keep all springs at full strength and still have a fine trigger pull with the factory hammer and sear. If your parts wear out, the Browning factory parts are not expensive. Naturally, gunsmiths and aftermarket parts makers don't want this line of thinking to catch on; they like to swoop in and tell us they need to protect us from ourselves.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I have over 30,000 rounds on my 1995 Hi-Power and since I kept a log book, I have a decent idea of round count and parts replacement on it:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7205

Short version: I didn't have to replace ANY parts until 13,000+ rounds and then the first part that broke was an aftermarket part I added to "enhance" the pistol, not a factory part. The first factory part to break happened around 16,000 and the first factory part to break that affected function happened around 20,000.

I'd just add that as long as you keep up with maintenance and replace broken parts, the Hi-Power is boringly reliable. Like most semi-autos over 99% of my stoppages can be traced to magazines. While I've had good luck with KRD, you still have to test every magazine to be sure. If you stick to factory or MecGar, you'll generally have no problems.

[The Rukh]

I have owned & shot BHP's for several decades. I use them hard, clean them little & shoot lots of ammo each shooting season. I carry them & use them in USPSA & IDPA competitions, as well as other practical competitions; tens of thousands of rounds. I shot my prototype Novak BHP so much that I broke the front of the slide off. The front sight stayed in the remainder of the cross-cut dovetail & the gun continued to function flawlessly. I have never worn out any internal parts, however, I did replace the sear spring since it slipped upwards during a match & shut the gun down. The replacement spring had a small strut that keeps it from doing so. I trust my BHP completely & never worry about wearing out the internal parts.

[presspics]

The guy at the range is wrong...plain and simple...If the High Power were fragile then it wouldn't have been in service to so many military forces for the past 6 decades.

[mete]

Still whining about MIM ? Already gone through it's development stage so the makers got over the stupid " every part should be MIM " and the bugs worked out of the manufacturing process .The new guns have few complaints .Every new product or process goes through the same thing.

[WIN1886]

Still whining about MIM ?

Nope , I didn't dig up this old thread ! I've put lots of rounds through my BHP !

[Auto5]

I've been trying to wear mine out since 1982. I'll let you know if anything breaks.

[PT-92]

Browning Hi Power reliability question ?

The title is nothing more than an outright blasphemous oxymoron ! The late great JMB would be most offended by the mere thought (his brainchild to be sure though he died prior to its official finalization).

Seriously though, it's regarded as one of the single greatest handguns of all-time and this may be the first time I've ever heard of someone questioning the gun's reliability--so I would let it go in one ear and out the other (and maybe wear your "wading boots" the next time you converse with this fellow if you know what I mean...).

That said, the younger P226 is arguably the best available in its class and for me to me it would be quite difficult to define a favorite (tantamount to which one of your kids do you prefer) but because I am a history buff I would take the Hi-Power. Amazing to me that a gun that was released in the 30's can still compete with the computer-generated engineering/designs of today (SIG P226 may have come right prior to the "computer age" as it was born in the mid-80's if I recall correctly).