Custom Browning Hi-Power by Wickmann - Page 2

Walt Sherrill · September 8, 2013, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattShlock

Indeed: it took ol' John Moses another 24 years to do it better.

Except the gun that Browning origially designed and the P-35 were quite different, and he had been dead for 11 years when the gun was finally produced.

The final design was probably as much the work of Dieudonné Saive as JMB; Saive scrapped the striker mechanism, added the hammer, the double-stack magazine, thumb safetym and the mag disconnect. (I wish he had left THAT last part off...)

This is a great link from HERE on TFL about the history and development of the BHP. WVSig provides a good bit of the information. I've made this link a FAVORITE.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=492206

.

g.willikers · September 8, 2013, 06:21 PM

Well, whoever designed it, if it's good enough for Robert Parker's "Spencer" character, it's good enough.
For those who haven't had the opportunity to try one, just handling one, after holding any of the modern striker wonder nines, should explain it.

Bartholomew Roberts · September 8, 2013, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jglsprings

Bart - May I call you Bart?

Sure. I'll even respond to less polite names than that on occasion

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharpsDressedMan

Whatever happened to Kurt? He has disappeared for years.

He is still disappeared. Around 2001-2002, he stopped returning calls, email, etc. and as I remember from Internet talk at the time, customer's guns. I am not sure how that was resolved but he left the gunsmithing business around that time and never came back.

JohnO · September 8, 2013, 10:24 PM

I had Kurt build up my HP, I believe in 2001. It really too bad he isn't still around offering his talents. He did great work. Mine also resides in a Sparks VM2. Just had Trijicon replace the tritium vials in my Novaks sights. Should be good for another 10+years. Hopefully, so will my eyes.

Pilot · September 9, 2013, 06:32 AM

Quote:

The final design was probably as much the work of Dieudonné Saive as JMB; Saive scrapped the striker mechanism, added the hammer, the double-stack magazine, thumb safety and the mag disconnect. (I wish he had left THAT last part off...)

I wish he had left out the mag disconnect as well, but the GP-35 was a contract pistol, and he designed the gun for whatever the French specified.

The mag disconnect is pretty easily removed, but my BHP still has it in tact.

Bartholomew Roberts · December 20, 2014, 01:58 PM

Well, at around 31,200 rounds, snapped the claw clean off the extractor. This tended to reliably produce stoppages that required disassembly to clear

Hunter Customs · December 21, 2014, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Well, at around 31,200 rounds, snapped the claw clean off the extractor. This tended to reliably produce stoppages that required disassembly to clear

As I was reading this I was thinking to myself that you better be prepared for the extractor to give up the ghost, after reading the above I see it did.

I can't speak for NP3 as I never had any custom guns I built finished with NP3.
However I've had a lot of my custom guns finished with a hardchrome finish, I learned from experience to never have the extractors hardchromed.

As for your KKM barrel shearing the lower lug, I would be willing to bet the barrel was not timed correctly.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

pylonguy · December 21, 2014, 01:01 PM

Quite a beautiful BHP.

I got a stock Blued MKIII that I have been debating what to do/who to send it to. Been looking at the work Novak and C&S do both looks great but I am going to take it on a few more trips to the range stock first.

This seems like a good place to ask, My BHP front sight is part of the slide. Molded on to the slide? I dont know what to call it. And it looks like the rear sight is slide on (dovetail?) which shouldnt be an issue. I guess my question is how difficult/expensive is it to mill out dovetail for the front sight, because the stock combat iron sights arent ideal for target practice.

WVsig · December 21, 2014, 01:19 PM

Most MKIIIs should be dovetailed. The MKIIs are part of the slide.

Are you sure you have a MKIII?

Pics and we can tell you.

pylonguy · December 21, 2014, 02:26 PM

Original post about my BHP

I will attach some close ups of the sights as well.

pylonguy · December 21, 2014, 02:27 PM

WVsig · December 21, 2014, 02:30 PM

Lets move this to another thread so we don't take aways from the beautiful Wickman gun owned by the OP.

September 8, 2013, 06:21 PM	#27
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	Well, whoever designed it, if it's good enough for Robert Parker's "Spencer" character, it's good enough. For those who haven't had the opportunity to try one, just handling one, after holding any of the modern striker wonder nines, should explain it. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

December 21, 2014, 01:19 PM	#34
WVsig Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2010 Location: NC Posts: 5,309	Most MKIIIs should be dovetailed. The MKIIs are part of the slide. Are you sure you have a MKIII? Pics and we can tell you. __________________ -The right to be left alone is the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by free people.-Louis Brandeis -Its a tool box... I don't care you put the tools in for the job that's all... -Sam from Ronin -It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle

December 21, 2014, 02:30 PM	#37
WVsig Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2010 Location: NC Posts: 5,309	Lets move this to another thread so we don't take aways from the beautiful Wickman gun owned by the OP. __________________ -The right to be left alone is the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by free people.-Louis Brandeis -Its a tool box... I don't care you put the tools in for the job that's all... -Sam from Ronin -It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. -Aristotle

September 8, 2013, 10:24 PM	#29
JohnO Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2000 Posts: 502	I had Kurt build up my HP, I believe in 2001. It really too bad he isn't still around offering his talents. He did great work. Mine also resides in a Sparks VM2. Just had Trijicon replace the tritium vials in my Novaks sights. Should be good for another 10+years. Hopefully, so will my eyes.

December 20, 2014, 01:58 PM	#31
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	Well, at around 31,200 rounds, snapped the claw clean off the extractor. This tended to reliably produce stoppages that required disassembly to clear

December 21, 2014, 01:01 PM	#33
pylonguy Member Join Date: February 16, 2014 Posts: 62	Quite a beautiful BHP. I got a stock Blued MKIII that I have been debating what to do/who to send it to. Been looking at the work Novak and C&S do both looks great but I am going to take it on a few more trips to the range stock first. This seems like a good place to ask, My BHP front sight is part of the slide. Molded on to the slide? I dont know what to call it. And it looks like the rear sight is slide on (dovetail?) which shouldnt be an issue. I guess my question is how difficult/expensive is it to mill out dovetail for the front sight, because the stock combat iron sights arent ideal for target practice.

December 21, 2014, 02:26 PM	#35
pylonguy Member Join Date: February 16, 2014 Posts: 62	Original post about my BHP I will attach some close ups of the sights as well.