Making a competition P-35

[Edwin]

I'm going to state right off the bat that I have an irrational love for the P-35. My grandfather gave me his old T-series about a year ago and I've been using it in IDPA and USPSA. Over the course of the past year or so, I've noticed some things that should be changed on the Hi Power to take it to the next level much like the 1911 evolved into the a1 and then to the 2011. Things like the lack of a magwell that hinders reloads, a longer slide for longer sight radius, tuned timing of the springs to flatten the recoil, lighter slide for faster cycling, 140mm long magazines to put it on par with others in the Limited division, etc.

So earlier this week I was searching about magwells on Hi Powers and then noticed someone is kind of doing something like this. A person named Chuck Warner is making new frames and slides based on the P-35 platform, but with updates to bring it into the modern era.

For some time now we have been adding HP parts as fast as I can get them designed and manufactured.
Having almost all of the major small parts designed and built, the natural progression would be to build a complete gun.
Using feed back from many years of working on these, and customer preference, our goal was not to copy the HP, but improve it as much as possible.
With that in mind, We decided to build some test guns utilizing all of our new parts. These particular guns are 7075 billet frames with SS slides. The slides are .40 spec for durability, but these particular guns will be 9mm. We will not be building any more of these lightweights for the foreseeable future.
Ill try my best to keep updating this with progress shots ...









CW

Am I crazy for thinking about this? Should I just go with a proven and existing platform rather than drag an 80 year old platform into the present?

[Archimagirus]

The snarky side of me wants to say CZ Custom already did that for you, but I understand the desire at play here. I wanted a .357sig 1911 so bad I could taste it at one point. If you've got the money and the desire, I say go for it. They are fun guns to shoot as long as you have one that doesn't bite.

[LittleLebowski]

I think this is pretty cool but wouldn't invest in it myself.

[JTQ]

I think a Chuck Warner built Hi-Power would be great. He is a known and respected 1911 gunsmith and i'm sure he'd make a fantastic Hi-Power. If I had a bunch of extra cash burning a hole in my pocket I'd get one.

However, I've got small hands and the Hi-Power is well suited to my size. Aren't you the guy that has giant hands and is looking for something with a bigger grip than a Beretta 92 or standard G21? Regardless of how custom the Hi-Power is, chances are it is still going to be a relatively slim, sleek, double stack 9MM and not a gun with a huge grip like a Desert Eagle or HK MK23.

[Chris Rhines]

I love P-35s too. But if you want to compete and win, go with something with an established track record. Don't try to ice skate uphill.

[45dotACP]

My P35 is awesome, but to have to run a 13-15 shot 9mm against guys with 2011s in Limited...well you will have a nice gun, but you won't be very competitive if winning is the goal.

But I always saw competition as a personal journey anyways so I say rock on

[nwhpfan]

I think you'll end up spending a bunch of money on something really neat... If you want to compete to win; there are better choices. If you want to compete for fun (headache free) there are better choices. If you get your enjoyment out of making a really cool BHP; don't care how much it costs or where you end up on the score sheet, go for it.

Notice my name...I love the HP. But the only one I own sits in the safe.

[Edwin]

I think a Chuck Warner built Hi-Power would be great. He is a known and respected 1911 gunsmith and i'm sure he'd make a fantastic Hi-Power. If I had a bunch of extra cash burning a hole in my pocket I'd get one.

However, I've got small hands and the Hi-Power is well suited to my size. Aren't you the guy that has giant hands and is looking for something with a bigger grip than a Beretta 92 or standard G21? Regardless of how custom the Hi-Power is, chances are it is still going to be a relatively slim, sleek, double stack 9MM and not a gun with a huge grip like a Desert Eagle or HK MK23.

Yeah, that's me. =\

My P35 is awesome, but to have to run a 13-15 shot 9mm against guys with 2011s in Limited...well you will have a nice gun, but you won't be very competitive if winning is the goal.

But I always saw competition as a personal journey anyways so I say rock on

The mag length would have to be something to be addressed and Chuck Warner is talking about making a 140mm length magazine. Right now I'm using the 15 round Mecgar mags with aht Pearce +2 extension.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I love Hi Powers but I do think the advice you've been given is good from a "today" standpoint. Another thing is that the T series is very desirable and has a mystery cachet around it (supposedly many of them went to the CIA during the Cold War), so I'd be very reluctant to modify one of those.

[Haraise]

The mag length would have to be something to be addressed and Chuck Warner is talking about making a 140mm length magazine. Right now I'm using the 15 round Mecgar mags with aht Pearce +2 extension.

I've been following Warner's Hi Power changes for a while, and he's definitely got some good direction if you talk to him on the phone... not so much his website.

Regardless of 140mm or not, the Hi Power stack has too many issues to compete with. You can't load long. You can't get many rounds of .40. Same reason the CZ75 doesn't do well in limited, it has a slim mag that .40 doesn't stack well in... which is why CZ came up with the TS, a thicker frame and mag. Until that's done, it's ice skating uphill.

The Hi Power as a carry gun? Awesome. Even I have to admit it has some ergonomic features over the CZ75. Not many, but still... even if it can't touch a CZ Custom trigger.