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Thread: Shooting the .40 High Power

  1. #11
    Jon;

    In another thread (about Beretta failures) you mentioned that BHP barrels will only last 10k to 15k rounds, and that the guns themselves will go 35k to 40k rounds before needing retirement. What part of the barrel fails or wears out? What happens to the guns to make them unserviceable?

  2. #12
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    Ben’s Loan, Marty Hayes, and the Firearms Academy of Seattle - in Centralia. Great trip down memory lane!

  3. #13
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Excellent summary of shooting the .40 Hi-Power (at least, the Browning version that I used to own). Mine was fitted with LPA sights and a Bar-Sto barrel; it disproved the myth that .40 S&W could not be accurate. It definitely is a classic design. I enjoyed shooting it for what it was, but high round counts were not possible for me. I found the recoil impulse with full-power .40 S&W loads to be a bit much for my wrists. I ended up selling it to a friend who is a Browning collector.

  4. #14
    Member JonInWA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john c View Post
    Jon;

    In another thread (about Beretta failures) you mentioned that BHP barrels will only last 10k to 15k rounds, and that the guns themselves will go 35k to 40k rounds before needing retirement. What part of the barrel fails or wears out? What happens to the guns to make them unserviceable?
    The best answer that I found for this is out of Stephen Camp's Hipowersandhandguns.com site; unfortunately, Stephen passed away several years ago only several years after his retirement; his wife has been maintaining his site, which, along with his books are excellent. (in my opinion, his book, "the Shooters Guide to the Browning Hi Power" is THE book to have on owning and shooting a High Power).

    I've followed (and echoed) the conventional thought on High Power forecasted lifespans (12K-15K barrel, 35K-30K on the basic platform). Regarding the barrels, I doubt that they break, but accuracy my decrease due to rifling wear, or the 2 piece barrel may loosen compromising overall barrel integrity-but frankly, I don't know first-hand, as none of mine have reached those round counts. Here's Stephens' thoughts:

    https://hipowersandhandguns.com/Hi%2...0Longevity.htm

    Best, Jon
    Last edited by JonInWA; 06-08-2019 at 07:53 AM.

  5. #15
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    Beautiful pistols - they always "bit" me with hammer bite. I remember the pre STI/SVI 2011 days of USPSA when we were looking for higher capacity and we tried to race the BHPs - they did not last long in high volume shooting.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by entropy View Post
    The BHP in one word: Svelt
    .
    The next two words: Hammer Bite!
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  7. #17
    Member JonInWA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sparkyv View Post
    The next two words: Hammer Bite!
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    Hammer bite with High Powers is a real problem for some, but there are several fixes.

    Stephen Camp determined that there are 3 types of hammer bite: 1) when the web of your hand is smacked by the rear of the hammer spur or the bottom rear of the OEM ring hammer; 2) when the web of the hand is pinched between the receiver tang and the hammer shank; 3) by both 1) and 2) combined...

    With an OEM spur hammer, a solution is to slightly bob the hammer spur; he recommends removing metal to the second lateral serration on the spur tip, and then smoothing/reshaping. Alternatively, Cylinder & Slide offers several ring-style hammers, on the one similar to the FN OEM ring but designed specifically to alleviate hammer bite, the ring is smaller than the OEM one and chamfered; going with their part he felt concurrently necessitates using their sear and a trigger/action job-they have several hammer options and hammer/spring/sear sets.

    On forged models, the points on the receiver tang itself can be pretty sharp, but the post-1993 cast frames pretty much eliminate this by being intrinsically more rounded and less protrusive.

    I'm lucky; I'm not afflicted by hammer bite or receiver bite, so I've been able to leave well enough alone in this aspect. But for others, it can be a real problem.

    Best, Jon
    Last edited by JonInWA; 06-08-2019 at 12:57 PM.

  8. #18
    Member JonInWA's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ranger View Post
    Beautiful pistols - they always "bit" me with hammer bite. I remember the pre STI/SVI 2011 days of USPSA when we were looking for higher capacity and we tried to race the BHPs - they did not last long in high volume shooting.
    Ranger, I've heard anecdotally the same-that High Powers simply don't stand the gaff well when run hard and continuously in USPSA, etc. If you remember, can you elaborate on the issues you ran into with them in your efforts?

    Another question I'd have is "Were they 2-lug or 3-lug models? (and were they 9mm or .40 models)?" One upgrade that I've heard touted is getting a 3-lug .40, and getting a Bar-Sto 9mm conversion 3-lug barrel fitted; also running a Buffer-Tech buffer might be of use in terms of heavy use longevity.

    The reality is that a High Power is smaller and lighter than a 1911, so without that mass inevitably longevity/durability can suffer/be constrained. I think the .40's heavier slide and stronger recoil spring favorably mitigate regarding this, but that's supposition on my part, as empirically the highest round count on any of mine has only been around 10K.

    Interestingly, HK seems to have effectively dealt with the longevity issues with .40 and similar cartridges on their P30 and VP40 models, the former by using a somewhat internally strengthened slide and a RSA incorporating a polymer buffer, the latter by going with a much heavier slide and a flatwire spring RSA. FN on the .40 Hgh Power went with the heavier slide, heavier recoil spring, and more thoroughly heat-treated components, as well as abbreviating the rear slide rails somewhat on the receivers, reducing stressers on that area.

    Best, Jon
    Last edited by JonInWA; 06-08-2019 at 12:51 PM.

  9. #19
    Member JonInWA's Avatar
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    Another thing that I've concluded is that I simply don't trust Wolff replacement 20 lb springs for the .40; in my experience they seem light, and may not hold their strength for long; that may have been a factor in the issues I had with my first one. These days I use the 20 lb OEM replacement recoil springs from Browning, and I've also heard excellent reports about BH Spring Solutions LLC, at https://bhspringsolutions.com/

    Stephen Camp recommends replacing recoil springs every 1,000-1,200 round interval; that sounds about right to me. He felt that an early, conservative replacement interval is inexpensive insurance, and the springs are cheap, and replacement is easy.

    As an additional precaution, I just ordered a Buffer Technologies buffer, arguably a belt-and-suspenders approach, but Stephen Camp was pretty high on his praise for them, so I figure I'll give them a try.
    https://www.dsarms.com/p-12084-buffe...il-buffer.aspx

    Best, Jon
    Last edited by JonInWA; 06-08-2019 at 01:49 PM.

  10. #20
    Ready! Fire! Aim! awp_101's Avatar
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    Dad has one of these (along with my 9mm MkIII with factory SFS but that's another story) but I don't think I've ever fired it. I might have to see if I can "borrow" it when I see him later today to rectify that...
    Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain

    Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

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