Shooting the .40 High Power

[JonInWA]

NOW THAT IS SERIOUS PORN RIGHT THERE!

Yes sir Jon, YOU ARE KILLING ME!!

And Gunbroker's just a click away....enablers be us!

Best, Jon

[JonInWA]

Minor improvement to my High Power: Moderator and High Power aficionado extraordinaire Ken Reed over on the highpowercollectors.proboards.com forum recommends the use 3mm inner dimension X 6mm outer dimension X .5mm thick electronics red fiber washers to anchor the High Power's grips, finding that it's particularly effective for hard material grips (such as G10).

I ordered some 100 pieces from Amazon (the smallest amount possible) (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) which cost a massive $3.47-(and with free shipping!) which finally arrived from the Philippeans. They do work nicely; better than any of the rubber O rings I'd previously been using (the thin Challis ones were mangled by the screwing process, the hardware store thicker O-rings worked, but were too thick, allowing a bit of grip shifting to occur in use).

I like using grip washers on screw-secured grips to both anchor the screws and to buffer the grip/frame interface, especially with harder-material grips. For $3.47 it looks like I've got a lifetime supply...

Best, Jon

[Suvorov]

These are beautiful!!!

The first gun I ever purchased was a MKIII Highpower and over the years it has got a few friends.

So many guns......

So little time.......

[FNFAN]

Yesterday I had an excellent detailed discussion with Mark Allen, one of the principals of BH Spring Solutions LLC. Their High Power springs and components have received exceptional reviews from some very experienced High Power users, especially on 1911forum.com. https://forums.1911forum.com/showthr...ring+Solutions

I replaced my FN/Browning recoil spring with one of theirs, which according to Mark is rated at about 24 lbs (versus the 20 lb OEM factory). I also concurrently installed one of Buffer Technologies buffers, but I believe Buffer Technologies is going, or has already gone out of business; I got my buffer from DSA Arms. Fortunately the Buffer Technologies YouTube video is up regarding the orientation and installation of their buffer, as the included instructions are insufficiently specific, and there is a specific right installation orientation required.

BH SS feels very confident that their springs in general, and the .40 recoil spring in particular have a 5000k/5 year projected lifespan, which seems to be borne out in their testing and in actual user experience in the field. This is of particular interest to me with a .40, give the .40's pressure spiking characteristics.

BH Spring Solutions has come up with an extremely interesting buffering High Power recoil spring guide rod, which I plan on trying out. Their on-line video discussion and Q&A posted on their site is worth a view.

It'll be interesting to see how my High Power performs with the new spring and the buffer(s); I'll of course keep my results and thoughts posted.

Best, Jon

Great info and yes please keep us apprised on the High Power knowledge. I gave my .40 to my son as a Welcome Home gift for one of his deployments and after my Dad's passing my little brother got his T-series 9mm.

That gun was kind of special for me as I'd used it to discourage a gentleman from trying to follow a girl he was apparently assaulting in his vehicle from coming through the screen door into our house, when I was 13 or so -but it was a chess move to get the 3 1/2 M27 that was the under-seat-gun on our family vacations. My son has commented on the issues of trying to get the gun back together after cleanings.

[Pit]

I'm weak. I just picked up a 1993 40 S&W Browning Hi Power on Gunbroker. Now for some Craig Spegel grips, Heinie Ledge sights and a trigger job. Fortunately my Kramer and Garrity 9mm Hi Power holsters with misc. mag pouches work with the 40 mags. Oh ya, need to pick up some new mags. Weak.

JW

[JonInWA]

Great info and yes please keep us apprised on the High Power knowledge. I gave my .40 to my son as a Welcome Home gift for one of his deployments and after my Dad's passing my little brother got his T-series 9mm.

That gun was kind of special for me as I'd used it to discourage a gentleman from trying to follow a girl he was apparently assaulting in his vehicle from coming through the screen door into our house, when I was 13 or so -but it was a chess move to get the 3 1/2 M27 that was the under-seat-gun on our family vacations. My son has commented on the issues of trying to get the gun back together after cleanings.

Here's a good video of one of the best ways to install the 20-24 lb .40 recoil spring in a High Power: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...FB20&FORM=VIRE

I've also found that an overhand grasp of the RSA in my strong hand, and holding the slide in my support hand and inserting the free end of the spring first, and then levering the RSA into the barrel lug slot for the RSA works well. But regardless, it's still one of the more difficult RSA's to install, although eminently doable (especially with experience).

Best, Jon

[JonInWA]

I'm weak. I just picked up a 1993 40 S&W Browning Hi Power on Gunbroker. Now for some Craig Spegel grips, Heinie Ledge sights and a trigger job. Fortunately my Kramer and Garrity 9mm Hi Power holsters with misc. mag pouches work with the 40 mags. Oh ya, need to pick up some new mags. Weak.

JW

Good stuff, Pit. One of my favorite go-to IWB holsters for my High Power is Galco's horsehide Royal Guard; mine is one of their older ones, as the newer ones have a nice sweatshield incorporated.

An inexpensive, yet effective one is Tactical Tailor's OWB Low Profile Holster: https://www.tacticaltailor.com/lowprofileholster.aspx, iusable with or without the retention strap.

Best, Jon

[awp_101]

Put two mags through Dad's .40 BHP today. I didn't get bit near as bad as I was expecting and the pistol really does a nice job of soaking up the recoil. I'd forgotten just how nice a BHP is to shoot and I was pleasantly surprised to find the .40 feels as goods as the 9mm.

[JonInWA]

50 round functionality test today with the BH Spring Solutions 20-24 lb recoil spring and Buffer Technologies buffer. Sellier & Bellot 180 grain cartridges used; I had one odd failure to chamber on the last round in one of my factory OEM magazines (the other magazine used was a MecGar one). Subsequent use with the magazine was flawless, so I'll keep my eye on it, and will keep it relegated to range use only.

After the session, a couple of take-outs:

1. The .40 High Power is extremely accurate; I had no problems maintaining "down zeros" with both body and head shots;

2. The buffer seems to work, and was much easier to install and use the slide lock-back disassembly position after it was properly seated and melded in to the gun through some use.

Best, Jon

[Pit]

I've got a couple hundred round thru my 40 S&W Hi Power. I have been very impressed. It's an extremely flat shooting pistol. Much more so than any of the contemporary pistols in this caliber I have trained with. Quickly back on target. The pistol is extremely accurate and feeds HST hollow points without issue. Ejection is consistent. The OEM sights are ok. I'd prefer something a bit more like the Heinie sights on my old 1911.

If only the trigger had a felt reset. The trigger on mine is not bad. Slight creep at first then nice a clean with a crisp break. But it's still got the Hi Power trigger. Anyone have any experience with a modified trigger on a Hi Power done by Don Williams or Ted Yost? Supposed to make the trigger reset and over travel issue more manageable. Like to get some real world feed back on this.

Needs a set of Spegel grips. I took the big rubber Pachmayr's off as soon as I got it. Wearing Navidrex grips for now. May try some VZ's.

I'm glad I picked up a replacement 40 S&W Hi Power after I sold mine. These are classic pistols in their own right.

JW