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I have been sitting on a brand new HP MKIII for several years now and would like to send it off for a full house treatment. The other day I took it out of its box for inspection. When I purchased the gun, I noticed that it was particularly loose. However, upon inspection this time, I noticed that there was considerable forward play. That is to say, in addtion to the side-to-side play, the slide moves back and forth a bit. Is this normal, or do I have something to worry about? This brings up another issue with the bhp that I would like to see resolved here. When I spend the kind of money that "real customs" command these days, I don't like for them to make noise when I'm not pulling the trigger. I am referring to the sloppy fit of the frame and slide on the bhp. There seems to be some disagreement as to whether the slide can be tightened and lapped on these pistols. I'm inclined to say that it could be done simply because all of the custom bhps that were built by Kim Ahrends (who no longer is building guns, by the way) were tight as a drum, if you will. I am aware that most smiths believe that slide-to-frame has little to do with accuracy, but this quirk of mine has nothing to do with some sort on insatiable desire for surgical accuracy. I would like to hear what Ted and Don think. Don, by the way, how about more pictures of the hp you recently posted. We only got to see the front strap.

Thank you,
J. Padilla

JPAD, Sure, it's possible to tighten the slide on a HP. Earlier models (mostly MK I's) had a reputation for being a bit softer than, for instance, a 1911, and the consensus was that they wouldn't stay tight for long, but I've not found that to be true, especially on the newer guns.
It is not normal for the slide on the HP to move fore and aft when in battery. The position of the slide is controlled by the slide stop engaging the loop in the slide stop, which sits in the foremost lug on the barrel. If yours has some fore and aft movement, There are a number of possibilities, but I haven't seen any on a factory gun. Most likely cause would be the barrel being mis-cut from the factory. I think it unlikely that the slide or frame would be off enough to cause this, but anything is possible I guess. Sorry I couldn't help more, but I'd have to do some measuring and comparing to find the problem. Regards,

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Don Williams
http://www.theactionworks.com
http://www.ltwguns.com