ltwguns.com

Almost a year ago, I tried to by one of the FN Hi-Powers that CDNN had on special. I tried. I really, really tried. I went to my local gun pusher and told him what I wanted. For a small shop, this guy has a pretty amazing inventory. After I told him what I was looking for, he dug around in the safe behind the counter and produced a brand-new, in the box FN MkIII Hi-Power. He asked me what I planned on doing with it, and I told him that, eventually, I would send it off to be worked over.

"Ah...", he said. "Then you don't want this gun."

More than a bit confused, I replied, "I don't?"

"Nope. You want THIS Hi-Power."

With that, he once again reached into the safe and produced a late-model, gray Browning HP box. "Here, take a look at this. Ignore the box; it doesn't match the gun."

I opened the box and very suddenly agreed with him. I DIDN'T want a MkIII FN Hi-Power...not anymore. The box I opened held a T-series blued Belgian Hi-Power that had been tweaked just a bit. It still had the old, rowel hammer and red-interior checkered walnut grips. Thoughtfully, someone had removed the magazine disconnect, and the trigger was pretty darn good. What REALLY got my attention was that someone had installed a new set of sights. The front was a dovetailed Novak, and the rear was from a GI 1911, with the sight notch opened up. While the finish wasn't pristine, it was very, very good for a gun that was almost as old as I am.

When I had recovered the ability to form a coherent thought, I asked him how much he wanted for it, prepared for the worst. "I'll tell you what..." (I HATE it when gun dealers start a sentence like that...you can almost SEE the other shoe dropping) "I will sell you that old Browning for the same price as that CDNN Hi-Power, plus $50. We'll call that a 'finders fee'."

I can't swear to it, but I am SURE my credit card left a vapor trail from my wallet to the counter.

So, I was the owner of a T-series Belgian Hi-Power. ANOTHER T-series Belgian Hi-Power. It would seem that I had come around full circle. The first centerfire pistol I ever bought with my own money was a very used, beat up T-series over 20 years ago. I truly wish I still owned that old pistol.

After I got it home, I tore it down and took a good look at it, and it had a few small problems. Not big ones, just problems you would associate with a 30 year old pistol. First off, the slide to frame fit was pretty loose. No problem. I tightened up the fit both vertically and horizontally and lapped the slide to frame fit. This also helped the barrel fit.

As much as I like the LOOKS of the old rowel Browning hammer, they eat me alive when shooting. The hammer and the sear were replaced with Cylinder and Slide parts, and I replaced the small, stock safety with a recent vintage factor BHP safety, which I recontoured.

The next thing to address was the finish. There was some slight pitting on the front end of the slide, so I cleaned that up, draw filing with needle files under a magnifying glass. That was an interesting experience.

At that point, I had pretty much hit the wall on my own capabilities. I could have rust blued it, but I still wasn't happy with the sights and I wanted some type of non-slip front strap treatment. After doing some research, I decided to send it off to Novak for a little bit of work. Yo-Bo was my close-second-choice, but, at the time, they already had two of my pistols, and I wanted to spread the wealth around a bit.

Looking at Novak's website, I noticed that they had recently introduced a wide-notch rear sight. This rear sight, along with a Tritium front, was the package I was looking for. While they had it, I asked them to texture the front and rear of the grip and refinish it in a bead-blast blue. I debated upon having the top of the slide matted with French borders, but economics put a stop to that. My intent was to have a working gun that I could carry and shoot without worrying about a little holster wear. The gun currently wears Spegel Cocobolo grips, but I have a set of Spegel delrin grips for it as well. Anyway, this is the end result.

_________________
Wayne Miller

Yeah, he was right. You wanted THAT gun.
That's a humdinger.
I always like seeing a nice HiPower.

Nice pistol. Shoulda sent it to YoBo. We need to get together and do some shootin.

_________________
"Semper Fi"

Maybe so, but it's not like it's the last one I'll ever have done.... As it is, I think this is the first time in three years that at least ONE of my guns hasn't been there.... I guess I could send them my Delta Elite for bluing just to keep my place in line......

_________________
Wayne Miller

Mossy, that gun is gorgeous. I actually had to steal a pic of it ( credited, of course ) to show a buddy of mine how his VERY bitey rowel hammer needs to be trimmed. EXCELLENT pics of a BEAUTIFUL gun.

_________________
I wanted to breathe smoke.....

Glad to be of service. If there are any royalties to be made, let me know and I will give you my Pay Pal account.....

_________________
Wayne Miller

Wayne - haven't seen you around since before the war up in camp casey at the 2ID warfighter. With the Cylinder and Slide internals, did you do anything else to the trigger?? I have a similar set-up. I'm trying to get improvement on the trigger. Just can't get past that loooong pull.
Jim Patterson

Hi Jim! I was wondering what happened to you. Last I heard you were on your way to the Sand Box. Glad to see you in one piece!

The Cylinder and Slide internals needed a little massaging. While they "dropped in", the hammer/sear engagement left a lot to be desired. Since I didn't have a Hi_power sear jig, I asked Novak to clean it up a bit, and it turned out pretty well. I suppose I could get a lighter trigger pull with a weaker mainspring, but running 10mm 1911s has made me a believer in full-power mainsprings to slow down rearward slide travel.

Oh, and if you are used to the short trigger pull and short reset of a 1911, the trigger and reset on a Hi-Power takes some getting used to. I have to really concentrate on the trigger reset on a Hi-Power, but with a 1911 or a Glock, it is second nature. I guess all it takes is more trigger time. Darn!

_________________
Wayne Miller

RGR Wayne - that's my issue with the gun. I'll see if the builder can clean it up a bit. That trigger pull is real hinky after the 1911.

BTW, left Korea and went back to Bragg. Ended up doing 7 trips and 6 rotations to Iaq - made Korea not look so bad......

You out yet?

Yup. I hung up the green suit two years ago this January and came back to the same desk, same computer and same password four months later as a DoD civilian. All retirement meant for me was that I had to go out and get a real job! (Well, giving your ex-wife a chunk of your retirement doesn't help either...)

_________________
Wayne Miller

I am the guy desertmoon is referring to about stealing your pics. I really appreciate you "blazing a path" for me, so to speak, in this job. I have an 81 Belgian that sports the huge adjustable sights and some C&S hardware.

Hopegully, a week from now, this will be on the way to Novak for a set of nightsights, and who-knows-where afterwards.

Thank you again for pointing me in a direction.

Glad to be of assistance. When you get the sights, make sure you get the wide notch rear. It makes a huge difference in getting a quick sight picture.

_________________
Wayne Miller

Just a thought before sending the HiPower off to Novak. I have owned a few Novak HiPowers in the past. While they were very nice pistols, they pale in comparison to my Yost SRT HiPower. I also have the trigger reset/takeup reduction on my pistol. This makes for an easy transition between the HiPower, 1911 or Glock. I would guess the trigger pull weight to be around 4.5# and very crips, while keeping the stock mainspring in place.

_________________
"Semper Fi"

Sea soldier - thanks for the information. I tried to get Ted and the gang to do up the trigger for me as he built me a GSP years ago that is terrific, but they didn't want to work on a gun that someone else had worked on. No worries; I'll find someone to do it.

Wayne - hang in there bubba - keep in touch.

Jim Patterson

You can add that one to your list of lifes good choices. If the urge to have it chromed ever hits you, hit yourself with the gun until the thought leaves your head. It can happen to the best of us. Then you have to start all over again.

I will send my next Hi Power to Yost for some new flavor. I am happy with my Novak Hi Power though, it just came back from a tune up and some things I wanted changed. This one was originaly built about 12 years ago from Kurt Wickman when he was still at Novaks. My two main carry guns are this Hi Power and a full custom Novak Colt NRM commander.

Nice Hi-Power! That hammer, however, leaves me bleeding all over the gun. I had one in a Hi-Power Practical a couple of years ago. I loved the way it looked, but it only lasted one range session before getting swapped out. I've shot enough GI 1911s that I don't NEED any more scar tissue on the web of my hand!

_________________
Wayne Miller

Well, my first time out I bleed to. I actully sent Novaks an e mail telling them to send me my old hammer to swap out. I liked the way it looked, just never shot with it before. It will be changed, I also will be sending this hi power to Ted for his thumb safety, a friend has his HP and Teds safety is nice as all hell.