[DogBonz]

I almost bought a BHP last night. I ran into my local gun shop for some ammo to shoot this weekend, and low and behold there was a beautiful, actually the most beautiful Hipower that I have ever seen in the case, but it was a 40S&W, not a 9mm, so I passed… But I have been thinking about it all last night and all day to day.

So… My question is: How well do the Bar-Sto conversion barrels work?

Do any of you guys have any experience with these, good or bad? I don’t like the 40S&W. If you do, its just my personal feelings, it’s a good cartridge, I just don’t like it.

Thanks for the help,

Fred

[steveracer]

PASS on the .40 BHP. Find a 9mm version for almost exactly the same money, save yourself the $400 for a 9mm Bar-Sto barrel fitted ($200 part and $200 labr) and spend it on a nice custom holster and ten magazines.
The .40 BHP is heavier and thicker. Enough that it bugs me. The .40 BHP is a great and wonderful handgun, but there are better platforms for .40 Cal. There isn't a better platform for 9mm than the HiPower.
I have shot and handled a .40 HP converted to 9mm, and although it's VERY tough, reliable, and easy on the shooter, it isn't the elegant work of art that the 9mm original is.
That HiPower might have been pretty, but unless you MUST have a .40 single action, pass.

[MrDig]

I don't believe you can interchange calibers with BHP's like you can some other designs. Buying a .40 S&W to change to a 9mm you might get stuck with a .40 S&W. I know Steven Camp, I think it was Steven, specificaly corrected me that you could not put a .40 S&W Bbl into a 9mm BHP. The .40's have different internal dimmensions than the 9's and make caliber conversions impossible.

[DogBonz]

I don't believe you can interchange calibers with BHP's like you can some other designs

But Bar-Sto makes a conversion barrel that will make a 40 BHP into a 9mm BHP. You cannot use that 9mm barrel in a 9mm pistol though, as they are different.

Steveracer-

Thanks for the heads up.

[leper65]

EFK Fire Dragon makes a barrel to convert a .40 to a 9mm. Barsto didn't have one listed last time I looked, which was a few weeks ago. The standard barrels for the .40 have 3 lugs while the 9mm barrels have 2 lugs, that's the main reason you can't drop a 40 into a 9. The EFK 9mm's have the 3 lugs...they also have a .357 Sig barrrel for the .40

$149.99

https://www.efkfiredragon.com/products.php?cat=46

[DogBonz]

look on bar sto's website, they have one now, but I looked Tuesday night, so it might be new.

[hagar]

The P35 was designed to be a 9mm. The 40 feels horrible, the whole balance is off.

[browningguy]

I've got several BHP's, a Practical in .40, two MKIII's in .40, and 2 in 9mm, plus a EFK .40 to 9mm conversion barrel. The .40's are a few 10,000's on an inch wider than the 9mm's. I don't have the exact numbers with me but a while back measured all of mine for another discussion on how different the guns really were. To me there is no practical difference, I like the way both models shoot. They are just enough different that for a really tight fitting kydex holster for a 9mm you need to make adjustments for the .40. A couple of manufacurers have a specific mould for the .40 also, my leather holsters fit either model just fine.

As for the EFK conversion barrel, it works fine in one gun, ok in another although it doesn't feel all that smooth, and not well at all in the third. The problem really seems to be with choosing the right recoil spring.

[Whiteymin]

I would say go ahead and get it. You know the conversion barrel is available at at least 2 sources and you stated how much you liked its looks. I know that looks is negligible in handgun buying but lets be honest, we all make our decisions with it in mind since with all the variety, we do get to choose. You loved the looks like none other you've seen, the conversion barrel is available. And with the 40, you actually get more of a choice in caliber as you can drop in the conversion barrels to it but not it to another. I also think that the dimension difference is a moot thing. I would like the fact that I knew the gun was a little more stout if I wanted to shoot hotter ammo 9mm in it and for its longterm durability if I plan to keep it. I don't think you would notice any size difference unless you had the 9mm version to set and compare it to. And last, if you wanted another caliber as mentioned above, the 357 sig may be available to drop in also. What more flexibility could you ask for and in a classic desingned gun to last? Get it.

[Ghost Tracker]

I have several, all Brownings. The 9mm is slick & sweet but DON'T feed it a steady diet of +P ammo because it only has two locking lugs. With standard 9mm ammo it's the best handling, best feeling, best fitting (for me) handgun in the world.

The .40 S&W is slightly heavier, slide is slightly thicker, balance isn't quite as (subjectively) "perfect". Mag capacity is limited to 10 rounds. I have a KKM .357 sig barrel fitted for mine (just because I wanted to) and am very fond of shooting it in both calibers. Its snappier recoil is felt but not at all painful. You should NOT drop a 9mm barrel into a .40 S&W slide. The real BHP experts (Yost, Cylinder & Slide, Novak) say the way to do it (if you must) is to have a complete 9mm slide & barrel fitted to your .40 S&W frame. Regular 9mm mags will work just fine.

Traditionally, factory safeties are vague & small, factory trigger-pulls are long & gritty. But it's single action so there's hope. I've had the matched, forged hammer & sear from C&S, along with their wide "target" trigger, ambi thumb safety & "reduced effort" transfer bar all pro-fitted. It's now a fine shooter but (honestly) cost too MUCH money to get that way, but that's what I wanted to have. Get a 9mm if your heart is set on it. Spend a bit to smooth the trigger & get a bigger safety fitted. You'll not ever wish you hadn't, but you WILL wish you had!

[mbott]

The P35 was designed to be a 9mm. The 40 feels horrible, the whole balance is off.

I own both and I don't believe that there is that much difference between the two. I can understand how a purist would prefer the 9mm, but the .40 feels just as nice in my hands ... and it shoots very well, too.

--
Mike

[Marshall]

I have both and like both.

I too don't think there's that much difference. It's a great platform for the 40S&W and it's made to handle it. Having said that, I prefer the HP in 9mm. :)

However, I did buy a 40S&W Hi Power, and am glad I did. So, I can't say don't buy one. If you like the gun go for it. You'll want a 9mm in it as well someday and you'll have a built in excuse to buy another one. ;)

[browningguy]

.887" vs. .925", measured at the start of the full width slide. That's .038" difference.

The difference is greater at the rear of the slide, .074".
That's a 1981 vintage 9mm, and a 1995 vintage MkIII .40 cal.

So it's more than I was thinking at work this morning, but still not a lot.

[nathan]

I would say find a FN herstal SFS in 9 mm . They are hard to find nowadays.