hi power trigger sucks

Mag safety removal is the easiest do it yourself fix.

yes, remove the mag disconnect.

anything beyond that and you are getting into new parts and much more money.

I love hi powers, but I don't care for their triggers.

This gun has a magazine disconnect and I'm guessing that hurting the trigger. Can this be improved or should it be removed.

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The disconnect usually gets the blame for a gritty trigger. A good gunsmith who knows his way around an HP can clean it up while leaving the disconnect in place.

Should it be removed? That's a loaded question. Some gun clubs consider that an alteration/removal of a safety device and won't let you compete if the disconnect is removed. Some say you put yourself in some legal jeopardy if you pull out a "safety" device. More often HP owners just pull the disconnect and enjoy a better trigger. You might have to replace the trigger spring to improve the reset.

Any common problems that cause the grittyness in the trigger?

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Most luck. Some are just fine out of the box. Some aren't. Sometimes you can help things by polishing the shoe of the disconnect and maybe the magazine.

Some reading for you: The Browning Hi Power and the Magazine "Safety" http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/MagazineSafety.htm

There are several other articles you may want to look at if you are new to Hi Powers. http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/HiPowerComments.html

Safe shooting.

Here you go gentlemen. The late Steve Camp's Hi-Power site.


http://texaschlforum.com/viewforum.php?f=104

Hi-powers today remind me of 1911's back in the day: a gun you bought, then had to dump half that again into making it what you want: triggers, sights, grips, etc. You can do your own trigger work on the sear, but it's not for the average hobbist. You should be able to remove the mag disconnect yourself though. it's not eh greatest video ever, but I found it fast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdApLdz8EGA

Removing the mag safety on my Hi Power turned it from the worst, nails-on-a-chalkboard trigger to one of the best, smooth-as-butter-but-with-clean-break triggers.

You can also go here as a resource...

http://hipowertalk.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=6

and here as well...

http://forums.1911forum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15

tipoc

Hi-powers today remind me of 1911's back in the day: a gun you bought, then had to dump half that again into making it what you want: triggers, sights, grips, etc.

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Back in the day??? Perhaps your perfectly fine with the less than mediocre sights, triggers, etc. that come on a whole slew of modern guns. (Glock, M&P, XD, etc. etc)

I don't think the new ones are all that different from the old ones - some come with very usable triggers and some desperately need some heavy duty "grit removal" work. As others have said the mag safety doesn't really add that much to the pull weight but generally the pull will be better if the mag safety is removed. Most of the grit you feel is from all of the linkage parts between the trigger and the sear. Some careful deburring will remove that (especially the trigger bar riding in the slide). In a 1911 the trigger is almost directly connected to the disco/sear - in a HP the linkage goes up into the slide and back down to the frame. More moving parts and more friction and more angles.

Removing the mag safety does wonders.
Following the 245 (which indicates that it is a High Power) there will be a 2 letter date code for the year of manufacture.
Z = 1

Y = 2

X = 3

W= 4

V = 5

T = 6

R = 7

P = 8

N= 9

M= 0

Yes, Browning Hi Power triggers are hit, and miss, but removing the mag safety does help a lot. My 1994 stock MK III BHP has a very nice trigger, so I never removed the mag disconnect, nor have done any trigger work. I may replace the 32 lb hammer spring with a 26 or 28 lb spring to lighten it a bit.

on my mkiii hi power removing the mag saftey didnt help alot.
what did make a tremendous diffrence was Cylinder and Slides trigger pull kit.
new sear,hammer and 22lb mainspring, 18.5 recoil spring and buffer.

i stoned the sear with a relief cut and softened the sear spring. i a 4.5lb very crisp trigger now.

i have around 10,000 rounds with this set up and no malfunctions, no signs of wear

I had a T series Hi-Power that had one of the worst triggers I have ever encountered. Had to guess at the pull weight because the gauge we were using only went up to 12 pounds. That coupled with the tiny sights and near impossible to use thumb safety made for a less than joyful shooting experience. When I bought my Mk.II Hi-Power what a huge difference.

I believe in 1994 Browning produced a standard, deep blue finish on most of their guns, but they also offered a factory hard chrome, a two tone Practical, and if memory serves, a matte black.

Guess I was lucky in 1974. New, beautiful and a real nice trigger. I was offered the pre-glock version of a brick: &W auto or the P35. No contest.
Stupidly sold it years later, got a CZ75 as an 'updated' version later.

Some are good while others are bad to awful. A good gunsmith can clean up the rough spots without removing the mag. disconnect.

Before going to the trouble of removing the magazine safety, I suggest just polishing the front of the magazine where the safety bears, then putting on a tad of grease.

Jim

My experience is much along with what Jim says, also some Hi-Power's with "flat" finishes were made to military specification when extra-hot NATO sub-machinegun ammunition was used. To keep the slide dwell time within reason an extra-heavy hammer/mainspring was installed. (The spring pushes on the hammer, which pushes on the slide, and acts like a brake during the start of the slide's rearward travel). Anyway a lighter hammer spring in these pistols will work wonders for the trigger pull if only conventional U.S. pistol ammunition is used.

My 94 has a (I don't know what its officially called) a black epoxy type finish with fixed sights

I wouldn't say its "flat". Maaaaybe "matte". In the home paint world Id say its between an egg shell and semi gloss finish

Like the pics in the 2nd post here. http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.html?b=5&f=39&t=4799&page=18

The flat black from that time period was an epoxy coating. Very durable finish. I happen to have a Practical (epoxy slide, hard chrome frame) from that same year.
Being from 94 it will be a MKIII with a cast frame.

My Mark II has the flat black epoxy finish and while it certainly won't win any beauty contests, it has held up very well with a great deal of normal use.

That polishing/grease suggestion from Jim K is good advice, as usual.

Springs are another option.

The Cylinder & Slide kit is neat but expensive. They make high-quality parts, however.

I have had a few BHPs and prefer the Mark III black matte finish with the dovetailed white dot sights (actually small rectangles, not dots). The extended safety is a real plus.

BHPs are CLASSY handguns, just like a 1911, IMHO. Great choice!