Nazi Hi Power With A Safety Issue

Looks like you need a new sear and hammer, and possibly some other internals. Nice thing is that these parts are available, but recognize that almost nothing on the HP is "drop in" so you are going to need some fitting. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself there are a number of experienced HP smiths out there like Don Williams, Chuck Warner, Jim Garthwaite, and others.

I'd probably order a new sear and try and just fit it, if it's necessary to replace the hammer I'd get another sear when fitting the second hammer.

You might be able to gently wear the cosmetic finish of the new hammer to make it match.

How do you tell a "good" Nazi HP from the many that were sabotaged by Belgian workers?

RE: sabotaged by Belgian workers...

As best I can tell, by reading here, various histories from the period, and the comments of various WWII Arms experts, the story of guns that were sabotaged by Belgian workers (or by "slave" workers) is more likely myth than fact and something that occurred very infrequently. All weapons had to pass inspections by German military inspectors (and the gun shown in the photos has those inspection marks, Waffenamt). The gun in question has been modified (mag safety removed) and it may just be normal wear that caused the problem.

Any guns that were sabotaged, if such weapons exist (or existed), would have been found pretty quickly, and the people doing the work would also be found pretty quickly, too.

I'd buy the mag safety and keep it in case I ever want to sell the gun and the buyer wants a "totally correct" weapon... but if I were to shoot continue shooting it, I'd leave the mag safety in the parts bin.

davidh5000 said:

It sounds like this fix might get a bit pricey....

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Fitting a sear might be tough for someone who hasn't done much home gunsmithing ... but installing the mag safety is within the range of abilities of anyone competent to change a spark plug in their lawnmower .

There are plenty of demos on line on YouTube, and you can pick up Stephen A. Camp's Hi Power Disassembly guide, which is invaluable for most Hi Power owners. It's still available from the old website and very reasonably priced. It's printed on heavy paper and each page is inclosed in a heavy clear plastic that seems impervious to gun solvents, etc.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Disassembly Guide.htm

davidh5000 said:

It sounds like this fix might get a bit pricey....

Click to expand...

Let me know if you think it is going to be too much, I've been interested in getting one of those for a while now.



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With the safety off, will the hammer stay back when you cock it?

In my shop (closed 20 years ago) it would get a new sear and thumb safety. The sear would need to be stoned in a jig (the angle is never right out of the package) and the safety will have to be fitted carefully by someone who understands High Powers. The hammer can probably be recut and used. It's not a home repair job by any means. I have done trigger jobs on High Powers and there is NO room for error on that gun. You NEED the jigs - no eyeballing it. I loved the gun but was not fond of working on the fire control system. Choose your smith carefully. Your pistol is one of the nicest Nazi guns I have seen. They were usually not finished to that level. Any idea what year it was made?

Without first examining the parts why do you expect that the sear or hammer are damaged? When dropping the slide from slide lock (without magazine) does the hammer fall to half cock? If not, do you see the sear protruding above hammer's full cock notch after dropping the slide? This simple test can show if you have a damaged sear. When such problem occurs in 99% of the cases it's the sear's blocking notch on the safety that is worn or damaged. And, depending on the condition, this problem usually can be remedied by simple peening and refitting of the original part. If the sear is damaged, again - depending on the condition, it can be refit. A good gunsmith can tell you which parts are damaged without even fully disassemble the gun.

And one more thing - the hammer on this gun is NOT original, it's not even an FN part. You need this: https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/1462360.htm
New style ring hammer will work also, but it won't be historically correct to the gun.

Best,
Boris

Yes it is a correct hammer for the pistol.

...I may pick that up, along with the strut, and the sear, and have it all changed. That should fix it...

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And if those parts alone can't fix the condition, what's next - a new barrel?!? You have a problem with safety to sear engagement - fix that first, keeping in mind that the safety is the prime suspect here. If you want a period correct hammer that is fine - get it first and then work on the safety. But if you only suspect that hammer and sear are damaged, without checking first, changing them will do nothing. Furthermore, if one of them is damaged you will witness a hammer follow right away.

Cylinder and Slide does excellent work.

If I was to make a guess your pistol has either been shot enough to wear the sear and hammer engagement or it has been the victim of a amateur gunsmith. The sear and hammer are becoming disengaged when the safety is dropped. The half cocked safety notch should engage the hammer on the way down to prevent firing, if not it is really dangerous.

A good gunsmith may be able to salvage the parts with a little work on the sear and hammer engagement or may have to replace the parts for safety. The job shouldn't require a specialist so if your lucky you can find someone local to do the work.