FEG Hi-Power back from The Action Works
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JN01
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I have a beater FEG that shoots well, it will probably stay in that condition, but yours looks sweet.
Tallball
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If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost you? I've had mine since 1988 or so. It's a good shooter and completely reliable, but the trigger and sights leave much to be desired. If it were somewhat affordable, I would be happy to get the same treatment for mine.
And congratulations! It looks sweet.
View media item 1476
And congratulations! It looks sweet.
View media item 1476
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USBP379
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Here you go:
http://theactionworks.com/browning-hi-power/
The pistol came out way better than I was expecting and I kind of wish now that I would have had a carry bevel done. Maybe the mag well beveled and possibly an extended safety fabricated. But that stuff would have taken away from the "classic" styling of the gun. That's one of the things I like best about the older PJKs. They looked like classic T or C series guns.
The cost of a basic trigger job is almost the price I paid for my FEG PJK! I think I paid $175 shipped, a used one in mint condition, beautiful polished blue. It is my favorite BHP clone. Remove the mag safety, the BHP trigger is still a bit heavy but not hateful.
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USBP379
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If you bought your sample recently that price was a steal. Used Israeli police guns are going for $350-$400 on gunbroker. Maybe a bit less depending on condition.
The FEG guns are good shooters in my experience and are getting desirable in their own right. As original Hi Power pistols continue to go up in value so will the FEG clones.
My $175 FEG was maybe 12-15 years ago. I considered it was a good deal at the time. Back then, original BHP was plenty, FEG was not as desirable. I bought a brand new ARCUS, another BHP clone, at $250 and CDNN had FN BHP at $400 at the time.
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USBP379
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It wasn't too long ago that the FEG pistols could be found for $250-ish in nice shape. A bit more for the early guns with the tiny sights and the nicer finish. The later guns with gloss finish and 3-dot sights were still decent. The few late guns I've seen with plastic grips were definitely made to need a price point.
I've owned a couple of these guns over the years but now only have the one pictured above. I had never really thought of it as anything interesting or special. But now that FNs in particular and Hi Powers in general are going up in value I figured it was time to make my FEG a "keeper."
I've owned a couple of these guns over the years but now only have the one pictured above. I had never really thought of it as anything interesting or special. But now that FNs in particular and Hi Powers in general are going up in value I figured it was time to make my FEG a "keeper."
bannockburn
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USBP379
Most definitely a keeper!
Well done on the modifications to your FEG Hi-Power! Just enough to improve upon an already great design! Let us know how it does at the range.
Most definitely a keeper!
Well done on the modifications to your FEG Hi-Power! Just enough to improve upon an already great design! Let us know how it does at the range.
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Looks really good. I like the Novaks
Now all you'll need to do is yank the mag safety and swap out the hammer spring with something less than F350 duty and you should have a decent trigger
Now all you'll need to do is yank the mag safety and swap out the hammer spring with something less than F350 duty and you should have a decent trigger
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USBP379
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Looks really good. I like the Novaks
Now all you'll need to do is yank the mag safety
Already gone!
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If you have a trigger pull gage, let us know what the newly worked trigger breaks at.
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USBP379
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I didn't have any trigger work done, per se. The only mod that Don did was to fix the interface between the safety and the sear.
I bought the gun used and the previous owner(s) had already taken the mag safety out.
WVsig
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I would bet that the gun is a clean 4-5lbs. I have worked with Don and he like most good BHPs smiths don't push them below 4lbs because they are not reliable. They will have ignition problems. With a BHP a clean trigger is more important than a 3lb trigger.
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USBP379
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Using my Timney mechanical pull scale I'm getting a consistent 5.25 pounds. That's off the center of the trigger.
As mentioned but not mentioned clearly; Mr Williams did not perform a trigger package on this pistol. When I shipped it to him it failed the "click test." I had him clean this up. Now the safety fully engages. No sear movement now when the safety is on and pressure is applied to the trigger.
As mentioned but not mentioned clearly; Mr Williams did not perform a trigger package on this pistol. When I shipped it to him it failed the "click test." I had him clean this up. Now the safety fully engages. No sear movement now when the safety is on and pressure is applied to the trigger.
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The reason I asked is because I was part of a "BETA" trial for the total radius sear when it was being developed for the BHP, and though the break on mine is crisp (I also yanked the mag safety) I had to put a 26# recoil spring in it to get the weight down to ~7lbs. So I'm always interested to see what other BHP peeps have been able to achieve.
As you mentioned, this definately introduces some reliability issues and I had infrequent light strike-FTF with harder primers (WIN). I roll my own 100%, so I switched to Federal primers (known to be more sensitive) and have never had another FTF.
Though my safety engages the sear 100% and the gun passes all function tests (including the click tests), The range of motion of the safety was reduced and it no longer flips up as far as it used to.
Though I love my BHP, it's not easy to get a 1911 quality trigger pull on them.
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USBP379
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What is the total radius sear? Was it an FN product or something from the aftermarket?
In my experience the Hi Power trigger can be crisp and clean. The reset is where the system needs some improvement. On most guns there can be little or no tactile indicator that the pistol is again ready to fire.
Harrison makes the total radius sear jig for 1911s. It may be possible to use it on a Hipower sear, or maybe there's a Hipower version. Basically, the sear jig holds the sear nose against a round stone so the nose gets a convex surface relative to the sear pin when stoned. I'm not sure it makes a difference (no experience with it) but it does seem likely that the resulting sear edge would be cut to a "finer" thickness than with a conventional flat stone. I have no idea if this is an improvement, though.
My mid-70s Hipower has a very nice tactile click (albeit faint) when resetting. This was only after replacing ALL the old factory springs. With the old springs, I could not feel or hear a reset in any way.
WVsig
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Change the trigger return spring. It will give you a more positive reset with more of a tactile feel. It will not be a hard reset like a Glock but it will be less mushy than stock. The C&S version is very good. https://cylinder-slide.com/index.ph...f=CS0101&sid=14b0a6345ue62z576glzg0g0l4sky8c0
Beyond that there are ways to shorten the take up and the reset on a BHP. Don Williams and Ted Yost offer this modification. It is an improvement over stock even with a stronger trigger return spring but it is not perfect. The trigger mech on a BHP is sort of wonky IMHO. It is overly complex vs a 1911. I blame Saive. LOL
WVsig
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The lowest that I have that is reliable is a APW Cogan Custom that is a little over 4lbs. It has been my experience that going lower you will get hammer follow. I have seen a lot of them that had their springs tweaked by Bubba and they still would ignite most primers but the hammer would follow. I have also found that if you know what you are doing, I don't, you can keep one running in the 3.5lb range but you need to stay on top of it and I would not use it for defense because the hammer will eventually follow.
I have most of mine set in the 4.4lb-5lb range. For me it is more about them being crisp, smooth and repeatable vs being ultra light.
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USBP379
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While not as tunable as a 1911, I believe the Hi Power trigger is certainly good enough. At least good enough for self-defense and applications like IDPA.
The trigger system is one of the reasons the HP frame is so svelte. Moving the disconnector function out of the frame and putting it in the slide was a stroke of genius as was combining the trigger bar and disconnect into one piece.
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USBP379
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I imagine that tightening up the fit between the trigger, trigger lever, trigger bar and sear would go quite aways in improving the feel and consistency of the trigger. Each of these parts is held in by it's own pin and or fixture.
Garthwaite apparently does something that involves adding some Ruger GP100 trigger parts into the Hi Power. Can anyone comment on this mod and what's involved?
Garthwaite apparently does something that involves adding some Ruger GP100 trigger parts into the Hi Power. Can anyone comment on this mod and what's involved?
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