Girsan MCP35 Hi-Power

[General Geoff]

Finally found one, and at a reasonable price too. Got the two-tone version.




Already took it apart and gave it a once-over, and installed a new trigger sub-assembly from BHSpringSolutions, which dropped the trigger weight by over a pound and eliminated the mag disconnect safety, which I don't care for. The original trigger felt OK, was just under an 8lb break with the mag disconnect safety.

Needed to lightly file around the trigger area for fitting as the cerakoted(?) frame was just a tiiiny big too tight in that area for the new trigger to drop in. But with just a couple minutes of light filing there along with filing down the new trigger lever to correct height (they said some fitting will be required!), everything dropped in and worked smoothly.

Really like the ambi safety, it clicks on and off with authority but not so stiff as to be unusable in the heat of the moment. No extended beavertail means a high grip on it may result in some hammer bite, just like an original.

Dimensionally, it is identical to an original FN Hi-Power. I was even able to swap slides between it and a WWII example I have.


The new frame operates the 1940s slide perfectly fine, but due to differences in the sear and the addition of a firing pin block, the 1940s frame will not drop the hammer on the new slide.


Haven't gotten to the range with it yet but with any luck, will put some rounds through the Girsan this weekend to function test. Yeah I know, should have done a function test with the OEM trigger. Oh well

 

[js8588]

One of these is definitely on my list.

 

[Nature Boy]

Very nice!

 

[WVsig]

Finally found one, and at a reasonable price too. Got the two-tone version.


View attachment 1080803

Already took it apart and gave it a once-over, and installed a new trigger sub-assembly from BHSpringSolutions, which dropped the trigger weight by over a pound and eliminated the mag disconnect safety, which I don't care for. The original trigger felt OK, was just under an 8lb break with the mag disconnect safety.

Needed to lightly file around the trigger area for fitting as the cerakoted(?) frame was just a tiiiny big too tight in that area for the new trigger to drop in. But with just a couple minutes of light filing there along with filing down the new trigger lever to correct height (they said some fitting will be required!), everything dropped in and worked smoothly.

Really like the ambi safety, it clicks on and off with authority but not so stiff as to be unusable in the heat of the moment. No extended beavertail means a high grip on it may result in some hammer bite, just like an original.

Dimensionally, it is identical to an original FN Hi-Power. I was even able to swap slides between it and a WWII example I have.

View attachment 1080804
The new frame operates the 1940s slide perfectly fine, but due to differences in the sear and the addition of a firing pin block, the 1940s frame will not drop the hammer on the new slide.


Haven't gotten to the range with it yet but with any luck, will put some rounds through the Girsan this weekend to function test. Yeah I know, should have done a function test with the OEM trigger. Oh well

Looking forward to a range report. Congrats

Be careful with that WWII frame and slide. The two guns are mechanically different. I would not shoot it in that configuration. YMMV

 

[General Geoff]

Be careful with that WWII frame and slide. The two guns are mechanically different. I would not shoot it in that configuration. YMMV

Yeah I have no intention of shooting them swapped like that, I was just curious if they would fit!

 

[Roverguy]

That’s a handsome pistol, congratulations!

 

[halfmoonclip]

You're saying the Turk has the firing pin safety of the later HiPos?
Have a TISAS 1911 which I really like, and was hoping for their HiPo as well, but they seemed to dry up.
Got a Springer instead, which does have a better trigger than a real example.
Looks great; enjoy.
Moon

 

[CajunBass]

I was hoping to see someone else interested in these. I just ordered one from Sportsman's Warehouse a couple of days ago, I'm just waiting on word it's been shipped to my "local" store. I've never seen one at my LGS...or a Springfield SA-35 for that matter. I too got the two tone version...I think it was about $20.00 more.

Everything I see on U-tube seems to indicate they work pretty well. I guess we'll see.

I'm thinking I might want to do something about those grips, but I'll wait on that. The mag safety will probably go too.

 

[General Geoff]

Range Report



200 rounds through the Girsan, zero malfunctions. Just a drop of motor oil on each slide for lubrication before heading out. The lack of extended beavertail did result in some minor hammer bite:



Took video of the first mag I put through it.



An example of its accuracy, in my less than stellar hands:



Seems to shoot more or less to point of aim, might be a tiny bit low but I'm not concerned. Windage appears to be spot on from the factory, any inaccuracy can most certainly be attributed to me, not the gun. That said, the sights are basic fixed combat sights, you need a drift punch to adjust windage if needed.

Overall I'm quite pleased and just need to work on my own technique and practice more with it.

 

[CajunBass]

Not bad. Not bad a'tall.

 

[bannockburn]

General Geoff

Nice job with the range report! Looks to be a very good buy for the money.

Sort of the same thing I have experienced with my Browning Hi-Power Mk.II. Super reliable, decent sights, easy to use thumb safety, and a surprisingly nice trigger.

 

[General Geoff]

After the 200 rounds I put through it and a strip/clean, I put a tiny dab of grease between hammer and sear at the sliding/contact surface, and the trigger pull is now at a perfect average of 5 lbs, 10oz. It might get a tiny bit lighter as the parts wear together, but as long as it stays above 5 lbs it's perfect for a carry pistol, which is what I got this for.

 

[WVsig]

After the 200 rounds I put through it and a strip/clean, I put a tiny dab of grease between hammer and sear at the sliding/contact surface, and the trigger pull is now at a perfect average of 5 lbs, 10oz. It might get a tiny bit lighter as the parts wear together, but as long as it stays above 5 lbs it's perfect for a carry pistol, which is what I got this for.

View attachment 1081413

It is my experience without other interventions your trigger will not get lighter. You can get a BHP trigger down to 3.5 lbs but if not done by someone who really knows what they are doing it will eventually develop hammer follow. I prefer mine at 4lbs and super smooth. For a stock guns that is solid.

 

[General Geoff]

It is my experience without other interventions your trigger will not get lighter. You can get a BHP trigger down to 3.5 lbs but if not done by someone who really knows what they are doing it will eventually develop hammer follow. I prefer mine at 4lbs and super smooth. For a stock guns that is solid.

I don't mind if it stays right at 5-1/2 lbs, that's fine. If I want to drop it by another pound, I will get an aftermarket sear spring. I don't want to mess with the stock geometry on the OEM sear.

Also it's not stock lol, I put in the BHSpringSolutions advanced trigger subassembly before even taking it to the range, as I don't care for the magazine disconnect that comes with it, and if I'm gonna disable it, I might as well pull the entire trigger out anyway. Out of the box, the pistol measured 8 lbs average pull weight

 

[SwampWolf]

Thanks for the informative range report, General Geoff. I'm interested in getting one of these or its Springfield "equivalent".

 

[halfmoonclip]

Are we in agreement that the Springer is actually a Turk? Not a problem IMHO, but I'd just like to know.
Moon

 

[General Geoff]

Are we in agreement that the Springer is actually a Turk? Not a problem IMHO, but I'd just like to know.
Moon

Consensus is that the unfinished frame and slide are probably imported from Tisas in Turkey, with enough finish work and ancillary parts that are USA-made to legally call the finished pistol USA-made.

 

[Nature Boy]

I think the cat was out of the bag early when we saw that EAA’s (Tisas) ad for their Hi Power clone was IDENTICAL to Springfield’s ad.

 

[SwampWolf]

Between the two pistols (the Girsan MCP35 and the Springfield equivalent), does one have a cast slide (not necessarily a bad thing) and the other a forged slide (generally speaking, a good thing) or are they both the same?

 

[WVsig]

Between the two pistols (the Girsan MCP35 and the Springfield equivalent), does one have a cast slide (not necessarily a bad thing) and the other a forged slide (generally speaking, a good thing) or are they both the same?

No one is using a cast slide. Tisas used a cast frame for their BP clone lke a FN MKIII. I believe both Grisan and SA sport a forged frame not that it matters.

 

[js8588]

A data point

 

[Nature Boy]

I know it’s completely superficial, but the admonition to “read the safety manual” roll marked into the frame for eternity really bugs me.

 

[CajunBass]

I know it’s completely superficial, but the admonition to “read the safety manual” roll marked into the frame for eternity really bugs me.

Well, yea, but they gotta cover their butts I suppose. It's not as bad as what Ruger used to put on their guns.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I know it’s completely superficial, but the admonition to “read the safety manual” roll marked into the frame for eternity really bugs me.

Yep. The roll marks alone are enough for me not to buy this.

 

[Nature Boy]

Well, yea, but they gotta cover their butts I suppose. It's not as bad as what Ruger used to put on their guns.

Most manufacturers don’t cover their butts this way. Girsan could come up with a better solution to this problem that doesn’t require defacing their pistols in such a manner.

Having said that, this may be a regional regulatory requirement that mandates this type of permanent marking. It wouldn’t surprise me