I took mine to my CPL class. I got a lot of looks, and a few folks asking what it was, but I put 39 rounds into a nice ragged hole at 7 yards rapid fire. I've shot many other pistols, but the Hi Power is the only one I care for. It fits me like none other, it's ridiculously simple, and reliability is tops. When it comes to slingin' lead, the HP's been doin' it for longer than most.

Mine does the same.  I bought it used. It came with C&S hammer, sear and wide combat trigger. I was going to have it refinished soon anyhow, suppose I'll get full carry package done on it just to be safe.



 

I have a 1964 Belgium Hi-Power and never heard of this test till now.Followed the instructions given and didnt hear or see a thing.I guess my Hi-Power passed.

Was shooting my 40 BHP at the range, and out of 5 other shooters, not a one knew what it was. Maybe it was the wood grips, or the chrome finish, but they were clueless.
I told one shooter it was a Browning Hi-Power, expecting at least some familiarity, and got asked when did they came out with that?
The look was stunning when I told them "the 20's".

When I bought my FEG, I picked it up at my FFL's on my way to a friends.  Not to confuse the issue, I just told him it was a Hi-Power.  He gave me a look and asked, "A high power what?"  I said it's a 9 mm.  He then asks, "So, it's like a higher power 9 mm?"  Then it hit me - he had no idea what a Browning Hi-Power was.  He's not a gun guy, per se, but does own an XD in .45 ACP.

Back from near death to avoid being archived.

Good call.

My new to me Israeli MKIII failed the test. Slight movement when I pull the trigger. Now I have to figure out how to fix it. If I thought I could weld good enough, I would build up where the sear hits the safety, but I should probably just order some new parts and see if they fix it.

Glad to see this thread...

I have one of the 'as new' Israeli Brownings on it's way, so we'll see how if rates when it gets here....

This thread should be STICKY'd to the top.

I'll give it one last bump.  Maybe it could save somebody some grief down the road.
 
Personally, the older I get the less I like the idea of shooting myself in the leg, and I never really cared for it much to start with.

i am fairly young, and take great care to not shoot myself anywhere, especially the leg/upper thigh area

Craig

MIne failed the test also.  I have a newer MkIII I think.  Just a standard.  It's all stock except I removed the mag safety and I cut down the spring on the lever that engages the sear from the trigger bar.  Both of those "fixes" lightened up the trigger quite a bit.  I don't think those changes would affect the sear.  And I remember noticing this ever since I've had this pistol.

So how do you fix it?  Get another sear block?  Another hammer?  

Thanks for the info Tirador!

Don't apologize.  That is GOOD rambling.    Thank you for your service.

You have three options, send it back to Browning after you reinstall your mag safety, or do as I did and replace the sear.  If your real handy you could do a bit of spot welding and reprofile it.  I am not that handy and preferred the ease of replacement which fixed my issue.  

Also, a worn or undersized sear pin will or could add to the problem, so if your buying a new sear you might as well order a new pin while you are at it.

Isn't it called a P35 for 1935?????  I forget now.

I have less than a thousand rounds through mine, so I doubt it's the sear pin.  What brand sear did you buy, and did it fit without "fitting"?  I bought an old style safety and I've been wanting to replace the ambi safety with it.  Maybe I should just go ahead and get a sear also and do it all at the same time.  I like the older style safety better.  Whenever I've walked around with my HiPower c&l, just to try out, that ambi safety has clicked off a time or two.  When I didn't realize it.  It was unloaded,  but it made me nervous if I was going to carry it.  And this "click" thing is like a nail in the coffin.  I guess the Firing pin block would work, but dang, I want this sorted out.  Otherwise I have no confidence in it, safety wise.  Makes me want to trade it.  I'm on a revolver kick lately and could possibly trade for one.  But I might kick myself after it's over with, because I really like the HiPower.  I'll have to see........

JJ, I replaced my sear with a stock Browning, and it has solved my issue with out any fitting as it just dropped right it.  If you bought yours new I'd be calling Browning for a shipping tag and at the same time complain about the ease of the safety clicking off.  Long time ago when I had my apart and before I had refinished it, I reprofiled the safety's detent more into a cone shape almost pointed but not quite.  My safety really CLICKS now, oh and I also replaced the spring in the safety too with a Wolfe extra power safety spring.  I think the double combo of both did a world of good.

Thanks for the info!!!!  You sound like a handy guy.  I didn't even think of doing that to the safety.  I still think I'd be more comfy with the old style safety.  But, it also seems like it'd be harder to engage under stress.  I don't know.  But thanks for the tips.  It's one of those things, my HiPower is the most "fiddling" I've done to any handgun, and that also makes me a little nervous about how robust it might be.  But the flip side of that is I don't really have the money to send it to someone to make sure it's all good.  So......  It might just stay put as a range gun.  

Isn't it called a P35 for 1935?????  I forget now.[/quote]

Yes.

If yours is failing the click test and you bought it new, I'd highly suggest calling Browning as they would very likely send you a call tag for free shipping and repair.  I've had very good response from Browning in the past on several different issues with several different items all turned out with very postive good help.

One last bump before we go off to the land of the archives....

My FEG from Coles passed just fine, picked up a Wolffe service pak 2 today. Recoil spring and firing pin spring are in, the rest go in tomorrow then off to the range.

My FM and '82 Belgian both passed. Good to know they are ready to rock.

BTT one last time.  I still think it is important.

It should be stickied to the top of this forum!  Hello Mr. Moderator...any help in getting this stuck for the benefit of others?

Good info on the click test.  Tried it on my hi power clone FEG. no click. Thats a wonder since my FEG is a frankenstein.  New FEG frame with T - series Browning internal parts complete, Browning slide with new FEG barrel. This pistol shoots awesome for a put together.

Thank you for bumping this.  I forgot all you had told me.  Like I said in the other thread.  I really don't want to send it back.  I'm afraid I'll mess something up with putting the mag disconnect safety back in.

Did you buy your sear from Browning?

Thanks for the tips.  AGAIN.  

First off I would like to thank those who have kept this topic bumped. Without them, I would not have known about this.

A while back I became the proud owner of my first BHP, a  61"Argentine Contract" High Power that was "refurbished" at FM.
It came in the brown box and all.

After I got it, I have taken it out a few times to run a few boxes through it at the range. It never had a issue and I love the hell out of it. I never considered to use it as a carry piece as I like my 1911 much better in that regard. I guess it's mostly the somewhat difficult to use safety that I'm not comfortable with.

Anyway....I found this thread and dug it out just to see what would happen.

Well......I got a click.

I took the grips off and verified that the sear was moving.

What I'd like to know is:

1 What is the "collectability" of this pistol.

2 Would I ruin any "collectability" if I went ahead and replaced the sear, hammer, and mainspring? (Like from Cylinder and Slide)

Thanks for any comments.

Anybody??

Since it is already a refurb, I see no harm in doing what ever you desire to the pistol, likely all you would need is a sear to cure your problem but good insurance to replace the pin too that holds it in place.  If I was going to change the trigger and hammer too, I'd be looking at the ones made by Chuck Warner get his package sear/trigger/hammer combo.  Oh and I would be changing every spring in the thing to boot, can be had at the Browning website pretty cheap.  I would also put the new style safety that comes on the Mark III's and ditch the little nub.

For just a few bucks you can get it running great, add a couple of more bucks and it would be very nice and carries with ease.

Thanks for the info.

BTT

Another test is to remove top half, cock hammer, engage safety, and see if the sear can be wiggled a bit with your fingers..

As I've posted before, I have one that fails the click test. So..... I finally got around to trying a different safety yesterday.

After following the directions in Mr. Camps book and using a c clamp someone on here suggested to hold the hammer back, it disassembled easily and reassembled very easily. In fact, it was a lot of fun and I love seeing how these things work. And the mind it takes to design these things. Anyways... It's a slick system. Simple.

BUT, I put in an old style safety someone had given to me. Or sold me. I can't remember. (I think it was someone from this site)   Pffffffft. It made the interface MORE sloppy. However, it lightened the trigger pull about two pounds. Hehehehe. Or maybe one. I didn't measure. But I don't care about that. I want it to frickin be safe. Not have a lighter trigger. Although a lighter trigger is nice.  No disrespect to the person who helped me with the part.  It's a great part and a nice gesture. I can't remember if we traded or what the deal was.  Anyways.....

And I'll just throw my rant about that (trigger pull) in here too. I love the hipower, but if if it has a HUGE achilles heal, it's the trigger. Mine was about 12-13 pounds before doing anything. I use a digital fish scale and although it's not the most accurate way to test, it seems to get me the right results. Because I find my results on par with other pistols as to what they should be.

Anyways.. that friggin thing was way up there. I took the mag disc safety out and I snipped the spring for the sear lever. Or whatever that is. And it's probably about 7 pounds right now. I could live with that. Or 6 might be a little nicer. Oh, I also dry fired it a bunch. But I always wonder if my dry firing is what goofed up the sear engagement.

Anyways....... I would carry this pistol if I could get it to work. But now I'm faced with, what????


Sending it to Novak's? C & S? Finding a local smith? Do I have any other options? Can you buy a sear and hammer ready to drop in that won't have a problem from C & S? Probably need a safety too.

And then there is the fact that if I had to pick what I think would be an ideal carry gun, it would be a 1911 CCO in 9mm. Should I just abandon this project and put my money into something like that????

I like everything about the HiPower, the way it feels, shoots, looks, size, etc. But this trigger crap has got me in the frustration zone with it. And really, a BAAAAD 1911 trigger isn't anywhere near as bad as this. From what I can gather.

Comments and thoughts are appreciated.

I just picked up a FEG from Coles and it does not pass the click test. So that's on my list to get the thing working properly. I want to have it blued vs parked as it is. It's in great shape, so no real rush on either project really.

As for your project, I think that comes down to 2 things.
1. is this the only platform you have? Meaning do you only have 1 pistol and want it to do everything?
    I have many pistol's. Some are carried. Some are just for my collection and taking to the range. I have several that fill both roles and a few that roll into both range and daily/defense.
2. Do you want to make it the most reliable pistol in your arsenal?
    Like I stated, I have pistols for both roles. But I have no doubt that any pistol I pick up could be used in a carry/defense role. I make sure everything has spare parts, spare mags, cleaning kits, and so on. Everything get's shot. I have some nice collector pieces, but still used and well taken care of.

I dont think you need to abandon the project. I think with how many are out there, and how long the platform has been around, parts and smith's could get it working 100%.

Thank you for your input.  I like the HiPower.  But it's not the only thing I have.  It just would work well for carry, if it was working properly.  The quandry is if I'd rather have a different pistol if I'm going to spend 5 bills on it to get it working right.  

I wonder if I should ship it back to Browning.  It's dated 04, but we bought it in like 07.  I'm not sure if it always failed that test, as I didn't know to test it when we got it.  So....   But I wonder if they would fix it at no cost.  I might have to call them.

Thanks Hunter!!!

JJREA, I would likely send it to Chuck Warner as I kinda like what he has been offering with the HP.  But there is nothing wrong with Novaks or C&S, sometimes it all has to do with turn around times.

Bumped for two years and finally gets a stick.



Mine failed.

1985 Mk II Belgian. Mint.

Well, today I ordered a:

Browning Sear
Sear Spring
sear lever spring
and recoil spring.  

I'm going to try these things.


I came to the conclusion in my head that the amount of movement I was having wasn't enough to warrant a problem.  However,  then I noticed when I dry fire it, I couldn't engage the safety after racking the slide.  Like you do when you test for reset.  Cock hammer, fire, keep holding trigger to the rear, cycle slide.  Than try to engage safety after taking finger off of the trigger.  Well, it would get stuck and not move.  And then I would thumb back the hammer some more and it clicked.  So.....  the engagement is still goofy.  And it was moreso than when doing the click test.

So, I'm going to try these fixes.  I'm also going to put my mag disc safety back in.  I doubt that's going to do anything for this problem, but I figured what the heck.  Taking it back to zero.  I do realize that the hammer could be worn too, but I thought a new sear might fix it.  If not, I'm going to cry and them maybe send it to someone.  

JJ, you should have ordered the pin that holds the sear too.  Call'em maybe it's not to late to add a $2 part to the order.  Oh and reinstalling the mag disconnect isn't going to do anything to resolve the movement.

Hey, I got another thing for you maybe you can shed some light on.  

I hear you on the mag disc.  I just thought it might be a good idea to have it in if I carry it because of legalities.  But, I just toyed with it a little bit and that trigger pin is something else.  I don't think I want to go through with that again.  I was hoping it wouldn't be as tight as it was last time because I had it out once already.  Well, it's fricking tight.  Hopefully the reason for allowing mags to drop free is a good enough.  Because it sucks that they don't with it in there.

Anyways.....

I think I figured something out, I think there is just enough vertical play in the slide on the rails that it at times doesn't allow the hammer to fully cock.  If I cycle it from the front of the slide, it seems to do this more.  If I cycle from the rear, it has a tenancy to push down on the hammer just a tad more and I don't have the problem of the safety not engaging because the hammer fully seats.  

So.....  that's crazy but it seems like that is the case.  It must be just on the edge of spec or something.  The slide is rather loose on the frame, but it has always shot decent.  I've never benched it but off hand it always seemed as good as my G19 and nearly as good as my M9.  But the fact is, it's sloppy and the hammer doesn't want to engage all the way at times.  

I wonder if a new hammer would take care of this.  I fear that everything I just bought won't do me any good.  Unless the new sear just allows the hammer to drop in a bit better.  Maybe the current one has a sloppy edge.  But I'm thinking a different hammer might be the real fix.  Ugh.  Which is the one thing I didn't buy.

I was thinking a new firing pin stop might do the trick too.  If it's just a hair longer than the one that's in there.  


I mean what are the chances????  
You think the pin might be loose?   I suppose that's possible too.  That could exasperate my problems.

The new sear got rid of the click test failure.  But it still doesn't always drop full when manually cycling the slide.  I had a long thread about it over on 1911forum and one guy at least understood what is happening.  Anyways...  I have to send it somewhere to get it fixed.  That Chuck Warner's name sounds familiar.  I think he might be on of the guys that posted over there.

I didn't want to let a whole year go by before I posted this.

My Inglis passed.

Now if I just had eyes that could see those sights.