I picked up my Israeli BHO mk II today and I'm pretty happy with it.  The only thing I feel needs absolutely replaced are the grip screws.  It fired five, I know, FIVE whole rounds without fail, so I'm calling it like-new.  Seriously though, I had read some horror stories of AIM's non-select grade BHPs on 1911forum and was slightly concerned as to what I would be receiving.  I think some new sights, bobbing the hammer, removing the mag disconnect, some grip tape, new grips, and a shot of Cerakote will be all she'll get.

Any suggestion for what smith I should get to do the sights, I was thinking Don Williams. I might want the top of the slide milled flat and serrated as well.
Finally, is there anyway to fix the reset on the trigger? The pull isn't horrible but the reset is mushy and confusing.



You can barely make out the Belgian proof marks at the front of the trigger guard, so it's a true, Belgian made pistol.


Bore seems in good shape.  This is before I ran a bore snake through it.


Just showing the general condition of the frame and trigger mechanism.


Belgian proof mark on the slide.


Mec-gar mag included.


Import mark, Mach1 of Knoxville, TN on the underside of the dust cover.  This could've been far worse and I think the cerakote will hide it pretty effectively.

trigger reset spring pack will help

Grind that billboard import mark off if you are planning a refinish job.

Law says it has to be put there, not that it has to stay!

Only serial numbers are inviolable.

Cool. I'm tempted, but I just can't commit. I'll regret it in a few years, I'm sure...

Mushy and confusing reset is pretty much how a high power is. A friend who is a huge high power fan has several high end custom high powers and God help me I can't stand shooting them. I have been raised on 1911's and have shot also glocks over the last 20+ years and I am firmly wedded to a sharp distinct reset and a high power just doesn't have one.

Those sights are small.  I couldn't hit shit with the one I tried.  Then we put some bags down on the bench, slowed way down and damn if that gun didn't shoot 3" at 25 yds.  The reset and sights were killing us trying to shoot fast.

If you could fix those issues, that could be a pretty decent gun, but I think the reset can only be improved so much.

Glock guys still shoot pretty well with a long reset, so it can be learned.

MKII is bestest MK
Don Williams has mine (Browning marked from Coles) right now getting Heinies, safety and ignition work. I should have it back soon.
I thought about doing a bunch of fancy stuff to it, but in the end its a hi-power, and a surplus one at that. Personal opinion: even if I was going to do something dramatic on a hi-power I wouldn't do a MKII just because they are just so cool as is, with the big bushing and slide rib. I'd get trigger work, hammer if the spur bites, sights, grips and refinish. If I wanted a flattened/serrated slide, stippling, etc I'd do a MKIII.

I bought a couple of these.   The triggers needed the most attention.   I didn't bother measuring them but they were way above 7 pounds.   With the mag disconnect removed, the reset becomes weak and mushy.   They will be getting a Garthwaite straight trigger since the curved BHP trigger really hurts to shoot, especially when you're pressing it with over 7 pounds of force with every shot.    I may put the C&S hammer and sear on at least one of them.

I will also install C&S extended safeties since the factory ambi safety is very difficult to engage.  Most grips don't provide enough clearance to get your thumb underneath the safety.  

Mine have the dovetailed sights but the 3-white-square sight picture sucks and the edges are rounded off by wear and tear in the best military tradition.

Looks good.  Heck, I'd leave it stock and just get the trigger work to where the pull isn't crazy heavy.  That's all I would do with that bad boy.  I love the way it looks.  But that's obviously not what you're going for......  

I would however, makes sure it shoots well before putting a bunch of money into it.  Make sure everything is working right.  Do the click test.  It's in the Browning forum, stickied.

I have one from another source.  It came freshly parked.  I sent mine to Novak's for sights and trigger.

I wouldn't worry to much about the click test on a gun he's sending out to a smith anyway.

That's true enough.  Still would be good to know the status of it before any work is done.  Especially if you're shooting it.  And ESPECIALLY if it doesn't have a FPS, which I'm pretty sure only late MKII's have it.

ETA: looked at the pics and it looks like he doesn't have it.  So,......   Obviously there is the half notch on the hammer, but I kind of like the extra layer of safety....  

Bonus points for the Mk III safety.  I have an Argie with the early .mil safety and it seriously sucks.

The MkIII has a MkII safety

Learn something every day.

To help the mushy reset after the MD has been removed it is highly suggested that you replace the 3 coil trigger spring for the proper 2 coil trigger spring which is meant to be used with BHP's without a mad disconnect, reset will be greatly improved.  Besides that replace every spring in it which can be purchased pretty cheap from Browning.

The rifling looks very good as well as the pistol .

Shipped her off to the smith who received it Wednesday.  These are the updates on the work he's done so far.  He thinks he'll be done in the next couple of days and have her back to me mid-week.  I'll get her to my buddy to cerakote a stain black late this coming week if so.

He talked me out of milling and serrating the slide, which saved me money, and offered to round the slide to enhance the looks.  I think he was right.


He recommended opening up the rear 10-8 sight from .156" to .180" to work better with the XS Big Dot.


He fabricated an extended safety.  You can also see the bobbed and radius-ed hammer as well as the rear dovetail channel he's cut.


Beveled mag well.


Underside of the safety he fab-ed, showing the serrations he did to aid in applying the safety.


Front sight dove tail nicely contoured with the slide.


Bobbed hammer again.

Looking forward to the finished pics.

Ha!  Me too!  The same smith did some work on another BHP years ago for my buddy that's doing the Cerakoting:

Nice work , who is the 'smith?

Bill Scarpino, formerly of middle TN, now of Spring Hill, Florida.

All in all I must say I'm very pleased so far with this pistol.  The turn around time for my chosen smith was nothing less than stupendous, with me receiving the pistol with all work requested (plus extra) in right at one week.  I was hoping to get her dropped off for Cerakoting today but it wasn't in the cards, so it has to wait until Monday.

Anyways, here are a few more pics of her "in the white" while she waits for finishing:

He finished the grip panels and really brought out the red of the Navidrex Rosewood.  The sights aren't as tall as I feared, either.  They are an XS Big Dot front and a 10-8 .156" rear that he opened up to .180".  My only complaint was that he didn't keep the 'U' profile of the rear, but the sight picture is plenty easy to use and FAST.


As you can see, he talked me into removing the ambi-safety.  I wasn't a fan and he didn't charge for it.


Here you can see the shelf he fabricated for the left side safety as well as the bobbed and radiused hammer.


Mag well is now beveled and makes mag insertion SO much easier.


No more import marks!  Something else he did for me that I didn't originally get quoted.


Stuff you can't see:  He removed the mag safety and tightened the frame to slide fit for an absolutely amazing trigger pull.  I mean it's probably the single best hinged trigger I've ever had the opportunity to pull.  The reset isn't Glock or 1911 like, but compared to what it was, I'll take it every day on a BHP.  He also polished the feed ramp and chamber so it will run a bit better and replaced the few springs in the frame I wasn't able to (trigger and extractor mainly, he said the hammer strut was too heavy for a good trigger pull).  

All in all, I think I have a keeper.  I can't wait to get her out and see how she groups once the cerakote is complete.

I hope this is ok to post, but for those that may be interested in getting work done, I encourage you to check out Bill Scarpino of Spring Hill, Florida.  All of the above work cost me $460 plus return shipping and I supplied the sights. If you want his contact info, he has given me permission to give it out, so please contact me via PM.  If this isn't kosher, please let me know and I'll delete this passage.

Where do I get a safety like that, the safety on my Argie sucks horribly.

He fabricated it. Have to send it to him I guess?

Wow!  I have to admit I do not understand this set of mods.

Fortunately, my small select fee apparently saved me a kazillion in gunsmith costs. It was NIB except for two hairline scratches in the Mk.III epoxy.

removing the rib is a strange way to go.

Which mod, other than the rib being removed (see post below), do you not understand?  A trigger job, bobbing and radiusing the hammer, and the extended/flattened safety are all common mods, and the sights are personal preference.

He suggested it and I wasn't partial to it. He said it just looked bad with the sights installed. I took his advice.

We are from different planets.  I, being from east of Mars, understand the mechanical nature of all the changes.  The why, the why of the whole package, escapes me.  And thank goodness its your money and not mine.  That much metal from the slide will increase slide velocity unless sprung stiffer.

As an aside, I bought one of the Israel Police surplus FNs because my buddies in Israel during Gulf 1 carried them.  Nostalgia and available.  Its a running joke that I am going to shoot "Eli's" FN today.  Never dreamed of changing it.

Not really.  The massive rear sight probably more than makes up for the little bit of rib that got removed.

I count myself among those who think the HP needs a lot of work to address its shortcomings.  Everything the OP is having done is something I see value in, and would have done myself.  (The XS front sight was done how I'd like it, with a big notch rear and throwing the useless XS rear in the trash.)

I'm eager to see the conclusion of his project.

My aim was to make a pistol worth carrying.  One that is easy (Big dot with the modded 10-8 rear) and comfortable (bobbed/radius hammer) to shoot with an outstanding trigger, easily deactivated safety, and easily reloaded when needed (beveled mag well).  I appreciate that not everyone looks at pistols the same way I do and would prefer they were restored or kept in their original condition.  I definitely wouldn't have done all this to a Nazi P35, believe me.  As it is, I bought it with the plan to do this and am happy with where it is now.

As an aside, I dropped her off with the Cerakoter today to be done in SOCOM Blue.  I think it will look pretty damn good when complete.

This is that color, taken from the Hi-power board on 1911forum.com, user pendennis:

Agreed; I would also have all but the rib removal on my own MKII. Doesn't take but a couple of bites to be sold on the hammer bob. Safety rework is a must in a carry gun (unless you are IDF LOL). Sights are a must for my older eyes. Magwell bevel is also beneficial.

(unless you are IDF LOL)

The IDF is not the Israel Police, but same difference.

The police I worked with carried the FNs chamber empty, magazine loaded, hammer down and simply drew and sling shotted the slide if they wished to shoot.  The safety was never on.  Actually fairly quick at it.

They fired until the wiley doer was down and quit moving.

They didn't worry about fancy sights either simply using two things.  

First, index on the square end of the receiver.  

Second, many used white/ yellow electrical tape on the front of the slides.  If you see yellow on the left front, turn the gun to the right so all you see is the rear of the slide.  Fixes windage.

Elevation, hell, if you cannot point shoot an FN, you just cannot shoot.

An eye opener happened when one of my friends came to the states.  Took him shooting.  Alphabet agency style.  Fellow discovered what modestly good shooting was and he was not it.  Without his trusty FN, he looked like a 1930's cowboy shooter.  Or maybe a SASS fellow today.  He sucked.

1000 rounds over two afternoons with a DA/SA auto acquainted him with what sights were for.  No A Zone was safe after that.  

He understood shooting.  He had gone fromLoader to gunner to commander of a Merkava for his Reserve job.  Better tank than the 60 he was in in '82 as a loader in the Golan for two days waiting for help while they killed lotsa Syrians.  Lotsa Syrians.  60 got hit-skipped by a wire guided ATM, lost all its electronics, lost its optical sight, and the crew finished up by bore sighting a 4" gun.  I would not make fun of them with your LOL.

Yeah.  Its a country where people actually still know freedom isn't free.  Where 50% of the residents aren't parasites.  And where most people are still willing to fight for themselves.

And yeah, I think you hit a nerve.

I've nothing but respect for IDF. Context of the LOL: needing a better safety unless you are IDF, 'cause they dont use them.

This.  I'm not a proponent for carrying without a round in chamber, either.  Also, if they are duty weapons issued to them, I wonder how much leeway they have in customizing them as is done here in the States.  It being my personal weapon allows me to fix the deficiencies I identify that I want rectified.  That option may not be possible with Isreali police.

OK.  

Pistols were simply issued or drawn as needed.

ZERO changes possible unless you wished to be a Border Guard in the Negev Desert at half pay.

M1 Carbines freely available or other rifles as plans or assignments needed.

Customization was maybe how or where you attached your sling.

Sorry for side track.  I hope you like your pistol when finished as much as I like my FN.

No worries.  I learned something.

That is certainly an option.  I offered buying one and letting him fit it. He fabricated this one for less than the new one cost plus shipping and I think I like it better.

Not intended as a hijack, if you decide to not send your pistol off, this safety available from Cylinder and Slide can be installed fairly simply.  I got rid of my ambi and put this one in, a great improvement.







 

I appreciate the reply, but I posted pics toward the bottom of the first page showing the work the smith did to the safety.  

I'm hoping to get the pistol back from cerakoting tomorrow.  I'll try to post pics of it soon after I do.

I wondered what the yellow tape on the slides was for.

Now I know!

As a fan of Hi Powers, currently have three. I will say the work you had done is outstanding ! Only qualm I have is the cerakoting, I'm in the process of sending two to FORDS to have then refinished in a masters blue. That's all.

Finally managed to get some time to post these.  Had it Cerakoted in Socom Blue and I'm very please with how this project turned out:

Niiiiiice

Are you in middle TN?

Williamson county here.

Who did the Cerakote? - was it a guy in Spring Hill?

I'd like to get a Hi Power and have my smith work it over with a beaver tail and 10-8 sights

Yea, middle TN, Rutherford county. His name is Sean and he works at Nashville Amory. He has a Facebook page that he posts a lot of his work on, Gunrunner Custom Finishes.

Turned out nice. Hope it shoots as good as it looks.