Just in case anybody is interested in trying this yourself, I put on my own beavertail on my BHP and it was actually not all that hard:

DIY Beavertail

Not a member there so can't see the pics.

I recently inherited a BHP Frankengun with a Inglis frame and a more recent Browning slide. Since I doubted it had much worth if I was to sell it, and as it was free, I decided to "try some stuff" on it.

I have another HP that I sent to Cylinder and Slide long ago for a beavertail and magwell and they did an awesome job. In this case though, I didn't think the gun was worth spending the $260 for a beavertail.

If I had a mill I probably would have just silver soldered a rectangular piece of stock onto the back of the frame and then milled it down to approximately the right size then blended by hand. However, I don't have a mill so I decided to try to get the beavertail as close to the final shape as possible. I had an extra Ed Brown 1911 grip safety laying around so I chopped it off just in front of the hole the thumb saftey passes through, and trued that surface up as best as I could with files. Did the same thing to the frame. Next, I silver soldered the thing on there and used a combination of files, dremel, and sandpaper to blend it.

Seeing as I had no idea if this would work, and as this is the first thing I've ever silver soldered, I think it turned out OK. The result is NOT perfect but it is decent looking and it does what it's supposed to do: keep me from getting bit. I used the C&S "no bite" hammer. Some other hammers seem to project further back and down when cocked and may not work with such a modification.

I would have to admit that C&S did a better job than me, but for the $$$, and the fact that this was a project gun from the get-go I'd say it's well worth the effort and is something that anyone with a bit of home smithin' experience could do. Although the C&S one was executed better/more professionally than mine, I actually prefer the shorter length of of the 1911 safety mod. The hammer is totally blocked and it adds the least amount of extra length to the frame, which would be preferable for carry.

One other thing that may be of interest: I HATE slotted/flat head screws on guns. I have a set of flat head tips of various sizes but it seems like those screw slots still get buggered up. AFAIK hex head mag catch spring guides for the BHP are not available. The good news is that 1911 guides will work. I had one that dropped right in, but another one needed a little modification. The shaft on the 1911 guide is thicker than the BHP one, but on my gun at least it will still fit inside the spring and there was no issue with it binding in the mag catch. The only thing you MAY have to do to make it fit is to file the tab that engages in the frame in both height and thickness. I'm not going to give dimensions because it seems there's a lot more variation in BHP's than the 1911 stuff I'm usually working with. It's pretty simple though, just take a bit at a time and check and re-check till it works.

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Looks better than the one I had done by Ten Ring Precision.

Another pic showing length of 1911 grip safety BT and C&S BT.

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That came out great, cool idea!

I expected an abortion

You did better than NH did on mine. Its too long from NH imho.

Wow, that is very impressive. You are very talented.

Very nice looking.

I wish Pachmayr would start making those rubber mag pads again.

Excellent job!

I just did a beavertail on mine. Also stippled the front and back straps.
Have some cheap paint on there til I get the slide back and have it refinished.

Good job.

Gotta agree - flat head screws on guns/knives rarely seem to fit any driver/bit

that is a handsome pistol