I picked up an FEG about a year ago, knowing absolutely nothing about Hi-Powers.  I've been really impressed with the quality, as it has performed flawlessly with any ammo and any mag. So now a year later I'm a huge fan of the Hi-Power. Here's the question.....I want to put together a nice dialy carry gun, should I use the FEG as the foundation or what would you reccomend.   Any tips in general about having work done on HP would be great...I've done my homework, but would appreciate a little last minute advice before I take the plunge and have it done.

GREAT !  The spell checker screws me on my first post.  So now I look like a moron.  Hello all, glad to be here.  

Some very minor ramp work might be required for "Big Mouth" hollow points such as (Rem.)Golden Saber.

I have scene where the hollow point opening was wider than the ramp and the round hung up on the actual frame on either side of the ramp. A few skilled strokes with a fine jewelers file will fix this and then the gun will eat anything.

Go ahead and us it , I was reading a magazine article on a gunsmith that does that kind of work , I'll see if I can find the article . As I remember the weapon came out great .

FEG made a bunch of different guns they labled as HiPower Style. The closest to the real P-35 was the FEG PJK 9HP.

My experiense with the FEG PJK 9HP has been that it was every bit as accurate as my BHPs. I'd give it a good try with whatever ammo you plane on carrying and the use it. For what you'd spend trying to make it a project gun you could by anothe FEG, an ARCUS M-94 or a FM M-95. Two guns beats one gun anyday.

I did add a C&S ambi safety and some Spegel grips to one of my FEGs.

Found the magazine article ,its in the Nov/Dec 2001 edition of American Handgunner , pg 52 .
The gunsmith is from Cylinder & Slide Inc

Web www.cylinder-slide.com

They look really nice , in thearticle he customizes both a HP and a PJK-9HP .

I have one and if I don't sell it i'm going to work it up.  The frame is close, but not exact copy of the Browning.  So I'll probably keep a couple of parts (slide release) and swap the H/T/S/Safety for C&S or other custom parts.

If you can shoot the FEG and carry it as it comes from the box go for it. If not read this that I posted in General Handgun area:

My advice is to save your money and buy a Browning High-Power (BHP). There is no resale with the clones. So if you put money into a clone it is gone. I shoot and like FEG, FM, and Arcus pistols. My opinion is the Arcus is the best of the clones and licensed copies. The FEG looks very good on the outside but you will find plenty of tool marks on the inside. The FM's exterior is painted for a reason and that is they aren't finished well. The Arcus looks more like it has a Sig slide and trigger guard but they are well finished. One man's opinion.
Regards,

Richard:-)

Quoted: My advice is to save your money and buy a Browning High-Power (BHP). There is no resale with the clones.

Perhaps he isn't planning on selling his gun.

Also, highly customized pistols will almost never get anything near their actual cost.  Something to think about if you plan on extensive customizing.  

Having both a FEG and a Browning, I'll be working on my FEG.  

Quoted: If you can shoot the FEG and carry it as it comes from the box go for it. If not read this that I posted in General Handgun area: My advice is to save your money and buy a Browning High-Power (BHP). There is no resale with the clones. So if you put money into a clone it is gone. I shoot and like FEG, FM, and Arcus pistols. My opinion is the Arcus is the best of the clones and licensed copies. The FEG looks very good on the outside but you will find plenty of tool marks on the inside. The FM's exterior is painted for a reason and that is they aren't finished well. The Arcus looks more like it has a Sig slide and trigger guard but they are well finished. One man's opinion. Regards, Richard:-)

Hey Richard, there are two reason FMs (fabricaciones militares) HP35s are painted isntead of blued or parkerized, one and i think the main reason is because it's cheaper and faster to "PAINT" it than to it is to blue it or parkerize it, and the second one, is because that "PAINT" is thicker than any blue or park finish, and therefor it will last longer and protect the gun for a longer time, TRUST ME, i've been in FABRICACIONES MILITARES factory before, and had a LOOOOOONG chat with the operators in there.
I hope that helped.

HUNTER.

Thanks for all the info...

I'm going to send the FEG to C&S to have it worked up, I might as well use what I have.  I really want a custom gun, and hopefully it won't be my last, so you have to start somewhere.   Going with a no bite commander hammer, new sear, trigger, and combat safety to start.  I still haven't picked sights yet, I'm leaning toward the Express 24/7 Big Dot, but I want a sight that is comfortable for concealed.  I haven't gone through all the post
on that topic yet...

MightySwede, reread my post. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear; I tried and it cost me a lot of money which I will never get back. If you are set on an FM don't polish it. Have a Birdsong type finish applied and also don't waste the money on sending it to Bill Laughridge. A journeyman gunsmith is all you need. Dick Williams in Saginaw, MI would better serve you on a pistol like a FM. Regards, Ricgard

Quoted: MightySwede, reread my post.

You didn't read my reply, or you chose to ignore it.


The real answer here isn't Do this or Do that.  

What you need to do is to ask if it is worth it, to you, to get the work done on your FEG or to buy a whole new gun to get the work done on.  

If the FEG is working for you, and you don't want to spend the $$ to get a new gun, then do it.  If you want a showcase piece for the grandkids, then I'd imagine you'd probably pick up a real browning and have it worked up.  

For a carry gun I don't imagine you'd be getting too much done to it, though.  Most HP's and clones work pretty well stock (minus mag safety).  The Silk purse analogy is probably a bit overstated if that's the case.

FEG  or BHP , its your toy ! I have both and I love the finish on my FEG lots better than my HP MK III and both preform equally . From what I've seen on C&S website you'll be happy , so don't worry about what other people say .

ProfessorEvil and others,

Let me start this from the beginning again. I had a FM High-Power and I liked it a lot. I ended up putting Novak sights on it, a trigger job, Spegel grips, and C&S safety. I carried and shot this pistol a bunch.

I decided it deserved to look better and went with a high gloss blue. In the refinishing process it became apparent that there were rough spots that needed more polishing.

I got my beauty back and took it to the range to shoot. In the first few shots the frame let go in the area that the magazine release goes is inserted. This was an area that was very rough. I now had a great looking book end.

I called several gunsmiths about getting the frame welded up and I was told by the best it was a waste of time. Remember, this was my favorite pistol so I kept trying. I approached Alex Hamilton, of he can fix anything fame, and he said chuck it.

Alex Hamilton and I decided to put the pistol back together using a used MkIII frame. Alex polished the frame and it was sent to Virgil Tripp for hard chroming. The FM/FN was put back together and is a thing of beauty.

I now have about $800 in a pistol I probably can't get $300 out of. This is why I say stick with a BHP or buy and use a licensed copy or clone with as little money as possible in it.

I enjoyed this project but I would have been better off buying a BHP and having the mods done to it.

Regards,

Richard

Thanks to all for the info....I just got off the phone with one of the guys from C&S discussing barrel lock up and life-span of the slide.  It was his opinion that given the hardness (or lack of) of the slide, the FEG would only be servicable for around 5000 rounds while a new Mark III would be more likely 20,000.  Of course he went into more detail and I tried to keep up (I had no idea what barrel lock up was two days ago), so I hope I'm not misrepresenting him.    Any input on this from those that own both would be great.                                    

Even the FNs / Brownings have relatively soft steel. Have seen several that were pretty much toast after 25-30,000 rd, of standard ball. That plus the caliber, plus the fact that they were generally less reliable than other models, is the reason the SAS went with the 226, and the FBI's HRT with the .45. Great feel...so-so steel.

I guess I must be doing something wrong with my PJK.  I've gotten past the 6000 mark and it's still working alright.  I'll go try it again this weekend and see if I can break it.  

I don't have the shok-buff or recoil tech buffer, but some have recommended them.

I had a BHP MKIII that I watched wearing out as I fired it.
The hammer flattened out where the slide drags, the slide got goose loose within a few hundred rounds and, when drifting the dovetailed sights, the slide would not go back on the frame, it squashed with minimal pressure in the vice.
My FEG is still not showing anywhere near the same wear with more than twice the rounds through it.
True, my BHP was made in '89, which I think was the last year the Belgians assembled them and maybe they were disgruntled enough not to heat treat mine?
My results match ProfessorEvil's.