Browning Hi Power: Poor Metallurgy?

T

TunnelRat

New member
I'm a bit shocked/confused currently. Tonight I decided to finally drift off the front sight on my Browning Hi Power to measure the dovetail depth for a replacement front sight. I am using a Wheeler Engineering sight pusher that I've used a dozen or so times (see the pictures and here's a link https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Engi...smithing-Maintenance/dp/B07RKXWLHD?th=1&psc=1). I tightened the sight pusher just by hand, drifted the front sight off with not what I would call a lot of difficulty (more than some pistols but Hi Power dovetails are often tight), and measured the dovetail.

I went to put the barrel back in the slide and noticed it wouldn't seat without a bit of force, certainly more than normal. I inspected the slide to make sure some debris didn't get in and it seems fine. Then, with the barrel out of the slide, I tried running the slide on the frame. There was noticeable resistance. When I fully assembled the pistol I can actually get the slide to hang out of battery despite the recoil spring (again see pictures).

In looking it over the only conclusion I can reach is that the sight pusher actually bent the slide inward. I tightened it down firmly, but again only by my fingers and while I like to think I'm strong I'm not a brick layer, nor did I struggle to tighten down the clamps. Has anyone heard of this before? What are my options at this point?

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Assuming that the barrel can move freely in the slide you have a fairly simple option.

Get some lapping compound, apply it to the rails on the frame and on the slide and then put the slide on the frame and lap it until everything moves with only the appropriate amount of force. It can be a bit tighter than it was before without causing any problem.

Ideally, you would want to lap just the side that is bent rather than take metal off everywhere.

By the way, I'm not saying that lapping the slide to the frame is a great option--just that it will get you back in business.

Another option (also not a great one) is to use a brass hammer to adjust the slide a tiny bit. You would need to be able to tell exactly where the bend was and you would need to be very careful. If it bent in easily, it will bend back out easily and you definitely don't want to overdo it. That should work even if the barrel is currently binding in the slide.
 
It is a Mk III, but a US commercial import (Belgian construction, Portuguese assembly). It's an early Mk III from the 80s. My wife believes it is the left side as well. I might have expected the side near the ejection port, but that side is a head scratcher to me.

Thanks for the tips John. I'm going out of town for a bit, but when I get back I can give any suggestions a try or at least a longer look.
 
I know three gunsmiths in my area, one of which I'd rather do this but he's not easy to get in touch with. I'll see if he's available.

Yes I do have calipers, I'll slide along when I get a chance.

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Just expand the sagged section back.Distribute the pressure on the opposite side and concentrate it in the middle of the binding part.It should only be a couple of thou,don't need to be perfect.You put a dent in it you pull it out.
 
I don't think it's poor metallurgy. Looks to be about where you placed lateral pressure on the slide, via the clamp placement, while not having a block or spacer placed inside the slide to prevent it from bending.

The HP has a svelte slide. One of it's good points!

tipoc
 
It's not poor metallurgy. It's that "sight pusher". Sight pushers shouldn't work like that. Like tipoc says, you squeezed the slide. Lapping isn't going to fix it either.
As I recall, BHP sight dovetails are directional too. As in, Left out, Right in(just an example).
 
I once bought an old M1911A1 military slide (just the slide) from a pawn shop that had a similar problem. It looked very nice but, when I tried to put it on a receiver, it wouldn't go. I used a dial caliper to measure the distance between the slide rails, and it was distinctly "pinched" over about the last 3/4 of an inch toward the rear.

There was a fellow Vietnam vet who ran a small machine shop in town at the time, so I took it down to him to see about getting it machined back to spec. He took a different approach. He took a short length of 1-inch round steel bar, set it into the space between the slide rails, and then put it in a vise and slowly closed the jaws.

He went very slowly, in small increments, stopping frequently to check the dimension. After about four increments, he put the slide on the receiver I had and I went on just as slick as glass. No machining necessary -- just a judicious application of common sense.
 
I looked up the direction before I drifted the sight. There wasn't that much resistance. It was much easier than the epoxy coated Mk III I had some time ago

I've used this sight pusher on at least a dozen pistols with no such results. Again, this was me hand tightening the clamps. Poor may not be the right word, but this is absolutely more pliable than just about anything I have in my safe, and the walls of this slide are just as thick as those.

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It's a thought TunnerlRat I wasn't there and you were so your call and judgement. But it does look like the slide was slightly bent.

You said you were gonna check on that and we'll see the solution.:)

tipoc
 
Pricey units those,at that rate I'd give them a call tell them how their tool damaged your pistol and find out how they handle that issue.
 
tipoc said:
It's a thought TunnerlRat I wasn't there and you were so your call and judgement. But it does look like the slide was slightly bent.



You said you were gonna check on that and we'll see the solution.:)



tipoc
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I have no doubt the slide was bent. My point is simply I haven't had this issue with other pistols, including some older than this. The tempering seems such that the steel is softer than on others I've dealt with. In fact I've used this exact same sight pusher on another Hi Power with no bending.

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polyphemus said:
Pricey units those,at that rate I'd give them a call tell them how their tool damaged your pistol and find out how they handle that issue.
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I've had it for years at this point with no issues on any other pistol. I'm not really sure they owe me anything. I think this is on me.

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Back in them days,there was a guy in the shop we needed a breaker bar to change setups after him,we called him torque master.
If you didnt use a pipe wrench to tighten those thumb screws and even if you did I cant for the life of me see how you warped that slide,maybe they dont owe you but they should know what their tool can do to some pistols.
 
To play devil's advocate, why are you so set on it being the tool and not possibly bad tempering? I've used the same tool on another Mk III, an Israeli that had lived a hard life, with no bending, and on that one I really had to tighten it because the epoxy coating had sealed the sight in like cement. The tool has worked fine on every other pistol. Could it be the tool's fault? Maybe, but it's hard to go with that when so much experience has shown no issues at all.

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