Custom Alloy BHP from Don Williams has returned

W

WVsig

New member
Well it has been a bit since I sent my lightweight BHP off to Don William so he could work his magic. The build sheet is as follows.

C&S Hammer & Sear set
Trigger Job
Reliability package
Front & Backstrap Stippling
Beveled Mag well
Smooth out package
Garthwaite wide trigger
Don Williams custom wide safety
NP3 frame and black Rogard on the slide & controls
Harrison 1911 sights with Tritium Front and rear.
Spegel Grips

The work is incredible as you would expect. The stippling on the front and back of the grip strap is perfect. Grippy but not too aggressive like the checkering on my Les Baer. Feels great and looks great with the NP3 finish.

The finish work by Robar is excellent. Almost every blemish that was originally on the gun is gone or at least muted. The black on the Rogard has a nice smooth look to it. Almost blued in appearance. The NP3 looks great. I love the more muted silver tone of the NP3 vs say the hard chrome of the practical. One of the things I really like about the refinish is that the proof marks and roll marks are still strong and visible. They are not "filled" in or "dulled" by either finish.

The custom thumb safety is a work of beauty. Its fit & function is perfection. I simply love it. Don makes them out of the factory safety. It as a crisp positive click when engaged on and off not the mushy feel of the original state of the factory part. It is one of my favorite features of the gun.

The sights are Harrison sight which are made for 1911. Don milled the slide and fit them perfectly to the gun only the slight rounded butt end of the slide is protruding beyond the sight. I love the unique profile the sights give the gun.

The trigger is crisp and clean. I love the feel of the flat trigger it is responsive and breaks nicely. Honestly I cannot say much more about the trigger from just dry firing but I do not think I will be disappointed when firing live. I have not been able to make it to the range but hope to make it tomorrow. Overall I could not be happier about how it turned out.

This is what it looked like when I sent it in.

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Now...

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That is an AWESOME looking Hi-power

I had a 1911 sent off to Robbie at Robar to have the same roguard/ NP3 treatment about 10 years ago. I still like the way that gun looks.

If you ever decide to sell that Hi-power... Let me know!!!
 
I had to re-read your post. I didn't think that was the same gun and I couldn't figure out why you'd post a photo of an ugly gun and then one that looks sweet!

Nice.
 
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I had to re-read your post. I didn't think that was the same gun and I couldn't figure out why you'd post a photo of an ugly gun and then one that looks sweet!

Nice.
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Yes LOL before and after pics.
 
Did you have any of the internal parts finished?
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Not sure what you mean by that? All the trigger parts are done in Rogard. The barrel was not replaced. Hammer sear and trigger were all replaced.
 
WVsig said:
Not sure what you mean by that? All the trigger parts are done in Rogard. The barrel was not replaced. Hammer sear and trigger were all replaced.
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When I had Robar finish a pistol of mine I also had the barrel and internal parts (trigger bar, hammer, sear catch, etc) refinished in NP3+ as well. Sounds like you went with Rogard. It helped my pistol in terms of smoothness immensely as it was factory and didn't have a trigger job. Given that you had a custom job done you likely wouldn't benefit that much from it, but I was just curious.
 
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When I had Robar finish a pistol of mine I also had the barrel and internal parts (trigger bar, hammer, etc) refinished in NP3+ as well. Sounds like you went with Rogard.
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Yes as you can see in the pictures hammer, trigger, slide stop etc... are all Rogard. Barrel was not refinished I did not feel the need to refinish it. For me the Rogard internals was more about the look of the pistol than the finish. I think NP3 is more durable but wanted a particular look. :)

The amazing part about this gun is with the alloy frame it weights about the same as a Glock 19. IIRC both are about 23 oz :D
 
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WVsig said:
Yes as you can see in the pictures hammer, trigger, slide stop etc... are all Rogard. Barrel was not refinished.
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Got it. When you said controls I wasn't sure if you meant all of those and it isn't easy for me to tell from the picture. Only have my phone currently.

Edit just saw your comment on the weight. That's pretty amazing. I have never had the opportunity to shoot an alloy frame HP. I had a Mk III some time ago that I enjoyed.

Be sure to post a range review when you break it in.
 
Be sure to post a range review when you break it in.
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I might fire off a few in my backyard range tomorrow but it is really setup for just 22 LR but I am sure it would be fine for a mag or 2 of 9mm.

I hope to get some real range time with it Monday schedule allowing.
 
I'm curious about the feel of the new safety. I've cleaned the safety area of my 1981 BHP, but the feel is still pretty mushy. On yours, can you feel a click?

ETA: Sorry, it looks like you answered that in your OP, and I missed it. Looking at the pictures, I guess.
 
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that thing is a beauty. We will need a range report.

I am considering picking up my first BHP this weekend, a stock MKIII, upgrades later of course.
 
I sent the gun in early April and just got it back. Don had his work completed by mid June IIRC. The rest of the wait time was Robar.

I am not sure what his current times are. I highly recommend Don. He is a true professional and will talk with you at length about what "you" want on your BHP. He can work with lots of different parts from lots of different suppliers and will give you honest straight forward advice. All I can say is that it is worth the wait.
 
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