The Hi-Power had about 6,000 rounds of ammo through it when it went in for custom work (based on number of empty 1000rd cases accumulated). I begin to keep a casual log of how many rounds I shot and what issues I encountered in hopes of doing better preventive maintenance. The log is far from perfect and as I became a lawyer, I tended to occasionally forget to log shooting as I would sneak out during what little time I had to shoot a few hundred rounds. So the numbers I am giving (especially those past 24,000) are going to be approximate and are on the low side.
As of today, the pistol has approximately 30,075 rounds through it, with a little over 1,400 of those being +P defensive ammo, and the vast majority being 115gr or 124gr aluminium cased Blazer 9mm.
First, a quick run down of problems and parts wear I encountered along the way:
1. 13,102 rounds (7,102 since custom work): Bottom lug on KKM barrel sheared off - jamming the gun completely. KKM blamed the gunsmith. The gunsmith blamed KKM. I got hosed. I dug the original Browning barrel up out of the garage (where it had a few light surface stains from corrosion sitting in the hot garage unattended) cleaned it up and dropped it back in the pistol with no additional fitting or work. As of today, that barrel is still going strong and providing great accuracy.
2. 16,300-16,500 rounds: Top ring of recoil spring guide cracked. Part remained fully functional and was discovered during cleaning/maintenance and replaced with a factory Browning part that is still serving well.
3. Somewhere around 17,498 rounds, the firing pin retaining plate broke the left side notch off. Again, the pistol continued to function just fine despite this. Noticed it while taking a picture for the blog. Replaced it with a factory Browning part, which was then dremeled to fit under the Novak sights. That part is still going strong.
4. 18,322 rounds: Front lamp tube in Trijicon sight departs pistol - giving a nifty see-through effect. New front sight installed.
5. 19,894 rounds: Tip broke off of fixed ejector. Gun continued to function but stoppages running 10-20%. Replaced with factory Browning part that is still doing well today.
6. 21,594 rounds: During cleaning noticed a crack forming in the slide stop. The slide stop was NP3 coated (like every other part which is listed above so far) which aided in spotting the crack. However, since unlike the other parts, it wasn't mostly internal where you didn't really notice whether it was NP3 coated or not, I had to order this from Browning and send it to Robar to be NP3 plated. Something to think about when going for those fancy finishes!
I also discovered when I received the new slide stop that Browning had quietly redesigned the Hi-Power slide stop around 2000. Apparently I was not the only person to experience this issue. The new slide stop is still serving well.
7. 25,032 rounds: The left side grip screw broke off halfway in the hole (probably due to my habit of using Loctite liberally to keep the grips on). Giant mess. Ultimately replaced it with two factory nickel grip screws from Browning rather than send the two screws off for NP3. Those grip screws are a bit cruddy at the moment due to lack of tender care - the high side is polished bright by holster contact but the low side is covered in crud and dull.
And to date, those are the only problems I've encountered with the Hi-Power (knock on wood). Here is what she looks like as of today (30, 075 rounds):
You will immediately notice that the grips are much darker now. Those are, in fact, the same Craig Spegel Cocobolo grips shown in the original pictures. This is what 13 years of dirt, sweat, powder residue and CLP look like.
was cutting <1" 25yd groups with CorBon's 115. Funny how a 65 year old design still can stir our soul- ain't nuthin' like beatiful steel and wood in a classic design!
