Hi Power mods???

D

Dr.Rob

Staff Alumnus
OK So it occurred to me the other day that I would have to make some modification OR use a dummy mag to shoot my Hi-Power clone in IDPA. WHY?? becuase you CANNOT drop the hammer without a magazine in the gun. So what does this reallymean?/ There is NO SUCH thing as a safe Tac reload with this pistol.. if you drop the mag you are holding something as dangerous as a brick until you get the new magazine slammed home. Better to shoot it empty then reload.

So, how many of you hi power owners who CARRY have disabled the magazine safety? And do you feel safe with this feature disabled?

I'm seriously considering making this modification to my FEG hi-power clone.

Dr.Rob
 
Gee, how did the SAS and Sayeret Matkal etc get by all those yrs in real combat with such an inferior pistol?

Methinks thou doest protest too much? :)

I never disabled mine. Had nice triggers and my mags dropped free too. It can be done.

Tac reloads are much ado about nothing IMO.

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My HP's have, or will have, the C&S wide trigger installed which necessitates removal of the mag safety (oh darn). The only one that does not have the trigger is the GP Comp and it too has had the mag safety removed.
 
I didn't say hi powers were inferior.. I'm just asking if anyone else thought the magazine safety was a hinderance in competition and carry.
 
Removing the magazine saftey from the BHP makes clearing the weapon much easier at the end of each stage. Not all RO's have been happy about me having to stick an empty mag in the gun to drop the hammer. Can't say I'm real happy about it either. I plan to remove the mag saftey from my BHP/.40 and from my wife's BHP/9mm. Everyone I talk to says it makes the trigger better as well.

Having said that, once I have the mag saftey removed I will not use my BHP as a carry weapon anymore. I have no doubt that the members of this forum are knowlegeable enough to know that removing the mag saftey will not make the BHP an unsafe weapon, however, I will not take my chances with 12 strangers in a jury box should I ever have to defend my life with this weapon. I don't want to have to hear a lawyer tell the jury that I carried a weapon with a saftey device disabled. I only carry unmodified weapons for PD.

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Tom Whitman
SSgt, USAF
 
I removed the magazine safety in my MK3 Hi-Power just to improve the trigger pull (which it did) and yes, I do carry it.

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I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!
 
Rob, I've removed the magazine disconnects from my Browning .40 Hi-Power and from my two FEG 9mm Hi-Powers. It is a simple process and the disconnect can be easily restored if ever desired.

The change in trigger pull was remarkable, especially in the Browning which had the worst trigger pull of the three.

(The FEG Hi-Powers are an unheralded best buy at just over $200. I like mine so much I had Novak Lo-mount sights put on one of them. That and removing the mag disconnect made it a perfect Hi-Power--it comes with a safety lever superior to the Browning safety, now has a trigger pull of about 4.25lbs and crisp, and is 100% reliable. What's not to like?)

I never considered the magazine disconnect to be a safety feature, and in fact it is a tactical liability.

People that say their triggers are great and their mags drop free with the disconnect in place, but if that's true it requires a lot of work to make it so, more work than I want to fiddle with.

I would carry the Hi-Powers and feel comfortable doing so, but that's because I rely on the safety between my ears, not the ones on the gun. A loaded gun no matter how many safeties requires respect and safe handling, as you well know. One point to consider is that the modern Browning pistols have a firing pin block, the FEGs do not.

Frankly the .40 is the only one I'd be likely to carry (because of the chambering) as my choice is more likely to be a .45 auto or .357 revolver, depending on the circumstances....

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Mark
 
theprisoner and all: Didn't mean to sound self rightous about not carrying a modified weapon. Your choice is just that, and I support your right to make it. I've just heard too many court-room horror stories where the jury was painted a one sided picture of reloaded ammo, defeated safety devices, and the like. In the case of the magazine safety, I don't really see it as a safety feture at all. If a BG's intent on doin' harm to my body and for whatever reason the mag comes out, that round in the chamber does me no good. At that point I'm holding a steel hammer. The only one that's safe for is the BG. None-the-less, the magazine disconector is commonly refered to as a magazine safety and that's what the BG's heirs' lawyer is gonna' call it in civil court.

Dr.Rob: Sorry Sir, I know this probably got way away from the topic you brought up.

[This message has been edited by AF Shooter (edited April 11, 2000).]
 
I have a BHP on my CCW. No mag safety. Also a good sear/hammer job that drove the gunsmith nuts but he got it to break like glass.

You can drop the hammer on a BHP ...WITH..the mag safety if you reach up inside mag well and push the safety pad while letting the hammer down. It'll get your finger greasy, but it can be done.
 
How difficult is it to remove the magazine safety? I had a trigger job done on my hi-power but the gunsmith refused to remove the magazine safety. Is it something that is easy to do? Anyone care to explain the procedure?
 
Hello, Dr.Robb. I have routinely removed the magazine "safeties" from my HPs for about 3 decades now. I am aware of the potential civil problems associated with making this weapon operate without a magazine...just like the 1911s, SIG-Sauers, HKs, Glocks, etc. Usually, one can expect at 10 - 15% reduction in trigger pull although this has been negated just a bit with the newer .40 magazines that I've seen. The shiney coating is slick to reduce friction between the magazine and the "safety." I'm told it's a form of teflon.

*For the fellow wanting to know how to remove the magazine safety: On the older guns, you simply unload the gun, remove the slide assembly and then locate the small pin visible on the side of the trigger toward the frame. It's visible in the trigger guard. Remove it with a small punch. Now, press and release the trigger a few times. Sometimes the "safety" and its spring will pop out in the magazine well from a hole in the rear top of the trigger that's visible from inside the frame. If not, take hold of the lever that goes up when the trigger's pulled to press the sear trip lever in the slide. Carefully work it out and back, past the frame. The safety and spring should then pop out. In the newer guns, the frame's been altered enough that you cannot get this lever past the frame. In that case, you have to drive out the trigger pin. Take a BRASS punch and drive out this pin that goes through the frame. Put the punch on the pointed end of this pin. Often, you will NOT have to drive the pin all the way out, just enough to move the trigger assembly around enough to get the lever back past the frame to release the safety and spring. Best.
 
Thanks Stephen, it worked like a charm. On the Browning it dropped the pull weight to 4.5 pounds. I also tried it on one of the feg clones but the pull is still around 10 pounds or more. My gauge only goes to eight pounds. It there an easy way to reduce the trigger pull on this one? Would polishing the trigger lever do any good?
 
I have the mag safety removed in my MKIII HP I carry. I feel safer with it removed than I did with it functional.

Thanks S.A.C. for the instructions! Will now remove the ms in my other HPs myself.

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BKs Pistol Pages
 
Hello, M16, BK40, and all. Glad to have been of help. I really cannot accurately diagnose the trigger problem without seeing it. However, HP trigger work is really best left to gunsmiths who can do this work. Having said that, I've been lucky more than once by using C&S sears and hammers; not always, but frequent enough that it may be worth a try.
Best.
 
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