Posted: 2/18/2011 10:16:34 AM EDT
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So I've wanted a hi power for a while now and browning's are a little out of my price range. I went to the gun store and they had a FEG Hi Power clone in good shape for $319.00. I figured this was as close as I would get to owning a hi power so I brought it home. There is no mag disconect(I can pull the trigger without a mag in) so I assume the last owner removed it. How can I tell if it had one. And where can I get some reliable mags for a fair price?
And I Know You Like Pics 
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Good deal. I picked up an FEG some time ago in a trade deal at a show for right around 275 into the gun as well. You got the good one with the matching browning style parts instead of the ones where they went away from the original design. I think CDNN has mags on sale, and I have yet to run across a bad browning mag, so just about any should work. Others may have had different experiences, but I seem to have good luck with my browning mags.
CA_TX-Cop |
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I've had several of the FEGs through my hands over the years and have found them to be very hit-or-miss. But they seem to be robust/durable so, if you got one that works, it'll probably continue to do so for some time. The price seems a little high to me, but it's been a long time since I last bought one and I haven't followed the market on them at all, so don't go by me. I hope it works and serves you well and that you really enjoy it!  |
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As said above you got one of the good ones. Also your FEG has a much better finish compared to any I have seen, so I would susoect that it was reblued (which is a good thing). I think you did very well. The price was in line for what FEGs are going for but just from the pics and your description it appears yours has had some work done. Overall, good score. CDNN has the 13 and 15 round MEC gar mags for around $20 each. |
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Well this store is not exactly known for low prices, but I figured grab it while it was there.
I just got back from shooting it. The first mag full was flawless then things went downhill. The next mag failed to extract almost every round so I packed up and came home. Ammo used was win white box FMJ. Must be the extractor or spring. Any Ideas? And I did get bit by the hammer. Never thought that would happen looking at my grip. Oh well. |
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Was it the same mag or did you use a different mag when it started to jam? Did you clean and lube it before you took it to the range?
Try these two things first, especially if it was the same magazine, and you loaded the mag again for the second attempt and it started to jam. |
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Quoted:
Was it the same mag or did you use a different mag when it started to jam? Did you clean and lube it before you took it to the range? Try these two things first, especially if it was the same magazine, and you loaded the mag again for the second attempt and it started to jam. I was reloading the same mag. I only have the one that came with it. I cleaned it very well as soon as I brought it home. I didn't remove the extractor during cleaning. Very light lube. Its cold this time of year so too much lube could slow it down. It wasn't even pulling the empty out of the chamber. |
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Shootdaily,
Extraction problems are common with the FEG autos and are almost always due to a weak extractor spring or crud under the extractor. First, if you can easily push in on the back of the extractor with your thumbnail, the spring is too weak and needs to be replaced. It's a simple job. You would also be well advised to replace the recoil spring since Eastern European autos tend to be undersprung in that department. Just call the parts department at Browning Arms and order standard springs for the Hi-Power, or you can get them from Wolff. If the extractor won't move, there is crud in its slot and it needs to be blown out with gun solvent or removed so you can eliminate the crud. It's rare, but sometimes when the extractor doesn't want to move it's because the extractor is too thick for its groove and needs to have its thickness carefully stoned or sanded down to fit the slot. I know it's disheartening to have your gun act up like this, but it is almost always a simple problem when FEG's don't extract properly. So don't let it get you down. Your pistol is a PJK-9HP marketed by the KBI concern. If I'm reading your serial number correctly, (B45XXX) it was probably made in the early to mid 90's, as was mine with its B52XXX serial number. The PJK-9HP of that period had one of the nicest blue jobs ever put on a pistol and I doubt very seriously that yours has been reblued. Here is a photo of mine, which I bought in unfired condition two years ago. It has the Herretts Cocobolo grips from www.cdnnsports.com ($27) http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj314/jaypee3843/PICT0070-1.jpg The presence of the pin in the trigger does not necessarily mean that the magazine disconnector is still in the gun. Some shooters don't like the hole in the trigger after they remove their disconnectors and simply replace the pin after the disconnector is gone. To determine if the disconnector is actually there or not you need to field strip the pistol and look down into the mag well from above with a flashlight. If it is still in place, there will be a spring loaded paddle-like device about a quarter inch square on the end of a little shaft sticking out the back of the trigger body into the mag well where it can make contact with the front of the magazine. If there is no such device, it has been removed. There is also the possibility that it is still in place but the spring has broken and it is not functioning properly. i.e. it could be hiding from you and staying in the retracted position. But don't go merely by the presence of the pin in the trigger. That can be misleading. Any magazine made for the FN/Browning Hi-Power will fit and fuction in your PJK-9HP. Two good places to get them is at www.cdnnsports.com or www.budsgunshop.com. Inventories go up and down all the time so you may have to backorder them if you go through these two suppliers. Your gun has the humped feed ramp which may or may not give you problems in feeding JHP loads. Mec-Gar has altered the upward angle of the bullets iin its mags in order to help overcome this. So you don't necessarily have to have a gunsmith "dehump" the feed ramp if and when it doesn't feed JHP.s well.....I'd suggest you try the MecGar mag first and see if it will feed them before having the gun altered. (That is assuming it doesn't feed them well. Sometimes they feed just fine.) The BHP design is not considered well suited to high pressure ammo, and this applies equally to the FEG Hi-Powers. So read up on the issue before using any +P ammo in it. You can find this information here: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/HiPowerComments.html You can also find a complete rundown on the FEG Hi-Power and Hi-Power style pistols here: http://feghp.blogspot.com/ Click on the featured article in the upper right hand side of the home page: "Decoding the FEG Hi-Power." As for prce, I would pay the price you paid for one of these guns any day of the week. It is a very fair price. Hope this helps. MM |
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Thanks for the help.
The serial number is B 46XXX. The magazine disconnector has been removed and the pin reinstalled. Just checked Wolff Gunsprings and the prices are lower than I thought they would be. Extractor springs for $3.49 and recoil springs for $7.89. Would you recomend the standard recoil spring 17lb or the 18.5lb xp? I don't want to cause it to short stroke. I see they give you an extra power firing pin spring if you get a Recoil Calibration Pak. Is the extra power firing pin spring going to help anything? |
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shoot daily,
The Wolff 18.5 lb recoil spring is usually recommended for a little added insurance. Some say that replacing the firing pin spring with an extra power firing pin spring is not really necessary, but again, it's a little added insurance, so why not? By the way, if you order the recoil spring, it includes a firing pin spring as well. |
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Opey nailed it, Shootdaily. Most 'authorities" i've studied said that the 17 lb spring is just fine as long as you're using standard pressure ammo, but the 18.5 lb. spring helps mitigate damage to the gun when firing +P or other high pressure ammo. The reason for the higher weight firing pin rebound spring is to make sure the firing pin doesn't go forward and fire the gun upon the slide closing because of the increased slide velocities caused by the uprated or otherwise stronger recoil spring. I have had instances of the 18.5 lb spring short stroking my BHP when using one particular load known for being very mild, so you do indeed want to test your gun with your defensive ammo before using it for defense if you adopt the 18.5 lb spring, but then you want to do that regardless of which spring you choose.
MM |
Ok, I just ordered the springs from Midway so I could get a couple roll pin punches at the same time. I ended up spending almost a hundred dollars on random gun stuff . I still need 4 or 5 mags sometime. I often wonder if I would be better off if I didn't like guns .
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Quoted:
Ok, I just ordered the springs from Midway so I could get a couple roll pin punches at the same time. I ended up spending almost a hundred dollars on random gun stuff . I still need 4 or 5 mags sometime. I often wonder if I would be better off if I didn't like guns.That's ok as long as it's you doing the wondering, and not your wife. 
MM |
| Well I got my parts from Midway today. The wolff extractor spring is significantly longer than the one that was in the gun. I replaced the extractor spring, extraxtor pin, and sear lever pin. Then I took it out and shot it. I only had one mag full but it worked. So I think I have it fixed. I didn't put my 18.5 lb recoil spring in yet incase that caused another problem. So I will have to do some more testing with that when I get some more ammo. I'm glad it was an easy fix. |
Got my mags from Greg Cote, LLC today. Cheapest place I could find Mec-Gar mags. Fast flat rate shipping. I have not tried them but they look very nice.
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| Nice!!! I like my Mecgars much better than the factory mags. I have2 factory mags that are "10" rounders that I can't get a 10th round in them. And this isn't the first magazine loaded pistol I've ever used. I'm no heman but it seems like these things just won't allow the 10th round in. The mecgars work good though. 13 rounds. Good to go. They should serve you well. |