Posted: 4/30/2006 7:03:06 AM EDT
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The wife and I were out for a ride to Lowes for some mulch, when I decided to take a quick detour to my favorite gunstore ( he's not the closest, but my favorite). I wanted to see the FN guns and compare them to the Browning models. I also wanted to see the dreaded SFS sytem. I wasn't really planing on buying, because I assumed the prices (new or used) would be to high. No, this was an exploration trip to determine which gun I was going to order. This dealer had a number of HP's, which stood in contrast to my experience the other day. I found one for $450 and worked down from there. He ended up selling for $425 plus two boxes of Winchester FMJ. Not the greatest deal I've ever worked, but I was happy. The model is a Browning Hi Power, #245PP xxxxx. I checked the Browning site and dated it to 1988. It has a matte finish, which is in excellent condition. It also has a fixed front site and windage adjustable rear. I'm not sure that the front site can be replaced on this model, and this was the one negative. The overall condition of the pistol is excellent. There is very little wear on the finish, and all of the parts (barrel lugs, breach face, rifling, magazine) look great. The gun was a little dirty inside, but that cleans up. I'm trying to get to the farm for some shooting today. I'll report back with the results. Thanks for all of your help! |
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I made it to the farm, but my shooting was basicly a functionality check. I put almost 80 rounds through her which consisted of Winchester Silvertips and Winchester FMJ whitebox with no hiccups! Although no serious accuracy testing was done, I managed to hit a number of beer/coke cans more often than I missed from an honest 20 yards. The Silvertips really tore up the cans, but I'm reading here that the Silvertip in 9mm is rather dated. Oh well, I can always buy more since it's so cheap! A thorough detail cleaning is in order, and then a trip to the range to see what she will really do. One question about releasing the slide, I read somewhere that you should ease the slide down onto a loaded round versus just releasing it full throtle. Something about battering the slide, or damaging internals. Is this just on older models? Is my HP safe to just drop the slide? Is this just B.S.? One more question, does my model have the inertia firing pin? 
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Drop the slide. I just slide the slide release with my thumb. If you ease it down it is likely not to properly engage and will not fire. Then you have to pull it back, let it slam, and pick up the one that was in the chamber. |
I see what you guys are saying, and it makes sense. I know I read something to that effect somewhere though. |
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"One question about releasing the slide, I read somewhere that you should ease the slide down onto a loaded round versus just releasing it full throtle. Something about battering the slide, or damaging internals. Is this just on older models? Is my HP safe to just drop the slide? Is this just B.S.?" I think you are talking about dropping the slide while a round in the chamber. Many folks reported that it will break extractors on the old BHPs with internal extractors. Current BHPs with external extractors may not suffer from it as much, but I try not to be the one to find out. Having the extractor tip jump over the rim with a great force is not a good thing. Ideally, you only want to load from the mag. If I have anything in the chamber, I ease the slide to half way and then release it. If live round, I only load from mag. Hank |
Hank is right....ONLY LOAD FROM THE MAGAZINE....PERIOD. Also, do NOT drop the slide with the slide stop on either an empty or full chamber. When your gun is dry, drop the mag, insert a new one and pull the slide back and release it. You'll save a LOT of unnecessary wear and tear on your gun. |