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I have a dillema

Navy Moose

Navy Moose

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I have a 26 year old Browning Hi-Power with relatively low mileage. Functionally it is perfect. Unfortunately, it is finished with, I think, Nickle. I want to replace the sights and have the weapon parkerized or blued.

I spoke to one person who suggested selling it and purchasing a new Browning with better sights and a more traditional finish. I was advised not to invest more into the weapon, I had ambidextrous safeties installed last year. This person claimed the trigger has a long travel before firing. I'm not sure why this is a problem, the weapon has fired every time I pull the trigger. He also claimed the ramp and throat on the barrel need some work, I'm not sure if this is a problem or not. Like I said, the weapon fires everytime and has not jammed.

One of the reasons I'm struggling with this decision, is this weapon was one of the last ones made and assembled by FN in Belgium.

I've been thinking about this for several days now and I'm torn between the following:

1). I love the Browning Hi-Power and would be happy with another one with good sights and a dark frame. I already have a good holster and two spare magazines.

2). Upgrade to a 1911A1, which was designed by the same person and has been a favorite of mine for many years. My only change would be to look for a model with a double stack magazine.

3). Stick with 9mm and get a Beretta 92FS. I used one in the Navy and I enjoyed shooting it.

I want a weapon with good night sights and can carry a minimum of 13 rounds. Ambidextrous safety is a huge plus. This is my carry weapon and I don't want to rush into a decision. I much prefer a military weapon with a classic design.

I am looking to my NES family for help in making this decision.

Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Strip it, Park it, carry it, love it!
ETA Do you shoot it well?
If you do, then putting some money into it to end up with what you want may be the way to go.
 
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if you love what you have, and you dont mind spending the money, then refinish it adn install the new sights. Why change to somethign else when you already love what you have?

Maybe sell it and buy another if it'd be easier to do and you find one you like.
 
Parkerizing is pretty easy.
It's just a liquid bath brought up to 170 degrees F.

Midway sells a parkerizing kit for about $20-30 ? It's not expensive.
You'd probably want to media blast it first. If you don't have a blaster and a compressor I could do that for you (but I don't have any of the correct media right now. I think it's 10-15 bucks at Midway)
 
I would keep the Hi-Power for sentimental and collectable reasons and do no more modifications to it. One thing to be careful of is that a nickle finish actually has some thickness, so you want to insure that stripping the nickle won't give you excessive "gaposis" between parts. I personally don't care for shooting them, but I'm not a fan of 9mm. (Unless it's a .30 cal.)
 
Does it look like mine? I"ll never strip it.

Web%20highpower1965right640.jpg
 
Gonzo said:
Keep it, and buy an M9 anyway.

Or one of the other thousands of 9mm variants out there.
Click to expand...

That right there is some of the best thinking I've witnessed in a while [laugh2] If you can get the new M9A1. Not sure if it's approved in MA yet though.
 
DO NOT SELL IT!

It's written all over your post, your attached to it, keep it, shoot it, love it, refinish it if it makes you happy.
 
What is the reason you want it refinished? To have the sights match?

If it is just to change the color, carry it until the nickle wears off and then park it.

One thing I've learned from reading this forum: if you have to think about whether you want to sell a gun, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
 
Nickel Plate is very corrosion resistant & the sights are easier to see @ night.
Parkerizing can rust - it just acts as a fuzzy surface to hold the oil.
Leave it Nickel if you want an armpit gun
 
CRSIII said:
Strip it, Park it, carry it, love it!
ETA Do you shoot it well?
Click to expand...
I qualified expert each time we did M9 quals in the Navy, I haven't done much with her. Now that I belong to a range with IDPA and traditional outdoor ranges, she will have a lot more rounds go down range. I forgot to mention the current sights are just terrible. I want to put a set of good sights, something which work well at night too.

Pilgrim said:
Does it look like mine? I"ll never strip it.
Click to expand...

Here is a photo I just took of her.

icyclefar said:
DO NOT SELL IT!

It's written all over your post, your attached to it, keep it, shoot it, love it, refinish it if it makes you happy.
Click to expand...

I am attached to her, I've owned the pistol since I was in my early 20s.
darklupine said:
What is the reason you want it refinished? To have the sights match?

If it is just to change the color, carry it until the nickle wears off and then park it.

One thing I've learned from reading this forum: if you have to think about whether you want to sell a gun, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
Click to expand...

I want to refinish it because the weapon will reflect light very nicely. Not a good thing tactically. It is my carry weapon and my nightstand weapon.

Arto said:
Nickel Plate is very corrosion resistant & the sights are easier to see @ night.
Parkerizing can rust - it just acts as a fuzzy surface to hold the oil.
Leave it Nickel if you want an armpit gun
Click to expand...

I haven't used a shoulder holster in years, I use a Fobus OWB holster, but I know what you're driving at.
 
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I say keep it and refinish how you want it. However, before you parkerize it, you should look into other finishes. Theres DLC, Melonite and a number of others. My Kahr has DLC on the slide and I think that's one of the nicer black finishes I've seen.
 
PaulD said:
I say keep it and refinish how you want it. However, before you parkerize it, you should look into other finishes. Theres DLC, Melonite and a number of others. My Kahr has DLC on the slide and I think that's one of the nicer black finishes I've seen.
Click to expand...

I'll look at any black or dark finish which is durable and can stand up to being in a holster and in a night stand.
 
Arioch said:
I would keep the Hi-Power for sentimental and collectable reasons and do no more modifications to it.
Click to expand...
What he said.

Navy Moose said:
I am attached to her, I've owned the pistol since I was in my early 20s.
Click to expand...


My two cents would be to keep it - I wouldn't go so far as to change the finish but to change the sights to something you'll like, get some presentation wood grips on her, and then buy another for carrying that's tricked out the way you want it.

If you have any sentiment about it, do NOT get rid of it. I found out the hard way that that is something you wind up regretting.
 
dwarven1 said:
My two cents would be to keep it - I wouldn't go so far as to change the finish but to change the sights to something you'll like, get some presentation wood grips on her, and then buy another for carrying that's tricked out the way you want it.

If you have any sentiment about it, do NOT get rid of it. I found out the hard way that that is something you wind up regretting.
Click to expand...
Listen to Ross. Change the sights if you want, but now that I've seen a picture I would not try to turn "her" into a carry gun. I'd recommend a 1911 as a second pistol because you have more options there, but an M9 would work too.
 
kevin9 said:
I'd recommend a 1911 as a second pistol because you have more options there, but an M9 would work too.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend either - the High Power is still available, and if that's what he's used to and shoots well, then get another one. 13 Europellets to COM is nothing that a mugger is going to sneeze at. (or 13 to a zombie's head, either.)

Ross
 
dwarven1 said:
I wouldn't recommend either - the High Power is still available, and if that's what he's used to and shoots well, then get another one. 13 Europellets to COM is nothing that a mugger is going to sneeze at. (or 13 to a zombie's head, either.)

Ross
Click to expand...

There are reliable 17 round mags available also.
 
Thank you all. I'm going to put better sights on the Browning and keep her. I am going to look at other 9mm and .45 carry guns. Maybe I can find a good deal out there [smile]

I checked Gunbroker last night and saw the price for Brownings is very high [sad]. I will have to look for other makes / models. Oh well, mine isn't going anywhere.
 
Navy Moose said:
I am looking to my NES family for help in making this decision.

Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving!
Click to expand...

Happy Thanksgiving to you too. This is what I would do, if I was a former Navyman turned photographer who moved to a free state:

1. Keep the Browning Hi-power, & modify it to suit you. Don't worry about the investing more into it, or the potential resale value.

2. Buy yourself a 1911. Single stack. JMB wasn't wrong when he made it that way. [wink]

3. Merry Christmas. Buy yourself a 9mm Beretta 92FS, & have fun with it.
 
Navy Moose-- Stop in to State Line Gun Shop, was in there yesterday, they have 2 or 3 Hi Powers in there, don't remember the prices, maybe one would suit your needs as a shooter. Nothing wrong with buying yet another gun[smile]
 
I have had my HP for about 25 years. I recently had work done to it, KKM barrel, extended safety, wide trigger, fiber optic sights, new hammer, and the slide was cleaned up and reblued. Greg Derr did the work. It was worth every penny. This was my first gun and it has sentimental value. I now use the gun for IDPA.
 

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