HP conversion

[Texas1941]

I have a 40 High Power that really chews up my hand. I've been thinking of converting it to 9mm. The Bar Sto bbl looks like the best deal for conversion, but I've never used their services.

Any guidance on Bar Sto and/or the conversion idea?

 

[perrazi]

bar-sto makes a great product. heard they were moving to south dakota. you may have to twist someone's arm there to get them to make a hi-power bbl. though

 

[sar4937]

Have you thought about reloading? You could load down using a 155gr bullet. You can make it shoot like a 9mm, change springs and shoot like a 40. Reloading equipment would cost about the same. Or maybe trade the Hi-Power for a 9mm. I think there will be extractor issues and different magazines to buy.

 

[OKFC05]

I wouldn't even try the conversion.
I won't waste your time telling the story of trying to get Olympic Arms to make HP conversion barrels. Their prototype never worked right.

The Pachmayr grips for the HP originally designed for the Practical solved the problems for my hands. They are far superior to the wood grips for control and comfort. I sometimes shoot a HP .40 with major loads in USPSA/L10.

If you want to go to a lighter recoil spring, you can handload to .40 minor, which is an even lighter kick than commercial 9mm.

If all else fails, trade it.

 

[Steave]

I would sell or swap it for a 9mm. The slide on the .40 is much beefier, and really handles differently than the 9mm. As much as I love 9mm Hi-Power's, I've never really cared for the .40. Unless the ability to switch calibers is important to you, I think you'll be happier with a new pistol.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Is this conversion even possible? AFAIK you can only convert semiautos where the case head is the same diamter-i.e. 9MM to 38 Super and back.
Otherwise the ejector is in the wrong place.

 

[Centenniel]

The best solution may be to trade your 40 HP for a 9mm HP. Any conversion may just wind up being an expensive, problematic episode.

 

[Texas1941]

Good points all...let me address them as best I can, and maybe clear up my own thinking a bit.

I am no expert on HPs, but I've had five of them over last forty years, four of them 9mms, and every one of them has bitten my hand. Some had round hammers (and I wish I had both of those back), others had spur hammers. 1911s without beavertails bite my hand. In other words, I consider a little blood to be the "price of doing business" and don't worry too much about it. The 40 HP is a whole different animal. It doesn't bite, it chews.

Reloading would mitigate the problem, at least to the extent of reducing the chomp to a nip. As it stands now. I reload 38/357, 44 SPL/MAG, and 45 ACP/AR. I would rather not add another ctg at this stage of my life (and available reloading space). 9mm was for a long time the cheapest centerfire you could shoot. Things have changed, but I suspect that when that when the current shortages settle down the 9mm will give the most bang for the buck, short of reloading.

As for simply trading for a 9mm, I would if I could without taking a gigantic soaking. I haven't seen a new HP at a gun show or a gun shop in Houston for less than $900, and I've been looking for two years. In fact, I've seen very few HPs new or used. I should have gotten one of the FN HPs when they were available, but it looks like that boat has sailed. Even the clones seem to have gone away. I bought my 40 new from Shawn Nelms about ten years ago (2000?), for $372 including tax, title and my recappable tires. The Bar Sto website shows a 40 to 9mm conversion bbl which they will fit for a little more than $200 plus return shipping. Call it $260 there and back. I can live with that.

If this conversion works, the result would feel different than an original HP, no doubt about that. There is more mass in the slide and maybe other differences I don't know about. There might be a plus side to that though. The 9mm HP often doesn't do well with +P type loads. I rounded the locking recesses in a 1970 production HP with about 300 rds of SuperVel 112 gr sp. I saw two others in the same time period with similar damage from warmish hand loads. It's hard to imagine that happening with the more massive 40 slide.

Is this conversion even possible without changing out or rebuilding the slide? That is the $24 question. I've seen postings on other websites that say that it is. But I also just saw a posting that "proved" that Dick Chaney was still secretly controling the American military and that is why people are still dying in Hati. I was hoping that someone on this forum (which is largely composed of sane people) might have tried this conversion and could say either it could be done or "fool find some other way to waste your money".

I tried to contact Bar Sto today, but didn't get through. If I find out anything from them I'll update.

Thanks for your time and thoughts, guys...

Charles

 

[sipowicz]

This seems like more of a tang/hammer issue than a caliber issue.

 

[perrazi]

try tussey custom firearms. don't have an email but a search should turn it up. he is one of few masters of the high power still working on them. also, cylinder and slide shop is another very good place for high power work.

 

[OKFC05]

From my personal experience, Cylinder and slide can solve your problems with the HiPo .40.

No bite hammer:
C&S Browning Hi Power No Bite Chamfered Hammer
CS0197 - C&S Browning Hi Power No Bite Chamfered Hammer

The Browning Hi-Power No Bite Chamfered Hammer is specifically designed to reduce the possibility of the hammer hitting or pinching the web of your hand. The edges of the hammer are chamfered for comfortable non-snag carry. The Browning Hi-Power No Bite Chamfered Hammer is made from our Special Tool Steel and heat treated to RC 50-53. All Browning Hi-Power No Bite Chamfered Hammers are 100% inspected and checked for proper RC hardness.

Price:
$65.95


Custom trigger:
C&S Browning Hi Power Wide Combat Trigger - Blue
CS0037 - C&S Browning Hi Power Wide Combat Trigger - Blue

The wide combat trigger distributes the weight of the trigger pull over a latger area of the finger, making the felt pull less as well as imporving trigger control. This trigger eliminates the magazine disconnector.

Price:
$52.50

Pachmayr all-around rubber grips:
Pachmayr&reg Pachmayr your primary source for quality handgun grips and recoil pads
Pachmayr's Signature Grips feature our patented full wrap-around design and are made from rubber specially formulated for use on semi-automatic pistols. This rubber compound gives them a feel that is unmistakably Pachmayr. Built-in steel inserts ensure they maintain their shape. Available in the widest variety of models for most of the popular semi-automatic pistols. Each is designed for a specific pistol and its anticipated use.

Weight Price
5 oz $37.98


I actually have one, I actually shoot it in USPSA/L10 with full-power ammo, and it actually by my personal experience does not bite the web of my hand. It is the way all the Hi-Po .40s should have been made, IMHO.

 

[sar4937]

Shipping, smithing charges, and parts will bring the bill over your initial purchase price unless you can install the parts yourself. C&S is known for being behind, this time of the year the SHOT show takes up most of their time. Hamilton Bowen featured a similar set up in the last American Handgunner issue. C&S would be able to tell you if the conversion to 9mm is possible, but you will still have the hammer bite. Since you already are reloading, you could set up for this caliber for less than $50.

 

[Texas1941]

OKFC05...I think you have played this game before.

This whole idea is beginning to look less and less attractive. I haven't been able to find anyone on this forum or in person that has actually done it. I've seen one ot two articles in the gun rags in the past few years that say it's possible. One, I think, was by Massad Ayoob. That was several years ago and I don't remember the details (I'm not even positive he wrote it. If anyone remembers seeing that article, let me know; I'm beginning to think I dreamed it).

The sense of the replies here seems to be:
1) Probably won't work and even if it does it's going to be a difficult, messy, and expensive process.
2) There are options available for the 40 to reduce or eliminate the bite problems. That seems to be the way to go.

I didn't want to add another caliber to my reloading bench right now because my "reloading room" is a converted walkin closet, with darn little space. I'll just have to figure out something. And it's not like the HP is the only .40 I own.

Thanks for your thoughts guys. I don't want to get rid of it, because it might not be possible to replace. I'm afraid new HPs will soon be unobtainable, no matter what the catalogs may say. I want to have at least one, of some sort, up and running.

 

[haggis]

There is a cheap, simple solution. Browning (and probably others) markets a set of thin leather shooting gloves without fingertips. They're not for recoil reduction, just abrasion protection. They solved my HP hammer bite problem as well as the bite that happens with heavy loads in an N-frame revolver with wood grips.

You could try PMing Mas Ayoob about the magazine article - he's a member here.

Buck

 

[paladin42]

Several companies make 9mm barrels that will fit the .40 frame. I have one that works fine but I don't remember who made it. I did have to swap recoil springs until I got the action that I wanted. IIRC I have a 20 lb. spring in now.

If you're getting chewed up, it sounds like a different problem entirely. I swapped hammers on my HPs and I don't get bitten any more.

You might try the folks here at the Browning fourm.
The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site - Browning Hi Power

 

[k-frameguy]

hp conversion

If I can get a camera working I'll download a pic of my HP .
I had a friend weld a Wilson beavertail on the HP.
no bite.