Browning Hi power help please

canuck75

canuck75

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Hi all hi poer experts,

Got a problem here. I picked up a used late 70's hi power off of a dealer here. It was supposed to be in very good condition. I got it delivered, take it out of the box and rack the slide. At this point, a small chunk of metal falls out of the gun. I was able to track it down to what I think is the firing pin retainer plate, of which the lower half is missing. There is also a weird plastic donut shape piece that slides over the joint between barrel and recoil spring. I can't find this part on any schematic, is this supposed to be here? How hard is it to replace the firing pin retaking plate;is this something ican do myself or is this gunsmith level stuff? Thanks all for any help/advice.

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Watching for interest....that's not very lucky...falling apart as soon as you unpack!! The bushing can't be original? Never seen one like it, but I'm no expert....replacement retaining plate shouldn't be too hard to find..lots of experts here, as I found out..good luck
 
On a hpower you should be able to push the firing pin forward with a small punch or screw driver once in the rest of the keeper should slide down to remove As for the plastic it an after market buffer.
Not much but I hope it helps.
 
I know my way around hi powers pretty well. The good news is that replacing the firing pin retaining plate is pretty easy; should be no need to involve a gun smith.

I have heard stories about the firing pin retaining plate breaking on newer hi powers (the MkIIIs). My understanding was this was caused by excessive dry firing. Anyway, that is neither here nor there. It is VERY easy to change the firing pin retaining plate. If you are familiar with the 1911, it works the same way. The trick will be finding a replacement part that will work for your particular model of HP. I'd recommend taking a look on Brownells, or on Numerich gun parts. I suspect that a plate from a MKIII would work on your gun, but don't hold me to that.

To change the plate, all you need is a small punch (a small screw driver would work in a pinch). The cylinder you can see sticking out the back of the slide is the rear of the firing pin. If you push on it, even with your thumb, you'll notice that it's spring loaded and you can push it into the slide. Just push on it with your tool of choice, and you should be able to compress it into the slide so that it is below the level of the retaining plate. Once it's far enough in you should be able to slide what's left of the retaining plate out of the way. Make sure you keep your thumb over the back of the slide as you do this!! Once the plate is out of the way, the firing pin and firing pin spring will want to launch out the back of the slide!

When you get a new plate, just reverse the process. Put the firing pin spring in the firing pin channel, then the firing pin. Then using a punch or some other tool, push on the back of the firing pin until you can slide the new retaining plate into the slide. As you slide the plate it, you'll have to kind of push your tool aside, but the plate should hold the firing pin down as you do this. When the plate slides all the way into position, the back of the firing pin will pop into the whole with a satisfying snap sound.

As for the plastic thing, that is a buffer tech recoil buffer. The idea is that it reduces frame/slide battering. I use them in all my hi powers, and the late Stephen Camp (a hi power guru) was a proponent of them.

Hope this was helpful. Drop me a PM if you need anything else. Always happy to help out another HP owner!
 
leocrotta said:
I know my way around hi powers pretty well. The good news is that replacing the firing pin retaining plate is pretty easy; should be no need to involve a gun smith.

I have heard stories about the firing pin retaining plate breaking on newer hi powers (the MkIIIs). My understanding was this was caused by excessive dry firing. Anyway, that is neither here nor there. It is VERY easy to change the firing pin retaining plate. If you are familiar with the 1911, it works the same way. The trick will be finding a replacement part that will work for your particular model of HP. I'd recommend taking a look on Brownells, or on Numerich gun parts. I suspect that a plate from a MKIII would work on your gun, but don't hold me to that.

To change the plate, all you need is a small punch (a small screw driver would work in a pinch). The cylinder you can see sticking out the back of the slide is the rear of the firing pin. If you push on it, even with your thumb, you'll notice that it's spring loaded and you can push it into the slide. Just push on it with your tool of choice, and you should be able to compress it into the slide so that it is below the level of the retaining plate. Once it's far enough in you should be able to slide what's left of the retaining plate out of the way. Make sure you keep your thumb over the back of the slide as you do this!! Once the plate is out of the way, the firing pin and firing pin spring will want to launch out the back of the slide!

When you get a new plate, just reverse the process. Put the firing pin spring in the firing pin channel, then the firing pin. Then using a punch or some other tool, push on the back of the firing pin until you can slide the new retaining plate into the slide. As you slide the plate it, you'll have to kind of push your tool aside, but the plate should hold the firing pin down as you do this. When the plate slides all the way into position, the back of the firing pin will pop into the whole with a satisfying snap sound.

As for the plastic thing, that is a buffer tech recoil buffer. The idea is that it reduces frame/slide battering. I use them in all my hi powers, and the late Stephen Camp (a hi power guru) was a proponent of them.

Hope this was helpful. Drop me a PM if you need anything else. Always happy to help out another HP owner!
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks. I think the vendor is trying to source a replacement part, so I guess it's a wait and see game. Kind of a bummer all around.
 
There could also be a problem with the firearm not properly going into battery. Remove the buffer and reassemble the firearm. Rack the slide with the muzzle pointing upwards to the 12 o'clock position. While holding the slide and pressing the trigger, slowly let it go forward until it goes into battery. If the doesn't fully close (battery), that means the recoil spring assembly is basically toast. Sometime a buffer is used to compensate a flawed recoil spring assembly by shortening it's travel distance. I had this problem with an older Glock that I acquired. I simply replaced the recoil spring assembly and I was good to go.
 
One more thought, take a good look at the firing pin - the retainer cracked, possibly from stress, the hammer was hitting the firing pin as much as it was hitting the retainer, so have a good look at it - it may have stress fractures. Getting a firing pin (and spring) at the same time as the retainer might be cheap insurance. Do Not replace the crappy buffer, it's a waste of money. Taking the gun down this far is a normal part of the field strip for proper cleaning.
 
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