Western Washington Hi Power Gunsmith?

[Aquaman]

I have an Israeli surplus Hi Power that needs some attention. Does anyone know of a good Hi Power gunsmith in Western Washington?

These are some of the issues I'd like to correct:

• Currently has 12# trigger pull would like less than 5#
• Slide rocks when I apply pressure to trigger
• Safety is super hard to engage/disengage
• Does not pass the "click test"

Thanks in advance for any advice recommendations!

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[JohnnyHammersticks]

It's hard enough finding a hi power smith with open books anywhere in the country, let alone a certain region of a state! Since Cylinder & Slide is closing up shop and Don Williams/Action Works closed his books, I can't think of any good recommendations. Best of luck in your search!

 

[po18guy]

I believe REHV Arms has a smith on staff. Maybe stop by or call.

 

[Robear]

These issues have DIY solutions. There's no way you can turn a heavily used milsurp Hi-Power into a new target gun. The first thing I'd do is take the gun apart and clean it thoroughly. Brownells has a Cylinder & Slide trigger pull reduction kit in stock for $17. Even with that, the design makes a light, crisp trigger pull hard to achieve. The rocking slide is also characteristic of the design, live with it. Your stiff safety might be related to crud in the mechanism. Does the safety work? I think the click test comes from a discussion on ar-15.com in 2011.

 

[po18guy]

As Robear says, a good cleaning and lube always helps. Take the mag safety out. That will reduce trigger pull by about 25%. With a brass hammer, (and some care) you can peen the frame rails slightly outward and down, tightening the slide and even improving lockup slightly. The sear is powered by a flat spring that is fairly cheap and can be thinned by draw filling or narrowed/recontoured to reduce pressure. Trigger return springs from Wolff. However, there are 2 coil and 3 coil trigger springs and you need to know which you have. 2 will fit 3 but 3 will not fit 2.

If you are not confident doing this, then you may have to send it to a High Power specialist. Bear in mind that High Powers are known to loosen back up when slide-frame is tightened. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[FourTeeFive]

You might check with Larry at Classic Precision Gunsmithing in Snohomish. He does very nice work and is an old-school gunsmith who knows a lot about classic arms.

360-668-9409

 

[Aquaman]

Thanks for the response guys.

I decided to tackle this myself. First I took everything apart, cleaned and reassembled. This didn't help my issues at all except I better learned how the hi power works. The sear-hammer interface interface seemed to be the root of my problems. The click I was hearing when pulling the trigger with the safety on was the hammer and sear sliding from one position to another. The sear was very roughly machined or filed poorly at some point after manufacture.

I found BH Spring Solutions had a Hammer Sear Safety and Spring kit so I ordered it. In the meantime I decided to try to polish the sear and hammer to see if I could improve anything. After an hour of work it didn't do much other than smooth some things out a bit and bruise my trigger finger from testing over and over. Trigger pull went from 12# down to 11.4#

The Kit from BH Springs arrived last night and I just installed it over lunch. It took about 15 minutes. I couldn't be happier!

I now have a new: Hammer, Sear, Ambidextrous Safety, complete spring set.

The result is a crisp 4# trigger, the safety is smooth and easy to handle (although the ambidextrous safety does not clear the original right side grip, it works with the wood grips I purchased). The hammer and sear don't move at all when I have the safety on and pull the trigger. And while the slide is still loose, it no longer moves upon trigger pull.

I was really grumpy with this surplus Hi Power. Now I'm happy, happy, happy, thanks to BH Spring Solutions and I have the satisfaction of doing it myself. Looking forward to shooting this weekend.