C&R Hi-Powers at Aim Surplus

[iH8DemLibz]

The early S/N (pre 1958 or so) are very tricky and usually numbered within a contract, not sequentially by mfg. so you can't necessarily go by the guides.
War-era Hi Powers with fixed sights would have Waffenamts (WaA140) and not Belgian commercial proofs.
The WW2 guns you can be pretty sure about year of mfg because there was basically one "contract" - for zee natzis.
So yours is not pre-1945 sorry to say.
That S/N range would match up to a pre-war Belgian Army contract gun with tangent sights as well as post-war contracts but doesn't fit in the war-era mfg.
Not a war-era Russian capture then.
Not sure what that star is but it is interesting.
I'll thumb thru the Browning book and see if I can find anything more.

Is there a hole for the lanyard ring in the lower left frame?
it looks solid. that may be a clue of some sort. or a Red herring.

<edit>
Nothing definitive in the book. West German and Austrian police guns are in this rough range...
If that's a six-point star (hard to tell) than a logical guess is Israeli Defense Force as they used a star with some sort of mark inside.
</>

Thank you for the info. Solid frame/no lanyard hole. Meant to mention the top of the barrel is stamped CAL 9x19 NATO. But it is electro pencil matched to the frame and slide. So it is a replacement barrel.

 

[jkeiler]

The French used stars, 5 points. found this link to proof marks from the NRA
http://www.nramuseum.org/gun-info-research/proof-marks-from-the-blue-book.aspx

That is a useful resource--thanks, but I doubt the marks on the HP is French, since those were unlikely to be still used at the time of manufacture of these guns.

Very likely Israeli (as mentioned) since it does look like a Star of David, and the other proof mark looks like a Hebrew letter, first one in Zahal which is the Hebrew acronym we render IDF, though others may know better. They look very similar to the marks on my ex-Israeli HP.

 

[Bertfish]

Has anyone just called Aim Surplus and asked if they'd tell us where they imported them from? Or would they want to protect that information?

 

[somd_mustangs]

Has anyone just called Aim Surplus and asked if they'd tell us where they imported them from? ...

Bah! Stop using logic!


BTW here's the 5-point French star proof...

 

[somd_mustangs]

The French used stars, 5 points. found this link to proof marks from the NRA
http://www.nramuseum.org/gun-info-research/proof-marks-from-the-blue-book.aspx

Here's a comprehensive list of Spanish proofs that augment this.
Includes mfg codes, etc.
This type of stuff should probably go in a sticky.

http://personales.jet.es/rafa/b_punzones.html

 

[rdc]

Mine was so filthy I ended up doing a much more detailed strip than I anticipated. Removed mag safety. Shot mag safety spring across garage.

 

[BigDaddy]

Removed mag safety. Shot mag safety spring across garage.

If you suspect you have parts that are going to go airborne, disassemble in a large plastic or ziplock bag.

 

[rdc]

Not so fast...

Me thinks 29xxx beats 33xxx.

Every thing I'm finding says these 5 digit serial numbers are from the early to mid 40s.

Here are some proof marks. Kind of like Russian proof marks. Russia captured Hi-Powers during WWII.

Controller Of Proof looks like Charles Watrin, 1928 to 1965

View attachment 148544

View attachment 148545

View attachment 148546

View attachment 148547

View attachment 148548

View attachment 148549

If you suspect you have parts that are going to go airborne, disassemble in a large plastic or ziplock bag.

That's generally what I do. I even had it in the bag seconds before but I thought I had it captured. I was wrong.

 

[somd_mustangs]

rdc - that's one big-A'd lanyard ring! (looks like a keychain actually )

It turned out nice.

BTW - I've spent my share of hours looking for the little "dog-bone" pin for the recoil assembly on Radoms (which coincidentally is also a P.35).
No matter how careful you are, these freaking things always seem to escape.

 

[rdc]

rdc - that's one big-A'd lanyard ring! (looks like a keychain actually )

It turned out nice.

BTW - I've spent my share of hours looking for the little "dog-bone" pin for the recoil assembly on Radoms (which coincidentally is also a P.35).
No matter how careful you are, these freaking things always seem to escape.

It is a keyring its too big to leave on but it is what it shipped with.

 

[somd_mustangs]

field expedient repair.

BTW - SARCO has both the rings and the ring/pedestal assembly. I think both are repros but they look correct.

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/browninghipower.aspx (mid-page).

 

[rdc]

field expedient repair.

BTW - SARCO has both the rings and the ring/pedestal assembly. I think both are repros but they look correct.

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/browninghipower.aspx (mid-page).

Thanks! I'll order one of the rings.

 

[lawdog89]

I just received mine from Aim. The gun shipped without a magazine which was a minor problem. The big problem is the Inglis Extractor. I removed the extractor and cleaned it after taking the gun to the range and suffering through endless double feeds. The extractors on the newer hi-powers are easy to find but that was not the case with this model. Buyer beware.

 

[ken792]

I just received mine from Aim. The gun shipped without a magazine which was a minor problem. The big problem is the Inglis Extractor. I removed the extractor and cleaned it after taking the gun to the range and suffering through endless double feeds. The extractors on the newer hi-powers are easy to find but that was not the case with this model. Buyer beware.

I found a French vendor that has NOS FN extractors for 48 Euros, which is way cheaper than anything I've seen I. The US. I'll try to find the website again.

 

[Threeband]

I had failures to extract with Remington, Federal, and Blazer Brass, but the Herters ran well: no failures with that stuff.

Obviously the extractor* is weak or worn. Somehow it's able to get a good grab on the Herters, but not the other brands. I read that BHPs with worn extractors often extract but fail to eject the last round in the magazine. I had that happen frequently, but the spent cases always fell right out the mag well when I dropped the empty magazine, so it didn't cause a problem.

Ken, do you think that 48 Euro extractor would take care of this?

I could see getting a new Mark II or Mark III slide fitted. I really like this pistol. It fits my hand better than most, it shoots well, and I just plain like the Hi Power.

* or the extractor spring? "The main culprit I've seen in current Hi Powers being less than reliable with any type of ammunition has been weak extractor springs. It has been my experience that the Hi Power requires stout ones. If you have a Hi Power that is failing to extract and eject fired cases, this may very well be the problem and is where I would begin looking. " http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/9mm_hi_power_reliability.htm

 

[ken792]

Obviously the extractor* is weak or worn. Somehow it's able to get a good grab on the Herters, but not the other brands. I read that BHPs with worn extractors often extract but fail to eject the last round in the magazine. I had that happen frequently, but the spent cases always fell right out the mag well when I dropped the empty magazine, so it didn't cause a problem.

Ken, do you think that 48 Euro extractor would take care of this?

I'd guess a new extractor would fix the issue, but I don't know for certain. It could also be extractor tension, since it has to be set just right like on a 1911. Also like a 1911 extractor, it's not a drop in fit. The pad behind the claw has to be fitted and the whole thing has to be bent to set tension.

I got an E-series from Coles Distributing back in 2013 that sometimes would not reliably eject the last casing. The extractor claw was sharp on it and it was exerting plenty of pressure.

It was a cool gun, but I decided I didn't really want to deal with it. I'm not much of a collector and I sold it after I got a Sistema Colt that I could shoot the crap out of and not worry about finding parts for.

If the extractor really is bad, you could probably have someone rebuild it with a welder.

 

[Threeband]

The "not-ejecting the last round" thing was odd, but not really a problem. The cases did extract, but because there was no fresh round below them, still in the magazine, those last rounds slip a little lower, and thus fail to strike the ejector properly. They are thus left sitting loosely on top of the mag follower. When the magazine is dropped, the empty case drops out the mag well with it.

I had read about this peculiarity somewhere, and I got the impression that many people don't even notice it happening. That struck me as odd, but now I can see how it might go unnoticed.

 

[Machodoc]

I found a French vendor that has NOS FN extractors for 48 Euros, which is way cheaper than anything I've seen I. The US. I'll try to find the website again.

That would be a good resource to have.

 

[reverendbeer]

Not so fast...

Me thinks 29xxx beats 33xxx.

Every thing I'm finding says these 5 digit serial numbers are from the early to mid 40s.

Here are some proof marks. Kind of like Russian proof marks. Russia captured Hi-Powers during WWII.

Controller Of Proof looks like Charles Watrin, 1928 to 1965

View attachment 148546

View attachment 148548

Those are Israeli military marks.

While the star could be taken as a French proof, the (y) is pretty definite.

Compare to these from an Israeli K98:

(images linked from this thread)

Or from the front of a cleaning kit:

 

[iH8DemLibz]

Outstanding Job, Sir.

Jew did good.

It's a joke.

Channeling my inner Eruby.