So the update froze at 71% last night. Had to reboot. Here is an abbreviated rundown of yesterdays events.

Out of the packaging it was sent to me. He put it in a super nice boyt case. wrapped in bubble wrap.

My hand touching it, SQEEEE, Yeah i did. If you are real nice i might even post a selfie (first ever for me) with my shit eating grin.

Me shooting it at 25 yds. Draw Fire, fire, safety re holster rinse and repeat. At 25yds. I was able to hold an 8 inch group with some good speed for me.

The previous photo shows the 250 rounds i put through it. Flawlessly. Just shitz and giggle joy. I really like the sights. just love them. He suggested cutting the rear sight a bit wide to help my front eyes better focus on the front sight. It makes a world of difference.

The gun barrel was gettin warm:P

I have to head out, I will upload more photos later tonight. Here is a final teaser of the work that was done.

Simply outstanding. Thanks for sharing. Post more pics and thoughts when you get the opportunity.

I don't know how many pennies it cost you, but I'll take that Yost HP over the Nighthawk any day of the week, and twice on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, and Sunday.

More photos from last night.




















So yesterday I had a quick chance to do a couple of hundred rounds (250) at my plates. I really did not have time to do any kind of how accurate is it testing.

The sights are fantastic. The extra space he cut in the rear sight allows for more light around the front. I definitely pick the front sight much more clearly and consistently than any of my other pistols. When shooting quickly I drift the rear a bit more than I would with a closer notch. This causes the groups to open unless i really focus on my process. This first photo is the TYBHP out in the wild.



Here is an idea of how accurate it can be. Standing 5 shot group at 35ft. With the intent of making it a small group.


Now as I mentioned above. The rear sight was cut wider. This helps my eyes focus more clearly on the front sight. It is easier to drift that rear sight though. I was practicing draw fire, fire, saftey on, rinse repeat. As sped this up my 35ft targets opened drastically to a good 2.5 inches. (I was a little ashamed so no photos)

I dropped the distance down to 25 ft. I continued at the same pace, same process draw fire fire safety. Here is a 20 round group at 25ft. 4 mags of 5 rounds each You can see i opened it up a bit.


This is a 40 round group at 25 ft 8 mags of 5 rounds each. I sped this one up quite a bit.


Here is a 20 round 2 10 round mags at 25FT point shooting mostly just above the hip. Up until this 20th round i had the range to my self, the range master was pretty ambivalent as to what i do when I am the only one in there. I must be safe and proficient ect. Draw Fire, Safety, draw Fire safety ect.



Last 20 rounds. I have no clue why these last two images are side fuckways. I took the photo right side up. I will blame PBase. Anywho. This is 20 rounds draw, fire to the chest, fire to the head, safety, x5 Then mag change, Draw Fire to the head, Fire to the chest, Safety x5.



All in all 600 rounds through it today. In the space of about 1.5 hours for this pistol. What is next? Well how about a break down of the main things that were done. Sights, Trigger work, Checkering, Beavertail, and Beveled Mag Well.

I have touched on the sight's. I think though I need to put this issue into perspective though. I shoot 1 to 2 times a week for up to 3 hours. I have prescription glasses or sunglasses that I wear. My eye sight is such that I either must be fully extended at the very end of my locked elbows to see the front sight clearly, or so far into the strong side weaver stance that i look like a bafoon. (which is only compounding my looks by a squared factor of 10)As little as a 1/2 closer and my groups go to shit. from what you see above to 5 -6 inches.

After about 30 rounds, I start reloading mags, I look at things close up, in the distance to give my eyes a break. This is also why i only load 5 rounds into the mag for practice. It allows me to take smaller eye strain rests. It is also why I do a lot of draw fire fire safety style shooting. It gives my eyes time to rest.

In talking with Ted, he mentioned that my stipulation of wanting 3 dot sight may be playing a large role into my issues. He noted that most people shoot better with no dots on the rear. (all my combat style guns are 3 dot.) He made a pretty good case that for folk like me where one eye is more dominant that the rear dots cause them to focus on it. To off set that he suggested no dots on the sights but cutting the rear a tad wider to allow for more light to surround the front sight. Allowing your eyes to more easily pick it out.

Well How do his sights work? I left the Sight light off at the range, I shot 600 rounds with very little issue. I am willing to hazzard that the wobble and spread of my groups was me getting used to the wider rear notch and the new unfathomably awesome trigger.

Now about that trigger. As the work order above said he shortened the trigger pull and gave it the crispest single action i have ever fired outside a high end custom wilson 1911 i shot a few years back. It is every bit as nice as my dan wessons, I fibbed Nicer really. It is about 4.5lbs, which is perfect for a carry gun.

The trigger has been smoothed out. when the gun is fired reset is clean and simple. I have not the words to fully describe the change. It is like snapping picture glass to fit a frame. It is not a tick, but Tik.

On to the checkering. You may remember that this thread started on a different high power. The one that is currently at Fletcher customs. Page 1 will show you photos of it. This pistol had vz grips and some light stippling. It did a fair bit of twisting in my hands as i was shooting the 40snw.

TYBHP sticks. Between the Speigel grips and the 40 lines per inch of checkering stick this pistol to you wonderfully. It has been under cut by the trigger guard. The checkering goes far enough to stick the grip every time, with out causing checkering bite when shooting 600 rounds. The whole feel blends together in your hand.

The Beavertail and the Hammer go together. To have the beavertail the rounded commander hammer had to go. It would have sat to far into the beavertail. So, how is the beaver tail? Slim, and Low bore axis. It does not feel as wide as my sig p226 Elite SAO. It does not feel as High as my old P220 elite SAO. It fits me better than the all but my vbob and guardian. It brings the recoil down for very fast follow ups. The indexing of the back of the palm swell to it allows the hand to grip the same way every single time.

Here are some images of it in my hand to illustrate my point.





Back to the BHP on page one. That beavertail is being removed, because it was to long, to curved and lopsided. It did not allow the hand to index to the same space every time. It pushed the hand down the grip frame. leaving space between it and the thumb webbing. That is an example of a failed beavertail on a BHP. What the TYBHP has, is intuitive and responsive to your hand. As you can see from my point shooting, it lines up like very few guns can.

The beveled mag well. I have never been a huge BMW guy. I don't compete, I have not yet thankfully been in a shoot out, let alone one i needed to change mags at warp speed with. So, This was solely based on Ted's recommendation. The mags slip cleanly out. Just a simple drop. They did not stick once today even at the tall end of 600 rounds. How do they go in, like legos on top of another lego. Click. With minimal pressure, Click the mag is locked in solidly.

That about covers my thoughts for now. If you have questions feel free to ask. Oh, for those wondering. the P226 Legion SAO, While i have not fired one, I have tested the trigger a fair bit. Even with my admitted confirmation Bias. I would give the vote to Ted Yost.

For reading this, you get to see my shit eatin grin after unboxing this yesterday. Avert your eyes, bafoon face. 1st time ever I have posted a selfie:

I have a bunch of questions but let me arrange them in a coherent fashion.

In the meantime, if you are in the market for some nice leather, look up Wes at Privateer Leather. He pretty much specializes in BHP leather. Great guy to deal with. Out of Toole, UT.

His holsters look really good. Though right now I have no need. I ordered a holster before the gun went to Estate Sporting Limited. I even had time to test it out before I sent the pistol off. Now the two long lost lovers are back together.

Im a bit confused on the timeline. Is this the T series you sent him right? How long did it take? I went thru the post here and you said 10mo, bit that was a few weeks back...sorry, Im easily confused!

What made you decide on the blue over the Ion Bond? As far as the barrel goes, curious why you didnt have one fitted as it appears to be the original barrel. Perhaps the original lock up was good and wear negligible. The checkering is phinominal. What recoil and mainspring you running in it? Did Yost recommend a load/or sight it in with something specific? Ive been running 124gr standard pressure Gold Dot in mine, although I also have a supply of HST. Are you running mousetraps or Mec-Gars?

Last, what are the dimensions of the sight notch and the post? Like you, my arms are no longer long enough to get a decent sight picture without cheating. I had Novak run thru my MKII a few years back installing a wide notch rear (.140) and a .125 fiber optic front. I'm thinking of sending it back in to open up the rear to maybe even .160 as my cheaters are now 1.75s.

quote:

Originally posted by entropy:
Im a bit confused on the timeline. Is this the T series you sent him right? How long did it take? I went thru the post here and you said 10mo, bit that was a few weeks back...sorry, Im easily confused!

What made you decide on the blue over the Ion Bond? As far as the barrel goes, curious why you didnt have one fitted as it appears to be the original barrel. Perhaps the original lock up was good and wear negligible. The checkering is phinominal. What recoil and mainspring you running in it? Did Yost recommend a load/or sight it in with something specific? Ive been running 124gr standard pressure Gold Dot in mine, although I also have a supply of HST. Are you running mousetraps or Mec-Gars?

Last, what are the dimensions of the sight notch and the post? Like you, my arms are no longer long enough to get a decent sight picture without cheating. I had Novak run thru my MKII a few years back installing a wide notch rear (.140) and a .125 fiber optic front. I'm thinking of sending it back in to open up the rear to maybe even .160 as my cheaters are now 1.75s.

Thre years ago i bought a 1965 t series with round comander hammer. I had been searching a a near perfect one for the better part of 15 years. I had owned a total of 3. This was the only one suitable to send to Estate Sporting Limited, Ted Yost. 1 year ago, i contacted Ted Yost and shipped the 1965 t series to him, i chose a finish time of around april this year. He finished it up just a tad early for me.

In january of this year i ran across a 1995 browning hp in 40 smith and wesson. It had been tuned with many of the same things i would want done to a hipower. See the photos on page one. I inquired as to who did the work. At first glance it looked and felt good. After shooting it, i found a number of issues that needed to be adressed. I contacted Fletchers custom pistols here in Virginia, drove the pistol to him in February and we walked through my issues with the gun. After a good deal of discussion we settled on a work order. This pistol on page 1 will be finished in 7 months give or take based on his time frame.

Okay ion bond vs blued question. The 65 t series was always meant to be blued. The 95 40snw was gun kotes or something hideously slick. I went with ion bond to get a better coating on the 95 pistol.

The barrels on the older hi powers can be quite accurate. The biggest draw backs according to Ted Yost are the barrel crown and trigger. Once those are done he will fire the gun for accuracy. As you can see it is far more capable than my meager skills. The 95 bhp how ever is getting new barrels. KKM one in 40 one in 357 sig.

When i bought this 65, i doubt it had been fired 200 rounds. I might have put 300 rounds through it. There was no wear period. Just oiled every 3 months. It was a 1 owner collector. The same man owned my colt woodsman in the for the love of a 22lr thread. Looking at the work order there is no listed new recoil spring. I left it up to Ted to sort out. He is the guru of bhp of this age. If it needed one he would have replaced it, it would be on my work order.

The 95 40snw, needed springs. Iirc and dont quote me on this. 20lb for the 40 and 22 for the 357 sig.

In past conversations with both Jason Burton and Ted Yost i have been instructed to shoot 115 standars pressure in these older BHP. That is the load i use. For defensive carry i have been impressed with hornaday critical defense. I had to put down a feral dog last year. Two double lung shots of 124 grain winchester ranger sxt out of a differt gun did jack shit. It was the critical defwnse round that got imediate and lasting results. It can be had in 115grn standard pressure.

The mags are all 3 mouse traps with the traps removed.

Off the top of my head i can not answer that one at the moment. I do know ted sells the sights through a distributor. I can measure mine later today if you want.


I have been typing this on my phone please excuse the errors.

Love the HiPower anyway, but that is a thing of beauty !!
Congrats on a great looking pistol !!

Mr. Grouse,

I appreciate the detailed response to my somewhat flu induced ramble of questions.


For some reason I lost track of the timeline involved. Perhaps Im getting things confused with a different thread or different forum. Usually, ANYTHING with the letters "BHP" gets my immediate and undivided attention.

Again congrats. That is just simply a stunning example of a working handgun. Thats the thing about Hi Powers... 1911's can get pretty goofy when it comes to customs. The Browning's lines just insist on no nonsense rugged beauty.

What's your plan for it? Carry piece? How about the other? A .40 has always been on my short list, but you dont stumble on them every day, and when I do either another project or the water heater or some such always gets in the way. One day. I shot one in .357sig once and it was something just short of perfect.

If you have the opportunity to measure those sights, Id appreciate it. It looks like there is a lot of space in that notch (a good thing for us wearing cheaters) but perhaps its just the camera angle too. Please continue to post your thoughts as you break it in and your other project moves along.

Jim

Jim, my rear seems to be 0.137 if i am reading my cheap calipers correctly. So not quit as wide as your current 0.140.

Right now, i have been carrying it, petting it, loving it.... I have waited years for this pistol. Currently i have it in r grizzle leather.

Very nice HP, good luck with it. I currently have a FNH HP-SA in .40 S&W with Don Williams that getting converted to 9mm along with other work.

At the time I started looking into gunsmiths Ted Yost hadn't yet opened ESL, so, I spoke to Jim Garthwaite and Don about the effort. Don had a bit less of a lead time so I decided to go with him.

One day, I'll have one worked on by each of them.

quote:

Originally posted by mcs1564:
Very nice HP, good luck with it. I currently have a FNH HP-SA in .40 S&W with Don Williams that getting converted to 9mm along with other work.

At the time I started looking into gunsmiths Ted Yost hadn't yet opened ESL, so, I spoke to Jim Garthwaite and Don about the effort. Don had a bit less of a lead time so I decided to go with him.

One day, I'll have one worked on by each of them.

I read and heard so many good things about fletcher custom, that i went with him for the 2nd high power.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:

quote:

Originally posted by mcs1564:
Very nice HP, good luck with it. I currently have a FNH HP-SA in .40 S&W with Don Williams that getting converted to 9mm along with other work.

At the time I started looking into gunsmiths Ted Yost hadn't yet opened ESL, so, I spoke to Jim Garthwaite and Don about the effort. Don had a bit less of a lead time so I decided to go with him.

One day, I'll have one worked on by each of them.

I read and heard so many good things about fletcher custom, that i went with him for the 2nd high power.

I forgot all about Fletcher. I almost bought another FNH-HP that was previously worked on by him. Really sharp looking piece although it was a bit higher than what I wanted to pay at the time.

I corresponded with him a bit about it and he was pretty generous with his time.

quote:

Originally posted by mcs1564:

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:

quote:

Originally posted by mcs1564:
Very nice HP, good luck with it. I currently have a FNH HP-SA in .40 S&W with Don Williams that getting converted to 9mm along with other work.

At the time I started looking into gunsmiths Ted Yost hadn't yet opened ESL, so, I spoke to Jim Garthwaite and Don about the effort. Don had a bit less of a lead time so I decided to go with him.

One day, I'll have one worked on by each of them.

I read and heard so many good things about fletcher custom, that i went with him for the 2nd high power.

I forgot all about Fletcher. I almost bought another FNH-HP that was previously worked on by him. Really sharp looking piece although it was a bit higher than what I wanted to pay at the time.

I corresponded with him a bit about it and he was pretty generous with his time.

He is about an hour and half from me. So it was a good fit.

Wow!

You have done it again, Mr. Grouse! Beautiful taste in sidearms as always! I have not even shot my NHC HiPower yet and you have hundreds of rounds through this beauty. Good on ya!

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by MPrimo:
You have done it again, Mr. Grouse! Beautiful taste in sidearms as always! I have not even shot my NHC HiPower yet and you have hundreds of rounds through this beauty. Good on ya!

Mike

I topped it off with 150 rounds on friday. Bringing my total to 1k. I will tell ya, having held the NHC and this. I am very biased to this. As an everyday carry gun in my life the NHC would probably fit my needs a bit better. But hey, i have the fletcher customs coming in a few months.

Okay, for the fourth attempt. I have hit the back button, reloaded the page, or closed out the window. Here are Ted's responses to the spring and ammo questions posed earlier.

quote:

The mainspring on your pistol is 28#. There’s no need to replace it at regular intervals - it’s good for the long haul. Recoil spring is factory standard 16.5# - it’s the best for 115’s, which are what I recommend for the forged frame guns. 124 standard velocity rounds are OK, but not as a high volume steady diet. It looks like you shoot a lot, I’d stick to 115’s

Thanks for the update. Good info on the springs and the 115s. Since Stephen Camp is gone, guys with intimate knowledge on such things is rare.