Jason Burton and Ted Yost both have that opinion on the forged frames sticking to 115 grain. There have been many here and on 1911 forum who disagree. I will say I have had 3 previous t series that were unsuitable for this kind of work due to the damage done to slides. They certainly made me a believer.

I have been going through holster manufacturers and. I think i luke 5 shot leather's (cgeck out his face book page) Heine DOJ the best. I am probably in shark skin with a new sharkskin belt to match my 1911 holsters. It will also replace my 6 year old sharkskin belt.

Congratulations! I have a Yost BHP from his Heirloom days. A true work of art. Not everybody understands the difference between a gun like yours and a Nighthawk, but to those who do, it's significant.

Is the Hornady the flex tip stuff? Totally different caliber/gun but there were some less than stellar reviews on the .38spl version. Not saying thats the case here. Just curious as Im needing to replace the 124gr Gold Dots for my carry ammo due to age.

quote:

Originally posted by entropy:
Is the Hornady the flex tip stuff? Totally different caliber/gun but there were some less than stellar reviews on the .38spl version. Not saying thats the case here. Just curious as Im needing to replace the 124gr Gold Dots for my carry ammo due to age.

Yes, critical defense. Expanded very well on a feral dog where Winchester ranger sxt did not.

He does fantastic work. Pretty legendary, really. That BHP looks great.

quote:

Originally posted by entropy:
Is the Hornady the flex tip stuff? Totally different caliber/gun but there were some less than stellar reviews on the .38spl version. Not saying thats the case here. Just curious as Im needing to replace the 124gr Gold Dots for my carry ammo due to age.

To elaborate a bit more. This BHP is the culmination of a long process. I want it to be around that long at least.

So, given Ted's recomendations. 115 gr standard velocity.

Looking at lucky gunners test a few years back, there are only a few good choices. I think the 115gr hornaday critical defense is a great option given my limitations.
http://www.luckygunner.com/lab...ballistic-tests/#9mm
The clear best performer that opened all 5 bullets in the 115 gr standard velocity test was the speer gold dot at 16.4 inches iirc. The hornaday was 13.1 inches.

The speer was the winner clearly. I may change to that if i can find a case. Right now it seems like everyone has the 115gr hornaday critical defense ammo. It is moderately priced. I can shoot it semi regularly.

What really surprised me is the number of 147 gr bullets that failed to open consistently. There are a few 124grn bullets that failed also.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DSgrouse,

Thanks for the discussion and link.

Yea, the cast vs forged discussion is ongoing. The MKIII Practical (cast) I have is stock, while the MKII (forged) has been tweaked and resprung. I cant recall right now what weight combo Im running, but its reliable and "feels" right when shooting it. I never ran +P in any of them and settled on the 124gr Gold Dot or currently standard 124gr HST for a carry round. I did some of my own informal testing a while back with the Gold Dot and found the velocity, penetration, and expansion between the two nearly identical. These were run thru a M&P for testing. I will have to take a hard look at the 115gr stuff in light of your posts. Like I said, time to replace the carry ammo for it so the timing is perfect.

As an aside, I really wonder how much of the wear and tear you see on the surplus guns are due to running NATO and subgun ammo thru them. The MKII is an Izzy gun, but it was in very good shape from the beginning. Some of the others...IIs and IIIs Ive seen...look like the lugs were worked over with a ball peen hammer and practically have 1/4" vertical play in the slide. (Exaggerating but you get the drift Im sure.)

Not really surprised by the 147gr stuff. It just seems to me you are trying to turn the 9mm into something its not running heavy bullets like that. Out of an MP5???...sure. Not out of a pistol though.

quote:

Originally posted by entropy:
Thanks for the discussion and link.

Yea, the cast vs forged discussion is ongoing. The MKIII Practical (cast) I have is stock, while the MKII (forged) has been tweaked and resprung. I cant recall right now what weight combo Im running, but its reliable and "feels" right when shooting it. I never ran +P in any of them and settled on the 124gr Gold Dot or currently standard 124gr HST for a carry round. I did some of my own informal testing a while back with the Gold Dot and found the velocity, penetration, and expansion between the two nearly identical. These were run thru a M&P for testing. I will have to take a hard look at the 115gr stuff in light of your posts. Like I said, time to replace the carry ammo for it so the timing is perfect.

As an aside, I really wonder how much of the wear and tear you see on the surplus guns are due to running NATO and subgun ammo thru them. The MKII is an Izzy gun, but it was in very good shape from the beginning. Some of the others...IIs and IIIs Ive seen...look like the lugs were worked over with a ball peen hammer and practically have 1/4" vertical play in the slide. (Exaggerating but you get the drift Im sure.)

I had a MKII izzy also. That was my 2nd gun i had jason burton look at. He said no. I know exactly what you mean. I think the bulk of the issues on the lugs are from heavy 124 and 147 grain loads. Add +P, +P+ into that mix and i believe it to be the majority of the cause.

I am definitely going to see if i can find a case or so of the Speer Gold dot 115 standard pressure for a reasonable price. I think 13.1 is acceptable, but knowing there is a better performer out there in the 115 gr range that gives 21% more penetration seems like a good option.

Unsurprising was the failure of the Winchester PDX1, Ranger, Ranger T line of ammo. Almost all lines had over penetration, failures to expand, or combos of both. This mirrors my experience with the feral dog last year. Double hits to both lungs and exit, no expansion.

Not quite the a Hi-Power, but i have two pistols headed my way. First is that pre- cz Dan Wesson 10mm from the classifieds. Then a Cilt Cimbat Commander in 38 super that will get cleaned, shot a bit. Thought about a bit more, then head off to Ted Yost for more of his fantastic work.

This post forced me to,take mine out and finger them a bit. I might order up a no-bite for the MKII. It has a trimmed spur, but if I dont shoot it much, I tend to grab it like the HK which makes it nibble a bit.

Yeah if you're going to run hot ammo through a BHP you want a newer one with the cast frame (like the .40) and barrel with the 3 locking lugs instead of 2.....But then again, how much HOT ammo have these Mark II military surplus guns seen to be wore out......ten's of thousands of rounds probably. I think Camp mentioned the BHP's were about a 40k round gun.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Yeah if you're going to run hot ammo through a BHP you want a newer one with the cast frame (like the .40) and barrel with the 3 locking lugs instead of 2.....But then again, how much HOT ammo have these Mark II military surplus guns seen to be wore out......ten's of thousands of rounds probably. I think Camp mentioned the BHP's were about a 40k round gun.

Hot ammo, or heavy ammo. 124's and 147gn are not good for them

I'd imagine running UZI ammo thru them was the norm, same during the war with Greman and Brit subgun ammo. They were tools for these guys, Im sure its the same way now to a certain extent. Id bet there are more than a few M9's that have had funky sandbox ammo run thru them because thats what was in the conex at the time. Makes you wonder about all those surplus Enfields and Mausers....

Time for an update!

Fletcher Custom just sent me this photo!


Somewhere I have a prior photo of it before heading to FCP. I will keep looking for it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DSgrouse,

This is what it looked like before.

Sorry all, I don't know why the pics failed.

I am re uploading them to pbase now


This is a list of the work done.

C&S commander style hammer install
Carry grade trigger job
Remove old beavertail
Install new beavertail
C&S Single side safety
Stipple the front strap
Stipple the rear strap
Novak Low mount 2 dot rear sights
Novak White dot .170 Front sight
Test fire and zero factory 40sw barrel
Fit KKM 357 sig barrel
Ionbond satin DLC coating
Sear pin
Trigger pin

Mr. Fletcher does excellent work, as my experience with him, and by your Hi Power.

The Ion Bond treatment is something you will be glad you had done. Not cheap, but a dark alternative to hard chrome.

Years ago, I used to pass through the area his shop is located in Va, going home from Hot Springs, Va. However, after traveling that way many times, I found Route 39 way too curvy for my driving, finding another route.

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
Mr. Fletcher does excellent work, as my experience with him, and by your Hi Power.

The Ion Bond treatment is something you will be glad you had done. Not cheap, but a dark alternative to hard chrome.

Years ago, I used to pass through the area his shop is located in Va, going home from Hot Springs, Va. However, after traveling that way many times, I found Route 39 way too curvy for my driving, finding another route.

It should be on its way. I am excited to say the least.

So the BHP is in. It turned out fantastic as far as i can tell. I have not had a chance to shoot it yet. I am really liking the improved stippling and new beavertail.
The safety has a very positive click on and off. The old night sights are dead. I had them replaced with plain 3 dot Novak sights.

I am not the best photo taker.

Your pistol and photography look fine to me.
As long as DSGrouse is happy, thats what matters!

Hard to tell is the Ion Bond Satin or Matte?