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Post by MLB on Jun 4, 2006 23:50:47 GMT -5
Not too many gun shows in Buffalo, NY. The one I went to today was the same as the others. Lots of old patches, trinkets, buttons, the requisite Nazi junk, shotguns, plenty of rifles, mostly milsurp, a few tables of AR's, and a few tables of handguns. Fortunately for me, the guy in the far corner was liquidating his collection of handguns which included plenty of interesting pieces, and two that I'd like to take home. The S&W Model 27 was very nice aside from a bit of wear on the cylinder and muzzle, but it was the nearly new BHP that brought out my wallet.  That picture is lousy. I'll have to get some outdoor pics someday. It's had rounds through it. I cleaned out a bit of gunk tonight, but the finish is flawless and the barrel locks up tight. That and the grips caught my eye too. My poor photography really doesn't do them justice. I've been oogling these for quite a while and was holding out for an older blued one, but he dropped the price $50 at the end of the day and I bit. I picked up a few boxes of 9mm on the way home. Hopefully I can get it out shortly and see how it shoots. I do love the way these feel and balance. Steel is good. I am surprised at the magazine safety. Not that it's there of course, but at the design of it. It's rather simplistic. I was expecting something a little more elegant. I can see that I'll need to be messing with that... |
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Post by "DoubleAction" on Jun 5, 2006 1:05:18 GMT -5
MLB; Steel Is Good, especially blued carbon steel. Your really sly in sneaking this sudden surprise on the forum. Nothing quite like a classic pistol like the BHP, with it's wood and steel. I once had a HP Practical and found that it fit right in my 1911 holsters, perfect fit. You shouldn't have much trouble finding some good leather for the BHP. One heckuva contribution you broght in. We have to get it in the gallery pages, we needed a BHP.
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Post by TMan on Jun 5, 2006 6:31:36 GMT -5
MLB, the magazine safety is easily removed. However, put it and the spring in a baggie, label it, and put it back in when, and if, you ever decide to sell the gun.
You didn't tell us what you paid for it. Does your wife read entries in this forum. ;D
The grips look really good. I still have the original grips on mine, and I thought they looked ok until I saw the picture of yours.
What I like about the BHP is the design. I'll never forget after field-stripping mine for the first time, I put the slide aside and examined the trigger and frame. How does the trigger connect to the sear? Hmmm, must be something under the grips. Remove the grips - nothing there. Scratch head, scratch, scratch, scratch. Who designed this? Harry Houdini? Then close examination of the slide revealed the transfer bar.
Oh, oh, I forgot why I started this reply: I've read that you can polish the magazine disconnector, and polish the sides of the magazines where it rubs. Then you have the safety feature, no gritty feeling, and a lighter trigger pull.
If I could only have one pistol, a 1911 or BHP, I'd pick the BHP. Whoops, hope DA didn't hurt himself falling out of his chair. ;D
Of course you can't get all the after market replacement parts for the BHP that you can for the 1911, but there aren't hardly any parts in it.
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Post by 5ontarget on Jun 5, 2006 6:50:22 GMT -5
Nice one MLB! The BHP has been on the long list for me too. Two models that are desperately lacking in my collection are the 1911, and BHP. Almost ashamed to call myself a shooter without at least one of them!
I've taken a couple month vacation from gun shows locally. There is one that comes by every month, but it has turned into more of a flea market than gun show. Lots of duffle bags, surplus cammo, homemade signs, jerky, $1 knives, etc.
Now a gun show with a lot of Milsurps, sounds good to me. I know it isn't your bag though. The shows around here typically have about 4-5 tables with milsurps. Most of them are shotguns, the usual cheap handguns, a few with the usual nicer handguns, and a few with AR/Mforgery stuff.
Oh yeah, back on topic. mmm blue steel BHP. I'll have to put a drool cup in front of my keyboard. Very nice looking, looking forward to the range report.
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Post by MLB on Jun 5, 2006 8:18:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments guys. I'll post a report (hopefully with a better picture) when I get a chance to warm it up a bit.
This one isn't the blued one I'd been waiting for, but it's still a looker. It was a bit late last night when I posted, and I neglected to mention that it's chambered in 9mm and that I got a good, but not terrific deal at $450. It came with the hard case, manual, and 2 magazines. Funny that I neglected to ask the guy weather they were the standard 13 round capacity or the hobbled 10 rounders mostly available here in NY. If they're the standard capacity, it'll be a bonus.
I enjoyed taking it down, and I think it's funny that I thought the same thing as TMan (where the hell did the trigger bar go? Did it drop out? I have this unnatural need to know how a handgun works before feeling comfortable with it. I just did a field stripping though and didn't take apart the lockwork.
As for the magazine safety, I had planned on polishing the surfaces first to see how that goes. Without looking at it closely enough, it seems that simply taking it out would render the handgun inoperable wouldn't it? The trigger on this one is nothing special, actually a bit of take up that I'd like to address somehow. First I'll take it out as-is so I have something to compare it to though.
One of the fringe benefits of buying a new handgun is the need for some new leather. That, and the new platform for personalization. If that hammer doesn't behave, I might be in the market for a commander style....
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Post by TMan on Jun 5, 2006 9:28:30 GMT -5
No, removing it simply disables the magazine disconnnect. I'm almost positive that it wasn't in the original Browning design. It is a pi$$poor design in MHO. Ruger did it right in the Mark III. Here is a link you may find helpful in disassembly: users3.ev1.net/~byronsimpson/guns/detailstrip.htmlAnother useful one is: www.hipowersandhandguns.com/ This is by Stephen Camp, and I've bought every book he has ever written. There is one pin that is hard to get out on the BHP, and I discussed the use of the hydraulic press with Stephen. He thought it might work, and it did. I would much rather press than pound.  I bought a new hammer for mine, but haven't installed it yet (not sure what I did with it - it will show up eventually). The one that I have is like yours and it bites me, which is why I haven't shot the gun more than I have. For some crazy reason I just don't enjoy shooting guns that hurt me. Warning - thread drift. I'm putting in moss rock boulders for edging and getting rid of that green metal crap that my wife hates. I just cut the wire for an irrigation valve. I spliced in a new section of wire and used the "Cold Heat" soldering iron that I bought awhile back when it was on sale. I am really impressed with how well that works. More drift: got two rabbits Saturday with my pellet gun. The first one was a shot to the back of the head and it must have short-circuited his nervous system. He was doing back-flips about 3 feet in the air for a few seconds. The second one was a better shot - right into the brain via the left ear. No jumping around for this guy. Oh, forgot to mention - all of this was in my back yard. I had enough of their destruction. This was with a Beeman and it has a 3-9x32 scope having an adjustable objective. Bunny didn't have a chance. Now if I could just get that dang bullfrog. Well. my break is over - back to mixing mortar. |
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Post by MLB on Jun 5, 2006 14:46:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the links TMan, I have had Steven Camp's site bookmarked for quite a while. It's a valuable resource. The first one was new to me though. The detail stripping will come in handy as the manual doesn't cover this.
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Post by MLB on Jun 6, 2006 22:00:49 GMT -5
A bit of good news: The two magazines that came with the gun are standard 13 round magazines. Some days you get lucky...
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Post by TMan on Jun 6, 2006 23:26:50 GMT -5
Some days you get lucky... You know you are getting old when getting lucky has to do with magazines. ;D |
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Post by MLB on Jun 7, 2006 8:20:57 GMT -5
Oh I don't know, I recall something about magazines when I was very young too... Oops, different magazines.
Browning has a very nice section on their web site that will allow you to identify the date of manufacture of your firearm based on the serial number. Must save them quite a bit of time too. Turns out mine was a 1993 vintage. It looks great for being 13 years old. If I can find a used slide on ebay, I may pick it up and try my hand at bluing.
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Post by TBT on Jun 7, 2006 12:15:08 GMT -5
Some days you get lucky... You know you are getting old when getting lucky has to do with magazines. ;D ;D I just spit coffee all over my computer lol. And I don't know about DA, Tman, but you DID make me fall off my chair.  I need a BHP. And a 27. And an assault rifle. And another 1911. And a snubby. And a good J-Frame. And ... and ...  |
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Post by TMan on Jun 7, 2006 22:37:27 GMT -5
No, no, no, you are talking to us, not your wife. You don't "need" - like the rest of us, you "want".
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Post by MLB on Jun 8, 2006 12:40:48 GMT -5
My wife was happy when she saw that the list price of a new BHP Standard is near $800.
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Post by MLB on Jun 11, 2006 19:55:58 GMT -5
Blast it all! Wrote a review and closed the wrong *#!@* window! Some folks should stick to pencil & paper. Here's a pretty picture anyway...  |
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Post by TMan on Jun 11, 2006 21:13:58 GMT -5
Blast it all! Wrote a review and closed the wrong *#!@* window!... Gee, I've never done anything like that.  One of the nice things about having not had a rain cloud in the sky for months is that I can say anything I want to now and not worry about being hit by lightning. ;D |
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