[Chris Stephens]

From the BHP owners out there, I wanted to get some opinions on what your ideas were as to good, bad and great modifications on the BHP?

The gun I am planning on modifying is my FEG PJK 9 HP and I thought that I would start with this BHP clone before graduating to the recently aquired Mark III.

Before I start, the Hungarian is already a great shooter and is capable of better accuracy than I am of shooting it. The slide/frame fit is very tight, the sights are small in my opinion and the magazine disconnect "left" several months ago.

The ring hammer smacks the web of my hand (too many years of 1911 high grip holding experience), but I like the leverage the spur hammer offers over the ring hammer for that "occasional" manual lowering of the hammer.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Thank you in advance for any insights.

Chris

 

[Chris Stephens]

Thanks Yana!

I was able to "buy" a set of Butler Creek BHP grip panels before they went out of production. Sadly enough, I like them so much, I would have liked to have had 2 pairs.

Unless, I find them at a local range or gunstore, I doubt I will find another set again. My other alternative is to get a set of Linen Micarta Grips, but I haven't found a source yet.

I hadn't thought about the recoil spring change to 18.5# and honestly don't know what weight the current spring is in the Hungarian. Unfortunately, I can't email FEG from the US to find out and have tried to email them many times before to get the production date.

Chris

 

[Chris Stephens]

Hi there all,

You all have posted some excellent recommendations and some that are not too terribly expensive to do.

Remembering that, at best, this was a $285.00 handgun and a great bargain at that, I would have to say that the trigger work has already been partially completed with the magazine safety gone.

I really do not have any reservations about removing it for safety or liability issues.

I ordered the hammer strut pin to go with the BHP hammer I bought from C&S as well as some other small parts that should be here this week from Numrich.

I really, really like the hammer "bobbing" that Mr. Stephen Camp did on his BHP and this might be the perfect fix. I hope that he can give me some insights on how to do it and will do a separate posting under the pistolsmithing section.

The skate board tape trick might be the best fix for the front grip and there is a surfing shop up the street that sells the stuff. As I have three teen age sons in the house, they are no stranger to seeing us in there to shop for other stuff. I really do not have the skills to do a good stippling job.

Some of the comments regarding recoil springs are very intriguing. I suspect that the FEG has the factory 17# spring, but don't have anyway of knowing. The heavier 18.5# spring should slow down wear and by far the cheapest modification at $7.95 from Wolff Springs. The used BHP that I have has heavier springs installed by the previous owner and I must say that I agree with Sockman that it will slow down the wear on the locking lugs on the barrel/slide.

You all are a fabulous group of folks and I sincerely appreciate your comments and insights thus far.

Chris

 

[Chris Stephens]

Hi there Catbird,

I neglected to mention that the front sight on the Hungarian BHP clone is staked on and that modifying the front sight will probably mean that it will have to be milled off and a dovetail slot installed, which of course means that the top end of the FEG will have to be refinished.

I like the idea of the magic marker trick and it's easy enough to correct if I don't like it. Unfortunately, you hit the nail on the head, because the sights are too busy for me.

Chris

 

[Chris Stephens]

Hi there all,

I thought that I would post a picture of the Hungarian FEG PJK 9 HP in its current condition with the Butler Creek HP grips added.

In my opinion, the hammer is almost out of proportion with the rest of the FEG HP.

I apologize in advance for the shoddy photography.

Chris

 

[Chris Stephens]

Hi there rogerho,

Thank you for the suggestions.

Right now, I really don't have any need of replacing any other springs other than possibly the recoil and firing pin springs, but it is interesting that Browning offered the other competition internal springs.

The barrel is pretty much brand new and other than possibly polishing the feed ramp, I have not had any feeding or extraction issues.

The sights do remain questionable. They are small. But to gain anything, I will probably wind up having to mill off the front sight which is staked on and have a dovetail slot cut and a new set of sights installed. Those are great suggestions!


Chris

 

[Chris Stephens]

Hi Yana,

I just ordered the Wolff 18.5 extra power recoil spring/firing pin spring combo directly from Wolff. I am not trying to fix anything here, but I am attempting to reduce potential accelerated wear issues from shooting a "lot" of commerical ammo.

Buying a lighter hammer mainspring, I don't think will offer much of an advantage. However, should I get around to replacing the hammer with a "bobbed" hammer, the lighter mass of the new hammer may dictate a spring change.

Yes, the hammer is really big. And when I attempt to grip the Hungarian in a higher grip hold, it does bite. The one thing that I like about the the BHP is that generally I can get a higher grip hold than I can get with a 1911 and its grip safety. Even with the modified grip safety and an "upswept" beavertail on the 1911, the gripping area is higher and more generous in my opinion.

Chris