The Browning Hi-Power: Barry Lyndon in 9mm NATO

Barry Lyndon is probably one of Stanley Kubrick’s lesser known films. Although it won 4 Oscars, it is nowhere near the pop culture status of The Shining or Full Metal Jacket. The film is set in the mid to late 18th century, has about two action set pieces, is mostly people in rooms talking to each other, has a slow sometimes meandering plot that most moviegoers would describe as “boring”, and I absolutely love it. 

The colonial/Napoleonic period is one of my favorites for fiction, the detail and visuals in the movie are simply astounding, and the techniques and equipment used in the production are almost unbelievable (Kubrick used Zeiss camera lenses originally designed for NASA to photograph the moon). I like to describe it as, “The greatest movie I can never recommend.” I don’t usually recommend Barry Lyndon because I know that I am a nerd, and that the things I like about it aren’t what most people want in a movie, and they’re probably even less interested in the mechanics behind the movie. This brings us neatly to the Browning Hi Power…

My goal with the Hi Power project was to take my favorite service pistol of all time, and bring it to a point of modernization where it could be a viable option as a carry or defensive pistol. There were main focuses to achieve this, what I called the “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” upgrades. As I will elaborate below, I feel I have accomplished this and have created my favorite carry pistol that I cannot recommend to anyone, nor will anyone fully understand why I love it so much. It’s hard work being such a hipster.

Phase 1

The Phase 1 upgrades consisted primarily of the Hi Power Upgrade Kit from Cylinder & Slide. For about $250 this kit replaces most of the important internals (extractor, extractor spring, firing pin plate, hammer, sear spring etc.). Luckily I was still working at Shooter’s world at the time so I was able to have this kit installed essentially for free. The kit drastically reduced the trigger pull weight, and improved the trigger travel as well. Also replacing 30 years old parts with higher quality new manufacture parts was huge confidence booster. While it was in the shop I also had the gunsmith remove the magazine disconnect safety, remove the lanyard loop, and spread the mag well juuuuust enough to make the mags drop free every time. These modifications made a huge difference to the usability, as reloads were able to be performed normally.

Phase 2

The Phase 2 upgrades were a little more obvious being external, but not quite as integral. The new LOK grips were a huge improvement over the original thumb rest style, especially as a lefty. The texture of the ones I selected is much more aggressive, and they are much thinner which helps with concealment.

The flat trigger I added was partly an aesthetic choice and partly function. The flat trigger definitely makes the Hi Power look more customized, and I do prefer flat faced triggers generally.

I added grip tape to the front and back strap, this is one area where most pistols from before 2005 or so fail, this helps a lot with controlling the gun. I also added grip tape to the front of the slide to take the place of front cocking serrations. The grip tape combined with the scalloped front end of the slide makes cocking from the front very easy. I used some extra aggressive skateboard tape from Muirskate. If you’re used to super aggressive competition grips like I am, this stuff is legit.

The last Phase 2 upgrade were the sights, I installed a set of Dawson precision sights. The Front is a fiber optic and the rear is flat black. The improvement over the factory sights cannot be over stated, the new sights are infinitely more precise and are much easier to acquire.

Testing

I started testing with only the 1 magazine the gun came with. After the C&S kit was installed I went to the range and put 100 rounds through the gun as fast as I could. There were no issues at all.

After more magazines were delivered along with a couple boxes of Federal HSTs, I shot the 10-8 performance function test, and again there were no issues. By this point I was carrying the Hi Power basically every day, and although I hadn’t officially completed the testing, I was already very confident in the Hi Power’s performance. After an OWB holster came in (I went with Vedder for this one) I shot the Hi Power in 2 different Action Steel matches and these were where the only two malfunctions of the entire test occurred. I’m not exactly sure what caused the two failures to eject, but there was one at each match either on the third or fourth stage of the day. After some thought I order a new factory spec recoil spring and installed it, the spring that had come with C&S was too strong and designed for +P or NATO spec ammo, so I had been running the recoil spring the gun shipped with. After installing the new recoil spring there were no other malfunctions for the remainder of the testing. The final prescribed test that I developed for the Hi Power (and one I will be using for all future pistol testing) is what I called “The Wal-Mart Test.” This is 100 rounds with 5 different brands of hollow points. Meant to provide at least some confidence in a pistols ability to function with whatever brand of hollow points your local store happens to have in stock, the 5 rounds tested were: 1. Federal HST 2. Hornady Critical Defense 3. Speer Gold Dot 4. Sig V-Crown 5. Winchester PDX-1. As with the 10-8 Function Test the Hi Power had no issues with any of the rounds, despite their very different bullet profiles.

Conclusions and Phase 3

So after 1000 rounds the Hi Power currently has a score of 98/100. Apart from those two failure to ejects, it has performed flawlessly. I have carried this pistol just about every day for the better part of 9 months and, have never been concerned with it not being able to perform. I have every expectation of it remaining my primary EDC pistol for the foreseeable future, and if I have the opportunity (or should I say misfortune?) to shoot any IDPA matches this year, this will almost certainly be the pistol I use. As for the phase 3 upgrades, those were always planned to take place after testing had been completed, and hopefully I have the chance to get those done this year. An extended beaver tail and cerakote refinish would really be icing on the cake for this Project.