Browning/FN Hi-Power: A Love Story

Many years ago, when I was just a gun nut in training, I learned to shoot handguns with a 1970s Browning Hi-Power. I've wanted one ever since. And like a bad chick-flick, a series of seemingly unrelated events brought me together with my long-lost love.

A week ago I stopped in at a newer gun store in Ankeny, Iowa, called Rhine Group Firearms. I was referred by a friend, and I stopped in because they had Magpul MBUS sights for less than the big boys did online, and they're 25 minutes from my humble abode. In a wooden case near the AR-15 accessories, a familiar shape caught my eye. "A Hi-Power" I thought, "I haven't seen one of those in ages.". Then I saw the price tag. It was used. For sale on consignment. $400. The finish was a little rough, but as I read the slide, it did not say "Browning". Instead, it read "Fabrique Nationale Herstal Belgique". My hipster sense tingled, and I almost unrolled my cleaning mat and faced Morgan, UT to pray to the great John M. Browing (PBUH). But I did not possess the intestinal fortitude to face my wife and say I spent another $400 on guns this month (bringing the total well over $1000....I don't need to retire...).

Mine is older, has no ambi-safety, and looks nothing like this.

But the days passed, and the Hi-Power haunted me. I looked at Israeli surplus online, mostly without prevail. What I did find was in very rough shape and at almost the same $400. I grew a spine, and asked permission to go buy the Hi-Power. And so I did. Yesterday, after work, I brought home a piece of history--the father of the modern Wundernine. 

The Hi-Power has somehow fallen out of favour lately. I guess it probably has something to do with its current $900 price tag if you buy a new one. And no matter which Hi-Power you buy, you'll need to remove the magazine safety (I'll get back to this). You'll probably want to polish the trigger mechanism a bit also. Or pay a gunsmith lots of money to do it for you. So, like the 1911, a competition-worthy Hi-Power is a $1200-$1500 proposition. So if you get one, you better love it.

So that mag safety. It isn't just annoying like in my M&P9C. Nope, in the Hi-Power, JMB (PBUH) designed this feature so that you would have to learn how to completely disassemble the gun. The mag safety makes the trigger very gritty and with lots of creep. But worse, it prevents empty magazines from exiting the mag well. I mean you hit the mag release, and the empty magazine drops about 1/4" and stops. So you can do a two-handed reload like an AK47, or you can remove the safety entirely in about 5 minutes, which is what He intended us to do.

I hope to get some test-firing done this weekend and will post some targets (unless I shoot like shit). If you get a chance, you should shoot one too. And if you find one cheap, buy it immediately. 

I Was Tactical Once, And Young

The wall art on the squad leaders' room. Motivation for a wholesome life, and a good way to start an article.

I know I'm a tactical hipster. And I know I'm a crustier curmudgeon every day. So when I saw a humorous comment on Vuurwapenblog that turned into an article, it spawned in me a desire to share my views on tactical-ness.

After my first gunfight in 2004, I started devouring articles on tactical-ness, and most of it turned out to be tacticool bullshit. From 2005 to 2009, I jumped on the "pack everything ever into your chest rig" bandwagon. I did that because I have two friends who served in Iraq during the heaviest fighting, and both were mechanized infantry, and therefore could afford to have stupidly heavy vests because they weren't walking all that far. And Iraq is flat. Afghanistan is a totally different story, and I would have to re-learn that in 2010.

During this last tour, I was assigned as a team leader (eventually a squad leader) and a designated marksman. So I had all manner of stupid shit to carry, and my Captain and 1SG decided that designated marksmen would carry their M4 and full battle load AND an M14 and full loadout for that as well. We (there were 9 of us) bucked up and carried our loadout of woe through training, and thoroughly modified our kit once we hit country in fall of 2010.

My Kit of Woe. Most of it was gone a week later.

We hadn't been at our outpost long when the M14 gunners were ordered to the nearby special operations firebase to re-zero for altitude and generally train for a day with some proper badasses. The bearded men saw our grossly overgrown kits and asked me (since I was the only NCO in the bunch) why we were dressed as oxen. I said it was ordered by our company leadership, and that I would rather have just my M4 and 10 or 12 magazines. Very gently, the bearded man with an FN SCAR-17 and Nightforce scope called me an idiot. 

He went on to explain that team members carried a maximum of four magazines on their chest rig, and maybe four or five more in a 3-day pack. Further, he explained that when you run up and down mountains all day, you don't want a lot of extra weight. Also, when you move as a small detachment, you don't want to stand and fight unless you absolutely have to. So a huge amount of ammunition wasn't necessary. 

I went back to my outpost and started stripping things off my vest. The bayonet, radio pouch, IFAK, and NVGs stayed, but all the M14 mags went away, and the M14 went into a footlocker until I turned it back in on the way home. I went from 12 magazines to 8, and my only "extras" were IR chemlights, and a dry-erase card with a 9-line medevac on one side and the updated call for Close Air Support on the other side. I had begun my descent into minimalism and tactical hipster-ism.

Fast forward four months and my squad had been in a complex ambush every day for a week, and on the last one, I went up and down three mountains. The only reason I still had gas in the tank for the third mountain was that all I took up was my bare-bones kit. I had water and ammo. That was it. Almost everyone who packed like they were walking to China went down with a knee or ankle injury, or very nearly fell to their death. Mobility is key, and you aren't mobile with 650rds of ammo, a drop-leg holster, and rail after rail of useless rifle accessory.

Yours truly bringing up the rear. That bag weighed 125lbs and all it contained was ammunition, water, and two MREs. Why add more stupid shit?

This is a long-winded way of saying I agree with Andrew Tuohy that things like drop-leg holsters can be a sign of the uninitiated. In mountain warfare, less can be a lot more. The simpler your kit, the less time it takes to put on, the faster you'll be ready to go when the QRF horn sounds. If you don't have space for your secondary weapon on your kit, then remove something from your kit.

I Built That

Friday, after work, I took possession of my RGuns stripped lower and came home to find a package from Palmetto State Armory on my front step. I had intended to take some pictures of the stripped lower, but patience still isn't my strong suit, so I tore into the package containing my MOE lower parts kit (sans trigger group) and set to work.

I scratched my magazine release button on something, but other than that, I got the lower together in about a half hour. It would have been about 15 minutes, but the MOE pistol grip appeared to be pinched in at the top and would not fit on the lower without the added motivation of my brass hammer. I finished the lower with an A2 stock and trigger from my parts box. Now I wait for my upper, and maybe order a case of 5.56x45mm.

I looked over my receipts, and near as I can tell, I will have built this AR-15 rifle for about $30 more than a Mini-14. Here's my parts list with prices (including shipping) rounded up to the nearest dollar.

RGuns stripped lower: $99
PSA MOE LPK w/o trigger: $41
PSA 20" Gov't upper: $345
Bravo Company M16 Auto BCG: $168
Charging handle: Donated, $0
Stock: $0 from parts box (formerly Bushmaster, IIRC)
Trigger: $0 from parts box (Formerly S&W M&P15)
MBUS rear sight: $60

Total: $713

Full disclosure, to buy the rest of the components would be about another $125, so lets say $840. Pics to come, and hopefully I will have the test-fire done by the end of the month.

Things I Learned Today

I got up early this morning, downed a pot of black coffee, and donned my Captain America shirt in preparation for the monthly USPSA match. I packed my fresh-from-the-smith Para LTC and The Golden Gun, and headed out.

There was a HUGE turnout early, and I waited about an hour to get on the line. I shot very well (for me anyway), keeping my time around the tactical tupperware guys and shooting a lot of As. The match was limited comstock, so both stages were 20 rounds, and you could only bring up 20 rounds (with exceptions made for revolvers--24rds). So the playing field was fairly level. After my two stages were complete, I ran back to my car and changed over to my wheelgun gear, and grabbed a box of old reloads. That's when things started to go downhill. Fast.

My revolver score sheet had gone missing, but I found it in the clubhouse. I ran out to the line and gave it to the RO and was placed at the bottom of that order. I got all set up, and the timer buzzed, setting a series of unfortunate events in motion. I screwed up my draw, but figured it out and squeezed the trigger twice at a target 3 yards away. And saw no bullet holes. I immediately knew what was wrong, broke the cylinder open and dumped my ammo and called a ceasefire.



That's right. I'm an idiot. There was no powder in my reloads. To make matters worse, they are Hornady XTP 125gr bullets, and therefore will not budge from my bore until I drill the core out and hammer them out with a 5/16" dowel rod.

So for now, I'm down to my Model 64 for a competition revolver, and I'll be carefully inspecting all of my reloads before they go back in the ammo can. Let that be a lesson to fellow reloaders. Stay focused at the bench, and double check everything!

Now to clean the Para and put my gear away for next month. Stay tuned for my Frankengun AR-15 rifle build. All the parts have been ordered, and should be here in the next two weeks.

Dances With Goats

According to Yahoo!News, The Forest Service is fighting a new wave of aggressive mountain goats with shouts and the occasional paintball gun. I only post this because I have a long history of goat attacks. Here are a few:

This goat got most of my candy corn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goat pictured above washed my windshield, then would not leave until I gave her a dollar. She ate it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More goat panhandlers.

Goats loitering. I called the police, but they just told the goats to move along. The goats declined.

It's about time someone did something about the level of goat aggression in this country. Tell your friends about the dangers of goats, and take precautions yourself. Don't be a statistic.

*No goats were harmed in the writing of this article. 

I Didn't Build That (Yet)

It has been a slow weekend, and I spent some time yesterday cleaning and organizing my gun room. I threw out a bunch of unidentifiable springs, some Triple K brand AR magazines that someone gave me a long time ago, and various empty packages that I had put in my gunsmithing tool box for no reason. By the time I was done cleaning, I found I had not one, but TWO AR-15 triggers (complete!), and a complete M16A2 stock! I told my wife that with this development, it would be silly not to buy a cheap lower and start building an A2-style rifle. She reluctantly agreed, and now I'm going to order a cheap lower from AIM Surplus this week. I've got the rest of the build more or less nailed down as far as components, but I'm still on the fence about an optic, but I'll get into that later. First, let me explain why I want a full 20" rifle.

When I joined the Iowa National Guard in 2002, only elite units had M4s. I went through basic training with an M16A4, and was issued an M16A2/M203 from my unit of assignment. I went on to carry FN Herstal M16A2 serial# 7366928 in Afghanistan, and for a couple of years after I got home. Then I got shifted (without promotion...) to a team leader slot where I carried another FNH M16A2 for another 18 months or so before we got M4A3s. I have a lot of fun memories with an A2. I also had exactly zero problems with those A2s, to include one day where my second FNH rifle spent all afternoon on the line, cycling between me and my squad's two SAW gunners. That rifle must have digested over 2000 rounds in a four hour stretch. And that was after it ate up 180-ish rounds of blanks on a force-on-force drill the previous night and the only cleaning it got was a healthy dose of CLP. My Colt M4A3 was far from unreliable, but I did experience a trigger spring failure on the firing range in Afghanistan. Also, every memory I have where I carried an M4 absolutely sucked. Not the gun's fault, but that's how it is.

So with that said, I'm looking hard at a Stag Arms 20" upper known as the Model 4H.I may upgrade to MOE handguards at some point, but that's about it. Which brings me to my current conundrum. The optic.

I want to keep things simple, so that leaves me with two general options: a very low power scope, or a tube-style red dot.

My favorite optic in the entire universe is the ACOG TA31F, which I used on my final deployment. It was extremely rugged and turned a mediocre rifleman into a serious mid-range threat. When properly zeroed, the BDC is dead on, and will retain a zero even when banged around for months at a time. Unfortunately, the ACOG is also extremely expensive. But maybe one day I'll have one. Until then, my options are somewhat limited.

My short list of possibilities right now is:

Aimpoint Pro ($400)
Burris Tac30 ($300)
Burris MTAC ($400)

As my eyes age, I'm getting partial to low-magnification optics. I also like shooting for group at 100 and 200 yards. The Aimpoint is definitely the better choice for CQB, but I will probably take my AR coyote hunting a couple of times a year and the Burris scopes would do that a little better, especially if I had to take a 200-300 yard shot. I won't be getting a Vortex Strikefire for this build because I want it to be a battle-ready rig. I would trust the Burris and Aimpoint in adverse conditions. As good as the Vortex is, I'm not sure it's ready for combat. Let me add that I don't think there is a better red dot at the Strikefire's price point. If you want a range toy that is functional and looks good, that's the way to go. Mine lives happily on my MP5-22, and it's great in that role.

Now to figure out how I'll budget for my upper, and get this thing shooting by year's end.

Glocktard: Why I'll Never Afford Another AR15, part IV

I like Glock pistols. I don't love them, and I'm certainly no fanboy (except for old S&W revolvers). I carried a Glock 22 on duty for the brief time I spent on a small town police department. I owned a Glock 17 that was reliable as an anvil, and killed a huge number of barnyard varmints. I respect the hell out of the Glock design, and as much as I like my M&P9C, if I were to buy another plastic pistol it would be a Glock.

The M&P has some improvements over the Glock. The components are arguably of higher quality, I like the grip angle better, and I think metal magazines fall free of the mag well better than plastic ones. I also like the fully supported chamber and conventional rifling of the M&P. But the Glock still has a couple of important trump cards. First, EVERYONE makes support items for the Glock. Want a left-handed mag pouch fitted for a Glock 19? Someone makes one. Want a slide plate with a "trucker girl" silhouette on it? Someone makes one. Second, the Glock has been around long enough to have accumulated a service history--and it's pretty good. One day, the M&P will catch up. But it will take the same 30 years the Glock has had. And it's worth noting that 30 years really isn't that long in gun tech terms. Police ALL carried revolvers from the dawn of time until the very late 1970s.  Then in 1985, they all ditched their S&W 3909s, Beretta 92FS, and 1911s for the plastic "Wundernine" from Austria. And though old grumps (like me) grumbled about their "tactical tupperware", the Glock just plain worked.

And that's why I've decided that if I add another pistol to my safe, it won't be my friend's GI 1911. It will be a Gen 3 Glock 19. Additionally, I can rationalize a Glock 19 in three ways. First, I can compete with it on the cheap. Second, it is large enough to make an acceptable nightstand gun. Third, I can carry it concealed in fall and winter. Now all I have to do it sell my wife on those points and perhaps I can pick up a Glock next time I hit Sportsman's. And I'll still never be able to afford another AR15.