BarryinIN
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Posts posted by BarryinIN
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In the thread on the SA-35 I said I had a project underway. It is now complete.
The whole story.
I love the Browning HiPower, and I’ve carried one for most of the last 28 years.
About three years ago, I gave in and accepted my eyes were forcing a switch to a red dot sight on my carry gun. I had been resisting because I didn’t see a way to get a RDS and keep a BHP. Not at that time.
When I threw in the towel I took the easy route and got a Sig P320 with the factory red dot. With the Wilson grip frame, it was sorta kinda HiPower-ish feeling if I used my imagination. I had to ignore the relatively huge girth and overall size to get there.
There is nothing wrong with the P320, but I’ve never been very happy with it. How could I be? It’s not a HiPower.
I still wanted a BHP with a red dot. I was starting to see this work being done, but I wasn’t going to send one of my Brownings off to be ground on since they had been dropped from production and values were climbing.
Then SA came out with the SA-35. There was my candidate. As we know, it took a while to get them circulating well, and for the initial extractor bugs to be worked out. Only recently did I see prices coming down.
By chance, I met a local part-time gunsmith/machinist and ran the project by him. He has done a lot of RDS slide installations, but never on a BHP.
But he was willing to try.
That was it! That was all I needed.
I took the plunge and bought an SA-35 off Gunbroker. I shot it once for only 75 rounds to make sure it didn’t have obvious problems. Satisfied there, I ordered a Trijicon RMRcc.
I had put some thought into that sight choice. I don’t know if it was necessary, but I gave it plenty of thought anyway.
I didn’t know how much trouble it would be to get a RDS on a HiPower. There is less fore and aft space on the slide than a lot of guns. Could I get a tall rear sight squeezed in? What about width? Would the standard RMR overhang the slim HiPower slide?
I played it safe and got the smaller RMRcc.
I also ran across a rear sight from Parker Mountain Machine that mounted within the RMR body itself, which saved the need for space for mounting a sight behind the RDS.
PMM IDRS (Independent Drop-In Rear Sight) - Parker Mountain Machine
PMM IDRS (Independent Drop-In Rear Sight)
www.parkermountainmachine.com
With the pieces all here, I delivered them to my new pal.
He texted today saying it was done, and he was pleased at how it came out.
Here it is:
To me, it looks “right”. A standard size RMR might have looked huge on the svelte HiPower.
Here is an upward look at the overhang:Not bad, I think.
He did a fantastic job. I can’t see any light between the RDS and slide at any joint. The sight is well supported.
He did not sight it in, so I hurried off to the range to settle that important task. That only took three clicks down.
I shot it more anyway.
I had some concern about how easy or hard it might be for me to pick up the dot in the smaller window of the RMRcc, but it went OK. I don’t think it was any harder than using the regular sized RDS on my P320. I don’t know how much of that was from being accustomed to shooting a HiPower. Perhaps if the sights and guns were swapped so I had the smaller sight on the P320 it would have gone different.
So there. I finally have my red dot-sighted HiPower. I hope it works as well as I’ve always hoped.
I am going to have to get a new holster. My Summer Specials won’t clear the sight. -
New thread starting soon.
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I am now committed to the Red Dot Sighted HiPower Project (The RDSHPP?). After talking to the gunsmith, I have ordered a Trijicon RMRcc and auxiliary rear sight.
This is the beginning of something wonderful, or a huge mistake.
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I shot shot it the day after I got it. Only 75 rounds total, but enough to get the idea: 30 rounds of Winchester White Box 115 FMJ, 35 rounds of my handload using a 140 grain SWC cast bullet and Herco, and 10 rounds of Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+ (1270 FPS from this gun).
It shot like a HiPower. In quick “up and shoot” from low ready, I shot an almost identical sized group as the red dot-equipped Sig P320 I carry. I’ve been carrying and shooting the P320 for three (?) years but have a lot more rounds through HiPowers. I don’t know if that makes it even.
At any rate, I am declaring “proceed” on the HiPower red dot project. I’m now searching for the best deal on a Trijicon RMRcc.
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My SA-35 arrived today. Some initial thoughts and observations:
The HiPower as it came from Browing always needed some things.
-The sights needed to be larger. They got better in later years but not quite good enough-The thumb safety also needed to be larger. Like the sights, this got better, but not good enough
-The trigger needed some cleaning up.
- The magazine disconnect needed to go, which would often help the trigger.The Springfield has all of these things. The sights are better. The rear has a good sized blade with a round-bottomed U-notch opening. The front is a tall blade with a white dot, which could go IMO. I’m told the dovetails are non-standard, if that matters.
The thumb safety is left side (RH shooter) only, but has a large bent paddle. I think it could be tapered some at the base of the paddle, but it’s better to have that problem than needing more metal.
The trigger is grit-free, and while I haven’t weighed it yet, seems satisfactory for pull weight.
Mercifully, the magazine disconnect is not present nor is there an opening in the trigger for one. No, I won’t call it a “magazine safety” because it’s not a safety. Now I can call it “gone”.
To the possible negative, SA used a ring type hammer instead of the spur type Yes, they look better to most people, but it looks intimidating to me. That hammer type on the HiPower always chewed up my hand. I will see how this one is when I shoot it.More on everything after I shoot it.
My plans for this gun is to have it milled for a red dot sight. There isn’t a lot of room for that on a HiPower slide, so we will see how that goes. -
I shot some Underwood 200 grain Wadcutter ammo through the ‘Dog yesterday. It shot well, and shot to point of aim.
I think it’s the way to go here.
The Chrono numbers were interesting. Underwood rates it at 1000FPS. I got an average of 961 FPS with five shots in the Bulldog, which is good.
But the consistency! Extreme spread: 12 FPS.
Standard deviation: 5.1 !!! -
The SA-35 Optics Ready models should be introduced any day now.
I have no inside information saying that, but I did give in and buy ann SA-35 off Gunbroker last night. I have entered talks with a local gun plumber on getting it milled for a red dot.
Therefore, I expect ready-made ones to be shown in about seven to ten days.
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I’ve heard that John Taffin died last night. He mostly wrote for Guns and American Handgunner, and almost always about big bore revolvers. He wrote a few books: The Book of the .44, and The Book of the .45 being the most popular.
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I’d sure like to see Kimber expand this line.
A K6s in .22LR with a 3” or 4” barrel would be a handy size gun that should shoot great. Steel frame K6s or aluminum frame K6xs; either would work.
A 2 or 3” .32 H&R Mag would be a great gun.
I’m one of the few who likes 9mm revolvers, and a Kimber 9mm would be in a unique place with a 6-rd 9mm this size.
Or enlarge the frame. The same design in a K or L frame size could be really nice. Like S&W L frames, they should be able to do a 7-rd .357, a 5-rd .44 Spl/Mag. Or, maybe a 6-rd 10mm.
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They are now getting reasonable enough that today I bid on one on Gunbroker. I didn’t win, but I’m getting close.
I still want an Optics Ready model. Yes, I can get one milled, and that’s what I’ll probably do. Its a lock that as soon as I buy one, the OR model will show up. -
FWIW, I weighed the Pre-12 with aluminum cylinder. It’s crazy light. If I haven’t touched the gun in a while, the second I pick it up I’m surprised, and I know what to expect.
It weighs 14.99 ounces empty.
The S&W 442 or 642 J-frame? 14.6 oz.
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The Ohio state association has posted info, but I didn’t see anything about coordinating events in that state.
https://www.buckeyefirearms.org/headline-gun-owners-sought-fire-another-shot-heard-round-world
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April 19 this year marks 250 years since Lexington and Concord kicked off the US Revolutionary War. To mark the event, the California state association has started to coordinate a ceremonial commemorative shot at 8:30am, the time the famous shot was believed fired at Lexington.
The idea was to have shots fired at 8:30am across the state of CA. It’s starting to spread across the nation. Some in Wyoming have picked it up, and I just saw a post on Ohio’s state association site.
It sounds like details are still being worked out, but at present they are thinking it’s easiest to do it at 8:30am in your time zone.
That would be the easiest, but I'm hoping it can be done simultaneously instead. I agree this would take some planning and compromise, because Californians won’t want to do this in the middle of their night, and those in Massachusetts won’t want to wait until hours after 8:30 so they don’t.We will see.
I will keep you posted.If this gets wings, I want to push the board of my gun club to open the gates to anyone who wants to have a safe place to participate.
CA Rifle and Pistol Association article:
https://crpa.org/event/shot-heard-around-the-world/
Much longer article in the (Wyoming) Cowboy State Daily: -
There’s one!
Any more?
(Not that Wayne isn’t enough.)
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I happened to see this thread as I was poking around. Over eight years later, and I still like this gun. The simple fact that I’ve kept a .44 magnum that long says that I like it.
I got the taller front sight I needed.
Then we moved before I could make the swap.
I haven’t seen that sight since.
I had hoped I’d run across it and held off ordering another. It’s about time I give up, let go of a few nickels, and order one.On 9/15/2016 at 11:22 PM, BarryinIN said:I don't know how the holster search will end. The 69 has a 4.25" barrel (Canadian laws) rather than a 4", so there may be some compromising. I also want a covered trigger (range rule at one place info, and IDPA and USPSA everywhere), so that further limits things.
I have the following holsters that work with it:
Galco DAO: A two-position, strong side FBI cant and crossdraw, with a retention strap
Ted Blocker 24XD: A crossdraw. This holster was made for the 4” 686, but fits perfect with the 4.25” barrel.
Gallagher IWB (unknown model name): This is actually a 4” K frame holster, but since it is a somewhat loose fit on those, I tried the 69 and it fit nicely. None of the (many) other K frame holsters I have fit at all.
The Galco is OK. I don’t like the retention strap much, because I don’t think it’s necessary. I wish it was a separate piece that snapped off, but it’s not.
The Gallagher is a nicely made holster, but lacks any form of reinforcement on the opening. Being an IWB of pancake construction, the opening closes up as soon as the revolver is drawn, requiring the use of a second hand to hold it open to reholster. This is unacceptable, which is too bad because I think I would like it otherwise.
The Blocker 24XD is a left hand holster. Since my mother was not a witch, I am right handed. I wear it as a RH holster in the RH crossdraw position by running the belt over the holster. This actually works pretty well, pulling the holster and gun in close. The holster is great quality like other Ted Blocker products I have. I just don’t need or want to carry crossdraw much at this time.
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Just wondering.
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Make that two friends now that I’ve nudged into one.
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Observations so far.
I’ve only shot it once. I only put 100 rounds through it- 60 of my 140 cast SWC handloads, 30 Winchester USA 115 FMJ, and ten Winchester Ranger 127 +P+.It shot like a Glock. There simply isn’t much more to say there.
As I said, the grip is a big improvement to me. Besides the shape, there are other details like a huge integral flare to the magwell. I can turn the gun upside down and drop a magazine in. Seriously, I did that. You have to do a sloppy job to fumble it going in.
The texture on the grip is hard to describe. It feels like a lot of short stiff hairs grabbing your skin. Grabby yet nearly smooth.
You have to try it to understand.
On semiautos, I like having some way to pull a magazine out if it gets caught in the gun. A double feed will cause this with a lot of guns, and being able to rip the magazine out is the first step to clearing it, and sometimes that action alone will take care of it. The “toe” on magazines for 1911s and some others works for this. The dished out area on HK USPs is another way of allowing a good grasp.
Therefore, something I never liked about Glocks is the difficulty of getting a good grip on the magazine to rip it out against it’s will. I’ve seen some people go as far as cutting half-moon openings in the side of the grip at the bottom to facilitate this.The Magpul-Ruger grip has a bevel/“bobtail” on the lower rear that allows my thumb in. Working in opposition to my forefinger on the front of the magazine, this gives me a good strong grip to pull it out.
There are subtle contour changes all over that don’t stand out, but you feel them.This is a well thought-out grip frame.
I mentioned the sights being nice, but I guess I didn’t say they are steel. That’s an automatic upgrade to a new Glock for a lot of people, so there is an expense saved.I like the sights so much that if I had a Glock or several, I’d buy these and put them on the Glocks.
A friend who is a Glock fan has been asking me questions since I bought it Saturday. I guess he heard enough, because he was at the same shop today when they opened and got one for himself. He had no real need for what is another G19 for him, but like I keep saying: for $399, why not?
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They did it! The local gun shop sold their second and I assume last gun in .30 Super Carry!
I always check when I’m in there. It left sometime in the last two weeks.
The ink on the tag had faded so bad it was getting hard to read, but they got it done. -
I looked at one at the local shop a couple weeks ago just because it was out of the case. I wasn’t in the market for one, but I’ve been thinking ever since what a good deal it was.
At the $399 they are selling them for, it’s less than what their new Glocks were 30 years ago.
It fits the human hand, with an overall better grip shape than Glocks in my opinion. It has a different grip angle; not a lot, but enough to make a difference to me.
If it doesn’t fit your hand, I expect a lot of aftermarket grip frames are on the way. There are three or four out there for the Sig P320, and imagine this gun will be a bigger seller.
I have almost given up on iron sights on handguns at my age. This RXM is optics ready, but I might be able to use these sights. The rear sight is big with a nice wide notch. The front sight is big and bold, and only has a tritium insert as a distraction.
I have had little luck with Ruger centerfire auto pistols, but I have a lot more hope for this one already.
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On 1/14/2025 at 3:26 AM, BarryinIN said:
The 2025 SHOT Show starts in just under a week. Not that I’m saying anything, but if I were to say something, I would say to pay attention to the S&W Ultimate Carry (UC) line.
And that’s all I’m saying.I guess we need to watch next year.
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The 2025 SHOT Show starts in just under a week. Not that I’m saying anything, but if I were to say something, I would say to pay attention to the S&W Ultimate Carry (UC) line.
And that’s all I’m saying. -
Happy Birthday, US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1!
89 years old today!
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I restocked with Ranger ammo this week. That’s a good feeling.
Springfield SA-35 + Trijicon RMRcc
in Pistols
Posted
Vedder holster ordered.
IWB holsters for a HiPower with optic aren’t all that common.