Browning HP Magazine Safety

[fvf]

Can you please tell me how to remove the pin holding the magazine safety plunger behind the trigger so that I can reduce the spring load. This will give me a smoother trigger and still have the magazine safety active.

Thanks.

BTW I have tried a punch and hammer from the left side put the pin wouldn't move. My BHP is a Mk IIIs

 

[carolinaman]

Hi there,

Some of the retainer pins are really hard to remove.

Use a starter punch and a healthy wack from a hammer to start moving the pin. Then use the pin punch with light tapping to remove the pin.

The pins are moved out from left to right looking rearward at the trigger assembly.

Chris

 

[mete]

A press might be easier. You can set up something in a vise that would do.

 

[Northslope Nimrod]

Wish I knew how myself. I just paid a guy $25 for a trigger job and he removed the safety. Much better now.

 

[Dave R]

One word of warning--some of the pins are tapered, and only go one way. You'll ruin things if you tey to drive it the wrong way. Wish I could tell you which way was right. An exploded view of a BHP would probably tell you.

 

[fvf]

Thanks guys for the help.

Do I have to remove the trigger assembly from the frame before trying to remove the magazine safety ? I wouldn't want the trigger pin to loosen because of the work being done on the magazine safety pin.

Thanks

BTW If I am looking from behind the gun, the pin goes from left to right. To confirm, if I am facing the barrel end of the gun the pin moves from right to left ?

 

[Gun Wielding Maniac]

Yes. You need to remove the trigger assembly from the frame in order to take out the magazine disconnector. The disconnector is located at the rear of the trigger mechanism. Be sure to use a penetrating oil on the pin first. Next, when you are taking out the pin, make sure the assembly is firmly held in a steel fixture, driving the pin into a block of wood or perhaps a cardboard box to make sure it doesnt disappear.

 

[fvf]

I tried removing the magazine safety pin without removing the trigger assembly from the frame and realized I might be bending the trigger pin.

I remembered I was able to remove the magazine safety pin on a Mk I model before w/o removing the trigger assembly but the Mk IIIs seems to be fit tighter.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Yes, on the old classic Hi Powers, the pin retaining the magazine disconnect plunger and spring could be removed in many cases without removing the trigger pin.

Best.

 

[Ken Rainey]

The NRA publication of the American Rifleman shows and describes the pins coming out the left side (while it points away from you - as if you were holding it) of a Browning Hi Power...I disassembled a Hipower clone using this method and it worked well....although getting the hammer / sear assembly back in and keeping it in place while inserting the pin was a real hassle....what's the correct procedure for that??

 

[BryanP]

although getting the hammer / sear assembly back in and keeping it in place while inserting the pin was a real hassle....what's the correct procedure for that??

I believe the correct procedure involves frequent and creative cursing. At least mine did. That thing was a real PITA to get back in. A third hand would have been highly useful.

 

[carolinaman]

Hi there,

Here's something that might help with the Hammer/Sear/Sear pin reassembly.

It is my "third" hand fashioned from a coathanger!



You can use a 1/16" punch as a "slave pin" to keep everything lined up until you have a chance to get the pin in place.

BTW. With this particular model, the trigger assembly needs to be removed because the trigger lever rides on top of the magazine disconnect plunger.

Chris

 

[Ken Rainey]

That probably would've helped on the clone I had apart....but my Browning has a spur hammer...I need a third hand...hmmm, I wonder if a small C Clamp might help ??

 

[carolinaman]

Hi there Ken,

Hook one end of the coathanger over the hammer with the hammer extended back as far as it will go. You can use a "twist tie" or clothes pin to keep the sear spring in place.

Chris

 

[fvf]

I can see the trigger lever riding on top of the magazine safety. If I can remove the magazine safety pin I would eventually be able to remore the the trigger bar after moving the trigger return spring?

So the magazine safety pin more from right to left if holding the gun muzzle pointed forward?

 

[carolinaman]

Hi there fvf,

Yes, the trigger pin does not sit flush on both sides of the frame. There is a reason for that.

Here is a link for disassembly instructions:

http://users3.ev1.net/~byronsimpson/guns/detailstrip.html

You will have to remove the trigger pin, pull the entire assembly from the pistol, the trigger lifter will drop off (don't worry, its designed that way). Place the trigger assembly on a board with a hole bored into it to recieve the pin and knock the pin out of the trigger. The magazine safety and spring will fly out of the trigger. Keep an eye out for it in case you decide you need to reinstall it again.

The pin at the front the trigger is to retain the trigger return spring. I replaced my trigger return spring with a C&S x-tra power return spring. Some folks simply remove the spring and bend down the "tail" of the spring 1/4" down using pliers to get more tension on the spring for a more positive trigger return.

When you reinstall the spring, its time to put everything back together. Put the trigger bar back on the trigger and under the spring. When you reinstall the trigger, gently move the assembly back up and into the frame the same way you removed it. Don't get upset if the trigger lifter falls off a couple of times until you get it right.

Then, using a punch as a slave pin, hold the trigger in place and reinstall the trigger pin back into the frame. The groove or notch in the pin must lay in line with the spring or your trigger will not work when you shoot the gun. Remember I said that there is reason the pin was offset?

It's easier to do than I have described and pictures would help!

Chris

 

[fvf]

Chris

Thanks, this is Francis

Is there any way I could do the removal of the magazine safety and its pin without having to remove the trigger assembly from the frame? Or is it a mandatory procedure?

I can't recall but in my previous MkI I was able to remove the magazine safety pin easily and lifted the trigger lever to slide out the magazine safety and spring from the back of the trigger.

Thanks

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. On some of the earlier guns (as in the '70's) and before, it was possible to remove the magazine disconnect w/o having to remove the trigger assembly from the frame. All of the guns I've tried that with that were made in the late 70's onward have required the assembly to be removed before the magazine disconnect could be.

Best.

 

[fvf]

Stephen

Has there been a change in the design of the trigger assembly from the different models of BHP over time.

I had assumed that is was the same basic design where after removing the magazine safety pin, you cound lift the trigger lever from the trigger return spring and pull the magazine safety and spring from the back of the trigger assembly.

Thanks.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. There has been one but it is not readily apparent when looking. It might even just be in the small magazine disconnect plunger itself. On that I am not sure, but in all of the examples I've seen from the late '70's on, the trigger assembly has had to be removed. The trigger and lifter appear the same as in the older guns to me, so the change is small.

Best.

 

[carolinaman]

Hi there Francis,

I've tried to remove the magazine safety with the trigger in place. The shaft of the magazine safety gets "hung up" on the trigger lifter by virtue of the fact that it has a small notch milled into the top of it that the lifter rides on.

I always wind up removing the trigger pin and doing it the "usual way".

I haven't tried to remove the magazine safety from my older pre-Mark II classic HP yet, because the trigger pull is fine as it is for me. It is a fairly old and worn handgun.

Chris

 

[fvf]

Chris

Thanks for narrating me your experience w/ your HP. I believe the MkIIIs will be better once I get to lighten (not remove) the magazine safety spring. This will allow emply magazines to drop free and reduce the roughness of the trigger pull attributed to the magazine safety rubbing against the front of the pistol magazine.

Thanks