I am considering the acquisition of an entry level Hi Power. Many variations have minimal sights. My question : Are those sights dovetailed , as in - can they be swapped out with improved sights? What about the readily available Kareen variation? Can new sights be installed on an Israeli 9mm Hi Power?
This should be and easy one to answer.....
Like with most BHP questions there is no one answer. It depends in which variant of the BHP you are looking at. A pre MKII, FN/Browning never used a MKI designation, will have small half noon front sight and small fixed rear. There are others which will have an adjustable tangent sight. These two types of sight configurations cannot be changed out without milling the slide.
Fixed
Tangent
If you move into the MKII era you have a dovetailed rear sight with a pinned front. The front sight is part of the "rib" on the top of the slide. In order to remove it you must mill the slide. The rear is a dovetail but at this time I do not know of anyone who makes a different replacement sight that will side into the dovetail so most people will mill the rear to take a new sight. There are also 2 kinds of adjustable sights that were used during the MKII era. Again to replace these sights properly milling the slide is needed.
This is a typical MKII Israeli surplus gun.
Moving on MKIIIs these guns have more modern dovetail sights for the front and the back. There are direct replacements that side directly into these dovetails but they will not accommodate Novaks or Heines. The slide will still need to be milled to accommodate may of the more desirable sights. This can cost you anywhere from $200 to $350 depending on the sights and your gunsmith. Novak does a great job at a fair price.
The Tias seems to be a decent clone but there are some issues with them. Barrel spec, springs, firing pin retaining plate and a few other things have been problematic. There is pretty good thread on one of the 1911 forums about them. One major issue is that the sight cuts are proprietary. They are Novak like sights at first glance but the are actually more like old school Wilson Combat sights. There are no direct replacements for the Tias sights. Brownells with the right coupon offers very good pricing on the Tias clone.
If I am looking for a modern BHP that I intend to shoot as it is I go for an MKIII. I prefer the fixed sight models. From there you can get direct replacement night sights if you want without the additional cost of milling. I am going to modify the gun, which I do most of the time, I look for the best BHP in the best condition for the best price I can. If I am going to swap the sight I will take a fixed sight over any of the adjustable sights. They are easier to mill and most of the time it will yield a cleaner install. I like Heinies, Yost custom sights or Harrison 1911 sights for my BHPs. I used to use Novaks more but these days I like other sight pictures better. So the question was not so straight forward but I hope this helps.
