browning hp jams

range

My browning 9mm hp jams every 2 to 20 rounds changed magazines and ammo still same problem what else should i look for? I do not limp wrist . thanks to all who answer

JudgeColt

Could it be the ammunition? Are you shooting reloads or some other ammunition that will be difficult to feed?

How old is your HP? Early pistols were designed only for FMC ammunition, and often will not feed modern hollowpoint or reloaded ammunition.

gap1916

Are you using factory mags? What type of ammo are you using? Is it a true HP and not a clone? Have you cleaned it recently? Just a few questionjs to try and figure out what the issue is.

Greg

range

I only use factory new ammo the mags are browning and the gun is clean and lubed i bought it about 15 years ago

Spring Creek

Check that there is no dried lube build-up in the chamber, that may be hindering ejection.

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JudgeColt

Stating how long ago you bought the HP does not reveal how old the pistol is, unless it was new at the time you purchased it. I just bought a 53-year old gun yesterday, so even though it is new to me, it is still 53 years old. Again I ask, how old is the HP? Again I ask, what specific kind (type) of ammunition are you using? (Aluminum-cased Blazers will not feed reliably in some pistols.) Please describe the specific nature of the malfunction. (A "jam" is something you put on a slice of bread.) In other words, when a malfunction occurs, where does everything end up? Is it a failure to feed, or a stovepipe (empty fired shell case sticking straight up and caught between the breech face and barrel hood), or something else?

A friend got a new Beretta M92 and one of its magazines had burrs on the underside of the feed lips, which caused malfunctions. Removing the burrs cured the problem. Since Mec-Gar probably makes the magazines for both Berettas and Brownings, perhaps you have a batch of bad magazines. Unlikely, but a consideration.

Spring Creek

Good point Judge,
Age of the pistol could also answer a question if, even though the magazines with the pistol are original, they may have been stored loaded to the 13 round capacity for many-many years.
This would no doubt have weakened the magazine springs and be causing part of the problem of proper feed.

***See other post regarding "Weak Magazine Springs".

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hulvin

Range,
If you have an older type of HP with a long extractor (like in M1911), then read this story:
I had a similar problem with my HP.
It drove me crazy.
I was a professional gunsmith and I tryed everything which I could think of, but I was not able to find out where was the problem. It was the worst problem, a gunsmith's nightmare, when you have a gun which jams every now and then, without the regularity in malfunction.
Finally I gave up until I had a chance to speak with an old English army gunsmith.
He told me that Browning HP's are sensitive for a tension of the extractor and adviced me to try to replace the extractor with a new one.
I bought a new extractor from Brownells, replaced the old one and the gun had never jammed again.
Try this and consult with a good old gunsmith in your area.
Hulvin

sendtoscott

quote:Originally posted by hulvin
Range,
If you have an older type of HP with a long extractor (like in M1911), then read this story:
I had a similar problem with my HP.
It drove me crazy.
I was a professional gunsmith and I tryed everything which I could think of, but I was not able to find out where was the problem. It was the worst problem, a gunsmith's nightmare, when you have a gun which jams every now and then, without the regularity in malfunction.
Finally I gave up until I had a chance to speak with an old English army gunsmith.
He told me that Browning HP's are sensitive for a tension of the extractor and adviced me to try to replace the extractor with a new one.
I bought a new extractor from Brownells, replaced the old one and the gun had never jammed again.
Try this and consult with a good old gunsmith in your area.
Hulvin


I'm having the same problem w/ an HP built in 1985. I bought it a couple of weeks ago. The store's gunsmith thinks all he has to do is lube it - we'll see if it works.

john w

Replace the recoil spring with an 18 lb spring from brownells. If the spring is weak it will not cycle the slide forward with enough force to strip the magazine properly.

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offeror

The recoil spring is one possible culprit, more likely from a timing point of view. We still don't know exactly what the gun is doing. In the first place, the old wisdom on Hi-Powers is never load more than 12 rounds in a 13-round mag, because the mags were subject to spring overload.

As for the recoil spring, I'd recommend getting a Wolff spring set for the Hi-Power and using it according to the instructions -- start with the heaviest spring, and install them downward in order until you have installed the heaviest spring that will reliably cycle the gun. IF none of them works, of course, the problem is not with the recoil spring, or at least not with it alone.

You don't say which round from the mag this jamming occurs on, first, middle or last, or whether it's random. If the mag spring were weak or the feed lips of the mag tired, rounds in the mag might be loose, in which case they would not be reliably presented for chambering. One way to check this is to fire a round, then drop the mag and look at the top round -- is it well seated or is it out of place? Repeat this process, firing one round and dropping the mag. See if the rounds are always properly seated between shots. If you drop the mag and a loose round comes flying out of the mag well, you probably have a situation wherein the top round is moving forward on you in the mag. In that case, a couple of brand new quality mags might solve your whole problem.

Also, if Browning ever had a design fault, it was that he tended to design his ejection ports small, particularly for the new hollowpoints. That's why for such a long time one of the Government model's favorite reliability customizations was to relieve the ejection port. Today, most 1911 models come with a relieved ejection port. If you have an older Hi-Power, it is possible, I suppose, that you will find it is more reliable with the shortest of 9mm rounds, oftentimes the roundnose FMJ, than with the various HP configs.

But I'd put my money on one of three things as your cause: tired mag feed lips, tired mag spring, or recoil spring -- in combination with your chosen ammo load. You should be sure any gun is tuned (springs, etc.) to handle the ammo you select. If you switch, say, from surplus 9mm to CorBon, you may need to change even a brand new recoil spring to make the gun operate reliably. So trying several ammo brands and power levels is one path to a solution as well. IMHO.



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