[trbnt]

And..
Every little part outside of that frame will bring good money on EBay which goes towards the replacement.
So Street price for replacement minus the money from sold parts comes in at about 1/2 or better of the money you will sink into the repair.

 

[TNorris]

I think you now have a complete spare slide to sell, customize or just hang on to.

Cheers,

Tim

 

[tiribulus]

There's no event attached to this? A drop, a severely overpowered round or something?

You just picked it up one day and it looked like that?

Just curious. That is like really broke.

 

[dsk]

That is a very high-mileage Hi-Power and like others said there's a likelihood that the frame had metallurgical flaws to begin with. It'd really suck to pay $$$ to fix it, only for it to suddenly crack somewhere else.

 

[stefano462]

There's no event attached to this? A drop, a severely overpowered round or something?

You just picked it up one day and it looked like that?

Just curious. That is like really broke.

The pistol came to me as is in a package deal. I have never fired it. It is a surplus pistol, and so it was intended by me to be a project gun anyway. The cracks did not make themselves apparent until full disassembly last night. I was thinking that someone must have used it as a hammer.

 

[dsk]

It may have seen extensive shooting with hot NATO-spec ammo. Looking at the wear it definitely has lots of rounds down the tube.

 

[magazineman]

Hmmm Here's my thoughts: At LEAST half the cost of repair will be to make it "pretty" again. Maybe 75% or more of the price will be on aesthetics. I say Screw That! Have a cheap & strong repair done & let the gun show it's scar. You'll be back in action soon without spending too much.

 

[stefano462]

Hmmm Here's my thoughts: At LEAST half the cost of repair will be to make it "pretty" again. Maybe 75% or more of the price will be on aesthetics. I say Screw That! Have a cheap & strong repair done & let the gun show it's scar. You'll be back in action soon without spending too much.

Nice idea, but I was planning on having the gun completely refinished anyway.

 

[ether]

Nice idea, but I was planning on having the gun completely refinished anyway.

If that frame cracked six ways from Sunday under normal use, I can only believe that it's fundamentally flawed and beyond repair.

 

[USARV72]

No pics of top of slide?

 

[Crab Boy]

It's done. Put it to bed.

 

[KDKSAIL]

Perhaps all ya' can do is get some sort of estimate from a professional welder, who also knows something about firearms, and come to your repair cost vs. replacement decision from there.

Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable or confident shooting an H-P that experienced that sort of damage...'stronger' weld or not. What about the other side of the frame ? Any sign of cracking or fracture ??

But....as a '..can ya' top this..' example'....I think ya' got a winner !!

 

[stefano462]

No pics of top of slide?

Here you go.

 

[stefano462]

Perhaps all ya' can do is get some sort of estimate from a professional welder, who also knows something about firearms, and come to your repair cost vs. replacement decision from there.

Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable or confident shooting an H-P that experienced that sort of damage...'stronger' weld or not. What about the other side of the frame ? Any sign of cracking or fracture ??

But....as a '..can ya' top this..' example'....I think ya' got a winner !!

Yes, I bring this issue to the boards because it's Saturday and it seemed like a fun topic. I will show it to a professional and take their word for it. A repair, even if possible, may not be worth it for cost or other reasons. I just learned about the damage last night (after having owned the pistol for years - talk about project backlog!!!).

Look again. The cracks are on both sides of the frame, essentially in the same spot.

Agreed on it being a winner. I was hoping someone else had seen this kind of failure, but...

 

[Jim Watson]

It may have seen extensive shooting with hot NATO-spec ammo.

An English writer once mentioned "... the infamous Two Zed ammunition with epoxied bullets that eats Brownings..."

 

[longarm]

I've never seen anything like that, but thanks for the pics. I can only imagine that it was either run over by a tank or steamroller, or it was dropped from the Empire State Building. I'd be fascinated to see the slide and barrel.

But the answer to your question is, "For all intents and purposes, it's irreparable." It would cost far more to attempt to weld and repair it than it will ever be worth.

I agree it looks like hell, but - as others have mentioned - this is the sorta' thing MOST of us can't fix or afford to fix. HOWEVER, yes: others might do it for the challenge or experience.

Me? I'd just sit there and cry.

 

[2aCrisis]

I am a good tig welder and I wouldn't be able to do it at a price that makes sense compared to just picking up another gun.
And- welding is just the start- after that the welds have to be dressed down, such fitting of parts and such as is needed to make it go plus refinishing.
If it were mine I would do it just for fun but if you have to pay to get all the work done.. I don't see how that is going to make sense.

i've tig'ed worse broken things than that, but as you say, time is money, and that will take some time. Tig Welding is an awesome art though...

 

[USARV72]

Here you go. Where did it come from? Date electric penciled on slide. Was expecting to see a large ding in the top which might explain the crack from being dropped. ATTACH=full]665686[/ATTACH] View attachment 665687 View attachment 665688

 

[stefano462]

I agree it looks like hell, but - as others have mentioned - this is the sorta' thing MOST of us can't fix or afford to fix. HOWEVER, yes: others might do it for the challenge or experience.

Me? I'd just sit there and cry.

Fortunately for me, this is just a couple hundred dollar loss at worst. I have other BHP's that I love dearly. The high price of BHP these days is the only reason that I would consider fixing this one. It was never going to be a carry "with my life on the line" use pistol anyway. I have others for that task.

 

[Boge]

Another downside to welding is that it is sometimes difficult to blue in that different metal as compositions react differently. Of course, Krylon will resolve that.

I have determined through deductive reasoning that a high steel worker was showing a co-worker how to disassemble the handgun and "Hey Barney, put down that greasy pizza and hold the frame, willya!!".