My first FN High Power - Classic FN GP35 -

[woodyb]

Hello everyone,

I'm new on this forum and I'd like to introduce myself. I'm "Woody" from Belgium and I've just acquired my first FN GP or FN High Power, as you guys call it on that side of the pond.

I already owned a FN 1910/22, but now I've just added a FN HP and FN SA22 (toploader) to the collection. I'll post some foto's of my High Power and it's markings. What do you guys think?

I've read up on this forum and online and I've come up with this so far;

It's a post-war classic High Power with serial number 2389x. It has the internal extractor and has seen it's seen some usage over the years. It was no safequeen. (Yes, I already scored a backup internal hammer).

It came with the plastic contoured FN grips, which were added later I'd guess. I replaced those with the classic plastic grips. According to the gunstore it was a former police pistol.

The hammer seems to have been replaced by a stainless one. I don't know if this was a FN hammer or not. My guess is the pistol was made around 1948.

- I found a marking "8" on the barrel with 3 right above it.

- And the firing pin retainingplate also was marked with an "8".

- The slide and frame were marked with inspectors marks "K*" en "L*" and the classic belgian proofmarks.

- The inside of the slide has been marked with a load of symbols including an A, Y and K. (But they have no * above them, so I don't know if these are inspector marks)

- The left side of the triggerguard was marked with a number, but it was sofly struck so it's not clear. I'm guessing it's an "8".

The right side of the triggerguard was struck with a "H"(with a horizontal bar) above a "K" ". I can't figure this one out.

It also came with a magazine with a aluminium follower and a serialnumber on the buttplate "7454". The magazine has a somewhat blue greenish finish. The serialnummer doesn't match the pistol.

The pistol feels great in the hand and the contour of the trigger is so comfortable. The trigger seems nice and crisp, almost no creep.   I've ordered some new springs via Brownells before I go shoot it.

By the way Happy Newyear to you guys!

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[woodyb]

More foto's and markings below

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[woodyb]

More markings

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[woodyb]

The magazine with aluminium follower and serial number

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[cmdrcody]

Uploading your photos at the smallest possible size makes it hard for others to offer opinions or help on markings.
What’s the “backup internal hammer” you bought. As a gunsmith I tend to think you mean extractor.
Your hammer is A FN/Browning silver colored ring hammer from a practical which was available from Browning for years.
Nice firearm, enjoy it.

[woodyb]

Dec 31, 2023 11:31:05 GMT -5 cmdrcody said:

Uploading your photos at the smallest possible size makes it hard for others to offer opinions or help on markings.
What’s the “backup internal hammer” you bought. As a gunsmith I tend to think you mean extractor.
Your hammer is A FN/Browning silver colored ring hammer from a practical which was availed from Browning for years.
Nice firearm, enjoy it.

Hello cmdrcody, thanks for your response. I’ll try and get some larger foto’s on here. I didn’t realise they were so small. And yes, I was referring to the internal extractor, that was typo. Nice to know the hammer came from Browning Practical.

[ToddSig]

Welcome Woody from Belgium to HPC, great to have you.

A few additional items I can gather from the images that it is probably from 1948 based on the serial number and the various production and inspector marks.

I found a marking "8" on the barrel with 3 right above it.
- And the firing pin retainingplate also was marked with an "8".
The 8 markings appear to be the production marks of the part. There are typically partial lines around the number which designates the quarter 

- The slide and frame were marked with inspectors marks "K*" en "L*" and the classic belgian proofmarks.
The * over the K mark belonged to FN's Controller of the Proof Walthere Delsaux who woked from 1929-1968. The * over an L, belonged to Antoine Salmon who worked as a controller between 1937 and 1968.

- The inside of the slide has been marked with a load of symbols including an A, Y and K. (But they have no * above them, so I don't know if these are inspector marks)
- The left side of the triggerguard was marked with a number, but it was sofly struck so it's not clear. I'm guessing it's an "8".
Many of these marks belonged to various inspecotrs and quality control checks. We unfortunately dont have good or credible source material for these marks, although many havle looked and searched. 

Cant tell for sure on the hammer, you might check to see if there are date marks, as CmdrCody states it could be off a Practical or could also be in the white, or a later hard chrome type of finsih. Really hard to determine from the photos.

This images is interesting, potentially concerning. I beleive that is a modified trigger pin with a nut or disk added, perhaps to alleviate walking? Keep an eye on this modifiation. You might try to see if it moves, and potentially replace if the holes have not been enlarged. Very nice pick up and congratulations. Keep us posted on how it shoots.

[woodyb]

Hey Todd,

A happy newyear to you and thank you for your response. I do believe the hammer is from a High Power Practical like CmdrCody stated. It seems to be hard chromed but the contour is different then the ones from C&S.

I've taken a look at the triggerpin and it does seem to be flush with the frame. It seemed to be in place securely but has been hit firmly with a punch (in the past). The triggerpin hole on the right side seems to be tight as the triggerpin does not fit in from right to left. So I think no one has hammered it through from the wrong side. I'll only find out when I take it out shooting, but I hope my pin doens't walk out on me.

Kind regards,

Woody

[woodyb]

I took my 75+ year old Hi Power to the range for the first time. I put 50 rounds of 124 gr FMJ through it without a glitch. I have two surplus 13 rounds mags and they worked fine, I've added two Megcar chrome 15 round magazines and they also functioned without a problem. I've replaced the recoil spring (18lbs) and firing pin spring(XP). The hammerspring I couldn't get off and so I let it be.

The trigger is good. I still have the magazine safety in it. The trigger breaks crisply and for an old service pistol it has a good trigger. So far no issues have risen. The trigger pin is still firmly in place and no problems extracting casings.

I'll see how she performs when she has had a couple of hundred rounds through it.

[Mister Coffee]

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