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Post by sams1 on Feb 7, 2019 22:49:39 GMT -5
Hi,
Does anyone have any hands-on experience with mounting a Olympic Arms .357 Sig Conversion Barrel in a .40 HP Slide?
Thanks,
Sam
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Post by CXM on Feb 9, 2019 8:42:22 GMT -5
I have a 40BHP with the 357SIG barrel. The fitting was easy enough... took some very minor fitting, but no real problem. The gun shoots like a house afire... and contrary to what I had been told, it works fine and is reliable. The gun can also be switched back to .40 without any difficulty. Do you have specific questions? V/r Chuck Hi,
Does anyone have any hands-on experience with mounting a Olympic Arms .357 Sig Conversion Barrel in a .40 HP Slide? Thanks, Sam
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Post by sams1 on Feb 9, 2019 10:30:52 GMT -5
Thank you, CXM for replying.
I'm glad to hear of your good experience with this conversion. I read online that this conversion is not reliable and I'm thrilled to hear that your is.
Btw, what "shoots like a house afire" means? - as is strong recoil, flash etc?
I just purchased a BHP .40 'package' that came with 2ea .357 Sig barrels, one standard length and one 6" long. Both mfg by Olympic Arms. Haven't shot it yet and very much looking forward to it. I assume the standard .40 magazine will work for the .357 Sig?
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Post by CXM on Feb 10, 2019 10:35:13 GMT -5
First, 'house afire' means it shoots very well indeed... I too have read people saying the 357SIG is not reliable... but that has not been my experience with my Olympic barrel... mine works just fine... Yes, the .40 mags work fine... in fact they are the only mags available for 357 use. I use MecGar mags plus a few factory (which are Mecgar made by Mecgar.) You can also use the same recoil spring... Basically you drop in the 357SIG barrel and you are good go go. The 357SIG barrel makes the HP40 a VERY flat shooting gun with lots of power. FWIW CHuck Thank you, CXM for replying. I'm glad to hear of your good experience with this conversion. I read online that this conversion is not reliable and I'm thrilled to hear that your is.
Btw, what "shoots like a house afire" means? - as is strong recoil, flash etc? I just purchased a BHP .40 'package' that came with 2ea .357 Sig barrels, one standard length and one 6" long. Both mfg by Olympic Arms. Haven't shot it yet and very much looking forward to it. I assume the standard .40 magazine will work for the .357 Sig? |
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Post by sams1 on Feb 17, 2019 1:18:53 GMT -5
Chuck,
Took my BHP with the 357 Sig barrel to the range a couple of times this week - round count now is 200. A couple of failures to feed (not sure if due to barrel/ramp, mag lips/springs or normal break-in process) but other than that no issues and a TON of fun to shoot! Felt recoil is lower than the .40. Interestingly, I get tighter grouping with it than I do with the standard .40...
I have a second .357 Sig barrel (new, unfired) - this one is 6" long, will try that one soon too.
Thank you for your feedback and insight. it's been very helpful! I'm surprised no one else commented on this thread... Are we the only two shooting a BHP 357 Sig on this forum?
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Post by CXM on Feb 19, 2019 8:00:23 GMT -5
The 357SIG conversion is pretty uncommon. I don't know of anyone other than you who has a 357SIG conversion, though obviously some people do have it. I sort of like odd ball cartridges... I have a .30 Luger HP too. I have other guns in 9x23; .455 Webley Auto; 9mm Styer; 9x21; 9x25 and probably others. The 357SIG is a lot of fun to shoot. I can't say why, but the 357SIG seems to be inherently a VERY accurate cartridge and very easy to shoot accurately as well. As you note it is flat shooting and has very little if any more recoil than a 9x19mm. Where is the round failing to feed? You may need to polish the feed ramp on your barrel. I have polished mine (I polish the feed ramp on all my pistols) and have not experienced the problem. You might try different magazines... I find a goodly proportion of feed failures are magazine related... for some reason some guns work better with some magazines even among the same brand magazines. I'd be interested to hear how the 6" barrel works for you... having it cut down and crowned is pretty simple. Please keep us posted. V/r Chuck Chuck, Took my BHP with the 357 Sig barrel to the range a couple of times this week - round count now is 200. A couple of failures to feed (not sure if due to barrel/ramp, mag lips/springs or normal break-in process) but other than that no issues and a TON of fun to shoot! Felt recoil is lower than the .40. Interestingly, I get tighter grouping with it than I do with the standard .40... I have a second .357 Sig barrel (new, unfired) - this one is 6" long, will try that one soon too. Thank you for your feedback and insight. it's been very helpful! I'm surprised no one else commented on this thread... Are we the only two shooting a BHP 357 Sig on this forum? |
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Post by sams1 on Feb 19, 2019 23:44:51 GMT -5
Chuck, Thank you for your feedback on this. I will polish the feed ramp try different magazines and report back. As you you've experienced, I also enjoy shooting the BHP very much and get great grouping with it! As to the 6" .357 Sig barrel - although it's new and has never been 'fitted', it drops right into the slide and locks/cycles perfectly. Is there any reason not to shoot it as it is, full length?
Sam
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Post by CXM on Feb 20, 2019 8:43:52 GMT -5
Certainly no reason not to try it... V/r Chuck Chuck, Thank you for your feedback on this. I will polish the feed ramp try different magazines and report back. As you you've experienced, I also enjoy shooting the BHP very much and get great grouping with it! As to the 6" .357 Sig barrel - although it's new and has never been 'fitted', it drops right into the slide and locks/cycles perfectly. Is there any reason not to shoot it as it is, full length? Sam
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Post by mightymouse on Feb 20, 2019 22:10:46 GMT -5
Sam (and others), if you are interested in one more caliber conversion for your .40 BHP, if you can find an Argentine FM M90 or 95 slide assembly in 9mm, it is as easy as installing the complete Argy slide assy on the Browning frame. I put a combination like this together some years ago and it ran fine. Since I already had a .40 BHP and a FM M90 (both complete guns), it was the easiest caliber conversion I ever did. Kinda wish I had those two back...
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Post by sams1 on Feb 22, 2019 22:51:44 GMT -5
This is interesting, mightymouse!
Lately, I've been into the good 'utility' of barrel conversions and the benefits this offers (other than sheer fun). Shooting the .357 Sig round through the BHP .40 is more fun then I've ever expected and as Chuck indicated, very accurate too - recoil is about of a 9mm +P and you can really 'feel the power' of this round. For some reason, it produces a beautiful, large "doughnut ring" muzzle flash... Frankly, I'm surprised not more in our group tried this... I'm also not sure who makes this barrel nowadays.
Your suggestion was a surprise to me, going cross-platform like this but nevertheless very intriguing - I would like to try this slide interchange with the FM M90/95 if I find one.
Thanks much,
Sam
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Post by sams1 on Mar 1, 2019 0:30:01 GMT -5
Ok - Reporting back:
Received the FM M95 Classic 9mm HP earlier today - a very well made HP 'twin'! This one was shot very little and is in real nice shape - came with the original FM cardboard box, pocket manual, and three magazines!
I'm happy to report that mightymouse was right! The M95, 9mm Slide (complete assembly) mounts on the BHP .40 frame perfectly. My BHP .40 frame has the SFS hammer/safety system installed and still, no problems mounting and cycling normally. Planning to go out to the range and shooting this new hybrid HP next week and will report back.
What surprised me even more, is that the BHP .40 Slide assembly mounts the M95 9mm frame perfectly too! I assume this combo should not be shot as the FM frame was not designed to take the .40 energy/stress.
Sam
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Post by tnorris on Mar 1, 2019 12:09:21 GMT -5
I have read that the FN .40 and 9mm frames were the same, and only the slide/barrel/ejector were different. If this were true, I would expect the FM licensed copy might be the same.
In the past, for no good reason, I have shot my 9mm frame with the .40 slide with no problems, as well as the other way around. I like interchangeability. I was really looking for a spare 9mm slide to pair with the .40 frame at the time. I found one that needed some parts. It's around here, somewhere, in some secret spot. I keep thinking I'll locate it and play around a bit now that I am more experienced with working on High Powers.
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Post by mightymouse on Mar 1, 2019 13:29:38 GMT -5
tnorris, please note that FM Models 90 and 95 ARE NOT licensed copies of the BHP. My experience is limited to a 9mm FM M90 frame assembly and an FN .40 slide assembly. That combo would not cycle a round. In order to use a 9mm BHP slide on a .40 BHP frame, the .40 ejector blade would have to be changed to the thinner 9mm unit.
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Post by CXM on Mar 2, 2019 8:30:47 GMT -5
I would be very reluctant to use a .40SAW upper on a standard HP frame. FN apparently tried it and it didn't work for them, which led to the 40SAW specific frame.
When FEG produced it's short lived 40SAW version HP they changed the locking system to a modified S&W system vice the FN system... presumably because of problems with the standard configuration. Whilst I can't prove this, the change would make no system otherwise.
My thoughts
FWIW
Chuck
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Post by mightymouse on Mar 2, 2019 9:33:23 GMT -5
There is no doubt that the .40 S&W cartridge is harder on the BHP than the 9mm. FN introduced the cast HP frame on the .40, and the slide is made slightly wider, which accounts for the distinctive cut you see in a .40 BHP slide for the slide stop. The ejector blade on the .40 BHP is also wider, perhaps to prevent people from easily substituting a 9mm HP slide. My focus was on the 9mm conversion for a .40 BHP (and not the other way 'round), using a FM M90 9MM slide assembly and a FN .40 frame assembly, and that combo is perfectly safe in my, admittedly, limited experience.
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