I have a T-series (built in 1967) BHP in 9mm. I wonder if I could simply buy a 40 S&W magazine and barrel and now have a 40? Is it as easy as that or not? I think Browning makes the High Power in 40 but am not sure if I would need a different slide or not. Would the pressure of the 40 be any different than the 9mm?
Not sure how the browning works, but think you would need a .40 slide.
Rufous
Back in the 70s, someone did this as an experiment before the .40 was invented. I think someone at Guns & Ammo did this and the round was called the .40G&A. It worked but the beating the test gun took indicated it wouldn't have longevity. When Browning introduced the .40, it was beefed up in the appropriate places to take the additional stresses that the .40 would produce. Don't convert a quality Hi-Power. Buy one in .40 or continue to shoot quality defensive 9mm ammo that does just as well.
Dan
Don't do it,you won't like it. Buy one in .40 and you will find the recoil is not friendly...
I did up a .41 Action Express before the .40S&W was born. It beat the hell out of the gun, broke extractors, hammered the frame, etc. I would NOT recommend a conversion from 9mm to .40. The .41AE was supposed to have less pressure than the 9mm (the .40 is a tad more), but it beat the pistol to pieces really fast.
Don't do it.
The .40 High-Powers are a bit more robust than the 9mms. If you want a .40, just buy one. A friend of mine has one which I am very fond of, can't get him to part with it though for some reason.
Thanks for the advice. I will leave well enough alone.
I had a Browning Hi-Power 'Practical' .40, but sold it to a friend who really wanted it. (I wanted something else.)
I later bought a Fabrique Nationale Belgium Hi-Power .40, deep blued, walnut stocks. (Now I feel whole again.)
I do not feel that .40 recoil is any issue in a BHP.
why are they off the market? {Didn't sell}
Why, when you do see one,it has a feeling of losness and grips cracked?
Recoil affects different people different,I think we know that,but I have seen about a dozen BHP in .40's that didn't like the recoil and the batterning it causes...
If yours is anything like My HP,
It is SO pretty of a gun, I would never think of monkeying with it.
Now a Glock? I grind them 6 ways to Sunday!
I have a Browning HP in .40 S&W and it is one sweet shooting honey.
It is probably the last handgun that I would part with.