Trotskygrad wrote:
it weighs less and carries more rounds, seems to make sense practically.
Until you factor in that the Browning is
- thinner,
- better balanced for accurate rapid fire,
- slide weight is properly engineered for momentum balance (slide vs frame mass, slide vs spring vs ammo energy & momentum calculation),
- much more repeatable natural point of aim (upsidedown, hurt, offhanded, dark - doesn't matter. Grab a HighPower and it'll be pointed in the right direction)
- can be outfitted with extra-cap magazines (15+ rounds), though British religious preference is "10 rounds. Any more and you do pushups"
- can be disassembled & reassembled while blindfolded (or in the dark), in the field, with only a hat to store the small parts. Glock fucks up, send it to the armorer - too many small fine parts to field service.
Only real weaknesses are the lack of double-action capability, and the insane magazine disconnect (won't fire with the magazine out - a relic of the 1935 French military spec).
The first is trivial to solve, from a design perspective.
Three metal parts, a couple roll pins, and a spring or two, on the left side of the slide, mirroring where the trigger mechanism is at on the right of the slide.
The second is a couple minutes with a pin punch, to remove the stupid magazine disconnect rollpin, plunger, and spring.
Dramatically improves the trigger feel of the HP too.
(May not be a legally advisable modification, depending on your location)
From a design perspective, the Browning HP is a beautifully elegant piece of engineering.
If you are an engineer, reverse engineer one sometime.
Pay particular attention to momentum through the firing cycle, mass balances, and leverage.
J.M. Browning and D.Saive were mechanical design engineering artists.
(Then reverse engineer the momentum & mass balances of the original M-16, particularly the gas system operation forces being exactly in line with the bore axis and center of mass)
Last edited by rdx-fx (2013-01-11 11:38:56)