Greetings and glad that TFL is operational once more!!!
I had my gunsmith convert my FEG Hi power from 9mm to 7.65mmP/.30 Luger last March, so that I could export it back to India( I moved to India in April 2003)
As most might know the .30 Luger aftermarket barrels do not fit the 9mm slide as is. The .30 luger barrel is loose as the OD is smaller than the 9mm barrel, while all other dimensions(OD of chamber, the placement of locking lugs etc) are the same for both. This means either the barrel has to be sleeved on the outside or the slide/barrel bushing must be reduced for a proper fit. I made that latter choice since I would not be allowed to convert back to 9mm even if i wanted as its a prohibited caliber here.
And that was it, the only other thing was that the extractor was "polished" in order that the extraction was smooth with the .30 Luger ammo.
The recoil spring used was the standard factory 17 lb. No modifications to the main hammer spring, Slide or anything else for that matter. The pistol fires and functions flawlessly with Wincester 93 gr FMJs clocking in at about 1260 fps. In fact I had a S&W revolver rear sight added(additional weight) and its no problem.
As an aside, in India only .30 Mauser/7.62x25 Tokarev(mostly S&B 85 gr FMJ) ammo is available which I have to convert to .30 Luger. I use Lee reloading dies and a Lee hand press to move the shoulder back and then trim it with a Forster case trimmer, and start with a powder charge 20% to 25% below that of the .30 Mauser and work my way up, the same 85 gr bullets are used.
I test one round at a time and try to achieve "slide lock back", then increase the powder charge by about 2/10ths of a grain to achive reliability and negate any errors in powder weight, temperature differences etc. The loads are accurate and the recoil is extremely light. It would'nt be so bad except the ammo is like $2 a round and I have a limit of only 200 rounds a year.
(Darn I miss the good old U.S of A. ;-)).
All the above sure seems like a lot of work( and expensive) but my caliber choices in a firearm that I could take back was limited to .32, .30,.25 or .22.
I had to pick one among these that had the maximum stopping power( a S&W K Frame in .32 H&R Mag was one choice) and a firearm that had maximum cartridge capacity( that mean a revolver was out).
I have a great love for Hi powers and so it was a natural choice as compared to say a Luger P 08, Sig P220, Walther P 38, HK P7M8 or other .30 luger caliber pistols. All these are in fact low capacity(Less than 10 rounds) the only other Hi cap .30 luger that I could come up with was a Ruger P 85 which was hard to find as was a 1911 Commander in that caliber.
Regards,
Anand
I had my gunsmith convert my FEG Hi power from 9mm to 7.65mmP/.30 Luger last March, so that I could export it back to India( I moved to India in April 2003)
As most might know the .30 Luger aftermarket barrels do not fit the 9mm slide as is. The .30 luger barrel is loose as the OD is smaller than the 9mm barrel, while all other dimensions(OD of chamber, the placement of locking lugs etc) are the same for both. This means either the barrel has to be sleeved on the outside or the slide/barrel bushing must be reduced for a proper fit. I made that latter choice since I would not be allowed to convert back to 9mm even if i wanted as its a prohibited caliber here.
And that was it, the only other thing was that the extractor was "polished" in order that the extraction was smooth with the .30 Luger ammo.
The recoil spring used was the standard factory 17 lb. No modifications to the main hammer spring, Slide or anything else for that matter. The pistol fires and functions flawlessly with Wincester 93 gr FMJs clocking in at about 1260 fps. In fact I had a S&W revolver rear sight added(additional weight) and its no problem.
As an aside, in India only .30 Mauser/7.62x25 Tokarev(mostly S&B 85 gr FMJ) ammo is available which I have to convert to .30 Luger. I use Lee reloading dies and a Lee hand press to move the shoulder back and then trim it with a Forster case trimmer, and start with a powder charge 20% to 25% below that of the .30 Mauser and work my way up, the same 85 gr bullets are used.
I test one round at a time and try to achieve "slide lock back", then increase the powder charge by about 2/10ths of a grain to achive reliability and negate any errors in powder weight, temperature differences etc. The loads are accurate and the recoil is extremely light. It would'nt be so bad except the ammo is like $2 a round and I have a limit of only 200 rounds a year.
(Darn I miss the good old U.S of A. ;-)).
All the above sure seems like a lot of work( and expensive) but my caliber choices in a firearm that I could take back was limited to .32, .30,.25 or .22.
I had to pick one among these that had the maximum stopping power( a S&W K Frame in .32 H&R Mag was one choice) and a firearm that had maximum cartridge capacity( that mean a revolver was out).
I have a great love for Hi powers and so it was a natural choice as compared to say a Luger P 08, Sig P220, Walther P 38, HK P7M8 or other .30 luger caliber pistols. All these are in fact low capacity(Less than 10 rounds) the only other Hi cap .30 luger that I could come up with was a Ruger P 85 which was hard to find as was a 1911 Commander in that caliber.
Regards,
Anand