Hi Standard HD-Military - last round hold open

B

Bull Gear

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
190
Location
Locust, NC
Rating - 100%
28   0   0
Greetings.
Any High Standard experts around here?
I'm trying to rehab a '47 HDM. It had a light strike(fail-to-fire) issue due to a battered stop lug and worn frame lugs that allowed the stop lug to tilt towards the rear, thereby preventing the slide from returning to battery. Solved that problem by building up the stop lug with tig weld so it stays perpendicular to the frame. Now it feeds, fires, and ejects just fine.
I discovered another problem, though. It will not hold open on last round. It works fine when I rack the slide manually. I have installed a Wolff "trim to fit" recoil spring, I started with 40 coils because that was max to prevent coil bind. Thinking the spring might be too strong, I started cutting coils. Tried 38 and then 36 to no avail. I didn't want to go too far, fearing I may affect function and/or start battering the stop lug again. I did notice that the little spring that holds down the slide stop lever was missing, but in my mind that should not affect hold open since the slide stop is actuated by the mag follower.
FYI I did detail strip this gun and soaked and cleaned everything and I am using CCI Blazer for testing.

Any ideas?
How many coils should I be running with that Wolff recoil spring?
Should I try to lighten the hammer spring?
What else could I be missing?
Any advice or referrals would be greatly appreciated
 
I've worked on a good number of High Standards, but not many that old. I suggest you get the proper spring for the slide stop and install it; it might help and it should be there. Are your magazines original or reproduction?
 
I do intend to get that slide lock spring, just trying to figure out if I need other stuff, too. Thinking about getting another hammer spring to cut down and see if that would allow the slide to travel far enough to hit the catch.
Mag looks to be an original.
 
Last edited:
Without the spring for the slide release it will never lock back on last shot. Install that spring and all will be well.
I have a HS that was doing the same thing, I guess I lost the spring during a cleaning. There is a spring in a mini Bic lighter that fits fine.... just trim..
 
Hmm. Very interesting, I will try that Bic spring trick. Thanks for the awesome tip.
I am still really puzzled about how the little spring that holds the catch down to prevent it from accidentally catching the slide could affect the last round hold open, though.
 
It doesnt . It just keeps the lever from flopping around. Ive run them for months before noticing I had lost the leaf spring ( as in more than once ) . You are probably having magazine issues. Is it a factory mag?

0V9Xd7.jpg
 
Last edited:
nice muffler there @wired. how quiet is it? OP- I had always been led to not use any high velocity stuff in my HS as it could crack the frame. FWIW
 
Nice "Impact Testing Machine" you have there, Wired. Where did you get that suppressed barrel?
Mine does have an original magazine. The latch works fine when I rack the slide by hand.
The Bic spring idea was a bust since it turned out to be a coil spring.
I did fashion a leaf spring from some stock I had on hand but it is too heavy.
I'll order the proper spring some day, but I fear that it may never hold open on last round. Upon closer inspection, it looks as though the slide notch is pretty chewed up on that corner where the latch engages.
BTW How prone are these pistols to damage from dry-fire? Wondering if I should get a new firing pin while I'm at it.
 
Last edited:
Bull Gear said:
Nice "Impact Testing Machine" you have there, Wired. Where did you get that suppressed barrel?
Mine does have an original magazine. The latch works fine when I rack the slide by hand.
The Bic spring idea was a bust since it turned out to be a coil spring.
I did fashion a leaf spring from some stock I had on hand but it is too heavy.
I'll order the proper spring some day, but I fear that it may never hold open on last round. Upon closer inspection, it looks as though the slide notch is pretty chewed up on that corner where the latch engages.
BTW How prone are these pistols to damage from dry-fire? Wondering if I should get a new firing pin while I'm at it.
Click to expand...

I built the silencer. I think I paid $6 for one of the spring from Numrich last time I replaced one. I made almost a cottage industry of rebuilding HDM's at one point but parts are starting to dry up. Yeah, if your mechanism is chewed up you might be chasing your tail.
 
FWIW I believe that one should only use Standard Velocity Ammo in the letter model High Standards - not High Velocity. There are several older fellows that hang out on the High Standard forum on rimfire.com, including one that worked for High Standard back in the day. They insist that high velocity ammo is bad for the frames and they weren't designed for it.
 
News to me. Ive owned them for well over thirty years and thats all Ive ever shot through them. Tens of thousands of rounds. FWIW most US .22 makers had made the switch to Hi Vel ammo by the mid 30's which is well before Hi standard started making guns. .
 
Last edited:
IF you dry far a lot of old flat chamber face pistols like the Hi Standard letter series or The Woodsman etc you can peen the metal in the chamber to the point where rounds will not eject reliably. Usually all it take if you have a gun like that is a tapered drift inserted into the chamber and lightly tapped to push the metal back where its supposed to be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom