FEGs margins / tolerances in their production were all over the place. On one day in our service center…..we had what looked like 2 identical FEG HPs (from two different customers) – we did the exact same modifications to both, same parts, springs, trigger, grips, etc. One FEG required 5 things to be fitted (see below), the other one – 0…..everything dropped in. The variables were all in the FEG handguns, as we measured various things on the two FEGs with a caliper…..
Among the things that we’ve encountered on the FEG:
1. Frame Hole where the Left Side Safety Lever goes through the frame…..often too small and requires some filing around the circular collar that is the last part of the left side safety lever to seat in the frame. Remove everything in the Fire Control Group (rear of frame) and insert that left side safety lever into the frame. It should seat flush and should have no resistance to it’s normal range of movement. If it won’t seat fully flush, or if there relationship has resistance when the lever is moved up and down (with no other parts in the frame yet)…..you’ll need to relieve some material off the collar or expand the hole……..NOTE: We do not expand holes in frames in our service center, we always fit the part……
2. SFS Sear / Sear Lever Relationship – this fitting is indicated if, after full assembly…….do this test: lock the slide back on an empty magazine. Release the slide with the slide stop and allow the slide to “slam” into forward battery – do this up to 50 times – you are looking for ANY instance when the hammer appears to follow the slide. If it never happens, everything should be okay – if it ever happens, there is an adjustment / fitting that solves it. We just made a new video about this nuance……that has been seen in FEGs and other clones.
3. Slide Stop – On FEGs, sometimes the Extended Slide Stop cams up when magazine is empty, sometimes a small amount of fitting needs performed – this is because FEG made the slide notch for the slide stop in at least two different designs…… this can sometimes be the most challenging component to fit into some FEGs, because the right “fitting adjustment” in one FEG will not be the right fitting adjustment in the next FEG and sometimes no adjustment is needed at all.
4. SFS Sear Spring – Sometimes in FEGs, the “center-bottom” of the sear spring sometimes needs slightly filed so the SFS Sear Spring can fully “seat” in the frame – this is very small amount – no more than 3/1000″ – 4/1000″.
5. RDIH One-Piece HP Grips and BH-MastersGrips – We’ve seen both need fitted on FEGs, and we’ve seen both “drop-on/in” an FEG.
The solution to #2 and #4 above, if they are concerns on a particular FEG……the solution is the same as in the Tisas / Regent BR9…..you can see those solutions on this video:
All of the above fitting concerns that are sometimes needed, sometimes not, in the FEGs and other HP Clones, are never needed in an FN/Browning Mark III HP – all the components discussed here were originally designed for the FN/Browning Mark III HP…..the good news is, to date, we have never failed to achieve compatibility in any HP, regardless of manufacturer. Because of the very broad margins that FEG had, the FEGs have been the HP Clones that have provided the most “education” in fitting and fine-tuning.
