I have been interested in tackling a new project, but I did not want to sink a bunch of money into it until I knew it would work out. As an initial test, I wanted to install the Apex Tactical Action Enhancement Kit in the Mk II Hi Power I bought from Steve in 1997.
It has been a minute since I torn a Hi Power all the way down, so I cheated and used Steve’s disassembly guide. I also watched Apex Tactical’s videos during some downtime a few days before. Their videos are amazingly good and I have found them down at the bottom of some of their product descriptions on their website.
The way the web of my hand wrinkles at the tang of a Hi Power gets me bitten and if I get as high on the tang as in the picture, I often get pinched. With the Apex hammer, I got zero hammer bite. It was glorious!
Those of you who do not suffer from this are giving me the signal to get on with it. Okay, I get it. How good is the action now?
The Lou Williamson tuned trigger that was in the gun was a crisp 5 lbs. The Apex kit is 4 lbs if pulled in the middle of the trigger and 3.5 pounds when pulled closer to the bottom. It is very crisp and I don’t believe you can ask for a better trigger press for a service gun.
There are instructions in the Apex video on how to fit the thumb safety if it should be needed. It is needed with this Mk II, but I do not intend to fit it. This gun is going back to its previous configuration because that is how I like this gun. It was Steve’s gun and he carried it on SWAT in that configuration and I have carried it in that same format. I want it to stay that way.
The Apex extractor works perfectly in the Mk II and it will be staying. I had no cases left behind on top of the magazine at slide lock, which is relatively common with Hi Powers. Steve once told me that he had tried to reload fast enough to keep that empty case from falling out the bottom of the grip, but had never been able to do it. I haven’t either. However, I think Apex has made an improvement and I am happy to keep it in the gun.
Well, where is the kit going? That is a future project and I will do a bit more in depth look at the parts when I cover that. For now, if you have been on the fence about getting an Apex kit, either the action, extractor, or both, then I would say jump on it.