Phoenix Arms HP22

I had been searching for a small 22 Long Rifle pistol to carry as a backup to my primary everyday carry when I came across a broken Phoenix Arms HP22. The seller disclosed that the hammer would not stay back. Looking at the schematic on the Phoenix Arms web site (Phoenix-Arms.com) I guessed the problem was either the hammer, sear, or sear spring, all of which I could purchase directly from Phoenix Arms. Because I was not the original owner with a warranty card on file, their lifetime warranty would not apply.

I could send it back to the factory and have them fix it for a $50 service fee, but what’s the fun of that? I decided to tackle the repair on my own. First, some background info. Phoenix Arms is located in Ontario, California. They make two very affordable semi-auto pocket pistols, the HP22A in 22 LR, and the HP25A in 25 Automatic Colt Pistol. My gun was the earlier HP22 model that came with a three-inch barrel, but Phoenix Arms also has a five-inch extended barrel available.

The grip is small; my little When purchased the hammer would not stay back. finger hangs off the bottom, but the company offers an extended magazine available with a finger rest. This gun has a varied reputation; some people hate it, but others say it’s one of their favorites. This little gun is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Disassembly When I purchase a used gun I always disassemble and clean it. As usual, this gun was dirty Notice nothing is touching the top of the sear spring.

That leg of the sear was missing. and dry like most used guns I acquire. First, I made sure the gun was unloaded. To disassemble the gun, I opened the slide about 1/4 inch, pulled the takedown lever towards the muzzle, and lifted up on the front of the barrel to remove it. That allowed me to remove the slide from the frame. Removing the slide allowed me to remove the recoil spring, recoil spring guide, and takedown lever by lifting the assembly up and out of the frame. This is all that is required for cleaning.

I removed the left grip panel which exposed the thumb safety,

The two legs contact the sear spring and the trigger bar. Both legs were broken off when I received this pistol. Clockwise from the top, slide lock, sear block, spring detents, and magazine release block. magazine block, and sear spring. Then I removed the right grip panel to gain access to the trigger bar and disconnector. I removed the thumb safety, magazine block, and disconnector to give the gun a thorough cleaning. After cleaning I lubricated all the pivot and friction points.

The grip screws were damaged, so I ordered new ones direct from Phoenix Arms. I also noticed that the recoil spring was bent and kinked, so I ordered an extra power recoil spring from M*Carbo (MCarbo.com, Reviewers on the Internet indicate that the recoil spring is weak, which I’m sure is why this gun is designed to shoot standard velocity ammunition only. Extra-Safe Safeties This gun has two external safeties. On the slide is a firing pin block safety. In the down position the firing pin is blocked.

There is also a thumb safety on the frame. With the thumb safety up in the safe position, the sear is blocked, preventing the hammer and trigger from moving, and the magazine can be removed. When the magazine is removed the thumb safety cannot be disengaged. With the magazine inserted and the thumb safety down in the fire position, the magazine cannot be removed. With the safety up and blocking the sear the slide can be retracted only about 1/4" to check if there is around in the chamber.

With the slide retracted, moving the safety in the up position locks the slide open. Firing Pin Block Safety On to improving the firing pin block safety. The firing pin block safety on the slide was very loose and sloppy, and I was afraid it would engage under fire. This safety is held in place with a small, straight spring inside the slide. Set into the rear of the slide is a rear plate like the firing pin stop on a 1911. This plate is held in place with a set screw.

I loosened the set screw and moved the rear plate down to expose the end of the spring. I used the smallest jeweler’s flat-blade screwdriver to lift the spring out of the recess, then removed it with a pair of needle-nose pliers. I put a slight curve in the spring so it would apply more pressure against the safety. I removed the safety, cleaned and oiled the recess in the slide, then reinstalled all the parts. Now the safety positively clicks in place and does not move around.

Hammer Repair Moving on to repairing the hammer not cocking. To my surprise, when I removed the grip panels, I discovered the side legs were broken off the sear. No wonder the hammer would not stay cocked; there was nothing for the sear spring to engage! When I examined the sear, the metal was ragged where the legs would have been indicating they were broken, not cut. Did someone break these off on purpose to disable the gun, or was this just a malfunction of the part? I ordered anew sear direct from Phoenix Arms.

I removed the sear spring, drove out the sear pin from left to right and removed the old sear. I installed the new sear and fixed it in place with the sear pin. I added a drop of oil to lubricate the pivot point and put some Brownells Action Lube Plus (Brownells.com) on the sear edge. Sear Not Resetting With the new sear and sear spring installed I could manually cock the hammer and it would stay cocked. However, if I tried to cock the hammer by cycling the slide, the sear would not catch on the hammer.

Because my gun was the HP22

This will enhance cartridge feed reliability and prevent damaging roundnose soft lead bullets. The disconnector has been removed. The L-shaped recessed area holds the disconnector and disconnector pivot pin. Notice the horseshoe-shaped divot in the rear of the channel. It looks like someone got heavy-handed with a punch. model, but I was installing HP22A parts, I purchased anew hammer from Phoenix Arms. When I installed the new hammer, the hammer engaged the sear when I cycled the slide.

New Trigger M*Carbo sells a spring kit for the HP22A, but the springs will not fit on the HP22. The HP22 did not have a trigger return spring. The metal around the pivot pin hole in the HP22 trigger is solid. The metal around the HP22A trigger pivot hole has been milled to accept the trigger return spring. To use the M*Carbo trigger return spring I ordered anew trigger from the factory. The new trigger came with the trigger bar and trigger spring already installed.

I removed the HP22 trigger by driving out the trigger pivot pin, then installed the HP22A trigger and M*Carbo trigger return spring. This increased the trigger pull by a few ounces, but now the trigger returns positively. Disconnector Channel The next problem I found was that the disconnector would not always reset. It looked like it was binding between the frame and the grip. I removed the right grip panel and disconnector and used a narrow 320-grit polishing stick to polish the channel in the frame.

It looked like someone missed a pin and punched a divot in the frame. This created a burr in the magazine well that caused the magazine to bind. I used a flat jeweler’s file to remove the burr on the inside of the frame, then polished with a 320-grit polishing stick. I also polished the inside of the plastic grip panel with 400-grit wet/dry sandpaper to ensure it was smooth and flat.

I added a drop of oil to the disconnector channel and disconnector pivot pin, reinstalled the grip panel, and everything worked as it should. Polishing the Feed Ramp I used a 1/4-inch Cratex bit and my Dremel tool to polish the feed ramp. I ran the Dremel at a slow speed and moved the bit up and down the ramp. It didn’t take long for the ramp to become polished. Modifying the Magazine This pistol came with an all-metal magazine. The top front of the magazine would bind when I inserted it into the grip.

The magazine body had a small blob of weld at the seam causing the magazine to bind. I took a fine file and filed the weld seam smooth so it would easily slide into and out of the grip. I touched up the exposed metal with Brownells Oxpho-Blue liquid. I purchased anew magazine from Phoenix Arms, but the follower and base pad were made of plastic. This magazine was too light to fall out of the pistol. I purchased another allmetal magazine off e Bay. The plastic one is my backup/spare.

Dry Firing I downloaded the manual from the Phoenix Arms web site and it clearly states do not dry fire this pistol. If the firing pin block safety is off, I can understand why because the firing pin will dimple the top of the chamber and if the firing pin block safety is on dry firing may damage the hammer. I folded a narrow piece of leather back on itself and placed it in front of the firing pin. This acts as a buffer so I can safely dry fire the pistol.

Summary I’m sure whoever owned this pistol before me got very frustrated with all the problems. Maybe that’s why the sear legs were broken off to prevent someone else from using this faulty pistol. However, with some new parts and polishing I was able to return it to usable condition. For the money that I spent for parts I probably could have purchased anew HP22A.

But for me, part of the satisfaction of gunsmithing is diagnosing and repairing problems, and I now have a fully functioning, reliable, 22 LR carry pistol. AG