Browning Hi Power - Thoughts?

[Guest DRO]

Guys,

I've gotten a little curious about Hi Powers. Would love to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences with them. I'm probably interested in one in .40 and would like to hear if there are significant difference in Browning or FN makes. What should I expect to pay for one?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Krull]

500-1k for decent ones. I own 4 of them and love them. All of mine were gifts from my dad who is obsessed with HP's and pre 64 model 94's. I can't speak for the fn's but the Belgium HP in 9mm are stellar guns. Here is one of mine with stag grips next to one of my glocks.(recently sold the glock17 to purchase a glock 19)

I have 2 FNH FNP in .45 and 9mm. If the quality of FN HP are the same these expect excellent results.

Edited January 11, 2011 by Krull

[JReedEsq]

A lot of people believe the 1911 is the perfect gun. They should be better than perfect since Browning himself believed the hipower was an improvement to the 1911.

[timcalhoun]

I think they are great guns. But it is one of the most difficult guns to detail strip I have ever known, and be carful of hammer bite when you shoot them.

[Smith]

I think they are great guns. But it is one of the most difficult guns to detail strip I have ever known, and be carful of hammer bite when you shoot them.

Really? Pretty easy IMO.

Good luck finding a .40 since they will all be used, folks don't part with them very often, and they are getting expensive. Browining indeed felt the Hi-power was what he wanted to design with the 1911, but the military dictated compramises he never wanted. Shoot one and you will love it.

[Patton]

They have a great reputation. My grandpa was a big fan of Hipowers and 1911's. He never cared for hipowers on anything other than 9mm, he said they just werent made for anything other 9mm.

[Guest Jamie]

John Browning didn't finish the design of the Hi-Power, Dieudonné Saive did. And what Browning originally started was a striker-fired gun.

Also, even the Browning-marked guns are made by FN... And no, I've never found the P-35 to be particularly hard to detail strip either. But then, I also don't complain about re-assembling the Ruger .22 autos.

I like mine well enough, but wouldn't want to deal with the added weight of beefing it up for the .40 S&W. It's just fine in 9mm.

Edited January 11, 2011 by Jamie

[Steelharp]

what Browning originally started was a striker-fired gun.

I knew he was headed to Glock-ville.

[timcalhoun]

Really? Pretty easy IMO.

Good luck finding a .40 since they will all be used, folks don't part with them very often, and they are getting expensive. Browining indeed felt the Hi-power was what he wanted to design with the 1911, but the military dictated compramises he never wanted. Shoot one and you will love it.

I didn't say field strip I said detail strip. Basically you have to drive out roll pins from the safety and the ejector while holding back the hammer just to replace the mainspring. The tool that this guy made helps a lot.

YouTube - Introducing the Browning Hi-Power part 3

[hipower]

I have three Hipowers...a parkerized Belgian, a blue Belgian El Capitan with tangent sights, and a beautiful blue Belgian FN in .40. All are great. And the slight added weight of the 40 does help with the added power and recoil. Wouldn't, at this time, let any of them go. And as Jamie says, I don't think they're all that difficult to strip and clean. I've had more problems reassembling Taurus Millimiums than the Hipowers.

[Guest CK1]

Not to bum anyone out but I hadn't handled or shot a Hi-Power until a few weeks ago after hearing how amazing they were supposed to be for years and have to say I was pretty underwhelmed and felt like I didn't really get what all the hype was about...

If anything just reminded me of a not-as-good CZ-75B SA, less ergonomic and less shootable IMHO, I dunno...

[Moped]

I think the Hi-Power in 9mm is an excellent pistol. I know nothing about the .40 though. I had my Hi-Power stolen during a burglary several years ago and I miss it.

[DaveTN]

I had a Belgium Browning Hi-Power in the 70’s. I sold it in the 80’s when I got rid of all my 9’s.

It was a beautiful handgun. Fantastic hi-gloss blue job and the action was like glass. I have always thought that if I ever bought another 9 I would like to get one like it. The new ones I have looked at certainly don’t have the finish and don’t appear to have the quality of machining of the old ones.

[Steelharp]

I've had three over the years, all 9's; a '67, a '74, and a newer Practical. They were all excellent, accurate guns, with a balance that's hard to beat. Alas, I moved my thinking away from the SA only trigger, and they are not here. I fell in love with CZ's after that, like a BHP improved. That being said, weight eventually became a factor, and I have settled on Glock.

[beartooth]

I've had two HP's. One back in the early 80's. The other was one made during WWII during German occupation. The Germans used slave labor in the Belgium factory to produce these guns. The fit and finish wasn't aything like post war guns (very basic war effort...go figure).

It had all the German (Nazi) markings. I liked my HP's but I let them get away from me.

[glockster157]

Great site with a lot of good Hi Power info. I sold my older High Powers but I kept a MKIII. Better sights, ambi safety, throated, tougher finish. If I wanted a 40sw I would just buy a CZ 75.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/

[glockster157]

OOPS, forgot to add the site link

Hi Powers and Handguns

[Guest DRO]

Good advice and opinion all the way around. Thanks to all (keep it coming).

[1gewehr]

Only FN (Belgium), Inglis (Canada), Ishapore (India), and FNAP (Argentina) ever made real Hi Powers. Browning did marketing for the FN factory products until the late '70's. After that, they continued to sell Hi Powers under the Browning label. Turkey and Hungary made Hi Power copies, but not under license or with any FN approval. You will also see Hi Powers that were made in Belgium and assembled in Portugal or Argentina.

Early Hi Powers (pre-1966) have internal extractors like the 1911-series, and are typically made to a higher level of quality and finish than anything except the commercial Browning-marked pistols. The Hi Power is STILL used as standard military issue by more countries than any other handgun. Keep in mind that this is for a pistol that first went in production in 1935.

The Hi Power was the first pistol with a magazine safety. You can blame this on the French. In WWI, the French used the Spanish-produced Ruby .32 pistol as a standard issue. The magazine release was on the butt, and sometimes difficult to manage. If you tried to change magazines with a round chambered and your finger on the trigger, you can see why it caused problems. As a result, the French wanted a magazine safety on any new pistols. And since FN wanted a French military contract, we have suffered with the d@mn#d magazine safety ever after.

By today's standards, the Hi Power is kind of dated. But until the CZ-75 came along, it was the only choice for an ergonomic high-capacity 9mm.

[R1100R]

I have owned several over the years. The current one is a MKIII in their polymercoated finish in .40. I had the mag disconect removed and it is a sweet shooter with a great trigger. I think you'll be happy. For me it fits better than the CZ.

Edited January 13, 2011 by R1100R

[DMark]

Here my Novak HRT BHP.

Its been my "go-to" carry gun for over 15 years. The only change I have made to it is the Dawson FO front sight. I did that while shooting it in the ESP class of IDPA. I'm thinking about going back to the gold-dot front sight that came with it - - - just because.

While I admit that other firearms might be "better" and more "updated" the BHP still seems to fit me better. JMHO.

[Smith]

Here my Novak HRT BHP.

Its been my "go-to" carry gun for over 15 years. The only change I have made to it is the Dawson FO front sight. I did that while shooting it in the ESP class of IDPA. I'm thinking about going back to the gold-dot front sight that came with it - - - just because.

While I admit that other firearms might be "better" and more "updated" the BHP still seems to fit me better. JMHO.

That's a slick gun! Only thing I'd add is a C&S extended slide stop. I think it flows the lines of the gun much better. The stock slide stop always looked awkward to me.

[Guest Republican]

Guys,

I've gotten a little curious about Hi Powers. Would love to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences with them. I'm probably interested in one in .40 and would like to hear if there are significant difference in Browning or FN makes. What should I expect to pay for one?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Any Hi Powers should be great. Browning and FN have had a long history together, so no worries there as far as I am concerned in the quality department.

I agree with the others in that you will pay around $500 for a decent used one.

[DMark]

.... Only thing I'd add is a C&S extended slide stop....

But then it wouldn't be like the FBI HRT BHPs.

I like the OEM slide stop, sort of one of those things that makes a BHP a BHP. The C&S one has a "modern" angular look that looks out of place to me. Also, among BHP aficionados the C&S slide stop is known to scratch the finish.

Getting back on topic. To the OP...., If you find a good BHP for the $500 that others have stated - - - BUY IT, and BUY IT QUICK!!!!!

[TnEngineer]

I have the 9mm and the .40. Supposedly, Browning will stop selling the .40 this year or next so, they may become scarce. Heck, Hipowers in general are always scarce since they only import one batch per year.

Anyway, the 9mm is the flagship but the .40 has been called the softest shooting .40 you can get. The recoil on the .40 is considerably more than the 9mm. I frequently carry one of the other. You can not go wrong with one of these.