Got the Hi-Power

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Originally Posted By: Tempest
Hi Power w/ Pachmyer grips is probably the best feeling gun that I have handled. Nice streamlined gun that works well.

The only reason I don't own one is the terrible location of the safety and how hard it is to actuate. It can also dig into your thumb with the "thumbs high" hold that any 1911 shooter will use.

The custom safety and welded beaver tail on the custom gun linked above would probably help much.


Yeah, you're right. I still haven't shot the pistol, but, just from handling it, I noticed that the safety lever isn't in a very ergonomic location, nor is its action very positive.

I plan to write down my basic impressions when I take it to the range later today, and I'll share them here. Of course I am no expert - just an average Joe who likes to shoot.
 
Yeah, but $3,700 for one pistol?

I could get 5 CMP Garands for that much money...or 4 Springfield Range Officer 1911s...or....
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Yeah, but $3,700 for one pistol?

I could get 5 CMP Garands for that much money...or 4 Springfield Range Officer 1911s...or....


yes you could get 5 mil surp used rifles and a handful of high end production pistols. Personally my limit on handguns is around the 1k mark. But I don't need one that is smooth as silk and fitted like the internals of a Rolex. But if that is your thing, there are worse things you can drop nearly 4k on.
 
Took the new Hi-Power to the range for the first time today, and, boy, I love it!

Ran 200 rounds of ammunition through it - 100 rounds of Federal 115-gr FMJ, and 100 rounds of ZQ 123-gr FMJ NATO-standard stuff.

The only automatics I've owned before this are Glock, so, obviously this is different than a Glock! I tell ya, it is really nice to shoot. I have the walnut stocks, so the grip is wide. That provides a large surface area for the recoil to be distributed against. And I really like the feel of the recoil impulse through this gun... One of my Glocks is the Model 20 10mm. If you've shot a 10mm, you know recoil with them is robust...what I'd describe as "sharp." The Model 36, a single-stack .45 compact, doesn't have a "sharp" recoil. It definitely kicks, but it's more of a "blunt shove" than the "slap" of the 10mm.

The HP, of course, is a 9mm. I've never owned a 9, and I can only recall shooting one maybe one time, so it's unfamiliar...I wish I'd had a Glock 19 that I could have shot, back to back with the HP, for comparison.

But, the pistol is really pleasant to shoot. If you've owned one or watched reviews, you know that most people really like the grip, and how the pistol points, and I also found that to be the case. I have large, but not "thick" hands.

I did not experience any hammer bite.

The gun seems to hit where you point it... I was at an indoor range (50-ft Max), so I didn't get to stretch it out much. I'd love to have the opportunity to shoot outside with it - plink a little on some steel, bottles and cans, etc. at longer ranges.

I haven't shot that much over the past few years, so I definitely need some practice. I'm sure some of you are really good shots.

Here are a couple of my groups. Again, nothing special I'm sure... I plan on doing much better after some practice.






I had so much fun when I went to the range this afternoon, I decided to go back again tonight! This time I bought 50 rounds of their range ammo, and that's what i shot in the photos above.

For my first session, I took my S&W Model 686+ .357, mainly for trigger pull comparison, with the Smith being the "standard." So, compared with the Smith (which almost fires telepathically), the HP does have a heavier trigger. I don't know what the weight on the S&W trigger is (I'm estimating 2-3 lbs), but the HP trigger is about twice as heavy - probably about 6 lbs. And there's at least 1/4" of take up. Once you get into the trigger pull, it is crisp, with a sharp release. I can definitely see how it might be improved by lightening a bit.

Overall, very happy with it! It is exactly what I was looking for - 9mm, so ammo is reasonable (for the times we live in, lol). It is a joy to shoot, it looks really good, and is quite a conversation piece - tons of history behind it. Everyone I talk to who is a "gun person" seems to have a Browning Hi-Power story! Plus, it's really easy to field strip and clean...though it does seem to get more powder residue in it from shooting than my Glocks do.

No malfunctions in the 250 rounds I put through it today. Next, I'll probably try some steel and aluminum-case ammo in it, and, eventually research some hollowpoints to keep loaded in it when it's sitting on the nightstand or whatever (man, such a variety to choose from!). And, of course I'll want to run a couple of boxes through it to be sure it functions well with it.

Thanks to everybody for all the input and info...keep it coming! Thanks for reading!
 
Glad you love it. Shooting an all steel fullsize 9mm is very pleasant. The Hi Power and the CZ75 are the some of the best pointing and softest shooting 9mm guns I have ever shot.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Glad you love it. Shooting an all steel fullsize 9mm is very pleasant. The Hi Power and the CZ75 are the some of the best pointing and softest shooting 9mm guns I have ever shot.


I'd love to have a CZ! Someone here, and it may have been you, has an SP-01 with a flashlight for his bedroom gun. I love that gun!
 
It was probably me, I use a P-01 with a tac light and the SP-01 19 rd magazine for home defense. The P-series CZ's are great guns but very new tech and modern looking. I really like the classic lines and almost browning hi power looks of the original CZ 75 series too! You get a fairly classic looking firearm but also get an extremely accurate, reliable and durable gun that you can trust your life with. The CZ 75 can still hang with the big boys of the alloy framed duty pistols like the iconic sig 226 and beretta 92, while still being more ergonomic and better looking, IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: Tempest
Hi Power w/ Pachmyer grips is probably the best feeling gun that I have handled. Nice streamlined gun that works well.


That's the wrap around that was on the practical, not Hogue. Brain fade, I guess.

The FEG's are Hungarian, and really good value guns. I think Hi Powers have been made under license in several places at different times.

Not everyone loves Hi Powers, though. I got my practical secondhand; a guy brought it to a local LGS and traded it on three Tauri semi autos. I like Tauri semi autos and have a few, but that was a hard trade to understand. I'm not sure the practical had ever been fired. Anyway, right place, right time, for me and I snapped it up pretty cheap.
 
Originally Posted By: Finn
IIRC, I paid something like 400,- Euros (USD 500,-) or so for my Mark III couple of years ago. Since then handgun legislation has been tightened a lot and it is very difficult today to get a handgun license (impossible to get a concealed carry license) and prices are down.

At the moment I don't have Finnish guns but usually people here have guns which carry names like Sako, Tikka, Valmet etc. But US and German guns are quite popular, too.
I like the Valmet line. They are mostly banned in the socialist state of California.
 
I have the mat chrome version, with adjustable combat sights, Pachmayr grips and the gold trigger. It is my absolute favorite pistol.

Eats anything you feed it, never jammed once and is fairly accurate right out of the box.

It is the gun I use when I'm teaching a woman to shoot after moving her up from a .22.
 
Originally Posted By: ALS
I have the mat chrome version, with adjustable combat sights, Pachmayr grips and the gold trigger. It is my absolute favorite pistol.

Eats anything you feed it, never jammed once and is fairly accurate right out of the box.

It is the gun I use when I'm teaching a woman to shoot after moving her up from a .22.


Cool!

I've really been enjoying mine. 500+ rounds now with no malfunctions, though I've not tried hollowpoints in it. I understand hollowpoints were only a problem in some of the older pistols.

I really like the all-steel, quality feel of the gun, and the high-polish blueing.

I did remove the magazine disconnect safety. Trigger is still pretty stiff - it'll make a man out of ya!
 
The model 35 was the only duty pistol that browning worked on after the 1911. He didn't live to finish it. I think that is a combination of how good the 1911 was and a great mind trying to do better. Getting around the patents was sticky from what I remember.

I have always wanted to like the 1911. Iconic design, historic pistol. It just doesn't fit my hand. The Hi-power fits me like glove. My T-series has tiny little sights, but I still shoot it pretty good. It just fits and points so well. Btw, I don't have small hands. XL gloves can be a tight fit for me. I have never had issue with hammer bite, nor have personally meet some one who has... ??
 
Indeed. Browning died when it was just a prototype. The patents he had to work around were the ones on the 1911 trigger and the swinging link barrel lockup.

I think his protege Mr. Saive, did a decent job and was a pretty good weapons designer in his own right. He did go on to develop the FN49 and the FAL.
 
Ran some American Eagle 147-gr. thru the HiPower last night and it was the most accurate round I've run thru it yet.

Previously I've run mostly WWB 115's and some NATO 124's. They seem to hit to the right of my point of aim...or maybe it's just me. But those 147's seem to hit right on POA. Maybe the rifling stabilizes the longer bullet a little better.
 
147 gn 9mm rounds are the sleeper load.! I like them. I have a Hi Power I bought in 1972. It is the 1911s pretty sister. Sleek and elegant. Nice to carry and works well. The price is the killer with Glocks and XDs costing less and running like clocks though. My son like plastic better.
 
Tell ya what, my new little Sig P938 is just hard to hit with, no matter what kind of ammo I'm using! (When I say hard to hit with, I mean it's hard to get little groups like I can with a full-size pistol.)
 
I had a High Power 9mm about 40 years ago. Great pistol. It did have some feeding issues with hollow point ammunition. The cure for that was having a gunsmith polish the feed ramp. I sold it a few years later when I needed money for college. I am sorry I did.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a High Power 9mm about 40 years ago. Great pistol. It did have some feeding issues with hollow point ammunition. The cure for that was having a gunsmith polish the feed ramp. I sold it a few years later when I needed money for college. I am sorry I did.


It's funny... I usually run into 2 types of people at the range. The first type of guy was raised on plastic pistols and has never heard of a Browning Hi-Power, and isn't much interested anyway.

The 2nd type of guy has been around a while and says, "Oh, yeah, Browning Hi-Power... I had one of those back in the day, etc, or, I knew somebody who had one, etc."

Steel pistols don't get much love these days, especially among the younger crowd. I'm 34 and love the steel stuff. The little extra weight doesn't bother me. In fact, it usually makes the gun easier to shoot.

Don't get me wrong - I like Glocks - I own 2 of them and enjoy their characteristics. But a steel gun just has such a substantial feel.

My next auto pistol is going to be a compact 9mm. Probably gonna go with a CZ-75 Compact.

BTW - FN addressed that hollowpoint feeding problem a number of years ago, and newer manufacture guns supposedly have no trouble feeding hollowpoints. Mine was made this year and I'm sure it wouldn't have any trouble with hollowpoints. I don't know for sure, as it's a range gun for me and I haven't tried any in it.

I've had no malfunctions in 500+ rounds so far.
 
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