Browning Hi-Power 9mm Question..

[VikesFan1]

A local gun store has a Browning Hi-Power 9mm from 1980 that cost me some sleep last night. It has the right look and feel but I know nothing about this gun.

Is there anyone here with a older hi-power willing to share some insight? Is it a good gun? Anything I need to look for? What's its "biggest complaint", if any?

[VikesFan1]

By the way, they want $700 hundo for it...

[hammAR]

GREAT firearm......biggest complaints by some is a) it is 9mm not .45 (yes they now make some in .40) and b) it's not a 1911. However, if you consider that it is a J.M Browning design some will say that it has improvements over the 1911, as it was a follow-on to the 1911.

It boils down to a personal choice. Make sure that it is a genuine Browning Hi-Power manufactured by FN Herstal of Belgium and Portugal. Be wary of some of the clone manufacturers (including Charles Daly of the Philippines & USA, FEG of Hungary, Arcus of Bulgaria, Argentina,and others). Know what model you are getting.

Mark II is an upgraded model of the original Hi-Power introduced in the early '80s. Some of the upgrades were ambidextrous thumb safeties, nylon grips, 3-dot sights, and a throated barrel.

The Mark III was another advancement over the Mark II released in 1988, which featured a firing pin safety and grips.

The BDA and BDAO models were also first produced in the 1980s by FN.

They are fun, well balanced, and shooters...................not bad for a 1911's little brother...............

.

[justaguy]

With any luck Mac will be here soon so he can tell you to it.

[1911fan]

I. Would look on gun broker a bit. Seven bills seems a bit high for just a high power. Double check the model before you buy. Also nine is the only caliber the hi power should be bought in. Forty cal HP's can and do have longevity issues

[VikesFan1]

Haha justa! Is he the forums resident Google cop?

Thanks HammAr, I think it would be a deal breaker if it's Japan or China and not this: "FN Herstal of Belgium and Portugal."

[Widge]

The definitive Hi-Power information source: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/

[Belgiboy]

$700 is a fair but not a good price, but they do sell for that or more on Gunbroker. For that money you should make sure that it is a Belgian made (not assembled in Portugal). It doesn't really make any difference in the quality of the gun but it does for the resale value.
I have a mid-eighties Hi-power that a bought for $500 bucks in 2007 in the Gunstop. It was one of those must have guns for me. They are fun shooters, accurate too. The common thing people complain about is the heavy trigger. I think it is fairly easy to get used to because it breaks very clean. If you reload for them, they can be a bit finicky about length of the round you're feeding them. Keep the COL on the short side and very little or no crimp. I shoot mine from time to time but it is a safequeen mostly cause it is in pristine condition and I want to keep it that way. It is laying next to me right now as I'm typing this and looking at it just makes me happy.
Here is mine

[VikesFan1]

The definitive Hi-Power information source: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/

Ain't that the truth. Where to begin...

Solid, Belgiboy. Appreciate the info. Nice pistol too!

[Vlad]

I find that with a standard 1911 I get hammer bit a lot. Does that happen with the Hipower?

[Pat]

Anything designed by John Moses Browning should be treated with great caution. It is probably obsolete.

At what store did you find this treasure beast at for a lowly $700?

[Belgiboy]

No, I have never had any hammerbite with my HP. I did take it to Randy Hengl (Territorial Gunsmiths) in Hopkins to see what he could do to lighten the trigger a bit. He advised me not to have anything altered to it but he was full of good stories about the HP and his time in Great Britain with it (don't know in what capacity he was there). He had the marks on his hand to show that hammerbite does occur with the HP. I think we ended up talking about guns and Europe etc. for more than an hour or something and I left with my gun exactly the way I came in. But let me tell you, that was one of the better hours of my life.

[1911fan]

The best solution to hammer bite from a HP is either a trip to Cylinder and Slide or to buy one of Bill's pre prepped commander style ring hammer's and sear's or for a few hundred, have him weld up the beavertail.....

[VikesFan1]

Anything designed by John Moses Browning should be treated with great caution. It is probably obsolete.

At what store did you find this treasure beast at for a lowly $700?

If I say the name of the store, what's stopping someone from reading this and going and buying it?

I'm seriously thinking about this gun. As soon as I either buy it, or make up my mind not to, I'll say where it's at.

Wikipedia gives two examples of guns that are prone to hammer-bite. The 1911 and the Hi Power. ..I don't see how it's possible with the curved back, but whatever.

[hammAR]

Wikipedia gives two examples of guns that are prone to hammer-bite. The 1911 and the Hi Power. ..I don't see how it's possible with the curved back, but whatever.

Do not listen to that crap......IF you know how to shoot it and take care of it it will not bite,
might nibble once in a while or give you a kiss,
but it will not bite unless you do not shoot it correctly and do not take care of it...............

...and whatever you do DO NOT weld up the beavertail on a HP.......
that's like telling your best friend that you had sex with his wife....................