Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Browning hi-power

Im not a 40 guy, in general

WilditslikebeingalittlebitpregnantAlaska ��2002-2011

It's a great design, another one of those pistols that was highly ergonomic, long before the word was coined.

My brother has a .40, and likes it a lot.

Cylinder & Slide says they can get the trigger to 5# with the mag safety functioning. Mine is headed that way, soon.

If I were to purchase a new one, which should I buy and who should I send it to?

"If I were to purchase a new one, which should I buy and who should I send it to?"

I'd say buy the best and send it to me.

Mine is not a Browning, but an Argentine copy.

Dan

I have owned this one for years. It is the best shooting, ie, most accurate, of all the BHPs I have owned.

Good enough for royalty... It is still the standard kit for Canadian and British forces.

The .40 Hi Power is a good gun, but significantly heavier. For some reason, after being a Hi Power man for decades, the .40 just doesn�t feel right in my hands. But I�m sure if I ever actually owned one, I�d adjust pretty quickly and it would be just fine. I�m really not aware of any issues related to the .40 and by all appearances, it�s every bit as good as the 9mm; and I consider the BHP to be the finest 9mm in the world.

After the creation of the new 124 9mm NATO load, Hi Powers which were never created for that level of recoil impulse or pressure, began having problems with falling apart. The biggest issue was cam blocks setting back in the frame, which ruins the frame. Second most common issue were cracked slides. Keep in mind, the Hi Power may be all steel, but it�s a rather soft steel, and the design is very petite in many places, especially the slide. The Hi Power slide is the thinnest 9mm slide I�m aware of. With standard pressure loads, this is a total non issue, and a Hi Power will last several lifetimes. But when fed tens of thousands of 9mm NATO, the Hi Power�s just fall apart.

Knowing this, the Brits have been approached by countless handgun producers, including FN to provide a replacement that can hold up to the abuse of the 9mm NATO (Can�t think of the Brit cartridge designator off the top of my head). The Brits are just way too happy with their Hi Powers, so they have decided they�ll just put up with the accelerate wear and replace them as needed, because the Hi Power is so reliable and so eminently shootable, and I have to say; I heartily agree. This is one pistol you can pick up in stock form and completely trust your life to.

I have owned a bunch of Hi-Powered over the years and they are really great pistols . I actually like them better than most of the newer brand name 9's for sale today. I have been on the look out for another one but no luck do far . Most are priced to high these days.

It was the side arm of Canadian forces for a LONG time.
Not sure if it still is

[quote=KyWindageII]

Gentlemen I have absolutely no idea why the last seven words were in my question. Senility?

Of the variations from Browning, is there any reason to purchase anything but the basic original model? Some of them look like they have "tactical" bells and whistles which serve little real purpose.

I would go with a basic gun...then look at what would make it better for YOU....then find the right place...I reccomend Cylnder and Slide......and have the work done you deem right...it is you that has to carry the gun...use it etc....make it for you not what some "Expert" says is the only way to do it....I am just saying..LOL

I've always prefered the basic Hi Power. If you want a practical defensive pistol, get a Mk III that has sights that are dovetailed front and rear; that makes life easier when you start customizing. Other than that, stick with the basic Hi Power until you figure out what you really like.

Semi-related question...mine came to me prior to the end of the AWB, so it came with a 10 rd mag. I've found Browning 13rd mags since then, and they seem to be good, if spendy. Who else sells a good HP 9mm magazine?

Any of the Military contract mags or Mec Gars are excellent.

Avoid Promags. They suck.

Avoid mags marked with waffenampts.

WildmayhavebuildqualityissuesandarespendybesidesAlaska ��2002-2011

As to "...experience with a .40 Hi-Power compared to a 9MM."
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The only experience I have had with a Hi-Power is with the 40 S&W chambering. I once owned a Silver-Chrome, 40 Browning Hi-Power and now own a Fabrique Nationale, 40 High-Power.

The 40 Hi-Powers IMO are just GREAT handguns by any measure.

I have CZ pistols in both 9MM and .40 S&W, also Berettas and a couple high-end Walthers. I really do not notice any difference in shooting any of these handguns in either caliber. (But I usually shoot only Target Load FMJ.)

All these pistols to me are without flaw, but the one dimension that possessing a Hi-Power gives me, that my other handguns cannot, is the storied legend and on-going legacy of the Browning Hi-Power.

I do hope to get a Hi-Power in 9MM ... but I wouldn't trade away my .40 for one.

Kevin,
Thank you for your High Power modification suggestions. I have been looking at HP's and saved your post for future reference. Your posts are usually very informative, MC.

A favorite pistol of mine. The grip design seems to fit the hand better than most pistols around. John Browning started the design but it was finished by Dieudonne Saive, whom most Americans have never heard of. However, many have heard of the rifles he designed after WW II - the FN 1949 and its successor, the FN FAL, a battle rifle that was used by most of the armed forces of the free world in the 1950s and 60s. Comparing the final High Power design to Browning's patent drawings, Saive's contributions to the High Power design included the exposed hammer/sear (Browning's patent showed a striker-fired design with trigger and trigger lever almost identical to the final design, but with the sear lever in the final design, which pushes on the sear to release the hammer, being the sear in Browning's design which releases the striker) and thumb safety.

Although the trigger pull in many HPs is heavy and creepy, a good trigger pull can be obtained without removing any parts - mine has a crisp 6 lb pull that feels significantly lighter, still has a functioning magazine disconnector, and an empty magazine drops free when the mag release is depressed. It was worked on a number of years ago by pistolsmith Teddy Jacobson. And in terms of accuracy, although no accurizing work was done on it, shortly after I got it back I shot a 2 1/2" 5 shot group hand rested at 25 yards, which is about as good as I can shoot.

"Keep in mind, the Hi Power may be all steel, but it�s a rather soft steel,"

Kevin...have you been reading Bricktop posts again"

Dan

Damn... Now I have to and another to the list...

Thanks !