Friends,

I would like some help placing an estimate on this old Half, er..I mean Hi Power. It is a 1961 vintage Belgian made (not Portugese), blued, comercial Browning. It is all original and in really stellar shape.

The inside of the original grips are red. Serial # 69C17XXX.











I figure saying the magic words "Browning HiPower" should have Kevin come scooting on in here pretty soon, which is a great thing as he is a welcome resource due to his extensive knowledge in the subject matter.

MS

Man, I remember when P35's were used by some pretty high speed, low drag folks.

I always enjoyed shooting them, and still think that they have one of the best "feels" of any handgun.

GUNSAMERICA:
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"Browning High Power, 1961 mfg., checkered walnut grips, fixed sights, thumb print safety, and ring hammer. Gun is as new in Browning pouch."

Item Description: Used, minor wear
Item Caliber: 9MM Luger

Price: $1,049

"SOLD"

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EDIT:

GUNSAMERICA - Browning High Power 1969 "C" Series, 98-99% - $975
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Bold emphasis is mine - she's a 1969 C-series, Mack. A great Hi-Power. An early model C-series such as yours bears all the sweetness of the T-series except the collector T-mania.

I saw one of those fn belgians sold to the israeli's then resold here at a gunshow last week. They wanted about 750 for it. And while it is a belgian, they aren't finished anywhere as nice.
Which should give you a real world idea on yours.

The ones I have seen sold over the last few years have been in the $750-900 area...can't recall any Belgium Browning for sale over $1000 that being said I have not really seen many for sale locally around NE either.

Bob

mack i got that gun's brother in my safe. if their bringing 750-900 i stole mine

All of the above is great info. Thanks Jog for the correction in regards to what I was informed about the year being 61 instead of 69, that is good to know as well.

Anybody know the story about the red grips?

This Browning is night and day in better shape than some of the ones I handled down in southern Iraq while working with the Brits. Theirs were in terrible shape, many with sights that could hardly even be called sights.

I (along with a couple other guys)spent some time on the range, working with some of their medical staff giving informal pistol classes. The level of training they had recieved up to that point was very minimal, so we took our time over a number of weeks and drank a lot of tea and had a good time with the classes.

The Brit's HI Powers though looked like they had been drug around the British Empire and never recieved a single bit of attention along the way. A few I tore down, simply to clean out the crud,one or two may have been the subject to a file stroke or two to remove a couple of burrs.

We of course let the nurses shoot our G19s, which they really thought were the cats meow.

One thing I have noticed on this particular Belgian HP is that it has a truly excellent trigger, which is not something I can say for many stock HPs that I have shot. They were building them right during that era, for sure.

I don't know why the grips are finished that way, but they are correct for the era. I believe all T-series pistols had the red grips as well as the early C-series, but they were phased out as Browning changed, some say cheapened, the pistol over the next few years.

The early C-series is my favorite Hi-Power - it's just as good as a T-series, but unlike the T-series a guy can change of few things without offending the collectors and diminishing the value.

In 1961 the Hi-Power still had an internal extractor, which was replaced with an external in 1962. The 'pre T-series' 1962-64 pistols are also very nice. The T-series ran from 1964-69, the C-series from 1969-75, but there is a lot of difference between the early and later C-series.

In any event that is one sweet pistol.

I sent one like that off to Ted Yost last Summer and it came back last month looking a WHOLE LOT sweeter than it did before I sent it!!

A number of years ago before i fired a worthless relative, I found him a set of mid 60's hi powers, consecutively numbered, unfired, in the presentation box. Paid at the time 1200bucks for the set.
One of the bigger mistakes i have made was letting this particular pagan have them.
I kind of have a thing for them after many years ago firing a el capitan belonging to a friend of mine. Instinctive point shooting and i could keep them all in minute of tire rim way out there.
Still one of the best 9mm's ever made.

A pair of numbered HPs for $1200 in the presentation box, in my opinion (bearing in mind that I don't really follow HP prices) would be a heck of a deal.

41magfan,

I have no doubt that Ted Yost could turn this great example of an HP handgun into a spectacular one, I think I would find him one that had more wear on it though.

This one, being 43 some odd years old and in really excellent shape, I just think is in too nice to get modified. I personally have not seen one in this nice of shape, this old, outside of a true collector's (generally non firing)collection.

For a gun going to a smith to be worked on for practical mods, I would pick up a surplus one or a relatively new one, that way I would not feel in the least bit bad about it.

Yost really does some first rate work though. I have seen a BHP with a stippled front strap, Novak sights and 1911 type thumb safety. It was a first rate job by anyones standard. Of course it was about a months pay for me, if I was to guess the bill.

here's mine 69C24xxx

there was a hi power floating around here off and on through the years, just never wanted to pay the money for it although it was worth it, custom barrel, fitted slide/frame, trigger job, and had a elongated beave tail welded on it to allow a high hold without getting bit. Just absolutely tighter than a drum. I don't remember what sights now were fitted on it.
I do know they can really be tweaked if one has the time and money and finds the right guy to do it.

RoninPhx,

They truly can be made into extremely nice pieces and the Browning is no doubt a classic, but for purely practical reasons, I carry one of Gaston's lightweight blasters.

The Belgian HP does have some serious style points though!

Rockchucker,

Your HP is a fine looking example.

I am going to venture a guess and say that the old guns like these are going to see some pretty steady price increases over the next 10 years or so. Kind of like old N frame S&Ws.

Just a hunch.

Back in college in the 1970s a friend sold me his 1969 that he had some better sights put on and had removed the magazine safety so that the trigger pull was just excellent...he also was able to take out most of the pre-travel. Shot that gun for about two years before trading it back to him. We shot together for the next 35+ years and I don't think I ever saw him shoot that gun again... I still hut and shoot with his nephew and brother and will have to ask if they have the gun...

That HP was very accurate and 101% reliable even with JHP reloads. I think the major reason I sold it was the tang...or lack thereof... And the tiny-weeny safety.... But they are a classic and seems to fit everyones hands well.

A friend had Yost make up a HP for her...it was really slick.

Bob

i've been thinking of sending mine to a smith to tweak her out, she some flaws. just got to decide if she's better left alone or if she will benefit from the treatment

Bump for Kevin who's recently re-joined us.

That's a nice piece & sounds like you picked it up for a good price.

Tweaking it will be a benefit if you intend to carry it, depending on what you want to do.

As to future value, best left as original.

MM

Last month I saw an early C-series Belgian Browning HP for sale.
It was a 1969 or 70. Like this one it was in stellar shape and comes
with the black Browning pouch. Only issue, the guy selling it is asking $1150
After reading this I may get it any way. First I need to call him back
and see if it is still for sale.

ya'll are reminding me I need to send mine to Cylinder & Slide for some fixing up

For a C-series I agree with you for gun show or LGS types of sales, but internet sales hold or increase the value if a 'known' gunsmith does the work (keep the invoice, etc.). Ditto for a sale to a knowledgeable shooter.

I'd leave a T-series alone, but because of that I wouldn't buy a T-series unless I really stole it.

Nice HP, Mackay! You'll rack up epic style points with that!

i wish i could figure out what is wrong with my photobucket site, and i would upload some pictures. Few years ago i ran accross a Austrian P35 made for the Austrian police force circa 1948-1949. Has the austrian crown markings on it. These were imported for a little while

Mackay,

Sorry I�m so late to the dance. That�s a nice C-Series Hi Power indeed, I�d guesstimate the value at right around $1,000.00, perhaps a little more if you find someone who truly appreciates such a fine classic pistol. I believe the red paint on the grips was to protect against �salt wood� that Browning was cursed with at the time. Many Hi Power & Safari series rifles were adversely affected with wood that was �salt cured� which left the wood impregnated with salt. Browning bought a LOT of that wood and it turns out almost all of it was bad. I believe they heat dried the wood and made pistol grips out of what was salvageable and painted the inside of the grips as an additional barrier to corrosion from salt cured wood. Honestly I�ve never seen rust under red grips that was any worse than rust under any other wood grip. Wood grips will retain moisture, simple as that. It seems that the red paint solution was an effective one; I wouldn�t change those grips.

Hey There Kevin!

I was wondering when our resident Hi Power expert was going to make an appearance. I do recall reading about Browning's issues with salt in the wood of rifle stocks. I never considered that there might have been fallout into the handgun line/grips.

That is an interesting observation and makes complete sense. Fortunately there is not a lick of rust on this example. I am guessing if it has not shown up in the last 4 decades, I am reasonably safe.


Doing a little research led me to Stephan Camp's website "Hi Powers and Handguns". Needless to say, perusing that site led me down more than a few rabbit trails about Hi Powers.

Thanks for your observations on the HP Kevin.

MS

Stephen Camp passed away about a year ago. He was a true gentleman in every sense.

JOG,

I was not aware of that. That is unfortunate. There are very few gunwriter types that I care for reading their material. I have enjoyed reading a number of his articles while educating myself a little bit further on Hi Powers.

Now I will make a point to read more of his material.

Stephen and I go back to the early �90�s with one of the first shooting forums, the Prodigy Shooting Sports Bulletin Board. Then we met up again several years back Stephen and I were both member of a Hi Power�s forum that was pretty good. Unfortunately that site was taken down by a very malicious attack and they lacked the funds to get it back running quickly, so most of the forum members sort of dispersed. After that incident, Stephen decided to create Hi Power�s and Handguns which is a great site with some great information; Stephen was a very sharp individual, we�ll always miss him.