I did a review of the Argentine Hi Power�s a few years ago for American Handgunner; the one�s without the slide scallops. On the subject of metal hardness and quality, the factory rated them okay for +P and after firing over 100 rounds of the stuff and closely examining the pistol, I couldn�t see the first hint of any lug setback whatsoever.
Overall, the pistol is a mix match of Browning features, from the 1963 model and the MK I & II models. It has a baked on enamel finish that�s pretty tough and the �Cycolac� plastic molded grips. The ambi safety is exactly like the FN Browning. Sights are similar to the MK II and there is a serrated rib down the top of the barrel to reduce glare. My only complaint was the use of a pre-1980 style barrel feed ramp, which is most often referred to as the humpback feed ramp. Still, with a wide variety of JHP�s I couldn�t get the pistol to mis-feed in any way.
I also reviewed the shorter barreled version called the �Detecitive� and found it to be quite serviceable as well. I think for the money, they�re very hard to beat when talking a quality service pistol. Remember, these are real military service pistols, not wannabe�s; with several South American nations, some pacific nations and a dozen or more police forces using them. I�d say all in all, the Argentine Hi Power is a well proven pistol.
All Argie's have proven to be pretty accurate, with groups around 2.5-3" at 25 yards. To the last, they all seem to have somewhat long and gritty triggers, but keep in mind; this is a military pistol, and there are a lot of militaries that find a long, stiff trigger a desirable feature when handing a handgun to a 3rd world conscript.
Although the earlier ones with the lightening cuts on the front of the slide are much more pleasing to the eye, I have encountered feed problems due to the humpback feed ramp design with those. I really can�t explain it, but the shape of the �hump� is different on the later models. While I can�t for the life of me figure out why they would change the shape of the hump, rather than just going to the very proven post-1980 design. I have to admit that whatever they did...it worked out very well.
As for gunleather, the newer ones without the lightening cuts on the front of the slide, will slip right into your favorite 1911 holster, or even a better fit if your holster is cut for a Commander.
