Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Hi power question

We inherited a browning hi power from my wife's father. She believes it was purchased by him in the late 1950's. Been in the safe ever since. Still in box and appears to have seen little/no use. Our question is should we shoot and carry this gun ? Is it more value to a collector?
Thanks
.jd

Guns are meant to be shot.

High Power Browning are not real collector guns, carry and shoot it.

Thanks.
Kind of what I thought, just wanted to hear from the experts

Browning Hi Powers ARE collectable -
Even models from the 50's in pristine condition are very sought after by collectors.

Determine it's value, by model and condition first and then decide what YOU want to do with it.

Any help determining value would be appreciated. Serial number indicates it is from 1954. In original box with manual. Pretty much looks unused.
Have lots of rifles, shotguns to use, but interested in getting a handgun for everyday use and carry.
Would post pictures if I knew how
Thanks
.jd

To answer both of your questions......yes.

If you are into guns at all, then you will be hard pressed to find a finer handgun than an older Belgian BHP....IMO.

On the other hand, one mught sell the Browning and purchase several Glocks.

I'd die for it, but you'd better hurry, I'm almost there now.

Pretty easy for a Hi-Power of that stripe to be worth a couple grand. Firing and carrying the pistol a moderate amount will knock $500-$1,000 off the value.

It has (as a Belgian Browning High Power) collector value, especially in its condition, but not so very much that I wouldn't put it to use.

Thanks a bunch for the input. We'll keep it, shoot it, and give it to our grandson
.jd

Perfect solution

The way I look at is that your untouched Hi Power will never be worth as much as it is right now, and if money has any value to you then sell it to a collector for an appropriate price and go buy something else. Guns don't often survive 60 years in new condition so that makes it a rare commodity. Shoot it and you may as well torch a couple bills. I can't afford to throw away money so that's what I would do with a pristine 60-year old Hi Power if one fell into my lap.

i have collected various things for many years. Have this guy i know always telling me i need to sell these things because they have appreciated so much in value. If i would have done so, i would have lost a lot of additional appreciation.
Funny thing is after telling me i should sell them multiple times he was shocked at what a run of the mill K frame is going for these days, then wanted to buy one of mine for what i paid for it. Yeah sure.

advice is cheap, but older firearms with the name reconition of a P35 in pristine condition are not found all that easily.

If you don't know much about the gun, and don't care much one way or the other, you'd probably benefit by selling the gun to someone who does. With a decent pile of cash in your pocket, you could then buy any pistol from a long lineup of possibilities, and probably a case or two of ammo to go with it, depending on specifics.

Also, a Hi-Power of that vintage has a humped feed ramp and internal extractor. The feed ramp was changed in the early '80's on the Mk II Hi-Power to better feed hollowpoint bullets (current Hi-Powers are Mk III). Some, not all, pistols with humped feed ramps only reliably feed FMJs. The internal extractor was changed to external around 1962 and the internals are hard to find. A worn or broken extractor can happen on ANY pistol, but with an old Hi-Power you'll probably have to find someone to make one.

Sell that one, buy another BHP (or clone) if that's what you want to shoot, and have money left over for plenty of ammo.

Thanks again for the advice.
Recent posts have me reconsidering hanging on to this gun.
Could be better appreciated by others it seems Probably make the long drive to the nearest Cabelas to see what we can get for the gun. Never sold any guns, always been a buyer, then usually give to my sons. Looking for a carry gun to use and enjoy without worrying about screwing up an heirloom
.jd

Cabelas is VERY likely to low ball you to a ridiculous degree. Gunbroker is your best bet to get your full value from the BHP.