Browning Hi Power in a 9mm world

[Rival]

I personally don't get bit by a hammer, and BHP feels superb while shooting it (I shot BHP side-by-side with CZ-75B)

While both guns shoot very good, it is easier for me to shoot BHP accurately over large distances. Also, I needed to adjust to the sights on the BHP - original factory adjustable sights, while very nice, sit higher then combat sights on the CZ. After some training I got used to sights on the BHP and now I shoot equally well with either BHP or CZ while rapid firing on close range targets. When it comes to shooting something 50 yards away - I feel more comfortable with BHP.

 

[BHPshooter]

I personally don't get bit by a hummer

Uhmmm...

Nevermind.

That's a nice collection there -- what's the 3rd gun there? I see what looks like a .22 magazine. Those polished blue HPs are gorgeous.

Wes

 

[Rival]

That's a nice collection there -- what's the 3rd gun there? I see what looks like a .22 magazine. Those polished blue HPs are gorgeous.

You can see the entire lineup here.

 

[BHPshooter]

That's quite a range you've got there!

I wonder how involved you'd have to be to set up a shooting range... but that's for another thread.

Wes

 

[Marshall]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I personally don't get bit by a hummer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


That's a good thing!

 

[DHart]

6'1", 175 lbs, pretty large hands, though not especially "fleshy" and never a hammer bite here from 1911's nor from BHP's. Certainly there are some folks who do get hammer bite, but I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of shooters do not get hammer bite, nor do they need to modify their guns to prevent hammer bite. If hammer bite were that pervasive, the guns would never have been designed just as they were, nor used just as they were for decade, after decade, after decade. Don't get me wrong... I see nothing wrong with beavertails and rounded hammers, just that I'm equally happy with the traditional set-ups as well. It's all good as far as I'm concerned.

 

[shep854]

I once had an Argie FM HP, specifically because it had the spur hammer, which seems less likely to bite than the round hammer. Never got bit. I've got my eye on another one.

As far as the "drop-free" mags, it wasn't a big deal until modern combat shooting stressed super-fast reloads. With practice, you can remove the used mag, stow it and bring up a fresh mag nearly as fast as you can with a drop-free.

 

[AndABeer]

Trigger:

On my personal example the trigger is clean and crisp. The weight of the pull breaks at 4 pounds even. It is as accurate as any of my other pistols and as reliable. The feel of the grip is the most natural of them all. I carried it for a time.

What soured the deal for me was the reset, as bad as most DAOs. There was just no way for me to shoot as quickly as I wanted, as well as I wanted. Slow fire, it is an awesome shooter. Rapid fire, I had to have something else.

 

[4v50 Gary]

How does the Browning Hi-Power compare to other guns? It doesn't. Apart from the German P-08, nothing feels as good as the old Hi-Power. It has very few features which doesn't really detract from the gun. For instance, it has the older SA only trigger. However, it works fine. The only things I'd want are the Browning ambidextrious safety and a better sight.

Now, the closest you'll come to the "feel" of the Browning Hi-Power is the CZ-75. Trigger on my CZ-75 (an older model without importer markings) is excellent. Sights are more visible than the Browning. No ambidextrious safety but hey, I can carry it hammer down and use the DA function for the first shot.

As for the other Wondernines, many of the early ones were big and bulky for the 9mm package. The S&W 59 and its 3rd generation derivatives felt fat. The Sig P226 and Beretta also belong to that near pregnant whale category. It was the advent of the polymer frame Glock in 9 mm (Sorry H&K, I haven't forgotten the VP-70 but it was way before its time) that the grip frame could be reasonably reduced (S&W Sigma, Springfield Armory come to mind).

By now you guys know I have small hands and that my complaints (or gripes) may not be valid to you. That's fair. But consider this, for the size of a Beretta, are you really getting that much more gun than the Browning? Both shoot the 9mm bullet so why the bigger gun? Balance is sought after and I think it's found nicely in the CZ or the Browning.

 

[jacketch]

I bought my first BHP in 1974 and over a perion of 15 years I fired aproximately 60k rounds through it. I can only remember about 3 failures that weren't ammo or mag related and even those were very few. Except for spring and extractor replacements, little was done but cleaning and lubing. Much of the ammo was +p and +p+ rated and when I gave it to a friend in the mid 80's, it was still going strong. The only problem with it was that the barrel was showing some wear.

I have never found a pistol that fit my hand or pointed as well as the P35. I have owned several since and none had a bad trigger pull once they were broken in. If a Browning HiPower was the only gun available, I wouldn't complain one bit.