Picked up my new C9 today

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kje54

kje54

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My new Hi-Point C9 came in yesterday but I wasn't able to pick it up till today. Maybe I just like an underdog or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, we'll see. The first two things I did was order the lighter sear post spring from Mcarbo and remover the mag (unnecessary in my mind) lock bar. Yup, the trigger is a little gritty but doesn't have the oft reported long, sloppy pull, at least on mine. It's not snappy but it's not terrible. The gun is weighty but that's a result of the size of the slide, made that big because of the zinc alloy used to cast it plus the slide is a little hard to pull back. One guy doing a how it's made video described the slide as "inertially enhanced......"
As for the ergonomics, I have huge hands and I do mean huge and the grip fits fairly well, better than the S&Ws and Rugers I've held recently. When I come from a side position (like it would be in a holster) up to a fighting position the sights automatically line up, not bad for a cheap gun. Also my grip is low enough for me not to worry about slide bite.
Won't be able to get to the range for at least a week, maybe two then I'll see how well it shoots, if there are any fixes I have to apply or not.

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Great knock-around gun for truck, trunk, tackle box, or just for fun, and can still be easily pressed into a defensive role. The one I ended up with is probably more reliable than I am, and will likely be around after I'm not. I took it off a friend for $70 simply because he wanted the money for something else and that's what I had on me at the time. Hey, it's a gun.

plus the slide is a little hard to pull back. One guy doing a how it's made video described the slide as "inertially enhanced......"
Click to expand...

I find the slide a bit slick, not as easy to get good purchase on sometimes. Using the "push-pull" method to cycle it is much easier; this involves your off hand grasping the slide from above while the gun is pointed to your left (assuming you're RH-ed) and downward, then using your strong hand to push the gun forward against that other hand's position.

Regarding "inertially enhanced", that probably refers to the slide's weight. Being a blowback-operated pistol, something has to keep the slide closed after firing for the nanoseconds necessary for excess pressure to subside before it cycles. An alloy slide trying to tame a 9mm round in a blowback pistol needs that heft to do just that. Once it's being driven forward by the recoil spring, that mass helps contribute to the inertia needed to insure purposeful round-capture (from the magazine) and return to battery.


Stay tuned for the haters; they'll be waking up soon. ;)
 
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MedWheeler said:
Great knock-around gun for truck, trunk, tackle box, or just for fun, and can still be easily pressed into a defensive role. The one I ended up with is probably more reliable than I am, and will likely be around after I'm not. I took it off a friend for $70 simply because he wanted the money for something else and that's what I had on me at the time. Hey, it's a gun.



I find the slide a bit slick, not as easy to get good purchase on sometimes. Using the "push-pull" method to cycle it is much easier; this involves your off hand grasping the slide from above while the gun is pointed to your left (assuming you're RH-ed) and downward, then using your strong hand to push the gun forward against that other hand's position.

Regarding "inertially enhanced", that probably refers to the slide's weight. Being a blowback-operated pistol, something has to keep the slide closed after firing for the nanoseconds necessary for excess pressure to subside before it cycles. An alloy slide trying to tame a 9mm round in a blowback pistol needs that heft to do just that. Once it's being driven forward by the recoil spring, that mass helps contribute to the inertia needed to insure purposeful round-capture (from the magazine) and return to battery.


Stay tuned for the haters; they'll be waking up soon. ;)
Click to expand...
Yup, familiar with all that, yes the slide is slick, yes I use the push-pull on this one and yes the guy in the video was referring to the slide's weight.
As for the haters, we'll let them hate. :thumbup:
 
When you install the trigger try this: Use a spray solvent to clean out anything concerning the trigger. I use Super Tech carb cleaner from Walmart and it hasn't bothered anything on any gun internals I have used it on. Blow everything out with compressed air or just let it sit until dry. Then spray everything concerning the trigger with dry lube. I use Hoppe's because that is what I found at the local farm and ranch store. Pulling the trigger a few times while the drying occurs seem to help the lube get into everything. Let it dry and them spray it again. I have had very good luck with smoothing up gritty, sticky triggers doing this and on much more expensive guns than the C9. I also did it on my gift C9 which helped it. Enjoy your new gun.
 
Welcome to the world of one of the most divisive firearms brands ever. People love them or hate them and there's not many people in the middle.

Personally I'm impressed by the reliability and accuracy of a gun I paid $100 for. It's hard to beat value like that even if it looks like it was beat with an ugly stick.
 
How much does that beast weigh?

(I guess I could look it up)

(Shot a Hi-Point once, the big 9mm; worked fine. Not beat with the ugly stick, the ugly tree fell on it. Disclaimer: NOT a hater, just not an enthusiast of the brand.)
 
Old Dog said:
How much does that beast weigh?

(I guess I could look it up)

(Shot a Hi-Point once, the big 9mm; worked fine. Not beat with the ugly stick, the ugly tree fell on it. Disclaimer: NOT a hater, just not an enthusiast of the brand.)
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Hi-Point claims it's 29 oz loaded and yes it's fugly......... But it's not alone in that category.
 
My first semi auto pistol was a C9. It was accurate and ran everything except Russian steel cased ammo which would stick in the chamber. Being a blow back design it can be prone to limp wristing with a smaller or inexperienced shooter. One thing I felt it could use is some grip tape, like the Talon grips. Back then there was none for the Hipoint so I bought a couple pieces and made my own. Now you can get them custom cut for a C9 from Traction grips.
I have used Traction grips and have them on my SR9c. Every bit as good as Talon grips, but not so fancy on the cutout design. Having both I would say they use the same material but Traction grips cost way less. Here is a link
http://tractiongrips.com/catalog/i140.html
 
Jonesy814 said:
Now you can get them custom cut for a C9 from Traction grips.
Click to expand...

I bought a used set of grips off ebay for not much money and proceeded to file and sand them down to get rid of some of the bulge and then stuck on a set of tractiongrips. I had to trim the edges in some places with an exacto knife due to the slightly smaller size. It is sure easier to hang on to now than with the slick grips.
 
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I've owned more Hi Points than any other brand, but I'm down to ONE and it could go too. Not that I'm a hater, not at all, but people keep offering such good prices that I usually part with them. My sole remaining HP is a 4595 carbine, converted to use 1911 magazines and I also have 4 28 round drums for it.

I've had at least 2 each of the pistols, and one of the old original carbines, meaning 995, 4095 and 2x of 4595. Never had a 3895 or 1095 and I think I will pass on the 1095 because they don't seem to be as accurate as the 995 and 4095 for some reason!

I sold all my pistols, many for a profit because we had a place here locally that sold them for less than I ever saw them online 95% of the time.

So I've had...
4x of the C9
2x of the JCP
2x of the JHP
2x of the 995?
1x 4095
2x 4595?

That is around a dozen (+/-) HPs and most of them functioned very well. But long story short, I prefer my guns made of Steel rather than Zamak. ‍♂️

I bought the doubles in the handguns and one each of carbines (9, 40, 45) all early on in my Prepper Stage. I at least had my butt covered in the major calibers plus my 556 stuff. Now my tastes run a bit more expensive. Quite a Bit
 
The only thing I have against the C9 is for $50 you could get a Taurus 9mm instead. I'd rather roll the dice on the QC and CS of Taurus for a $200 9mm than go with the chunk that is the C9.

That said, I have a Hi Point .45 JHP on my list, just waiting for the camo models to get back in stock. I do feel the .45 Hi Point is a gun worth the money, more so than most other .45 semi autos are.
 
TTv2 writes:

The only thing I have against the C9 is for $50 you could get a Taurus 9mm instead. I'd rather roll the dice on the QC and CS of Taurus for a $200 9mm than go with the chunk that is the C9.

That said, I have a Hi Point .45 JHP on my list, just waiting for the camo models to get back in stock. I do feel the .45 Hi Point is a gun worth the money, more so than most other .45 semi autos are.
Click to expand...

I agree. the G2C comes very close to the C9 in price (I own one of each), but nothing new in .45ACP comes within even a hundred of the JHP's price. For someone interested in exploring the caliber only, the JHP (Jumbo Hi-Point?) is pretty much the ticket.
 
I hear if you put a C9 in a sock, it makes for an acceptable melee weapon. Make for a good appetite suppressant to boot.

All kidding aside, Hipoints have earned the reputation of being reliable, robust and thanks to the fixed barrel, accurate.
 
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Speaking as a dealer, the biggest problem with Hi Point pistols is the people who buy them. There's generally two kinds:

1: Gang banger trash looking for a "problem solver" wants them because they work well enough, and they're only out a hundred and fifty bucks when they pitch it in the river on the way home.
2: People who buy them as cheapsh** "glove box" and "tackle box" guns who then proceed to put them in glove boxes and tackle boxes, where they inevitably get stolen by person number 1. Or, failing that, they take them out and shoot them a bit before getting sick of their awful looks and ergonomics and sell it to their buddy for fifty bucks. Who give it to his buddy, who gives it to his brother, who gives it to his son, who really wants to score some weed from the dude across the hall in the dorms..... and so forth until it finds it way, inexorably, back to person 1.

In the year 2011 I had 17 crime guns traced back to the store I was running, used in everything from rapes to murders. Of those 17 guns, 16 were Hi Point handguns and one was a Mossberg 500. All purchased legally, with no problems or late denials. I swore Hi Point pistols off forever.

Sorry for the mini-rant, but the moral of the story is: I hope you have fun with it, but Hi Points are thug magnets. If you have a conscience, SECURE that gun properly. Lock it up! Don't leave it on the truck seat just because it's cheap. Secure it like it cost you $1000 because it might cost someone else their life. And for heaven's sake if you ever get rid of it, be extremely discriminating about who's hands you pass it to, and consider who they might pass it to in turn.
 
Now you need to dress it up with some new grips. Here’s one with white grips. It was an Evidence gun that I processed a few years ago.
B72342E1-39A4-4EEB-AB29-DFCA0F9D40F8.jpeg

DarkswordDX said:
Speaking as a dealer, the biggest problem with Hi Point pistols is the people who buy them. There's generally two kinds:

1: Gang banger trash looking for a "problem solver" wants them because they work well enough, and they're only out a hundred and fifty bucks when they pitch it in the river on the way home.
2: People who buy them as cheapsh** "glove box" and "tackle box" guns who then proceed to put them in glove boxes and tackle boxes, where they inevitably get stolen by person number 1. Or, failing that, they take them out and shoot them a bit before getting sick of their awful looks and ergonomics and sell it to their buddy for fifty bucks. Who give it to his buddy, who gives it to his brother, who gives it to his son, who really wants to score some weed from the dude across the hall in the dorms..... and so forth until it finds it way, inexorably, back to person 1.

In the year 2011 I had 17 crime guns traced back to the store I was running, used in everything from rapes to murders. Of those 17 guns, 16 were Hi Point handguns and one was a Mossberg 500. All purchased legally, with no problems or late denials. I swore Hi Point pistols off forever.

Sorry for the mini-rant, but the moral of the story is: I hope you have fun with it, but Hi Points are thug magnets. If you have a conscience, SECURE that gun properly. Lock it up! Don't leave it on the truck seat just because it's cheap. Secure it like it cost you $1000 because it might cost someone else their life. And for heaven's sake if you ever get rid of it, be extremely discriminating about who's hands you pass it to, and consider who they might pass it to in turn.
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I was the NIBIN Director for my department for just over seven years. Hi Points became less frequent as the years went by. One of my friends that worked in Homicide said that the only thugs that used Hi Points, we’re the low level thugs.:rofl:
 
What's that trope again? Something something "even Evil has standards!" :rofl:

That said I can't bring myself to rag on their little carbines. They may be fugly and have the ergonomics of a mailbox that warped in the quench, but I ran one side by side against a brand new Beretta CX4 on my range one time years ago, and the Hi Point rifle shot more accurately and jammed less than the ~700 dollar Beretta. I respect those stupid things. They need a better magazine though - that's always the weak point. Those little razor-blade feed lips just can't stand up to the tension of being loaded for long.
 
DarkswordDX said:
What's that trope again? Something something "even Evil has standards!" :rofl:

That said I can't bring myself to rag on their little carbines. They may be fugly and have the ergonomics of a mailbox that warped in the quench, but I ran one side by side against a brand new Beretta CX4 on my range one time years ago, and the Hi Point rifle shot more accurately and jammed less than the ~700 dollar Beretta. I respect those stupid things. They need a better magazine though - that's always the weak point. Those little razor-blade feed lips just can't stand up to the tension of being loaded for long.
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Beretta carbines enjoy quite the reputation for being phenomenally reliable due to the stupid-simple blowback operation (similar to the Hi-Point carbines). I suspect the malfunctions you encountered likely involved aftermarket mags as these days it seems everyone and their brother are manufacturing M9/M92 magazines, some better than others. Also, being new and not yet broken in may have played a part.

I only use MecGar mags for my CX4. I'd put mine around the 2k mark, of mostly my reloads. Zero hiccups. A good portion of these are ww cast from a Lee (#90315) 105gr SWC mold intended for .38/.357 revolvers resized to .356, a recipe not-too-friendly for some autos.

I was sold on the CX4 Storm and purchased my own after a coworker demonstrated that his would feed empty/spent cases from the magazine without issue. I found that truly remarkable.

The Hi-Point is indeed impressive for being able, for the most part, to keep up with the Beretta CX4 Storm that cost several times more. All that said, the CX4 cost much more as it is in an entirely different league much in the same way the Hi-Point C9 and the Glock 19 are. Nothing wrong with either yet still difficult to compare them directly.
 
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