Glock 19 or Browning Hi Power?

Well yes, I've found quite a steal! And I'm getting the Hi-power

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sprice, congrats on your new Hi Power. I recently bought a MkIII w/ four mags for $499, so there are certainly deals out there.

I like High Powers. I used to shoot a 9mm Highpower some in IDPA compeition. It was bone stock, except for removing the mag disconnect, and different grips. However, I found out that it, definately needed to be kept cleaner, then most other guns I used or it would give trouble in competition. I also witnessed more jams by others shooting High Powers in actual IDPA matches then any other gun.

IMHO the High Power needs a few things done to it to be ultra reliable. One is the stock recoil spring is too light and the hammer spring is too strong, and on the ones I have used, removing the mag disconnect definately helped the trigger. And some might need some polishing on the feed ramp, and a good overall de-horning sure makes them more friendly to use and carry.

I don't own a High Power 9mm anymore, but If I did, and was serious about carrying it, I would definately get those things done to it. I currenty have a 40 cal High Power that was sent to Cylinder and Slide, before I got it, and it is a dream to shoot and much better then stock. I will put it up against a Glock about any day.

Having said that, I presonally have found Glock 17's, 19's, 23's and 22's to be much more reliable out of the box then High Powers out of the box, in general. I don't know about the very latest generation of Glocks, as I havn't owned one of them.

Glock is a functional Tool.
BHP is a sensual work of Art
1911 is a Religion.

Get the one you like. Really. There is a lot of foolishness on the internet, and the desire to optimize runs strong, but the fact of the matter is if you are buying a quality firearm from a good manufacturer then your personal fit and preference make more difference than anything else in the world.

Put factory fresh Beretta, Sig, CZ, Glock, HK, BHP pistols on a table and look at them. Know what they all have in common? They are, generally speaking, all better then the handguns used to fight WWII. For several hundred dollars, a little shopping around and some patience you can have a "better", lighter, more reliable and durable handgun then your Grandfather could have ever dreamt of.

As Americans we have really sucked up the Glock marketing hook line and sinker. Even many "gun people" believe that Glock is the most proflic gun in the world or most used or whatever. Glock as a brand is WAY WAY WAY down on the list of service handguns in use in the world......Like below FN, SIG, Beretta, CZ, Mak, Tok, and so forth.
Is the Glock a good gun? Absolutely!! I recommend them often. Is it the end all be all? Hell no.

And just to finish on durability.....lookit I have a MKIII with over 50,000 rounds on it. I don't load powder puff rounds, but I do keep up on the spring maintainance. I'm happy with that number. We, as a country, have gotten into this frame of mind that you have to get 100k rounds on a pistol or it is junk. You can thank Glock for that. For 75% of gun owners they won't shoot that much over their entire life. If you do want to shoot that much, I;ve got a suggestion for you: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy a separate carry gun! I don't care what brand of gun you carry, there is NO BRAGGING RIGHTS when you (favorite brand here) with 124K rounds through it jams/breaks/fails/KBs when you need it to DEFEND YOUR LIFE!! I came to this conclusing when a very good friend of mine drew his CC pistol at the range and it failed to fire a single round. Turns out he was trying to reach a number (70k 80k I don't remember) with the orginal springs....and one broke that day. He was disappointed, and I was livid. If that had been a real gunfight he would have been GODDAMN DEAD!!! These things are fun, but conceal carrying is not a joke and defensive handguns AREN'T TOYS!!

Handguns are damn cheap....a lot cheaper than the ammo you will be putting through it over the course of it's service life. Consider this: You buy a $500 9mm pistol and put 50,000 rounds of ammo through it. Just using some round numbers here.....that ammo cost you $15,000+. That's right......$500 gun, $15,000 in ammo to get to that point. DON"T FRIGGING SWEAT THE COST OF A SECOND "DEDICATED" GUN!!! And good mags!!!!
Buy a $30,000 car and you will only put 8-12 thousand dollars of gas through it in 100,000 miles. Add up repairs and us STILL aren't up to original cost of the car.

Never knew in all the time I've shot both that the hi-power was less reliable. As a matter of fact, I've shot MORE rounds through hi-powers than any other handgun and have seen LESS malfunctions out of the BHP than I have with any other handgun.

Lots of internet gossip.

Still, at equal prices and assuming that you're keeping it forever, I'd recommend a Glock 19 just because a hi-power isn't for everyone.

Glock is a functional Tool.
BHP is a sensual work of Art
1911 is a Religion.

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That about says it all. Glocks are absolutely fine firearms, But life is to short to have an ugly pistol.

glock. without question or hesitation. if you want mr. brownings' best single action design, get a 1911.

BHP is a sensual work of Art

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Likewise, I have both.

I take the G19 when I don't want to worry about dings, rust, drops, etc, and the Hi-Power when I'm going for a pleasant shoot or BBQ.

It would stand to reason that either glocks failure more often or glock owners like to brag more about their failures.

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It's definitely #2. I haven't seen anyone purchase a brand new P-35 just to drag it behind their truck for 5 miles to see if it breaks.

Lastmohecken, the stock recoil spring for Hi-Power is 17 lb - it is definitely not "too lite" for a full size 9mm pistol. The hammer spring is OK - please keep in mind that Hi-Power is a military pistol and not a sport toy - reliable ignition is on top of the list. On a Mk.III I have yet to see one that needs feed ramp polishing.

Boris

Mizar, I am just going on my own experiences, and the hammer is way too hard to cock, and slide spring will often not push a round home. I have a High Power 40 cal, that was redone by Cylinder and Slide and that is one of the main things they do, and it makes them a lot better IMHO.

You can call a gun a sport toy or not, but when you start shooting something like IPSC or IDPA, and if you gun is not up to the task in the reliability dept, it will become evident very quickly, and like I have said already, I have seen more stock High Powers jam in these matches then any other gun. The High Power is still a favorite with me, but they are are not perfect out of box for sure, although the quality of the stock magazines are usually better then the run of the mill 1911's.

Here is a picture of a guy who could have almost anything.

although I am a BHP guy I don't have anything bad at all to say about the G19. It is a great pistol.I would consider them both the best in class.

One famous gun writer once said, IF you treat your gun like your lawnmower then buy a Glock! Pretty good compliment for a Glock, I have only one a Glock 34 and for me it is a great gun, Glocks are not the best at anything but they offer the best of everything, cheap price, ugly gun but brutally reliable, high capacity, lighter weight, and combat accurate.

I have three Browning High Powers, fit your hand like a glove, take out the magazine safety or have a gunsmith do it for $20 and with or without a little trigger work you have a great single action trigger like a 1911, high cap magazine, very accurate, and as has been posted before served in many armies and wars, reliable combat pistol, altho I would take my Glock into combat because I would not want to scratch or beat up any of my High Powers. I dont care about my Glock.

I have both and carry both. They're equally reliable and accurate.

The Browning is nicer looking gun, but a bit larger.

Either gun will serve you well.