I became a first time Hi Point owner yesterday after a couple of years of reluctance. Of course I had heard that if you even looked at a Hi Point it would probably explode in your face and cause great shame on all your ancestors. Finally decided to jump in and bought a 995TS 9mm carbine (basic model with peep sights). Took it to the range yesterday afternoon and must say that I am thoroughly impressed. Below are some of my observations:
1) Weight and Balance - The rifle is very comfortable to hold and I'm able to move and aquire targets with it very quickly.
2) Teardown - A bit cumbersome but not too bad. They're a couple of very good vids on YouTube that made the process pretty easy.
3) Trigger - I was concered at first as I've heard the triggers on these can be pretty horrible. I must say that the trigger on mine is very smooth. It may be a little spongey but it breaks clean and consistent. For this rifle's intended purpose I'm very satisfied with its trigger.
4) Fit and Finish - Everything fit very well on the rifle. Take down and reassembly went very smoothly. The finish on some of the internal parts was very rough. Almost like some of the parts had been cut out with a hacksaw. I don't think any of these "rough spots" are in areas where it will matter and I don't plan to loose any sleep over it.
5) Magazine - Here's where I had some initial concern. I tried loading some dummy rounds into the mag (when I first got it home) and couldn't get more than a couple in without them beginning to line up incorrectly (nose dive primarily). I disassembled the mag and found the spring to not be seated properly on the bottom of the follower. I reinstalled it correctly and seems better now. The mag still seems kind of rough but I had no feeding issues out of it whatsoever. I did find that giving the mag a tap on my hand after loading really helped line up the rounds nicely. That's a habit I'm in with all my autoloaders anyway. I'd heard that the mags can get stuck while inserting if you try pushing them at the wrong angle. This did happen a couple of times. Not really a big deal. Just pay attention when inserting and no problem.
6) Sights - I love peep sights and have them on a few other rifles. These are very nice and easily adjustable. May consider a red dot at some point but not quite yet.
7) Accuracy - After sighting the rifle in (which didn't take too long) I was able to shoot 2 inch groups at 50 yards (off a sandbag of course. I'm not that good a shot) I was very pleased with this especially using iron sights. Closer in (25 yards) I was able to hit multiple 3 inch targets making fast transitions very easily. The limiting factor with this rifle in terms of practial accuracy will most definately be the operator and not the equipment. Very impressed.
8) Function - I fired 200 rounds with no malfunctions whatsoever. I did have one time where the first round failed to chamber when I cycled the action but that was operator error. The manual clearly indicates to pull the charging handle all the way back and let it sling forward on its own. If you don't pull the bolt far enough back or ride it forward with your hand there is the potential of mischambering the round. Other than my mistake, the rifle was perfect. (100 - Remington UMC 115gr / 50 - American Eagle 124gr / 50 Remington UMC 147gr)
The only negative I've found so far is the charging handle being on the left side. It feels akward to me but its just going to take time to get used to.
I couldn't be more pleased with my first Hi Point experience. You know, I would agree at first with many who say this carbine is an ugly piece of equipment but the more I look at it the more attractive it becomes. Kind of like that "ugly" girl in high school that looked better and better the more you saw her. If you're considering one of their carbines but are holding back because of a lot of the Hi Point negativity you've seen online I would encourage you to go ahead and jump in. I can't imagine finding a better "bang for the buck" for this type of firearm.
1) Weight and Balance - The rifle is very comfortable to hold and I'm able to move and aquire targets with it very quickly.
2) Teardown - A bit cumbersome but not too bad. They're a couple of very good vids on YouTube that made the process pretty easy.
3) Trigger - I was concered at first as I've heard the triggers on these can be pretty horrible. I must say that the trigger on mine is very smooth. It may be a little spongey but it breaks clean and consistent. For this rifle's intended purpose I'm very satisfied with its trigger.
4) Fit and Finish - Everything fit very well on the rifle. Take down and reassembly went very smoothly. The finish on some of the internal parts was very rough. Almost like some of the parts had been cut out with a hacksaw. I don't think any of these "rough spots" are in areas where it will matter and I don't plan to loose any sleep over it.
5) Magazine - Here's where I had some initial concern. I tried loading some dummy rounds into the mag (when I first got it home) and couldn't get more than a couple in without them beginning to line up incorrectly (nose dive primarily). I disassembled the mag and found the spring to not be seated properly on the bottom of the follower. I reinstalled it correctly and seems better now. The mag still seems kind of rough but I had no feeding issues out of it whatsoever. I did find that giving the mag a tap on my hand after loading really helped line up the rounds nicely. That's a habit I'm in with all my autoloaders anyway. I'd heard that the mags can get stuck while inserting if you try pushing them at the wrong angle. This did happen a couple of times. Not really a big deal. Just pay attention when inserting and no problem.
6) Sights - I love peep sights and have them on a few other rifles. These are very nice and easily adjustable. May consider a red dot at some point but not quite yet.
7) Accuracy - After sighting the rifle in (which didn't take too long) I was able to shoot 2 inch groups at 50 yards (off a sandbag of course. I'm not that good a shot) I was very pleased with this especially using iron sights. Closer in (25 yards) I was able to hit multiple 3 inch targets making fast transitions very easily. The limiting factor with this rifle in terms of practial accuracy will most definately be the operator and not the equipment. Very impressed.
8) Function - I fired 200 rounds with no malfunctions whatsoever. I did have one time where the first round failed to chamber when I cycled the action but that was operator error. The manual clearly indicates to pull the charging handle all the way back and let it sling forward on its own. If you don't pull the bolt far enough back or ride it forward with your hand there is the potential of mischambering the round. Other than my mistake, the rifle was perfect. (100 - Remington UMC 115gr / 50 - American Eagle 124gr / 50 Remington UMC 147gr)
The only negative I've found so far is the charging handle being on the left side. It feels akward to me but its just going to take time to get used to.
I couldn't be more pleased with my first Hi Point experience. You know, I would agree at first with many who say this carbine is an ugly piece of equipment but the more I look at it the more attractive it becomes. Kind of like that "ugly" girl in high school that looked better and better the more you saw her. If you're considering one of their carbines but are holding back because of a lot of the Hi Point negativity you've seen online I would encourage you to go ahead and jump in. I can't imagine finding a better "bang for the buck" for this type of firearm.
