Browning Hi-power thoughts?

[Marshall]

It was tagged at $750. Is this reasonable? The ones on GB seem to be $850ish, but AIM surplus was selling them for $400, and new MkIIIs are under $700. I'm so confused.

I find used, sight-unseen, real hard to comment on when it comes to price for obvious reasons. In my opinion, the new MKIII's being sold for $689.00 are the ticket.

 

[rellascout]

NIB from CDNN for $689+ shipping is transfer is the benchmark IMHO. I personally prefer the fixed sight guns. The older all Belgian guns are great and have greater atheistic value, they are more often blued vs black poly and are normally internally and externally very well crafted, but if you are looking for a shooter than the MKIII with the cast frames are more durable.

So $750+ tax used is too much unless it is a really nice looking gun....

 

[SSN Vet]

CDNN is the place to go..

but you have to subscribe to their specials e-mail and then call for price.

Polished blue with Walnut grips 75th anniversary edition is $750 and is a beautiful piece.

 

[Tbdomenz]

Bear with me. I have pics but not the physical pistols at this moment so where exactly do i look for the horiz ripples and when did the MK III's appear? Is there a manual online somewhere? I may want to strip them to check for wear but not sure how to disassemble and/or what to look for. I may get my mits on these again in the near future so any assistance would be welcome ! Thanks.

 

[Marshall]

The bottom of the Magazine well. You can see them and feel them.

Seriously, read this site and you can learn about all you desire.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/HiPowerComments.html

Hi Power manual........
http://media.browning.com/pdf/om/hipowermanual.pdf

 

[jaysouth]

You want the one with the CAST frame. It is usually identified by the tiny ribs on the butt.

FN wanted a stronger frame to accomodate .40. They went from forged to cast.

 

[Voland]

I have to agree. The BHP is my #1 9mm. Yes, there are glocks, and sigs and berettas and about 100 others. BHP fits my hand the most, its a proven design. Shot one side by side with a glock or whatever else you want, I bet I know what you will pick...

V.

 

[Tbdomenz]

I was able to scare up a coupla pics on the BHP's I'm interested in. The black grip BHP is the 1989 pistol and the brown wood BHP is the 1979 pistol. The brown wood grip pic is kinda fuzzy but that's all i have :|
I need to get a good look at them in person but for now , would anyone care to hazard a guess as to their market value?
thanks
Tom in 60193

Hmm, no pics
OK here we go!

 

[KodiakBeer]

I'd say $400 to $500 is a good price for a vintage Hi Power in good condition. Perhaps more if it's a T series or has some fancy sights or something - those aren't/don't.

If you buy one and shoot it alongside the Glock you've ordered, you'll "get it" pretty quick. There are things you can do with a Hi Power that you can't do with a squirt gun trigger. You'll shoot better with the Hi Power.

 

[rellascout]

These guns appear to be nicer than the Israeli guns. Double check that these are not Israeli imports. Lots of people are trying to sell these as commerical hi powers. If they are Israeli guns then they are worth no more than $400.

I would say the older 1979 BHP is $500 and the 1989 is a $550 gun if they are in LNIB to excellent condition. The newer one will handle +P ammo better than the old one due to its cast frame. The newer MKIII with have an ambi safety, modern sights and sight cuts so to change those to night sights will be cheaper. The older gun will more than likely have a nicer blued finish vs the black epoxy of the standard MKIIIs.

 

[Tbdomenz]

"These guns appear to be nicer than the Israeli guns. Double check that these are not Israeli imports. "

The owner is asking $500 for the black grip and $600 for the Wood grip.
The "negotiator in me" says both for $900.
Anything in particular that's a deal breaker? Wear points? crack locations?
What should I look for? What will tell me they are Israeli origin?
Learnin as fast as I can I appreciate the info and education !
Tom in 60193

 

[rellascout]

"These guns appear to be nicer than the Israeli guns. Double check that these are not Israeli imports. "

The owner is asking $500 for the black grip and $600 for the Wood grip.
The "negotiator in me" says both for $900.
Anything in particular that's a deal breaker? Wear points? crack locations?
What should I look for? What will tell me they are Israeli origin?
Learnin as fast as I can I appreciate the info and education !

At those prices he is being more than fair. If he is a friend I would not feel good about ripping him off. Offering him $900 for both is ripping him off IMHO. That is about $100 to $150 below what they are worth. If you must haggle offer $1000 for both and you are both getting a fair deal. IMHO

You will know they are an Israeli import if they have a PW arms import stand on the front of the slide on left side of the gun.

You want to check the gun for rattling. If they are loose in the slide that can be an indicator of a lot of +p rounds down the pipe. You also want to look at the lock lugs. They are also a wear point. Most are very durable and will last a long time if you change out the springs.

 

[Marshall]

You're right, the pics are terrible. The two guns probably look better in person than they do in those pics.

Here's what I would ask myself.....

Would I rather have a NIB MKIII for $189.00 more?

Would I rather have a NIB 75th Anniversary Standard for $150.00 more.

(NIB = New in Box)

This all goes out the window when these NIB prices dry up.

 

[KodiakBeer]

The Israeli's came off the same production line as the Browning's - both were made by FN in Belgium. The Israeli's are a little cheaper right now because a bunch of police trade ins are on the market.

Generally, Israeli's (or any military production) will just be marked Fabrique Nationale (FN), while civilian pistols made for the American market are marked Browning. They are the same guns made by FN for different markets.

 

[otisrush]

I'll "give back" a few very helpful comments I recently received when I was trying to decide on purchasing a Glock or Hi Power. (I know that's not necessarily your decision point.)

I think it really comes down to *why* you want a semi. Range use? Something to have in your collection? CCW? I concluded if the goal is CCW, for a number or reasons, a Glock or something similar wins hands down:
* Overall reliability
* Ability to handle higher performance loads
* Safety in carrying a chambered round - not needing "condition one"

In *my* case I was looking for something that 1) carried some of those classic lines/characteristics (such as steel and wood), 2) something I could use at the range for fun and accuracy, and 3) specifically *not* used for CCW.

I ended up with a new Hi Power and, while I was happy when I purchased, that satisfaction has only grown. Every time I shoot it I love it more. But my only goals with it are 1) to own a little history and 2) shoot paper and cans. If I never put something hotter than a lite 115gr FMJ through it I'll be happy.

Various pieces either grab you or they don't. As someone else said - that's why it's great to have so many options.

OR

 

[rellascout]

The Israeli's came off the same production line as the Browning's - both were made by FN in Belgium. The Israeli's are a little cheaper right now because a bunch of police trade ins are on the market.

Generally, Israeli's (or any military production) will just be marked Fabrique Nationale (FN), while civilian pistols made for the American market are marked Browning. They are the same guns made by FN for different markets.

Type and quality of the finish will vary based on contract. The configuration of parts may also vary from one contract to another. Yes they do run off the same lines but that does not mean that they are the same gun. Also depending on the date the FN guns were actually assembled in Portugual right next to the Browning ones.

The biggest problem is that the actual condition of the gun is very hard to determine without looking at them in person. Site unseen from one of the big clearing houses type sellers like Robertson could lead to dissapointment. For $100 to have a gun you can inspect in person, know the history of and approx round count of is worth the extra $$$ to me. YMMV

 

[rellascout]

Would I rather have a NIB 75th Anniversary Standard for $150.00 more.

The standards with fixed sights at CDNN were gone almost immediately. IIRC there were only a handful. The adjustable sight and black poly finish are still available last time I checked.

 

[JohnBT]

I love the BHP.

To be completely honest, some people will need to bob the hammer spur a quarter of an inch. It was easy for me to manage it and a dab of cold blue finished the job. This was a new MkIII 9mm btw.

To be totally completely honest...

Can you manage an 8-pound trigger pull? It's a service pistol. You have to want to fire it. A little hand polishing, and shooting it, got mine down to 6.5# or so.

Fragile? Ha.

John

 

[joe_security]

I have a '75 Belgium made BHP with adjustable sights and the pachmayr grips still on it from back in the day. The stock "red back" wood grips are still in the paper pachmayr box. It belonged to a dear friend thats no longer around so to say its a keeper would be a major understatement. I value it above and beyond any tupperware/"squirt gun" trigger gun that I may have.

 

[JustKen]

A lot of what sells people on the HP is the absurdly high level of craftsmanship of the FNH factory. You just don't see that all that much any more, excepting some of the old Colts, Walthers, and such. And when you do it's likely an antique or custom made pistol that costs a fortune.

 

[KodiakBeer]

The biggest problem is that the actual condition of the gun is very hard to determine without looking at them in person. Site unseen from one of the big clearing houses type sellers like Robertson could lead to dissapointment.

Robertson's offers a seven day no-questions-asked return policy. Shipping is $10 each way, so you'd be out $20 if you didn't like it. Not a bad deal for a $379 FN Hi Power.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Not sure how you get a $10 shipping on a handgun. Fedex and UPS have ridiculous next day policies on handguns, and that translates to up to $90 if you live far, far away. Individuals cannot mail a handgun back to a distributor, so that means returning it to the dealer, who may also tack on another transfer fee, but CAN mail the gun back to the distributor.

 

[zombie44]

I just picked one up today!

Here's some pics:

This was a recent trade-in, it wasn't shot very much it appears so I had to make it mine Does anyone know if Hi-Powers can typically handle CCI Blazer 115gr AL cased ammo? My S&W 5906 feeds it no problem but I've heard some semi's have problems with this particular ammo. The gun feels great and feels like a real quality piece all around!

 

[rellascout]

This was a recent trade-in, it wasn't shot very much it appears so I had to make it mine Does anyone know if Hi-Powers can typically handle CCI Blazer 115gr AL cased ammo? My S&W 5906 feeds it no problem but I've heard some semi's have problems with this particular ammo. The gun feels great and feels like a real quality piece all around!

Did you pick that one up used? Nice... You should not have any issue with AL cased ammo.

 

[rellascout]

Not sure how you get a $10 shipping on a handgun. Fedex and UPS have ridiculous next day policies on handguns, and that translates to up to $90 if you live far, far away. Individuals cannot mail a handgun back to a distributor, so that means returning it to the dealer, who may also tack on another transfer fee, but CAN mail the gun back to the distributor.

You can ship USPS if you are a FFL you can ship priority mail. Flat rate boxes are the way to go.