Browning Hi Power?

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Alex45ACP

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I have recently become interested in Browning Hi Powers after seeing pics like these:

image004.gif

They are such beautiful guns, and their history adds to the coolness.

I currently have a GLOCK 17 and it's a great gun but the Hi Power keeps calling me... :D

So how does the BHP stack up against the G17?

Anyone know where I could acquire a BHP like the one in the picture? Don't see any like that on Gunbroker.com...
 
With a Glock and a HiPower, you're comparing apples and oranges. Both Pamela Anderson and my mother are women, but that's as far as it goes. Find a shop, range or shooter with an HP to try. You won't be disappointed. Mrs. Glock is a great pistol, but who ya gonna go home with???
That looks like Stephen Camp's pistol.
 
That is Mr. Stephen A. Camps Browning Hi-Power taken from www.hipowersandhandguns.com webpage. Read into the webpage and you'll have all the specs on this particular pistol.

Compare the Hi-Power against Glock 17? Here we go again...... I've never owned a Glock 17, but have shot many. Great pistol. I own 3 HP's and would never part with them, period. Probably the greatest pistol ever after the 1911.
 
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Two totally different pistols with too many different features. Each has it's place in the autoloader line of pistols.

I don't own a G17 but have had a G19 and a BHP at the same time.

Both have high cap mags and that's about the only thing in common.

On that note, guess which one I still have. Yup, the BHP. :D
 
The former link was misspelled. Try this one: www.hipowersandhandguns.com

That particular Hi Power of Mr. Camp's has had a fair amount of custom work done -- If I remember correctly, that one has a one-piece Bar-Sto match barrel, S&W adjustable revolver sights, hard chrome finish, bobbed hammer, and (I'm sure) some trigger work.

It would be very difficult to find a HP with those exact custom touches -- especially those sights -- but you could certainly buy a new Hi Power and have done to it whatever you wish. There are many top-name gunsmiths that do some amazing things with these guns, like Don Williams, Ted Yost, Wayne Novak, and many others.

CDNN investments has FN Hi Powers on sale for $399 right now, and they are fantastic. I wrote a review of mine in this forum a little while ago, a search will bring it up.

Give one a try -- I think you'll find that you won't want to put it down. :D

Wes
 
Thanks for the info. Anyone know how much it would cost to get that finish done?

Also, where are the BHPs on CDNN's web site?
 
CDNN doesn't list guns on their website, but if you download their latest catalog, all the guns are in there. The link is at the top right of the main page.
 
CDNN doesn't post their guns directly on their website. However, you can download a PDF of their catalog on their website. ;) Just click "Download newest catalog!" on the right. The Hi Powers are on page 7.

Almost any gunsmith does a Hard Chrome finish... probably the most lauded company that does Hard Chrome is Tripp Research. http://www.trippresearch.com/

Oh, and I found that thread I wrote, if you're interested. There are pics, too. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=146782&highlight=cdnn

Wes
 
There are also factory hard-chrome BHPs

Until a few years ago, Browning offered the Hi-Power in a hard chrome finish. They're rare, but if you have time, you'll see one come up for sale eventually.
 
A couple of years ago I was shooting a Glock 17 and BHP alternately. Both were reliable, but I never could shoot the Glock very well--couldn't get used to the "breaking green twig" trigger. The BHP's trigger, although not up to that of a good 1911, was a lot easier for me to manage.

I finally dumped the Glock and have never missed it.

The BHP was one of the Israeli Mk. IIIs with black enamel finish. Not fancy, but looks like what it is--a no-nonsense working gun. Installed a C&S LH safety, removed the mag safety, replaced the missing lanyard loop stud and ring, and put on Spegel delrin stocks. It's still "only" a 9mm, but an awfully good one, with infinitely more class than Tupperware.
 
Are the BHPs reliable? What kind of things need to be done to make these guns into good home defense/occassional carry guns?

Also, what is the difference between the "Belgian FN Hi Powers" and the "FN Hi Power SFS MK III"?
 
If you have experienced much of the world of 1911's, you will be thrilled with the reliability of Hi-Powers. I have three: two forties (one silver chrome, one high polished blue), and a 9mm FN. They are all boringly reliable. The trigger pull is the weakest element of the guns, but if you get a good action job from someone like Don Williams, you can have a great 4.5# trigger which is a huge improvement over stock.
 
That's good. One thing I love about my G17 is that it goes bang every time. It's just that it was my first pistol and now I want to move onto something I can add lots of parts to and customize, which you can't really do with GLOCKS. What performance upgrades do you recommend in terms of modifications, sights, etc? Also, what is wrong with the stock trigger pull? Finally, I have heard lots of people talk about removing the mag safety on HPs. What exactly does the mag safety do?
 
The mag disconnect on the BHP prevents the gun from being fired if the mag is removed. Personally, I don't like the feature and it also adds a little drag to the trigger, so I remove that part from my BHPs.

Sounds to me like you're ready for a 1911... thats the gun for the gun lover who wants to customize. Browning Hi-Powers can certainly be customized, of course, but I find they're pretty much perfect once they've had a trigger job and perhaps night sights. I really think you're ready for a 1911! The options for customizing them are mind boggling.

Consider a Colt 1911. In my view, while there are some other nice 1911's, there is no other 1911 in the same league as the original, the Colt. Here's one I had customized recently... I think it's drop dead stunning as a 1911... And Colts, if you don't know, are probably the most reliable right out-of-the-box 1911 make there is. They're built with the proper tolerances for reliability more than for anything else.

1991A1_LFT_4951b.jpg


1991A1_RFT_4958b.jpg
 
Wow, that is a beautiful gun. Something like that will have to be my next purchase. I don't want to move up to anything like that quite yet since I'm still a gun newbie :D

So I guess the plan is now to get a Hi Power from CDNN and send it off somewhere to be chromed, then add some night sights, remove magazine safety and have someone work on the trigger :)
 
I've owned the MKIII model (FN) and currently own one with the Browning rollmark. As previously stated, the guns are boringly reliable. I reload and shoot a lot and I've never had either one fail to do anything but accurately throw bullets downrange. As you read up on these, you'll hear about the trigger and the magazine safety feature. I once owned a FEG clone of a Hi-Power that had what might have been the world's worst trigger on it. Removed the magazine safety (easily done) and the trigger vastly improved. With the two MKIII models I've owned, however, I think the triggers are fine and elected to leave them as-is. The magazine safety function creates what I regard as a two stage trigger type of pull. As you pull the trigger back a short distance, the safety engages and then the trigger "stops." It's then an easy, short, crisp pull to fire the gun. Not a tricked-out 1911 trigger, but mine have been too good to mess with. Point is: don't automatically (as I did when I bought my first one) think you have to get a trigger job. Another thing about the pistols is ergonomics. They're narrow, and are comfortable to use.

Here's another source:

http://forums.1911forum.com/forumdisplay.php?daysprune=45&f=15
 
now I want to move onto something I can add lots of parts to and customize
Click to expand...
Alternatively, you could just use $10 bills as cleaning patches for your Glock. :D
 
Also, what is the difference between the "Belgian FN Hi Powers" and the "FN Hi Power SFS MK III"?
Click to expand...

The "Belgian FN Hi Powers" are Single-Action variants (as originally designed), and the "FN HI Power SFS MkIII" is the same thing, but with the SFS system installed. SFS stands for "Safe Fast Shooting," or something like that... some like it, some don't. I personally prefer the original Single-Action.

With SFS, you push the hammer forward with your thumb, and it drops down and automatically engages the safety. When you flip the safety off, the hammer pops back into the cocked position. It's basically for people who are freaked out by cocked and locked carry, or who just like gizmos. :D

It's still essentially a single-action, just with more parts. :uhoh:

Wes
 
Over the years, next to my 3 45acps (which are my first loves), I have owned the following 9mm pistols: Beretta 92F, S&W 5906, Ruger P-89, Glock 17, Taurus PT92.

About 6 years ago, I bought a Belgian Hi-Power and since then, have sold all of my other 9mms. There is simply no reason for me to own any other 9mm pistol. The Hi-Power has been the most accurate, comfortable and reliable 9mm hi-cap pistol I have ever shot. It is also slim and easy to carry and is all steel.

After removing the mag safety and doing some trigger work, the HP has really become a thing of beauty. I have all the confidence in the world in this pistol. It is extremely well made and a joy to shoot. For the life of me, I don't know why everybody fools around with those awful d/a 9mms with their clubby grips, ugly, blocky looks and awful, crunch-tick triggers...the Hi-Power has all of them beat..I have owned some of the more popular ones...I should know.

Not all other hi-cap 9s are awful; the Sig 226 and CZ-75 are nice, but lose points with their d/a triggers.

Yep, when I am not shooting/carrying a 1911, the Hi-Power really does it for me and is the ONLY 9mm hi-cap pistol I will ever own again.

-Brickboy240
 
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