browning high power vs 1911

1911 vs Browning High Power

  • Browning High Power in .40S&W

    Votes: 31 21.8%

  • 1911 in .45acp

    Votes: 111 78.2%
  • Total voters
    142
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mattdus

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2005
Messages
58
Location
Culpeper, Virginia
I love the 1911 but I shot a High power in .40S&W yesterday and loved it.
now I cant decide on which one to purchase for a carry gun. based on over all reliabiliy and ease of use which would you all preffer? I am sure that the 1911 will likely win out but I will give everyone the chance. please post why you like one over the other.
 
This won't help you choose at all, but I went with 1911 because it fits my hand and the hi-power doesn't. I sold my hi power (9mm) last year and don't miss it at all.
 
Til you shoot a 1911 in 10mm you don't know what you're missing :evil:

Here's a Delta and a Razorback:

1911.jpg
 
I love the HP in 9mm as it was meant to be. Not such a fan of it in .40, therefor, I voted for the .45.

Would have gone with the original HP over the 1911 myself.

Either way, you can't go wrong though!
 
I'm not a 40 fan and as BHP & 1911's go, I like'em ALOT. If the choice is between a 40 & a 45, I'd go w/ the 45 ;)
 
That's a choice that's just wrong to have to make. You need both! I have numerous samples of both platforms and while the 1911 is probably my favorite, the BHP in 40 has a reliability and capacity that is a huge challenge to the 1911. The BHP reliability right out of the box is superb... better than the "average" 1911 by far. No bobbles, extractor adjustments, magazine "issues", whatever... they're just solid as a rock. All the BHP really NEEDS is a good trigger job. After that, they really are a superb defense gun and very comfortable to shoot in 40 caliber. I feel very well protected indeed with one of my BHP's loaded with 11 180 gr. Golden Saber rounds. Feel in the hand is amazing, pointability superb, reliability - unsurpassed. Of course the 1911 is really something else again, speaking of which, I've got a gorgeous, reliable, accurate blued Colt XSE government sitting right beside me, standing at the ready... ;)
 
Last edited:
I've always been a huge fan of both the P35 and the 1911 in their original guises.

I've owned a couple of 1911's and a great many HiPowers. All BHP's were 9mm. My personal opinion is the .40 BHP is an abomination. I don't mean anything personal about it, I simply think the BHP is best in 9mm.

If you want a single action semi in .40, consider a CZ SA or a RAMI. They were engineered for .40, not modified to fit.

Regards,
Rabbit.
 
For me it's no contest. The BHP just fits my hand better than any other handgun I've ever fired. And I have to disagree about the .40S&W High Power being an "abomination." FN actually put a fair amount of engineering into it. The slide was actually redesigned for the .40 BHP. It's thicker and heavier than the 9mm's. And most importantly, I don't have to fiddle with the darned link to put the gun back together. :neener:
 
Erinyes has it right on the BHP in Forty... the gun was re-engineered specifically for forty, beefed up for it (thicker slide, three barrel lugs vs. 2, etc.), and handles the caliber with great ease. You wouldn't know this without examining and closely comparing the 9mm HP to the .40 HP... and shooting the forty. I would say the BHP is arguably at least the equal, if not the better of any other forty caliber platform out there. I also have a HP in 9mm and find it a bit of a let down after handling and shooting my two HP's in 40. As I said above, however, the trigger in a Hi Power really needs the touch of an expert like Don Williams (who specializes in Hi-Powers) - once someone like Don has finished with it, the HP trigger is wonderful indeed.
 
Marshall said:
For a carry gun?

The reliable, dependable, non-finicky Hi-Power of course, regardless of 9mm or 40 S&W.
Click to expand...

+1 on the "non finicky" part... we all love our 1911's, but sure do have to put up with a lot of extractor adjustments, magazine issues, etc. I'm constantly amazed at all the functional issues we 1911 lovers put up with for the platform. I have some 1911's which have been trouble free, but also a number of them that have needed coddling or have the occasional bobble.

With the Hi-Power, they just run and run and run... never a bobble in any of mine, just non-finicky reliability from the first round. Makes the 1911 look downright troublesome by comparison. But we sure do love our 1911's, don't we! ;)
 
DHart said:
+1 on the "non finicky" part... we all love our 1911's, but sure do have to put up with a lot of extractor adjustments, magazine issues, etc. I'm constantly amazed at all the functional issues we 1911 lovers put up with for the platform. I have some 1911's which have been trouble free, but also a number of them that have needed coddling or have the occasional bobble.
Click to expand...


The only 1911's I have ever owned that were not 100% reliable out of the box were guns I bought used and someone had "worked" on them.

Every NIB 1911 I've ever had has run 100% reliably.

The problem with 1911's is that everyone thinks they are a gunsmith when they own one.
 
Ohen Cepel said:
I love the HP in 9mm as it was meant to be. Not such a fan of it in .40, therefor, I voted for the .45.

Would have gone with the original HP over the 1911 myself.
Click to expand...

+2

My thoughts exactly. I just don't see a need for .40 when you have great guns in 9MM and .45.
 
Ohen Cepel said:
I love the HP in 9mm as it was meant to be. Not such a fan of it in .40, therefor, I voted for the .45.

Would have gone with the original HP over the 1911 myself.

Either way, you can't go wrong though!
Click to expand...

+3!
 
I went with the 1911 only because the BHP is a .40

Personally, I carry a 1911 and a BHP, seasonally. As the seasons and weather changes, so does my gun. I'm not worried about thick heavy coats in the summertime.
Plus, its an excuse to have both.
 
I don't like the .40 S&W cartridge because of it's design - high pressure with no room for error - and the pistols that chamber them because most were not designed specifically for it but quickly modified to accept it....that being said, if I were to want a .40 caliber pistol, I just might choose the Browning High Power platform (with a couple of modifications to make it more user friendly) because they did design the pistol to handle the cartridge and made sure of it before taking it to market. Note that I do not have any personal experience with the BHP in that caliber but do own one in 9mm.

Between the two, I'd pick the 1911 in .45 for the better trigger and ease of complete disassembly as well as launching a larger bullet at lower pressures. If you want to shoot a bullet similar to the .40, the .45 is available in 185 grains at around 1000 fps from several manufacturers....

Yeah, you might have to change a part or two or tweak this or that depending on who built the 1911, but maintaining a properly set up 1911 is easy to do...you really have to hold your mouth in just the right place and have three hands to be able to completely disassemble and reassemble a BHP - at least thats how it is for me ! Of course, YMMV....

Ken
 
TexasSIGman said:
The only 1911's I have ever owned that were not 100% reliable out of the box were guns I bought used and someone had "worked" on them.

Every NIB 1911 I've ever had has run 100% reliably.

The problem with 1911's is that everyone thinks they are a gunsmith when they own one.
Click to expand...

+1. I too have only experienced problems with 1911s that had been customized.
 
I voted 1911 only because I personally don't care for .40. If the option had been for a BHP in 9mm, that would get my vote.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
Is Browning's Hi-power an improvement over his 1911 design?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
10K
Deanimator
Deanimator
D
  • Locked
  • Poll
Are most of the guys who sing the praises of Browning High Powers 1911 lovers?
2 3
Replies
70
Views
3K
dogtown tom
dogtown tom
T
  • Locked
Costs: Hi-Power vs 1911
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
KodiakBeer
K
D
  • Locked
Any die-hard 1911 fans shifted over to the Browning Hi-Power for defense?
2
Replies
30
Views
5K
Dr.Rob
Dr.Rob
Rexster
  • Locked
  • Poll
Is the Browning High-Power a 1911?
2
Replies
47
Views
3K
chrismc410
C
Back
Top