Friends Don't Let Friends....

[Rexrider]

...shoot Hipoints.

This has always been my motto. Now, keep in mind I have never held one yet alone shot one. But hey, I have been shooting for 20 yrs so I know what I am talking about. Right? I mean come on, after all this time and handling countless firearms I should practically be an expert on this....right?

I think I got schooled on Hipoints yesterday.

My friend, his two sons, and I when out to the desert to do some target shooting with all our new Christmas toys. What does his one boy show up with? A Hipoint 9mm. I was astounded! I mean really....a Hipoint!!??

I look at my friend with shock and dismay. You got him a Hipoint? He replied "that is what he wanted, he used his own Christmas money for it." He then said "And don't even bust his butt about it, you still have that nickel plated back shooter you bought like 15 yrs ago. You know darn well you would have bought one of these back in the day when you were broke."

Busted...

See, I try not to be a gun snob. I remember how hard it was years ago to come up with money for firearms and ammo. And yes, in a moment of weakness I bought a nickel-plated Jennings .22. To make matters worse I was not even broke when I bought it. Which my friend loves to remind me of every time I break out a $1K rifle. The first time he saw the Jennings he immediately called it a "nickel plated back shooter".

So there I am. Holding a Hipoint in my hand. First thing I notice.... after the huge honking 2 by 4 of a slide, is the grip is actually kind of nice. Yeah, its plastic and all but it actually fits in my hand. It is lighter then I thought. It looks like it should weigh more than an anvil.

"How does it shoot?", I ask. My Friend replies "Dude, it ain't like my H&K or your SA, but you can hit a pie plate at 20 yds all day long". Huh...go figure. I mean really...I would have thought the bullets went sideways.

So down the trail and over the wash to BLM land we go. We set up our targets, set up a firing line and break out the firearms. Eyes and ears, check. Range is hot.

I see the boy with his Hipoint 9mm. Shooting at said pie plate at about 20 yds. You could see the concentration, as he set his stance and focused on the sights. It took everything I had not to yell, "You'll shoot your eye out kid!" Bang! One dead pie plate. He then sees me watching him and gives a smirk of pride only a 16 year old could give. He then proceeds to hit that evil pie plate with every round in the mag. He steps back from the line to reload, beaming with pride and that damn smirk.

Then he asked if I wanted to shoot it. What? ME? There is my Godson asking me if I want to shoot his Hipoint (never saw that coming all these years). In an instant of indecision, that smirk reappeared on his face and he says, "go ahead, I know you want to." Why you little....

So there I am, holding a loaded Hipoint. I bring the colored sights up to the target. Huh, the sights are not great but I have seen worse. They are not made for precision work but they do seem very visible. I start applying pressure to the trigger. Expecting a trigger pull equal to a hydraulic press....bang...wait...what...I was not ready...dirt kicks up below pie plate. The kid yells "low...don't worry, it's you, not the gun". I am so going to beat this kid back at the house. The trigger was not bad. Certainly no worse than my Glocks. Definitely not a 1911 but not all the hard to work with. I worked the rest of the rounds into the pie plate.

My friend walks over, "not that bad, huh?" "Better then that nickel plated back shooter of yours."

I felt so owned.

So there it is. My personal experience with a $150 Highpoint. The moral of the story? Don't judge what you have never experienced or at the very least witnessed.

Bottom line. If all you have is $150, I guess a Highpoint is about your best option. My first recommendation would still be to save up enough to get into the $300 range. BUT, if all you have is $150 and want/need a handgun, then there you go.

Oops, almost forgot to mention. That thing never jammed the whole time we were out there. I don't know how many rounds were fired since I was not counting but it was being fired all the time. And yes, I did fire off a few more mags. There was nothing left of that pie plate.

Disclaimer:
1. Portions of this post are tongue-in-cheek for entertainment purposes.

2. My friends two sons to not have access to their firearms. Firearms are locked up and can only be handled with adult supervision. They will not have access to their firearms until they are of legal age.

3. I did not beat my Godson when we returned to the house. He bribed me with homemade Christmas cookies upon our arrival. Although that smirk of his never really went away.

 

[10-Ring]

No! No! No! I reject you totally! There is no way that high point has any redeeming qualities! If I didn't know better, I'd expect you to say "April Fools!" Just kidding
But, hey, whatever works, right

 

[wally]

They were $136 at todays gun show. I've seen a few on the firing line at our range, never remember seeing anyone futzing with a jam, they usually seem to work out of the box, unlike most Jennings.

--wally.

 

[1911 guy]

Seems to follow general opinion.

Most folks who have them say two things that your post also says.

1) They are butt ugly.
2) They work.

Eh. For 150 bucks, that's not bad.

 

[gbran]

My son bought a Firestorm 1911(Commander sized). This gun is rock solid dependable, as accurate as many more expensive models. Go figure.

 

[CajunBass]

Welcome to the light brother. It's ok. You're among friends here. You too can admit that you've shot a Hi-Point. We all understand because we've been there too.

I got one (C-9) a couple of years ago to see if they were as bad as "everyone" said they were.

They're not. Not bad at all for $150.00 or so.

The next step is to get one of your very own.

 

[History Prof]

The fella at my local gun shop says they're his best sellers. He tells me basically everything y'all have said here. They're ugly. They work. They're affordable. I'd never touch one, but I think its great that the peones have something they can afford so that the hacendado isn't the only one armed.

 

[StrikeEagle]

LOL!! What a great story, delightfully written.

You had me smiling and laughing out loud at the comp. You're a very good writer and you seem like great guy. Thanks for sharing the fun of the day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

[Avenger]

One of my friends has their new .45, couldn't tell you the model name for the life of me. He shoots BETTER with it than his Glock.
For an "Oh poop, the BG is in the bedroom" gun, they aren't bad.

 

[SniperStraz]

I've heard it from alot of people...

...but never told as well as you did. Sounds like I may need to pick one of those up as a "beat up" or trunk gun. All the best.

 

[Warren]

When I was dead broke and wanting a gun I searched around the net for a long while looking at people's opinions of their Hi-Points.

What I found was that the vast majority of owners were VERY happy with their purchase.

I also found that the most negativity came from those that had never even bothered to fire one.

Turned out I didn't buy one as the grip was too big for my hand. Way to funky of a hold for me.

And I'm right there with History Prof on the other value of these weapons.

 

[Dionysusigma]

I'm debating whether to get one. I need a reliable, inexpensive, centerfire plinker, so the 9mm "Compensated" (really just a barrel weight) model sounds like the one.

Has anybody tried the .45 version, though? From the sounds of it and the pictures, they're huge, but I have never actually seen one.

 

[CajunBass]

They're big, but they're not a Desert Eagle or anything like that. The weight is about the same as an all steel 1911, but of course the Hi-Point is a polymer framed pistol. They feel heavier than they are because most of the weight is up top so the balance is kind of funny.

I like the 9mm one better but I admit I've never shot the 40-45. A lot of people say they're ugly, I think they look functional. The grip is very comfortable to my hand. I've got about 2,000 rounds through mine, and it's had a half dozen or so malfunctions (jams) in that time.

For more information on Hi-Points go to.

http://hipoint.7.forumer.com/

 

[Rexrider]

I finally had a chance to get back to this thread.

StrikeEagle, thanks for the compliment. Funny thing is I hate writing (love to read though). But every once in a great while life hands me something I just have to share.

My friend and I talked about the "value" of the Hipoint after we got back his house. My impression of the Hipoint was it is like the SKS of handguns (I own 2 Yugos). He is considering getting one for himself. His garage/shop is separate from his house and he wants to keep something in there. But not one of his $500+ handguns. Not a bad choice for something that will be left in a tool cart.

It's like buying one of those cheap tool kits at Wal-Mart or Target. If you wrench on cars all day long you would never even thing about buying them. But if you need something to turn a bolt or nut around the house every once in a while, it will do the job just as well as a fancy Snap-On tool.

Or maybe it's something a 16 year old can afford for his first handgun and enjoy shooting with his dad. That's priceless.

 

[Caimlas]

There are four reasons I've not gotten a hipoint (reverse order):

1) It's as ugly as sin, what with its contoured stock and receiver.
2) It's too lightweight.
3) It doesn't have a good fit for me, personally, while shouldering, and feels awkward while carrying it (which may be related to weight).
4) It feels like its made out of fragile, brittle plastic and looks like it'd crack at 20F



But, even still, at $150 dollars, it's somewhat tempting. Drop the price $50, or fix one of the above, and I'd buy it without a second thought - and honestly, they'd probably fix 3 out of 4 by simply making the furniture out of a slightly more pliable, denser plastic.

 

[Avenger]

The new .45 IS huge. Feels good though, not unbalanced or anything. Yes, the accuracy drops off after 30 feet or so, but this isn't a gun for target shooting, it's a basic home protection gun. Asking for cloverleafs at 50 feet is like asking for a Cavalier to run with a ZO6.

 

[DMK]

I think it's great that an American company can make a really low cost firearm that isn't a piece of garbage and actually works reliably. And that's probably all that really matters. It's a tool right?

But man, do they intentionally make those things as ugly as sin? I mean, they've been making these things for years. They can't hire someone who appreciates aesthetics to clean them up a bit? It took ATI of all companies to make a stock for the carbines so people can now look at them without wincing.

I'd buy a couple of them, but I like guns that look cool. There, I admit it.


Cool story BTW.

 

[lawson]

i had a very similar experience to yours, RexRider. an aquaintance of mine is a single mother of two who does not receive child support. she works and takes community college classes via the internet. she does not have a large ammount of income. after a harrowing experience being followed home from her waitressing job, she decided to buy a handgun.

she calls me up and asks if i'll show her the ropes. i agree, and we meet at the local range. she pulls her new gun out, a HiPoint 9mm pistol. i'm willing to give any gun a chance, but honestly i didn't have very high expectations. because of her situation, it was pretty much the only thing she could afford. she purchased the compact model, which uses 8 round magazines and is just about the ugliest handgun in creation.

i showed her how to load the magazines and chamber a round, and she insisted i shoot the first magazine. it went bang 8 times in a row, and all shots went center of mass. trigger pull wasn't too bad, and the weight of the gun made recoil practically nonexistant. compared to my S&W Sigma 9mm (the cheapest handgun i own), the hipoint held it's own. the hipoint jammed up a couple times during that session, but only twice in 100 rounds fired through it that day. for the money, it gets the job done.

would i buy one? probably not, but i have better guns. if i was in a similar monetary situation and needed a handgun, i most likely would.

 

[Deer Hunter]

Finally, some of you guys are starting to see!

My favorite gun shop can't keep hipoints in stock. They sell every kind of pistol under the sun, but it's the hipoints that sell. Last time I was there, I got to hold one. It seemed nice, and I'm sure the low price tag scares a lot of people away, but I would buy one no questions asked. They just got 8 of them in that day, and he told me that most of them were spoken for.

I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes bullets that arn't fired from a Sig, 1911, or HK can kill people. I know it's hard to believe, but it's a fact of life that everyone will have to come to grips with.

 

[Prince Yamato]

$130 and LIFETIME warantee. That alone probably means that the gun will work. I mean, heck, it's hard to screw up a direct blow-back pistol. I don't own one, but if I needed a cheap pistol, I'd consider one.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, really cheap pot metal revolvers are junk, but you can find a pot metal auto that's got redeeming qualities, it seems. I know my HP22 is very accurate and there are some other things I like about it, though it's not close to the top of my favorite guns list. It ain't rock bottom in my collection, either, though. But, it's kinda cool lookin'. No matter how hard I try, I cannot make a Hi Point appeal to my sense of aesthetics. IOW, it's BUTT FUGLY. I've not seen the owner of one yet complain about how it works. But, I've always preferred affordable firearms and I can't bring myself to own a Hi Point. Rugers, Tauri, Rossis, SURE, but if I look at a Hi Point, I risk losing my appetite. Sheesh! It's no Bryco, that's for sure, but it's not exactly a P08 Luger, either. LOL! I wouldn't discourage someone buying one, though, because everyone that I've ever heard about that actually OWNED one said they were very functional. I wouldn't carry one, striker fired and I would only feel safe carrying it in condition three. That's not how a fighting handgun should be carried. But, as a range toy, if you don't shoot with friends who would chide you too much, I guess they'd work.

 

[3rdpig]

Personally I don't care for them but I've got this theory, it goes something like this.

"Any gun in the hands of a law abiding citizen is a good thing."

That includes the single mom who wants to protect herself and the 16 year old who wants to have his own gun to shoot.

I couldn't care less what it's made of or how ugly it is. The less expensive the better, let's get one into the hands of every good citizen we can. If it goes bang and can hit a bad guy at 30 feet that's all it needs to be. The more gun owning citizens we have the safer we'll be, the harder the .gov will find it to pass gun control or other oppressive laws and the more likely that foreign nations will decide that "there's a rifle behind every blade of grass" is still true today.

Yes, it's a very good thing. My hat's off to Hipoint. I may buy one just to show my support for their philosophy.

 

[MikePGS]

I'd never heard of Hi-Point before this post, so i looked them up. WOW those are ugly guns! but really, its not like its a beauty contest, right?

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Originally posted by Rexrider:
[...] Bottom line. If all you have is $150, I guess a Highpoint is about your best option. My first recommendation would still be to save up enough to get into the $300 range. BUT, if all you have is $150 and want/need a handgun, then there you go. [...]

I've been saying this for years, some of it on this very forum.

 

[marshall3]

Lots of Hi-Point Info here...

Here's a link to Hi-Point Link Central,

http://www.mouseguns.com/hipoint/hipoint.htm