Hi-Point pistols....love them, hate them? Your experience?

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rkmitchell

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The sub-$200 Hi-point pistols.....been poring through the youtube videos.

Funny how some of the guys who initially hated them have come around to like them for what they are.....useful, "social distance" powerhouses that double real well as a hammer once the ammo is gone!

(Like that phrase "social distance"....gotta remember that one)

I usually carry a wheelgun.....Taurus .38 packed with +P nasties, but haven't owned an auto since I parted with my CZ-75 in a weak moment.

Your thoughts?
 
You get what you pay for.

If all I could afford was a $200 pistol then I would do it but you can pick up something like a used Glock, M&P, or even a Ruger P89 for not a whole lot more.
 
great drop gun to plant after bad people break in.


what.... i can't be the only one to think that
 
They are big and clunky, kinda like a hammer. However, I would guess their pot metal doesn't hold up all that well for driving nails.
 
they're kind of like a tool you buy from harbor freight. They work but lack elegance. They'll get the job done but you won't want to show it off to your friends. That said, I have the 45 and if someone offered to pay me what i paid for it new I wouldn't sell it.
 
Have you tried to get a Glock or M&P over the past few weeks or so? This may be a case of "beggars can't be choosers." Besides, most of the reports I've heard are very good.
 
I have several of them along with a 9mm carbine.
They all work fine and are fun to shoot for newbs and old fellas alike.
 
I'm with moose on this one... (I have the .45) is it really heavy? yes. is it ugly? YUP? Does it shoot everything under the sun that I feed her ? YUP!!! I have plenty of other handguns to shoot but when I head to the range she comes with me. I call her the warthog hehe so far she has over 5k and no signs of slowing down anytime soon hehe
 
SleazyRider said:
Have you tried to get a Glock or M&P over the past few weeks or so? This may be a case of "beggars can't be choosers." Besides, most of the reports I've heard are very good.
I am not going to argue with you over a $200 gun because nobody wins. If that is where you want to spend your money then go for it. My experience as a range officer at a public range where I see lots of guns is that you have a poor chance of getting one that is reliable.

For a range toy, I could maybe see it. They are accurate but I can't sit here and let somebody purchase something that could not be trusted for defense.

There is a slightly used Glock at the local pawn shop right now. Asking price is a little high but so is everything in this market. I paid $315 for a used G17 at the same shop in mid 2012.
 
All I can say is that in limited experience I found the Hi-Poings very reliable and reasonably accurate. Despite remarks like "boat anchor" (which seem to come mostly from people who have never fired one and sometimes never seen one), I would concur with the "they work but lack elegance" evaluation.

Just from curiosity, Marshal Dodge, what caliber Hi-Points seem to give the most trouble, and what kind of trouble -jams, failure to feed, misfires?

Jim
 
They're actually not as heavy or large as I'd been lead to believe on the internet. They're very wide though. The C9 feels about as heavy as my full sized XDM but has much lower capacity. They are very cheaply made...but they're also sold for very little money.

Unlike other zamak pistols like the Walther P22, the Hi Point is actually priced fairly. Their reputation is pretty good these days and their warranty service is known for being very easy to deal with.

The Hi Point line is made for people who can't spend a ton but want to be able to protect themselves. Their guns are kind of like the modern equivalent of the H&R pistols, they're for poor people and are often looked down upon by guys who own more expensive firearms.

If you've got $350 or so you can get a nicer gun but in the $150 range, the Hi Point is probably the best you're going to get in a new gun with lifetime warranty.
 
Given my limited experience with a Hi-Point 9mm, my position is it's a good entry level gun for a shooter on a tight budget. No real negative comments since it went bang every time it was supposed to.

But to me it seemed to be a lot like my first car when I was in high school. It ran and it got me from point A to point B but it just wasn't what I wanted to be driving in five years.
 
I equate them to

fat chicks and mopeds, either can be fun but you don't want your friends seeing you with any of them.:evil: Seriously though, I have only ever had the chance to fire a couple of the carbines and neither worked well. I have heard nothing but good about their pistols so I will withhold judgement till I do. If they work as advertised I can see them as a house or truck gun.
 
I had one...

and it was ok. The .40 model just wasn't my bag.

I won't do like others and tell you to spend more to get better. It's annoying, counterproductive, and we already know you can spend another $100-200 more and be in a different bracket.

I will, however, suggest another albeit more trustworthy gun at the same price point. That way, you don't have to adjust budget:

CZ82.:)
 
No experience.. never even held one.

I learned my lesson in the 80's with cheap pistols and will never go down that road again...
 
A friend of mine bought one a few years ago and asked me to provide a little instruction as he was new to handguns. The third shot out of the box, the bottom fell out of the magazine.

If $200 was all I had to spend on home defense, I'd buy a shotgun.
 
I purchased one from my neighbor a couple years ago when he was laid off for $50.00 it shot never had a FTF. In relationship of price to quality they are a good deal. I recently sold mine simply because I never used it too heavy to carry and too bulky but I got my $50.00 bucks back.
 
While I have never shot a Hi-Point pistol I do own a 9mm carbine. It has been 100% reliable. One thing I have noticed is that their are not very many used ones for sale. If they are as bad as some people say they are I would think you would see a lot of used ones for sale.
 
I bought a new C9 last year out of curiosity. For what little I shot it, it is reliable and fairly accurate. As far as ugly, all of today's semi autos are like a brick with a handle on it. Due to arthritis and my age I find it difficult to operate. Therfore it is looking for a new home.
 
I have a C9 and have about 1000 rounds through it so far. It works most of the time and is more accurate than I am. For the price, I can't complain. Though I did shoot it side by side with a Glock 19 this weekend which really made the Hi-Point's shortcomings (heavy, ugly, low capacity mag, unbalanced) stand out.

That being said, it never jammed. Same as the glock and was at least as accurate.

I don't love it and I don't hate it. I appreciate it for what it is until I can afford something better.
 
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I got a Hi-Point C9 in a trade a while back. Shot it a handful of times before selling it for $100.

For the amount that I shot it, it was reliable, and was relatively accurate.

That's about all I have positive to say about it though. If you take it apart to any degree you could see that the springs making certain things work were little more than a straight piece of wire with a slight bend to it. It was HEAVY for its size. Felt terrible in the hand. Had a trigger that might as well have been on a staple gun. Used a single-stack mag despite the gun's width being more than enough to hold a double-stack. Also was about the ugliest gun I've ever laid eyes on.

Along with all of that, you've got a gun whose slide construction material (ZAMAK) is unlikely to last more than a few thousand rounds. Hi-Point will replace it for you if you manage to wear one out, but you have to pay for shipping each time (and shipping handguns ain't cheap). Considering that I've got some other handguns that are approaching 15,000 rounds now, the durability just wasn't up to my standards.

Personally, if it was absolutely all that I could afford then its better than nothing (and better than the guns like Cobra, Jiminez, Lorcin, Davis, etc), but I can't imagine being in such dire financial straights that I couldn't throw in another few $$$ to get something better. The surplus CZ-82's only cost about $40 to $50 more and are in a whole 'nother league.
 
It's the best new under-$200 pistol on the market, and far better than I expected. I have a buddy who bought one and enlisted my help getting started with it. We met at the range, and the guy in the next lane was shooting a G19. He made some snide comment and rolled his eyes - and then I ran a mag through it. It shot a tighter group than his Glock. That piqued his interest enough to ask it he could try it, and HE shot a better group with it. His comment was "It shoots OK, but it's sure ugly!". My friemd replied that it was the ugliest pig in the pen, but the Glock is only a little prettier (and still a pig)...

He's put 100 rounds a week through it, every week, for over a year now. 6000+ rounds, no issues whatsoever.

So it comes down to which would you rather have - a new Glock or a new HiPoint+ a case of ammo?
 
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