Hi-Point ?????

[Werewolf]

I just got back from the Sooner Gun and Knife show in Oklahoma City. Good show.

One of the things I saw there were a number of dealers selling a brand I'd never heard of - Hi-Point.

The weapons were semiautomatic pistols in 9mm, 380ACP, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.

All sold for between $89 and $149. HUH?????

I actually considered picking up a 9mm just for the hell of it for $89 but then decided against it.

Maybe I'm a snob or have been fooled by marketing whizes but I just didn't believe an $89 pistol could be any good.

But I've been known to be wrong before. So what's the story on Hi-Point. Are they any good?

 

[Justin]

Tropical Z in 5...4...3...2...

 

[Wildalaska]

sheer unadulterated junk

WildwasteofmoneyAlask

 

[Richard]

Werewolf, I will swim against the tide. Why? Everything I have read says the Highpoint pistols work and if that is all you can afford they are a lot better than nothing. Having said this, I would prefer a Makarov pistol or a used S&W revolver if the price is the same. Regards, Richard

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

i always thought the same as these guys but yesterday i got to shoot the 9mm....

at first impression i just wanted to throw it, thinking that would probally be the best way to use it as a defensive weapon...

but i refrained, loaded the mag, racked the slide, and pulled the trigger...

we ran 150 rnds through it without a misfunction... and it was accurate as well...

but lord was that the ugliest gun i've ever seen... that big cast slide box thinggy on top of a little plastic grip ... it ain't right...

 

[gunfan]

Okay...

These pistols are manufactured so that the poor can defend themselves. That being said, if you can afford slightly better, (read, used S&W Model #10, or Makarov) aim higher!

Scott

 

[Adam]

but lord was that the ugliest gun i've ever seen... that big cast slide box thinggy on top of a little plastic grip ... it ain't right...

So you can take a BG by surprise!
"Man give me your money! Huh what you have over there? A space ship?"
"No it's gun and you're dead!"

 

[hansolo]

Tropical Z in 5...4...3...2

...Justin
--------------------------------------------------------------

Kind of an inside joke; I laughed so hard I have Diet Coke on my t-shirt!








"Will you be my Hi-Point?"

....Tropical Z

 

[CWatson]

I have shot both a 9mm and the 45acp.The 45 was huge and both were ugly as hell but neither had a single malfunction with the several hundred rounds put through each of them.I know niether of the owners of these guns ever cleaned them either yet they still worked.

CW

 

[Werewolf]

Guys, Guys....

Cost is not an issue. I spend more on ammo in a month than a Hi-Point costs but I was - to be honest - shocked that a USA manufactured handgun could be so - shall we say - inexpensive.

I just couldn't believe they could be any good so I wasn't gonna lay down $89 for something that was gonna be little more than a metal brick - no matter how much one has wasting it is surely inappropriate.

I figured for $89 bucks I could get a cheap little 9mm and maybe get my wife to shooting with me (got my eldest daughter as a shooting partner now and a niece but it'd be nice if I could get my wife out to the range with me). Seemed like a good idea and $89 bucks wouldn't have been a big deal if she didn't like it. I could always take it over and use it as a BUG (also all my handguns are .40 and bigger - I've never fired a 9mm though I fired a .38 in the Navy once - a pop gun IMHO - but I'm getting old - less recoil is starting to look better and better).

It seems that on THR most folks seem to think Hi-Points are an OK gun. Over on GlockTalk I did a search and there is a recent thread about Hi-point and most of those guys say they are a POS though there are a few dissenters. The most damning thing I read was that they are very, very difficult to field strip and clean - any comments on that (which is a problem for me as I'm a bit compulsive about cleaning my weapons each and every time I shoot them).

So based on what's been stated so far - it seems as if the Hi-Point probably does what it's designed to do - go bang and put metal on target accurately (some dissent about that) - it just doesn't do it elegantly.

I've never seen a Hi-Point for sale at any of the gun shops I frequent (which is why I never heard of one I guess) so the next time there's a gun show in town I probably will get one.

 

[BryanP]

If you click on search and tell it to look for "Hi-Point" you will see 304 topics (including this one) that include that phrase. There's been plenty of discussion about them. There's the usual "It's a cheap POS, don't buy it" vs "They're OK for the money, serviceable at least."

If self defense was my purpose I'd rather put the $89 towards a used shotgun. But that's me. I certainly wouldn't turn one down in a pinch. I have to admit, if they put out their carbine in .45ACP (it's currently only in 9mm) I'll probably buy one.

 

[hksw]

My inital toughts of the Hi-Points (actually their predecessors), I was not impressed with them. I figured, as cheap as they were, they probably worked as well as Jennings, Ravens, etc., i.e., they work for a magful for three then have some type of major structural failure rendering them useless. Maybe a step higher than the pocket guns but no higher (well below the performace of say a SIG or HK). Didn't think much of them, didn't really hate them but surely didn't like them.

Then the internet came along. When attending a few gun forums, it was found (at least by me) that the HPs were either love or hate, very little in between. It seemed to to me that the folks who loved them (for the most part) were the ones actually owning them and the haters were the folks that couldn't get past their crudeness (appearance), simplicity (in function), and less than easy operation (small slide lock, requires tool for take down, etc.

Wanting to see for myself what all the hubbub was all about, I went out and got one (compensated 9mm). In short, mine shoots almost every time I squeezed the trigger. (Two failures to feed in ~1800 rounds. Has been sidelined for awhile due to other guns purchased since.) The slide is a bit stiff to work since it is a simple blowback action, trigger is a bit heavy, etc. but for ~$125 I wasn't expecting SIG P210 quality.

I would probably choose some other gun in my small collection but I wouldn't be concerning if it was the only one I had to use. Working the stiff slide might be an issue for your wife.

 

[greyhound]

What about just to plink with? I'd spend $89 to get a pistol in a caliber I don't already have, knowing that there may be some issues with reliability I probably wouldn't trust my life on it. But for just using at the range, hey thats got to be OK.

Plus, isn't there some rule of thumb that if you've put X number of rounds through without a malf its OK for self defense? (Though maybe these Hi Points are so unpredictable that that rule doesn't apply....)

 

[denfoote]

They may have gotten better in recent years. The esteemed Mr Z seems to think so, but I'm not going to present any more of my hard earned money to a dealer to find out and get laughted at in the process!!

Do a search on the phrase "free high point" to see where my ex High point currently resides!!

 

[cornbread2]

There are just too many other guns you can buy that WILL be accurate and reliable and last you a lifetime.

There are several military surplus pistols and several quality used revolvers one can buy for about what you would spend on a Highpoint.

Being short on cash is no excuse to buy a Highpoint.

 

[tomkatz]

Denfoote.......I was just trying to remember who had the hi point they loved so much they threw it away, thanks for jogging my memory .....tom

 

[wardog]

I've never shot one, but I don't care to.

For just a little more money, I think there are better choices, like a Bulgarian Mak, a Star BM, or a used S&W revolver. These can be had for $150-$200 and can be concealed and carried ready-to-go safely. Not sure the same can be said for the High Point.

 

[Trebor]

When I took my NRA Instructor's class, my training counselours had 9mm and .40 S&W Hi Points that they used for part of the range portion. They said they bought the guns to learn more about them since they'd had students bring Hi Points to the classes in the past. They said that, in their experience, the Hi Points had turned out to be surprisingly reliable and accurate and they really hadn't had any problems.

When I got my instructor's certs, one of the first things I did was call all the gun companies to get copies of the owner's manuals for various guns, especially those I'd never fired myself, just to learn more about what my students might bring to my classes. When I called Hi Point, I wound up talking to the owner of the company, who sent me out the ONE-Page owner's manual. He was curious as to why I even wanted it as he said the gun was designed to be simple to operate and wasn't supposed to be dissassembled and cleaned until 1,000 rounds had been fired. He said that before that, just to spray gun scrubber in the gun once in awhile.

I haven't had any students with Hi Points yet, but I have had a few that probably would have been better off if they had, based on the amount of problems they had with malfunctions in the class.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I know one place in town where you can pick up a High Point for a mere $229. (any Okies care to guess where?) I'm looking seriously at the carbine, was going to get a Keltec, but the High point fits me better and the sights seem to be better. They are ugly, what we used to call a "moped gun" (alot of fun to play with, just as long as no one sees you), but alot of people seem to be happy with theirs, while alot of other people say "never had one, never will".

BTW, how was the gunshow? I meant to go, but got stuck in a bad web of hunydo's.

 

[XavierBreath]

I've never owned one, but from what I understand, it's one of the few pistols you can justify tossing into the bottom of your toolbox or tacklebox. I also understand that it will ge bang when you pull the trigger.

You know, over on the Springfield forum a fellow is shooting a Mil-Spec without cleaning or lubing it until it fails. He's at around 1500 rounds now I think. Maybe I should get a $89 HiPoint and do the same and see if we can dispell some rumors one way or the other..................

 

[JimJD]

You know, over on the Springfield forum a fellow is shooting a Mil-Spec without cleaning or lubing it until it fails. He's at around 1500 rounds now I think.

Yup that's Garymac you're talking about. Because of something that has happened over at that forum, He stated that He is going to stop reporting on that test and at His request the thread has been locked.
At last count He made it to 3300 rounds. Too bad, it would have been nice to see how far it would have gone.

But back to the Hi-Points...
I held one at the last gun show I attended. Yes, it is ugly. Yes, it is top heavy. etc, etc. But if it goes bang when you need it to, that's a good thing.
I am wondering about something though. A fellow at one of My local gun stores says the slide and small parts are made of steel. But according to what I've read here at the forum, it's not. It's cast zinc alloy.
So, anyone here know for sure? I'm thinking it's alloy. especially for that price.

BTW, a cousin of mine has moved into a bad part of Tampa with His girlfriend and has almost no money to spare for a firearm. He said He's thinking about getting a Hi-Point .380 or 9MM model. I think He might be better off saving up some more and go for something used, etc. . But then He came back saying He believes someone has tried to break in already.
In that case, maybe He should get the pistol.
What would you do? I think it might be better to have something rather than nothing in this case.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Hard to defend yourself with a jar full of nickels you were saving to buy a better gun. If I were him I'd get the Hi-Point, then start saving for a better gun.

 

[cratz2]

I've shot HiPoints in 9mm and 45ACP (friends with relatively low round counts, not rentals) and I think I might have had two failures in 45... Never one in 9.

They are quite unattractive but in my opinion and experience (not calling it a POS because other guys have done so) they are reliable. If someone needed a relatively inexpensive handgun with which they were to defend themselves at home with, I wouldn't have an extreme reservation to recommending one. Though I would probably strongly suggest to keep the round count low... Probably buy it, clean and lube it, shoot it 100 times, clean and lube it, shoot it 100 more times, clean and lube it, load it and basically forget about it until it is needed.

The reservation I would have to using one to introduce a new shooter using one is if said shooter ever wanted to use a firearm for anything other than purely for sport, a failure might not inspire extreme confidence... If introducing a shooter to shooting for protection (home or CCW) I would rather through in another $150 or $200 and get something like a Taurus PT92, EAA Witness or CZ75.

For low priced shooting fun AND something that is known to be supremely reliable and low cost, I'd probably consider something like a Bulgarian Mak.

 

[Pheonix]

There are two problems with HI Points.

1. Too heavy and bulky for most people to CCW.
2. Not the sexiest looking tool.

What do I think? Go buy one! Dirt cheap, super reliable, excellent warranty and accurate enough. Throw it in the trunk, drop it off your (4 wheeler, motorcycle, etc.) or drop it off a cliff and you are not out much cash for scratching your gun.

 

[Tropical Z]

My Hi-Point has the same reliability record as my Bulgarian Makarovs.This means one of two things.
1.Makarovs are unreliable junk and should be disposed of ASAP!
2.Hi-Points are reliable shooters and a great bargain for the money!
Your pick.