Will I be dissapointed with a Hi-Power

[Ford]

I am a big 1911 guy. Own 8 right now. One of the main reasons is because of the ergonomics of the gun and the sweat SA trigger.

I have been thinking of a HI-Power for a while now because I have heard that it has the same charecteristics. I have been to a few web sites on the high power and the more I read the more I question If I want one.

Yes I know that I need to go and shoot one, but that is not possible. I don't know anyone around that owns one and the only range in the area that rents guns does not have one.

So basically here is the deal. I own other non-1911 pistols. They don't get shot much. So will the HP compare at all as far as ergonomics and trigger pull with the 1911? I hear that you have to have a trigger job done and have the magazine disconnect removed because out of the box they are all like atleast an 8lb trigger.

The two types of HP's I have been looking at are the Browning or FN.

THanks for you help.

 

[Steelharp]

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I currently have 4 1911's. I love them dearly, but I must say, I shoot nothing better than my '69 BHP. It is just the most comfortable, well balanced, accurate handgun I've ever bought. Yes, I had the mag safety removed. It made the trigger extremely sweet. I also had a real thumb safety put on; the original was just too small. You will find yourself wanting to shoot it... a lot.

Mikey D...

 

[capbuster]

I was not a big fan of the 9mm cartridge. I made two mistakes. One was shooting a friend's hi power. The other was reloading 9mms for another friend. The result was buying a hi power of my own. I am glad I did.

 

[Chuck Perry]

They're nice, but they're not 1911's. The Hi Power grip has a different feel to it than a 1911. It's ok, but it's not "home". Expect the trigger to blow from the box. Removing the mag safety is an easy home project. It makes the trigger tolerable, but not like your 1911's. When I had mine I did quite a bit of research on Hi Power trigger jobs. There are several smiths that offer them at various price levels, but figure at least a $100. When all is said and done, the consensus is that they can improve your trigger, but it will never be a 1911. The reset is much longer than the 1911 also. Due to the lockwork's construction, there's really not too much that can be done to correct it. One other thing I had wished I'd known before I purchased the Hi Power- the use of +P ammo is discouraged. Yeah, if you really want to you can run a buffer pad in it and be ok, but those things are around $7 each and need changed every 1,000 rounds. Not a ton of money, but a pain none the less. I sold mine and moved on. Still wanting a 9mm, I tried the XD Tactical. Ok, but still not what I wanted. I should have known better. I have been spoiled by 1911's and now really have no desire for any other pistol design. Except Smith and Wesson revolvers. But that's another matter.

 

[Coronach]

It's all preference.

To me? 1911s are nice, but they're not HPs.

Ergonomically, the HP fits me better, with the 1911 being a fairly close second. You may feel the same, or you may not. Can you at least pick one up and fiddle with it to see?

I don't have enough pistol ninja skills to appreciate a truly fine trigger 1911 trigger (And, my 1911 doesn't have one anyway), so to me the differences in triggers between the 1911 and the HP are academic. Both are crisp, clean single actions, or can be cleaned up to be made thus. Wiser men than me will tell you that the 1911 trigger design can be polished up to a much higher degree than a HP trigger can be, and they're probably right. If you utterly positively obsess about the 1911's trigger, and will be completely disappointed in any gun that is not absolutely as good in trigger pull, you'll probably not love the HP. If, on the other hand, you can accept something that is nearly as good (with a little TLC), the HP will probably be ok.

Like I said. The 1911 is pretty durn nice. But its no Hi-Power.

Mike

 

[Wildalaska]

To me? 1911s are nice, but they're not HPs.

Thus sayeth wisdom

Wildchapter1verse1Alaska

 

[Al Thompson]

One BIG thing to consider is hammer bite. For some reason, non-beavertail 1911s and BHPs eat me alive. I *think* if a non-beavertail 1911 is OK for you, a BHP should be as well. I really love the feel of a BHP, but get tired of wiping blood off of my hands and the gun.

 

[mete]

I was always amazed that the HP fit so many different hands so well. If it fits you, great. I would get a Browning they apparently have better fit and finish and if used for defense get it in 40. Trigger can be made nice without too much trouble.

 

[HSMITH]

I was very disappointed with fit of the HP's I have had, I tried to get them comfortable in my hand and couldn't. The triggers can be made pretty darn reasonable, reliability and accuracy was acceptable, they just didn't fit me. The HP is one of those guns that everyone should at least try though, lots of people just rave about them. I very much prefer the CZ-75 over all else I have tried in the 'big heavy 9mm' group of firearms, but you might go ga-ga over the HP. I say pick one up and try it, they aren't hard to sell if you don't like it.

 

[uglymofo]

I have about as many "1911's" --true Colts, a Brown, a Wilson Super Grade, the KZ 45 in both sizes, some custom guns (Behlert, Hoag, Wilson [before the bigtime]), and a Kimber.

I also have a BHP, with a pretty sweet trigger. It's not the same. It doesn't point quite as naturally. I'm a big victim to hammer bite on the 1911's, but the HP has never bit me; dunno why not. It's certainly an easier gun to control, but for the 'NPA' and psychological familiarity and comfort of a 1911, I still prefer the .45acp.

I guess the best way to express my experiences with the BHP--I bought it because I had one before, and really liked it (at the time, it was my 3rd handgun, one each in .357, 9mm, and .45acp). From that point 20 years ago, I've bought and sold 10-12 1911's, sold the HP and ended up with ~8 .45acps. I 'interrupted' my collecting to purchase another HP; I've since bought 4 other .45's.

That BHP is nice, but it's alone. I don't have any reason to toy with customizing it any further, nor chasing down any Novak or C&S conversions--that 'BHP bug' just didn't bite that hard.

If you're looking for a BHP, Stephen Camp's site is pretty good too, and has a classified section:

http://www.fnhipower.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Forums&file=viewforum&forum=3

 

[Marshall]

Ford,

A lot of the feel is in what your used to shooting and holding. Have you ever gone and shopped for a new car or truck, one different that what you have? You get in and sit down and just because they're different, they just don't feel like "home", at least for a while. A BHP/FNHP grip is closer to that of a double stack Para in the 1911 world, but better. Once you feel it you'll likely love it. You could feel a CZ-75's grip and be close but they're just not as good of a feel either.

Yes, the FN/BHP will never have a 1911 tuned trigger but a 1911 will never have many things a Hi-Power has.

As far as caliber goes, both .40 S&W and 9mm are great in the Hi-Power, I have both but, I prefer the 9mm for hi-capacity and the joy in shooting a caliber that gives so many advantages. It's controllable, accurate, fast shooting, powerful, cheap and found in a ton of different loadings with different bullets and available anywhere. The HP 9mm's ergonomics are slightly better too.

Finish? Well, that's a personal thing. The Brownings are more classy and offer three different styles, the Practical (two tone), the Standard (high polished blue) and the MKIII (matte finished). The FNH-USA model is a matte finish but with an epoxy coating that is very, very nice. The BHP Practical has a Pachmayr wrap-around, checkered grip on it, in my opinion it takes away from the classic feel of the Hi-Power.

I won't go into reliability, there's nothing to discuss, they work!

All in all, you have very good odds of liking the Hi-Power, the vast, vast majority do. In the rare event you don't, as HSMITH said, selling it would be no problem.

Here's Brownings dealer locator, put in your zip code and choose 100 miles, you'll see who around you is a Browning Dealer. LOCATOR

 

[hillbilly]

Yes, you will be disappointed.

After you are disappointed, box that Hi-Power up and mail to me immediately so I can relieve you of your disappointment.

hillbilly

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. For clarification, www.fnhipower.com is not my site; I just moderate there.

Best.

 

[BHPshooter]

The only person who can decide if they will disappoint you is YOU.

Compared to the 1911, the HP's ergonomics are better, and the trigger is worse. As noted before, they have many other virtues.

I personally can't think of any bases that you wouldn't have covered if you had both.

Wes

 

[Ford]

Thanks for all the great responses. One of the stores in my area has some Hi Powers in stock sometime. I am atleast going to go down and look it over.

I just want the gun as a plinker so I will buy it in 9mm.
I am a little gun shy ( pun intended) about buying anything that is not a 1911 anymore. I can always make myself fall in love with a gun and then I buy it, shoot about 100 rounds and then throw it in the safe. I keep trying to make myself like other guns I just can't really do it. Well other than my Kahr PM9. That's a neat little gun if I really need to carry something small.

Someone said just buy one and then if I don't like it sell it. I try not to do that anymore. If I still had all the money that I have lost selling or trading guns I think I could retire today.

I won't hardly sell a handgun anymore unless I absolutely hate the thing.


Thanks

 

[Robert Farrar]

Hi Ford,

I'm a 1911 head. That said, I recently picked up a used HP in 40 S&W. I love it. The trigger is a bit heavy, but the pistol is plenty shootable.

Bob

 

[10-Ring]

I wasn't too sure about the Hi Power when I bought mine. I came across it used sitting in a display case all by its lonely at a pretty good price. After shooting it & handling it for a few hundred rounds, I've learned my worries were unfounded & so are yours!

 

[Ivy Mike]

Will you be disappointed with a Hi-Power? Only if you buy a CZ-75 later.

Just a little bit of info, Browning may market a Hi-Power, but FN-Herstal owns Browning. All the of Hi-Powers you'll find with the Browning logo are most-likely made by FN.

I had the choice between a Hi-Power and a CZ-75B. The ability to carry cocked and locked didn't thrill me as I don't like trusting anything other than myself to be safe. The ability to carry hammer down swayed me as did the comfy grip (not that the HP isn't)
The price also played a part. I got my CZ-75B with one 15rd and one 10 rd magazine (this was before the ban sunsetted) for a good $150 less than a comparable BHP.

1911 is in a different class...it just happens to be a lower class than the BHP or the CZ-75. IMHO YMMV AFAIK IHIA (I hate internet acronyms)
more bullets are better than bigger bullets.

 

[Zach S]

1911guy checking in...

I've shot a few and liked them, with the exception of my bleeding thumb. I shoot high-thumb with my 1911s, so naturaly I did so with the BHP. To this day I dont remember that high thumb doesnt work for me on a BHP until the second shot...

 

[HankB]

The BHP trigger can be improved by removal of the mag disconnect, an easy project for the home tinkerer - it takes maybe 5 minutes and only calls for driving out and then replacing 2 pins. Reset will remain long.

"Browning" guns seem to be better finished than "FN" guns. The latter have all kinds of import marks and other cr@p deeply engraved on them. By all reports, they work equally well, however.

Strength - an article published in American Rifleman some years ago referenced a test Browning ran in which they shot 5000 rounds of Remington 115 grain +P+ ammo in a BHP. No problems - and this was before they switched to the stronger cast frame. Still, I put an 18lb spring and a Buffer-Tech pad in my Mk III BHP, figuring it couldn't hurt.

"Pointability" is very subjective - but my Mk III BHP with Spegel grips points better than a 1911 in my hands.

Reliability is very good, even with cheap Pro-Mag magazines. In several thousand rounds, I've had exactly two malfunctions, each being a premature slide lock early on. I carefully stoned 0.010" from the part of the slide lock which engages the magazine follower after the last round is fired, and the pistol hadn't burped since. (This part was just a tad long, and "sometimes" would be actuated by the last round in the mag, rather than the mag follower.)

In 9mm, it's cheap to shoot. A 50 round box of CCI Blazer ammo only costs $3.86 plus tax . . . if one's time is worth anything, that's cheaper than reloading.

 

[Marshall]

Actually, there are three types of Browning/FN hi-powers you can buy.

Hi-powers from Browning North America, One Browning Place Morgan, UT.

Hi-powers from FN HERSTAL, SA B-4040 HERSTAL BELGIUM.

Hi-powers from FNH USA Inc. 1364 Beverly Road, Suite 303 McLean, VA.


Browning MKIII

FNH-Herstal (note the Lanyard loop)

FNH-USA

I may be wrong but I also believe the FN-Herstal gun is just a little longer?

 

[BHPshooter]

I may be wrong but I also believe the FN-Herstal gun is just a little longer?

Nope, they are all the same size, as they don't make any different HP models... No such thing as a commander/longslide HP from the factory.

While the guns from FN Herstal, FNH-USA, and Browning may be marked different, they are all made side by side in the same Belgian factory. Lanyard loops used to be offered all-around, but it seems Browning no longer offers them.

You have nothing to fear from any of them. Personally, I like the FNH-USA marked ones best (with the old-fashioned FN rollmark).

Wes

 

[Jon Coppenbarger]

I have 4 brownings and 3 of them are ww2 inglish canadian pistols.
Two of them have the tangent sights with slots and do have one of the original stocks for them. one is all original and the other had been worked over and reblued but it is a very nice tight pistol that has had alot of work done to it by the previous owner.
The 3rd one is also a canadian but a later war version with the hump back, have the original holster and both mags with it.

The one I like to shoot and carry some is the practical in 40, out of the box the trigger is pretty nice and like all brownings they for a double stacked mag fit my small hands very well. most comfy pointing handgun I own.

buy one and like the others have said if you do not like it as long as you did not get racked over the coals on the price they are not to hard to sell.

 

[Marshall]

Wes, I never thought they made anything different either. But I could have sworn that about a year or two ago I saw the dimensions on the FN-Herstal model and it was 1/4 to 1/2" longer in length. I may have been on drugs too? One of these days I'll find what I read somewhere.

 

[magsnubby]

What could be better than John M Browning's two best handguns, a 1911 and a Hi-Power?

Now that's a classic pair.