Let's talk Hi-Power / M-35

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Advoc

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I try to lurk a lot more than I post around here. You're all such huge vessels of information and this forum goes back many years. But I haven't found a lot using the search tool on the Browning Hi-Power.

After much soul searching I've decided I want one. Quite badly.

But while there are millions of options, opinions, videos, reviews, manufacturers, aftermarket parts, and opinions (did I mention opinions?) on the 1911, I haven't found the same level of interest in the Hi Power.

I recently went to a local gun show, small in comparison to larger centres as my home town is pop ~90K, and the entire pistol selection was low as it was, had mostly revolvers. I saw about a dozen 1911s the whole day, but only 3 hi-powers, and I think one was a Mauser knock-off of some sort.

I MAY have the option to purchase one through a local gun store that has an arrangement with somebody that can get a lot of milsurp. Apparently this certain individual can get in a lot of Junk usually but that the Hi-Powers he brings in are in really good shape. The store owner didn't have any on hand but figured they were Belgian army surplus. And the price would be in the $700 range.

Do you guys have any preference on certain models or manufacturers? Generations? Are the older ones with the internal extractors reliable guns to own?

Also wondering about aftermarket parts. Hammers? Triggers? Slides? etc? I'm assuming grips are easy enough to find, but the platform as a whole seems to be a bit less worried about customization. Is this because they're just that damn good out of the box or what?

Do you have any complaints about the pistol? Is the hammer bite really that bad? I just finished watching a youtube video of a guy shooting it and he had a huge bandage covering the back of his hand between his thumb and index finger. I don't know if it was preventative or covering an injury. I'm not a huge fan of the idea of a magazine disconnect safety, but that's a minor quibble.

What do you like about them?

I'd love some insight. Thanks in advance.
 
Unless your hands are very large you shouldn't experience much trouble, there is a slight beavertail. You can get an aftermarket hammer in any case. I'm not interested in owning any milsurp ones at all. Horrible sights, magazine safety, miniscule single sided thumb safety (I'm left handed...). You'd need to bubba the living life out of it to make it high speed / low drag.

I would recommend a new Mk.III in 9mm from Browning. They have decent sights and an ambi thumb safety. Not sure if they still retain the mag safety. My father's 1990's FN HP did not have it.

They are great pistols. Easy to operate and maintain. I grant you the aftermarket choices aren't as awesome as the 1911 world. You won't go wrong with a HP.
 
My first pistol was Browning 9mm, and its still my favorite one. Its never ever given me any problems, and fits my hand really nice.
Ive never had the hammer bite me yet, and I doubt it ever will. Overall I highly recommend it.
 
I have no specific preference, milsurp or not, so long as it works and doesn't give me a handful of problems. Mind if I send you a friend request through the forum? I'll keep your offer in mind for when the paper jockeys at Miramichi get finished with my stuff.

I had a quick discussion with the store owner about the Belgian/Belgian vs. the Belgian/Portugal guns. I personally like my guns to shoot bullets and not break. To hell with who put them together. I'm sure after every trip to the range with it in my hands it would quickly become Belgian made / Canadian assembled. and frequently. ;)
 
I got the hi power standard exactly like the one on the browning website.
great adjustable sights, ambi safty, ( don't care ), fantastic firearm ,.
My favorite 9 mm by far.
out of beretta 92, glock17, walther P99, springfield xd, Jericho 941.
Browning Hi power is my favorite
 
silverfoxdj, I'm not precisely in the market at the moment. I'm just planning. For my first pistol I was going to buy a cheap norc. either an m93 or one of the several 1911s on offer, but I may change my mind. I'm not sure. At the moment I'm fishing for good ideas.

It's interesting, when I started looking pistols I always thought a beretta M9 was where it was at. Probably from watching too much Lethal Weapon as a kid. Then I moved on to wanting a P99 b/c of james bond, to wanting an M&P because everybody said how fantastic they were. then I had a friend who started getting me to look at 1911s and eventually I ended up learning about the hi-power. It isn't a sleek ###y gun like some of the other offerings. Like a 1911 or a P99. When I first saw it I immediately thought "ugly". Then I read up on it and it started to grow on me. It strikes me as a pistol for the discerning individual. Like you can accept that it isn't the most fashionable thing to be waving about, it's not a hollywood type of gun like the 1911, M9 or Glock, but rather its the gun for a person who knows what they want and wont compromise. I'm romanticizing things. But I'm getting this vibe from this little piece of hardware. And I'm surprised at how willing I am to triple my budget for my first pistol to get one.
 
My first (and only so far) pistol is a new mkIII. Seems to fit just fine, shoots acceptable with the UMC 250 packs of 115gn. No fte/ftf except when I know I've limpwristed it. The manual says to keep away from +p and +p+, but the newer mkIII will run it fine. Still though, you may not want to hammer away with them constantly. There are spring kits that can help with this if you plan to, although I am not altogether sure about these.

The mkIII will have a mag disconnect from the box, but it is removable in 20 mins. It helps the trigger out tremendously.

Hope this helps
 
I picked up a pair of those FEG P9M's that Questar had, got one for $350 and one for $200 when they had the Xmas sale.....for the price they are a pretty decent HP clone, and shoot really well.
 
Advoc said:
silverfoxdj, I'm not precisely in the market at the moment. I'm just planning. For my first pistol I was going to buy a cheap norc. either an m93 or one of the several 1911s on offer, but I may change my mind. I'm not sure. At the moment I'm fishing for good ideas.

It's interesting, when I started looking pistols I always thought a beretta M9 was where it was at. Probably from watching too much Lethal Weapon as a kid. Then I moved on to wanting a P99 b/c of james bond, to wanting an M&P because everybody said how fantastic they were. then I had a friend who started getting me to look at 1911s and eventually I ended up learning about the hi-power. It isn't a sleek ###y gun like some of the other offerings. Like a 1911 or a P99. When I first saw it I immediately thought "ugly". Then I read up on it and it started to grow on me. It strikes me as a pistol for the discerning individual. Like you can accept that it isn't the most fashionable thing to be waving about, it's not a hollywood type of gun like the 1911, M9 or Glock, but rather its the gun for a person who knows what they want and wont compromise. I'm romanticizing things. But I'm getting this vibe from this little piece of hardware. And I'm surprised at how willing I am to triple my budget for my first pistol to get one.
Click to expand...

Completely understand.. good luck
 
Hitzy said:
I picked up a pair of those FEG P9M's that Questar had, got one for $350 and one for $200 when they had the Xmas sale.....for the price they are a pretty decent HP clone, and shoot really well.
Click to expand...

Thats a pretty good buy, if you found them at that price. I'd get another if they were still available.
 
Hitzy said:
I picked up a pair of those FEG P9M's that Questar had, got one for $350 and one for $200 when they had the Xmas sale.....for the price they are a pretty decent HP clone, and shoot really well.
Click to expand...

My son bought one of those...great gun and a great deal!

I bought a FEG P9R in a textured chrome finish with the ribbed slide. My favourite pistol so far.
 


Buy an Inglis if you can find one at the price you like. Piece of history and they shoot quite well. I have owned mine for 30 years and still enjoy shooting it. Have a matching Nazi Browning hi-power as well.
 
Hi-Powers are usually quite reliable and trouble-free. If you shoot a lot of full power ammo, change the recoil spring from time to time. Over the years the shape of the feed ramp on the barrel has changed--earlier ones had a slight "hump" and sometimes would not feed soft point or hollow point ammo reliably. Was an easy fix with a dremmel tool. The trigger pull can be noticeably improved by removing the mag safety and with a bit lighter hammer spring and a little work on the sear the trigger pull can be quitre acceptable. The Hi-Power has never been noted for tack-driving accuracy but if you want to improve it in that regard a BarSto match barrel makes a significant difference. Most Hi-Powers have a generouis chamber and if you use cast bullets--sizing them to .357 will usually greatly improve accuracy. (The BarSto barrel helps with caqst bullet accuracy because it has a bit slower barrel rate of twist). I have had a lot of fun customizing and shooting 1911's, but nothing feels quite as nice in the hand as a BHP with a Hogue rubber grip. YMMV, 44Bore.
 
My first 9mm was a Browning Hi-Power bought new in the 1960s and 20 years later foolishly traded away.
Now I hope that someday I'll find another, but it has to be '60s vintage with the ring hammer.
 
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