Opinions on BHP for IPSC

Keep in mind, however, that what's great for shooter A won't always be great for shooter B. I loved the CZs because they fit my hand, whereas I hated Berettas, since they totally DIDN'T fit me. Some people are the total opposite, so whereas you can solicit advice about the quality of a gun, be ware of people offering you blanket "ohhh, you should get gun <X>" (I find a lot of people are pushing Glocks like this, for example; or some people might be tempted to imitate the choice of the higher ranked shooters). Whatever you're interested in, try it, at least handle it, or better yet shoot it, if you can, and then make up your own mind. If you like the feel/shape/size/etc of the HP, but if you'd like to join us in IPSC Production, you'll have numerous options to try, as everyone mention above: the CZ guns (all the CZ 9mm guns are identical in frame size/shape, the differences are in the accessories), the Baby Eagle (Jerico), even the K100, but those are still rare, so it might be hard to find someone with one to handle/try.

Also, re caliber: keep in mind that in Production, the caliber/power factor doesn't matter, so if you don't mind 9mm, go with that: cheaper to shoot, if nothing else. If you like .40 over 9mm, however, you can still do that and do well, don't let anyone bull#### you with the "ohh, if you're shooting a major caliber you must shoot Std/Open." A friend of mine just prefers .40, and is shooting a .40 CZ-75, despite my best attempts to get him to switch to a 9mm cz-85Combat ;)

ipsc1 has some CZs, I don't know if you'll be running into him in any local matches there, that might be a good chance to feel it out. Or maybe someone in your general area has one.

Well, back to your original question: I don't find it too hard to imagine that you might want to see how well you can do, even if you don't (at the moment) have any desires to go head to head with the top guys. As such, get equipment which will not hamper you, and which will let you compete against, say, Slavex ;) ;) So, drop the HP and get something that's almost-HP, but Production legal.
 
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Thanks for all the input guys, I truly appreciate the advice. You've given me a lot to think on, and I'll be trying to track down someone in the area with a CZ to play with.
I'll probably be buying in January, so I've got a bit of time to think (and probably change my mine a dozen times).
Thanks again for the help!

Rob
 
I believe there is a shooter in NB that uses a Norinco CZ copy in .40 in standard, ...I forget his name at the moment, but he frequents the boards..
 
also, the current IPSC Production Champion shot a CZ.
As well as the current world champion (i think)
 
I shot IPSC from 1986 to 1996 with a Browning Hi Power and loved it. It is a great handgun and as was previously stated, if you aren't intimidated by those who use a $3,000.00 handgun, it might be the gun for you. If you shoot "A"s caliber doesn't matter.
 
Catch The Most Capable Ammo Train Eh!

As above, consider your ammunition source as for IPSC you just cant have too much practice and/or match ammo to develop your pistol skills. My 2005 pick would be the BHP in 40 S&W; I picked it in 9mm in 1962 and shot it lots with a set of microsights in NRA 900; shot the Inglis in Service Pistol as well in 1970's.
Reloading 9mm to target accuracy proved to be not as much fun. Nevertheless the cases are plentiful and it is a universal cartridge; it is "whippy in recoil" but quite comfortable to shoot.
From a 2005 perspective my overall pick would be to pass on the 9mm BHP chambering in favour of the 40S&W with ambi safety on a BHP. That would be my "hands down pick" now versus 1962.

All that 40S&W is available either commercial loaded at near 9mm prices or very available for once fired cases. There are "barrelfulls" of 40 S&W cases out there; it is easier to make major with it . The 9mm cant really; thats why they invented the 38 Super. The 40 S&W is a real duty level cartridge; that is how it evolved from the FBI shootout along with the 10mm its "big brother".
 
I tried shooting IPSC twice with a BHP, once in the 1980's when .45 1911's ruled and again in the last 5 years when .40 1911's ruled.

In my humble opinion, the BHP is one of the greatest guns ever designed, but it is not the best choice for these games. I found it to be the most difficult double stack to re-load, both my Para and Glocks reload much easier. The sights are OK on the Mark III HP's and the ambi safety is just OK. The mag safety must be removed both to get a better trigger pull and to ensure mags drop free. The .40 BHP is the one you want if you want to shoot major since you will always wonder how much better you could be doing if you are shooting minor.

Bottom line is if you really want to shoot the HP, go ahead. If you really want to shoot IPSC, look at the CZ's, Glocks or 1911's.
 
Rob. Want to be competitive (at least down the road) then don't buy a BHP. Listen to what these guys are telling you. The BHP is no more reliable than the 1911 either so your not running from any problems. If your sticking to standard go with a good 40. If your going to production (please do) then the cz75/85 might be a good choice in 9mm. I like glocks for their reliability and long life span but If I were trying to be compeditive without $$$ being an issue a heavier gun like a CZ or beretta might be a better choice as they would recover quicker from recoil thus shoot faster than the polymer guns. Plus many of them are available with fiber optic sights. You can't put them on a glock cause glock don't sell them with a gun (production rule) So if you can stand more replacement parts repairs over a long use then go with berretta, or cz, but if $$$ is to be saved go glock. You can also get a hell of a deal on a glock being in the service.

To touch on the BHP. I did/do use them in the service and owned one which I used in IPSC, as well and you know how reliable they are(not) do you want that stress? I have heard that the 40 BHP had issues with life span.

Moe
 
Dragoon said:
If you shoot all 'A's you're going too slow......;)
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I suppose IPSC1 is going to slow? ;) I guess it would depend if you are competitive or not... I see lots a guys who shoot all A's and love it... and then again I see some guys get mostly D's and love it just as much...but they are only competing against themselves.

I see quite a few people using BHP's in IPSC, those who do all have one thing in common... They love their BHP's :cool:
 
I recommend the Glock 17 to anybody just starting out in IPSC. Regardless of division. A new shooter might not know what a good gun fit *is*, after all.

When you're just getting your feet wet, gun problems are not something you need to be dealing with. Glocks are relaible to a fault. If you do have a problem, Glock will fix it... even in Canada.

A complete detail strip and clean can be done by anybody in 10 minutes.

Parts are cheap... like borcht. Polish the trigger parts (by hand... no dremels!), buy an extended mag release ($2.11 at police ordnance) get a set of heinie sights on it ($75 from Smoking Gun FX in BC), and it's done.

Holsters and pouches are everywhere and cheap.
 
Garand said:
If you shoot "A"s caliber doesn't matter.
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It's a nice thing to say to make minor standard shooters feel good, but in practice; it really doesn't work.

Often forgotten is that major caliber shooters are shooting "A"s too and the recoil really isn't as much of a slowing factor as the founders of IPSC would have liked to think it was.

You won't beat your peers shooting minor.

WS Results again; 79% for Standard; Major, 72% for Production - Minor.
Overall World Shoot Results

But back to agree with Pop (Dear lord the world is coming to an end...) If you are having fun shooting the BHP and you don't care about winning - shoot the BHP!
 
Hi

I am one of those BHP lovers. I have 4 of them. The newist one arrived on Friday, a MK3s.

As far as durability issues go, BHPs now have a cast frame now that they are made for .40 as well as 9mm and this has added to their life span. Both Frame and slide are harder also. The extended amby safety works great, sights are very easy to use, and the molded grips are as small as a double stack can get.

Those that say a CZ is the same as a BHP forget one thing, the BHP firing mechanism is much simpler and easy to fix and clean.

I used an older MK3s for IPSC. It worked great. The only thing I had to do was replace my recoil and hammer spring, but its around 13 years old so it was long overdue. The only modification that is mamditory with a BHP is removing that lousy magazine disconnector.

I have never felt outgunned using a BHP in IPSC. It was the first 9mm to win the IPSC world championships way back in 75 I believe.

Being minor in Standard hurts in the scoring, but I would hurt just as bad shooting a CZ or a Glock in 9mm

I personally have pretty well given IPSC my middle finger and intend on doing more IDPA matches as the Major/minor BS does not come into play. And it is so nice to know what my final score on a course of fire is the moment I finish the COF.

One last thought, being a machinist I can say one thing with certanty. Someone made the comment about shooting 20 thousand rounds a year, It don't matter what handgun you buy, that many rounds a year after a short amount of time you are going to have parts fail. We seem so attached to our guns we give them a personality instead of remembering they are machines and they will wear out no matter how well we oil and clean them.

Sticker
 
Freedom Ventures said:
You won't beat your peers shooting minor.

WS Results again; 79% for Standard; Major, 72% for Production - Minor.
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Uhh, ok, I think we're getting waaaaay off topic here, but I think the obvious needs to be said: the difference between the top Std and the top Prod shooter at the Worlds MIGHT have also something to do with the fiber optic front sights, the huge mag wells, the 1.5lb triggers, the customized grips, the titanim guide rods, etc, and not just the fact that one was shooting major and one was shooting minor. In fact, when you consider all this, I'd say that the major/minor difference would probably not be that significant for these guys. Sure, every little bit helps, so of course Std people will shoot Major if they are serious about their scores, but let's not go off the deep end, let's not proclaim that difference to be a huge factor. Definitely not at our local level... :rolleyes:
 
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