Browning Hi Power--the mystery pistol?

U

UncleEd

New member
Recently several threads on this forum have been devoted to the Browning Hi Power.

It's a pistol with world-wide acceptance and use, much greater than the 1911 could ever achieve. True, it has been mostly in 9 mm and many in the U.S. may consider that a handicap.

But the sense I get is that in this plastic age, and also with Americans' devotion to the 1911, the Browning Hi Power is often overlooked or not even
considered, especially by younger shooters. By younger I'll pick an arbitrary age of 37.5 and under. Or 40.2?

How many of you younger, or even older, folks have even given the Hi Power a thought when considering a new pistol? Heck, how many have actually seen one or handled one?
 
I snagged a clone (Feg) just 2 months before turning 40, that was two years ago. Also have a decent bit of hands-on shooting with a pair of genuine Browing - one from early 90s, other from 2011.

I have multiple complaints and most are just too tough to get past for me. Even still, I do absolutely love the look... and for me, that does count for a lot.

I like them better than polymer, but that says more about my taste for Tupperware.
 
24 here, I had always thought of them as THE 9mm counterpart to the 1911, so I've wanted one since I got into shooting because of their design and and history. I picked up a surplus hi power when aim had them a little while back, and I love the size and feel of the pistol, but the trigger is so horrendous I genuinely dislike shooting it.
 
One of my favorites ... hate to think of those that are probably being turned into scrap after the Brits decided to adopt the Glock 17.

If it wasn't saddled with the magazine safety, the trigger would be fine.

Mr. Camp--I miss his posts.
 
I expected some to criticize the trigger.

But it is still made as a "service pistol" and that means a heavy trigger, just as the 1911 in its military trim usually had a 7 to 10 pound trigger pull.

True the 1911 is easier to tune than the Hi Power but one can love it just the same. If you've spent as much time on all kinds revolvers using only the double action mechanism, then the Hi Power is very easy in its service trigger trim. :)
 
Cooper et.al. didn't pimp it for forty straight years in the gun magazines (quite the contrary), and that's about 90% of the reason it never took off in the States. No other logical explanation since plenty of heavier, less historically relevant, less proven, less well made, less numerous, lacking cheap milsurp options, and poorer shooters achieved popularity. But they weren't in 9mm (at least not until the 80's when polymer trumped everything)

When you look at the facts and comparison to other guns, the lack of popularity of the Browning/FN here is completely irrational (which is why I think propaganda from gun writers figures prominently as an explanation)

TCB
 
"...many in the U.S. may consider that a handicap..." That's from listening to twits like Jeff Cooper. If something wasn't invented Stateside, Cooper thought it was bad. He also thought a military scout(not that there is such a thing now) would ever think of using an unbalanced, bolt action rifle.
"...that means a heavy trigger..." The trigger in a BHP is crappy due to it being designed by a European for European police. That stupid mag safety is only there because of that. No other reason. It was not in JM's early design. Fortunately it comes out with a wee drift pin. Not having the trigger dragging on the magazine drops the trigger pull significantly.
 
Don't brew up venomous hate responses for everyone who doesn't like that trigger, you've already missed the mark as far as I'm concerned.

It's not the heavy pull weight, it's the crazy long over travel and it's the irrationally vague reset feel - or rather, it's complete lack of any. Neither of these are nearly so easy to correct simply by yanking out a mag disconnect safety.

Great lines on this pistol though. A fine looking handgun saddled with an inherently bad trigger.
 
I don't know which of my 8 HPs I like better. And to tell the truth, my Argy examples have some of the nicest triggers I've every had in any auto pistol......with or without the mag disconnect.
 
I'm 20 and the BHP is the only pistol I own. I liked my brothers 1911, but I felt like it was a tad too big for my hands. So I did some research and discovered the Hi power. I love that you can strip it in less than 5 seconds, and 9mm is a good cartridge. I feel that .45 is unnecessary for carry, because with pistol rounds you are going to have to shoot them more than once to stop someone, even with a .45. No magic bullets here. So I figure 9mm is fine because if you're going to have to shoot more than once, those shots may as well be easier to control and you may as well have more of them.
 
The trigger in a BHP is crappy due to it being designed by a European for European police. That stupid mag safety is only there because of that.
Click to expand...

Actually the hi power was a joint project between John Browning and a french designer (whose name escapes me) for the french military, not the police. Also I bought mine used without the magazine safety, and wish I had one. For a single action pistol, I wish the trigger was a bit heavier, because if worse comes to worse and I have to draw it I don't want it to go off before I need it to just because I'm excited.
 
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My stock MK III Hi Power's trigger, while a bit heavy due to the overly heavy mainspring is nice, crisp, and very predictable. Reset doesn't seem to be much different than other pistols I own. Never really notice it. My BHP is stock, and still has the mag disconnect. It is also my most accurate center fire pistol over many of the major manufacturers I also have.
 
How Cooper could like the CZ and not the Hi-Power is a mystery to me. I had one years ago, one of the few I'd like to have back.
 
To address the heavy trigger further, I look on the Hi Power as a perfect combat pistol, not a competition pistol nor a range pistol.

So many light triggers and worry over resets are all the products of gaming,
not actual combat and training for it with soldiers of all backgrounds and
abilities; ditto for police.
 
I'm not complaining about trigger pull weight, I'm talking about a trigger with more slack in it than any of my DA/SA triggers have take up. I realize folks diss the hi power trigger sometimes unjustly, but my hi power is an abused surplus gun that looks like someone used the front and rear sights as a hammer. My issue is with an individual sample, not the hi power in general.
 
All the FN pistols were late arrivals on the U.S. market because, up to the mid-1950's, there was an agreement between Colt and FN to divvy up the market. FN did not sell their guns in the Western Hemisphere and Colt did not sell theirs in Europe and the Middle East. The rest of the world was up for grabs.

The first time most Americans ever saw a BHP (or any FN pistol) was when guns taken from Germans came into the country as war trophies.

Jim
 
I have 2. Love 'em.

That said, I hated the factory trigger. Of course, I hate the factory trigger on most guns I've tried that cost less than $1200.

The sad part was a brand new Hi Power trigger felt 'wrong' to me, and it was selling for $1000 at the LGS.


I love my Hi Powers, but their triggers have been worked over and are lighter/smoother with a crisp 'break'.

I shoot them well.


I tend to think 9mm was looked down upon as a 'European cartridge' that had inferior capabilities, compared to the real power of a .45acp.

I am NOT saying the previous statement was true: just that we had 1911s and a love affair with the .45acp pistol.

One thing I have ABSOLUTELY NO KNOWLEDGE of but wonder: how many Hi Powers were sold to civilians by Browning/FN before the 1970s?

My recollection is that it was easier to get a Star B in the 1960s or 1970s than it was a Hi Power.

I wonder if equipping so many armies/police forces of the world at that time had any impact on the availability to civilians?

Just a thought.

I enjoy the 1911 platform a lot. There are so many things you can do to customize them. I have a few, and have basically built 3 from frames up.

The Hi Powers don't have as many options, but I actually shoot them more than the 1911s, usually.

Great gun!

I like to accept that old joke about the 1911 being the proper device to hurl .45acp rounds at the target, while the BHP is the proper device for 9x19mm: as both are products of JM Browning's mind. [of course, I understand Saive did as much/more to the final product of the BHP than JMB did. But that ruins half the fun! ;)]
 
I've owned quite a few since the '60s. Used to consider myself a small time collector;-) I do think Forum member NateKirk is a rare exception, as most younger shooters seem much more interested in owning whatever their friends think is the coolest plastic "tactical" pistol. Most younger shooters, if they even know what a Hi Power is, "know" that the Hi Power is an antiquated old foreign pistol of some kind that ~only~ holds 13+1 rounds, reportedly has a heavy trigger, is not durable enough to handle hot, "combat" ammo, and for some reason costs more than a Glock or similar plastic pistol. Not just younger shooters, with the exception of NateKirk, are uninterested in the Hi Power. I've not seen much interest from older shooters either. I cannot recall the last time, if ever, that I've seen another shooter with a Hi Power at the local range. Not even 1911s are common, but at least young and old shooters seem to know what they are. But every Taurus, along with every plastic-framed pistol, compact carry pistol, etc. known to man is as common as dirt at the range. BTW, the few shooters that can ID a Hi Power seem to think that the "real" Hi Powers are made in the U.S. and the others, like those made in Belgium, are just copies..............................

I still have a few Hi Powers, still appreciate and shoot them. But, they are from a different time, and definitely not for the masses. I do understand that the Hi Power was designed as a military pistol. It does have a heavy trigger pull, long vague trigger reset, etc. But, it has been my experience in the U.S. military, that the troops will learn to shoot whatever is issued, regardless of the weapon's good, bad or ugly features. I suspect the militaries where the Hi Power was issued are similar in this respect......ymmv
 
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