Browning HP Discontinued

Did the influx of surplus Israeli Hi Powers kill the US market for new Browning HP's?

Why spend $600 to $900 on a NIB BHP when you can get one for $300 to $500 used.
 
I always wanted one but felt like they were kind of overpriced anyways. The HP doesnt look so great when you consider theres about a dozen companies that make SA 9mms and 1911s that cost considerably less and are probably better guns.
Yeah, its cool that its all steel and was partly design by John Browning but that gun should never have cost more than $800.
So enlighten me. Other than 1911s (I own two), the CZ 75 BSA and the (now discontinued) Browning Hi Power, what other single-action 9mm's are there? I can't name any off the top of my head (with the disclaimer that I'm hardly an expert on what every major manufacturer offers).
 
I like my HiPower and it is accurate, beautiful polished blued steel and durable and won't melt in the sun or scare kids with ugly.
 
BHP was one of the original wonder nines, buy it is kind of obsolete today. I might have bought one if I had the desire for a 1911 but didn't want to shoot .45 (1911's in anything but .45 just feels wrong to me,) but I wouldn't have any practical application for it other than target shooting.

I would have bought one because it's cool and historical, just like I'd buy a PPK for the James Bond factor, but it wouldn't be very practical unless you had some money to piss away.
 
Confirmation from Browning- Last shipment received in March, none available, production has ceased, equipment worn out.
Denis

I guess its possible for a company here in the States to manufacture them. I'm guessing Norinco in China makes them, though they can't be imported. Maybe an outfit in Eastern Europe will see an opportunity. Zastava in Serbia makes new Tokarevs in 7.62X25 and 9mm, last I looked.
 
The Browning Hi Power was the first center fire pistol I bought for myself. After all these years, I still have it, and it is still accurate, and reliable.
 
drobs said:
Why spend $600 to $900 on a NIB BHP when you can get one for $300 to $500 used.

I agree, but a surprising number of folks are very wary of buying used guns.

The only new gun I've bought in recent years was a Sphinx SDP (because I got one heck of a deal) and a Kel-Tec PMR-30. Everything else has been bought used or gotten (used) in a trade. I don't regret any of the used-gun transactions.
 
Hal,
See Post #8.
The website is irrelevant.
The gun is gone.
ALL models & calibers.
Denis
Yeah - but - the guy in post #3 asked why the website showed the same models in both categories. I was answering his question of why both models were in both categories on the website.

That's why I quoted his question.
 
It's a very unusual gun owner who buys a potential "collectible" that later gets sold at a real profit. Even when they seem to make a profit over the longer term, most increases in value are NEVER as much as the devaluation of the dollar due to inflation. A 2017 dollar, for example, buys what $.11 bought in 1957! That means a $550 gun bought in 1957 would have to sell for almost $5,000 in 2017 to just have the same investment value! Inflation is a killer.

The people who do well when buying or selling guns -- even collectibles -- are generally people who really KNOW their guns, or buy from/sell to folks who DON'T know their guns.

Most of the successful gun people I've talked or dealt with don't buy for long-term growth in value -- they're more focused on the present. The dealers tend to try to move their inventory (where they can make a profit today and tomorrow and stay in business and grow) while collectors continually buy, sell, or trade guns in an effort to IMPROVE the quality of their collection today.

The rest of us just spend our money. :)
Walt, so very well said and so very well summarizing the collector market.
 
Sad to hear HP going away. My Capitan just feels great in my hand and oh that blue. Partial to steel ! It's a keeper.

.02 David :)
 
So enlighten me. Other than 1911s (I own two), the CZ 75 BSA and the (now discontinued) Browning Hi Power, what other single-action 9mm's are there? I can't name any off the top of my head (with the disclaimer that I'm hardly an expert on what every major manufacturer offers).

SIG P938 and Kimber Micro 9.
 
To each his own.

I think this is the operative statement here. People collect what they collect. For those who want one in their collection, or those who see this as an investment opportunity this is either a bad or good thing. For most of the rest of us the BHP is just one more pistol whose time has come and gone.
 
SIG P938 and Kimber Micro 9.
Not that enlightening, actually. They're single-action, but they're both both tiny guns that not many people would cross-shop against a Hi Power.

The original quote higher up (not from you) was "there's about a dozen companies that make SA 9mms and 1911s that cost considerably less and are probably better guns [than the Hi Power]." My first thought was "1911s, sure, but what else?" Other than the CZ 75 BSA, I can't think of anything that's a near-direct equivalent to the Hi Power, meaning: 9mm, single-action, full-sized, metal-framed, double-stack. A 9mm 1911 is close, obviously, but even that's single-stack.

The Hi Power's market niche seems pretty rare to me. I always thought that alone would've kept it viable (although I do agree with others about the high price).
 
Last edited:
I paid $110 for mine in 1967=$806.74 today. Had a long run, and I am sure we will see clones, copies, revivals, etc.
 
I picked mine up last year, and paid considerably more than I probably needed to. The gun had just come in and wasn't tagged or in the display case yet. When the clerk brought it out and opened the case I wanted. When I picked it up I knew it was going home with me that day. But if I said I had paid $700 someone here would tell me I could have bought them for $675 all day long some place else.

It's not a "collector" piece, I enjoy shooting it too much for that.

I'd post a pic but photobucket has apparently decided to screw their users.
 
The beater Israeli Fegs are still out there:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Semi-Auto-Pistols/BI.aspx?Sort=4&IncludeSellers=1006271

And what's a Hi Power thread without pics?
My 3 FN's:
8071383712_17cc62a120_b.jpg
 
Before bemoaning the demise of the single action HP, try some of the newer striker fired pistols.
Some of them just might very pleasantly surprise you.
 
I started this thread to advise that a classic pistol is dropped.
Not to debate its merits.

This is the end of an era, for the FN-produced Browning Hi-Power.
I didn't intend it to be a comparative discussion of which is better- plastic or steel.
If you don't like the HP, that's fine.
But it's not the issue here.

I am saddened to see a great historical icon & important piece of firearms evolution gone.
It's not a matter of looking for something better.

I have two, and I do normally carry plastic. My decision there was based on my own criteria, but doesn't in any way diminish my affection & respect for my HPs, both of which are custom pistols.

I still highly value those two HPs.
Every bit as much as I value my Colt Peacemakers, even though I don't carry them either for defense.

I posted the info here for HP fans, and to say if anybody'd been wanting a NEW Browning Hi-Power, better get one now while they're still in various sales chains.

The gun needs no defense.
You either understand & appreciate it, or you don't.
Denis
 
Back
Top