Hi-Power- Best handgun ever

not to throw water on your parade, but you guys better go to some competitive forums, any forums, IDPA, IPSC, Steel Challenge, and look for yourselves what guns are used. You won't see any Browning HPs... Really, go to the matches, If the gun is that good, all the pro shooters would be using it. period.
Out of the box, well, a 12-15 lb trigger that will cut thru your index finger pad, a safety that cannot be used without a vice grips assist, a slide release that cannot be reached, sights that are from WWI.. Now a Cylinder & Slide Custom shop HiPower, thats a gun that runs.
 
Welcome back to the fold my son! I've owned a BHP MKIII for over ten years now (it's stock). If I had to give up all in my collection save one, the BHP is the one I'd keep. I shoot it better than any other handgun I own. I don't care what the "pro's" use in matches. I want the BHP in my hand when the crap hits the fan.
 
9x45, I've thoroughly enjoyed your posts in the past, but I must respectfully disagree with absolutely everything in your post. That is, except the point about the HP not being used in matches- that point I readily concede. It may sound like sour grapes, but I place no stock at all in what competitors choose as sidearms, it just doesn't equate to my understanding of the "totality of the shooting experience". Perhaps I would feel differently if I shot competitively, but I don't. A Lotus Eleven isn't competitive in Formula One, but it's still a dream to drive. Judging a firearm based on it's "competitiveness" is to define a firearm by a narrow margin, in my view. That is why I like the Hi-Power. Not because of what it does for me, but because of what it says to me. I've never come across a 12-15 lb trigger, never had to use vice grips on the safety, I find the slide release so naturally placed under my thumb as to be automatic in use...are you really talking about the Hi-Power? Anyway, discussion is what this forum is for, and I love it. We ALL are entitled to our tastes. Vive la difference!

[Edited by vanfunk on 04-19-2001 at 06:25 AM]
 
The BHP is the top three of my favorite shooting handguns. 1-Colt 70 Series, 45ACP 2. BHP 9 Para. and the Smith 57 41 mag.

I quess the BHP is what my father-in-law said about shotguns. There are shotguns and then there is the Browning A-5.

Over the years I shot my buddies BHP and loved it. It fits my hand and points like it was made for me. Never did buy one because they have been around since 1935 and I'll buy one after I get the other guns I wanted. Surprise in 2000 they stopped manufacturing the BHP and the market dried up in my local area real quick.

Last weekend I went to my local shop to purchase a Smith 629 Mountian gun but there in the case was a NIB BHP. I'm sure you know what I walked out with.

Tonight was the first chance I had to shoot it put 50 rounds of Blazer without a missing a beat. I'll load up a couple hundred rounds for this weekend and give it a workout.

I also have to agree with one of the posts concerning competitive shooting guns as they are a hole different aminal. Compare a standard M-14 (M-1A) to my Super Match there is no comparison but if I went into combat and had to carry a 14 I would want the standard over the tuned match model. But then I think a 16 is a better combat rife.

You all have a good day.

Turk
 
Well, I certainly have a lot of respect for this pistol. I too foolishly traded away my first gun for more technologically flashier pistols. Only reason I don't have one anymore is my personal bias away from single action autos. If the BHP is the #1 choice in any survey I wouldn't disagree. Great pointability, shootability, balance, and accuracy. By God, I think that makes a superb pistol.
 
The BHP is among the most reliable pistols in the world. It is among the most ergonomic/pointable pistols in the world. It is among the most accurate (out of the box, and postential with work.) It just feels great. Add it all up, and it is one of the greats.

There is something wierd about my BHP clone. When I shoot it offhand, rapid---BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM--I get groups just as tight as when I am bench-resting, watching my breathing, concentrating on trigger control, etc. Makes no sense, but that's what happens. That's worth a lot to me.

Maybe I'm just bad at bench rest...
 
My list of the BHP's shortcomings includes only two items - the magazine disconnect (easily remedied) and a long trigger reconnect distance.

IMHO all other 9's have a longer list of shortcomings.
 
Maybe not best handgun ever,but probably the best single action handgun ever.

Improvements over the 1911: 1 trigger system actually,not a straight line system,no full auto problems. 2 better extractor 3 better locking system 4 better slide stop (ever see a broken one?) 5 no bushing/recoil spring plug 6 some people consider the mag safety to be a good thing 7 first to have a double row magazine, will hold 6 more rounds of ammo 8 no grip safety 9 no plunger tube assembly

Other than that,not much.

And besides,JMB said it was an improvement. Good enough for me!
 
I DO shoot my hi-power in competition (IDPA) thank you very much but argueably I'm a rare bird. Mostly (and i could be wrong) the reason you don't see 9mm in many matches is the caliber didn't "make major" hence the creation of the 38 super for single action competition guns. I'm pretty sure this is the case in IPSC, or was until recently. By the time 9mm was legal in matches there were a ton of newer designs to play with. Also remember the 9mm was slow to catch on in the states, many 9mm's in the country prior to the 60's were ww2 and ww1 trophies and the occasional commercial luger. By the time the 9mm "caught on" here (thanks mostly to police agencies and the military switching over) the HP had been in production for over 40 years.

The Hi -power has been my most reliable handgun in many many matches through thousands of rounds. It bites my hand I can't stand the sloppy take up in the trigger and I loathe the magazine disconnector. However. It shoots everything I put in it. It shoots every magazive I've ever used. (ok those 17 rd SA ones are finiky), Its easy as hell to field strip.

Its perhaps THE MOST produced 9mm pistol in the world. Its a good design. (Ok some ship with a tiny gritty safty, replace the thing and grease it, it will work.) in fact it suprises me that when the USA was looking for a new 9mm pistol to replace the 1911 that the 1935 hp didn't get the nod, its similar in fit, function and field stripping, and the patent would be in the public domain, less licensing fees, even the same holsters could have been used in many cases.. makes you wonder doesn't it?
 
If I had to make a list of greatest handguns, say limited to five, they would be...

BHP
1911
S&W Model 19
Sig 225
Sig 230

The common feature among all of those is that when I pick any one of them up, the just feel RIGHT. Also, each is a beautiful example of their type, they just look RIGHT. They are reliable and shoot where you point them.

JMHO
 
Dr.Rob wrote:
...the reason you don't see 9mm in many matches is the caliber didn't "make major"...
Click to expand...
Exactly right. And when some people built custom 9's to MAKE major, the powers-that-be changed the rules. (Contrary to their PR, IPSC is less interested in promoting innovation than they are in maintaining the status quo.) I, too, shoot a BHP in IDPA - mine is an "almost stock" Mk III to which I've added Spegel grips, removed the %$@#!* mag disconnect, and painted the sights black. It's also my usual carry piece.

From my observations and personal experience, an out of the box BHP is FAR more likely to work flawlessly out of the box than a typical 1911. But the 1911 trigger can be tuned better overall than a BHP.
 
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