High Power Clones

S

Skorzeny

New member
Among the High Power clones such as FEG (Hungary), Arcus (Bulgaria), FM (Argentina) and Kareen I & II (Israel), which is the best in terms of reliability, accuracy, durability, fit & finish and ergonomics?

Also, about how much do they go for in the US?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
I had a Hungarian one for a while and it was a good shooter. Well made gun, reliable and decently accurate. My only gripes were a heavy trigger pull and the small factory safety.

For the modest asking price though I found it to be a good value. At the time I paid around $249. they've actually gotten cheaper since then. I think dealer cost was around $180 recently if I recall correctly.

I've handled the Argentine guns and they appeared well made but exhibited the same issues as the Hungarian ones, small safety and heavy trigger puill. I have not fired one however. As to cost, I haven't seen one in years so have no idea currently.

The Arcus is cheap currently also. Under $200 dealer. I've heard decent stuff on them but the one potential negative is that I heard they are NOT rated for +P ammo. maybe someone else can confirm this?




[This message has been edited by General Tso (edited February 24, 2000).]
 
That and, as far as I know, Miltex, which manufactured the Arcus, is out of business. It's not a direct clone of the HP so good luck with parts. Anyone wanna confirm this.
 
As I understand, the FM Hi-Power was built in Argentina with the machinery and help of FN of Belgium. Is that true?

Is it also true that the FM is as reliable and functional as the FN ones and is completely interchangeable (parts-wise) with the FN-made High Powers?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
The current crop of FEG HP are true clones, 100% interchangeable with FN HPs. The older FEGs, the ones with a slide stop like a 1911s, aren't true clones. While the Miltex Arcus has some cosmetic difference with the HP, the internals are virtually the same.

Yes, the FM (Fabricaciones MIlitares)HPs made in Rosario, Argentina are licensed by FN. FN set up a plant and Argentina and later sold it to the Argentine Military. Initially FM could only make the pistols for domestic consumption, later it could export the pistols so long as they are clearly marked FM and not FN. The FMs are no longer imported so if you find one NIB buy it. They came with two standard capacity grey color magazines. There were two versions imported, the traditional rowel and the newer spur hammer pistols.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
FM HiPowers are the only ones of the clones produced under licence from FN. Was part of the military contract that the guns were built there. All parts are fully interchangable with Brownings. The FEG's on the other hand are a iffy situation. Sometimes they work, sometimes they need work, and sometimes they won't work at all.
 
Why not buy a Browning? It is this kind of undercutting that caused them to opt to virtually discontinue importation. You'll spend a little more, but you will also get a better return when you sell or trade.
 
I have a Belgian-made Browning already. It is a Mark II made in the last year of the Mark II production in Belgium for the Israeli State Security. It was from AIM.

My local shop has a NIB FM Hi-Power for $350. The gun seems to be either in stainless steel or hard-chrome (well, now that I think about it, it could be nickel-plated) except the oversized sights, slide stop and the commander-style hammer. Those are blued. The safety is still the old small type, though. It comes with a wrap-around rubber stock panel with very bulky palm swells.

It has a very nice trigger (much better than NIB FN Mark III's or Practicals that I checked out) and pretty smooth slide operation, so I think that at $350, it could be a pretty decent deal.

What do you guys think?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
BW,

For some us comparing a FEG HP with one standard capacity mag for $200 against a Browning HP for $499 the choice is obvious, get the former. Even with minor custom work like feed ramp polishing, throating, trigger job and mepro sights the FEG comes out cheaper. I haven't shot a FEG that had problems yet. They're tough pistols and a real bargain, IMHO.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
The ARCUS-94 is a quality clone.. I purchased one last year and have been very pleased. The ARCUS has a heavier forged slide but other than that they are the same.. The mags will interchange and work well. I have fired over 2000 rounds though mine so far and have not had a failure of any kind. I dont know if they are rated for a +P or not. I use the Speer Gold Dot JHP, Speer 115 TMJ and the Fed Hydra Shok 124gr
 
I was at the range today shooting my FEG and Argentine FM. Both shoot flawlessly. Another shooter had a FEG. We both agreed on the trigger being poor out of the box, but FM did something cute. They polished the area the mag safety engages and the trigger was very nice. I have now polished a postage stamp size area on each mag and it is a cheap and very effective trigger job.
We also agreed that the guns need to be shot. After about 500 rounds they smooth up and keep getting better.
My FM did have a extraction problem. We soon found out the gun out of the box had some cosmoline like lubrication and it got into the extractor spring area and the extractor wasn't moving properly. We knocked it out, cleaned it up and no more problems. An easy fix, but I will replace the spring.
All three guns shootingn offhand at 50 feet kept bullets on point of aim and groups the size of our fist without much trouble.
A nice thought is that we had about a dozen various magazines mostly cheap aftermarket and they all fed well. Those $12 magazines do seem to function with few exceptions, unlike aftermarket mags in most other semiautos.
I have thousands of rounds through my FEG with no complaints and no signs of wear that I can detect.
I couldn't urge enough the idea you should buy an FEG while you can for about $200 dealer price. And get plenty of those cheap mags while you can. If you read the constant threads on TFL you see few complaints.
 
I have an Arcus and I used to have a Fm. The Arcus is alot more accurate. My Arcus was imported by Dominion Import Group not Miltex. I think they are both out of business. As for parts I put an Inglis hammer and sear in it, dropped right in.Grips, barrel, ejector and the sear spring fit from an Fm. My buddy has a Fm and I put them in to see if they were interchangable.
 
Looked at all three major clones as well as the origional. Bought the FEG. So far I have not been disappointed. Cosmetically good. Very nice blueing and polished finish. OK trigger. Working on that. Polished the mags where the mag safety engages. Teflon oiled the rest. Going to try slick 50 next. Shoots better then my friends HP with a match barrel and adjustable sights at 10 yds. (I can't see much better then that!)Did have to replace the guide rod assembly, but pistol continued to operate even though it had failed. Had to do a little work to get the mags to drop free. Eats everything I have fed it, although I did do a little work on the ramp. $230 including the replacement BHP guide rod (didn't want to wait for the replacement). About $250 less then the BHP I have on layaway right now. The magazine that came with it sucks!
 
Looked at all three major clones as well as the origional. Bought the FEG. So far I have not been disappointed. Cosmetically good. Very nice blueing and polished finish. OK trigger. Working on that. Polished the mags where the mag safety engages. Teflon oiled the rest. Going to try slick 50 next. Shoots better then my friends HP with a match barrel and adjustable sights at 10 yds. (I can't see much better then that!)Did have to replace the guide rod assembly, but pistol continued to operate even though it had failed. Had to do a little work to get the mags to drop free. Eats everything I have fed it, although I did do a little work on the ramp. $230 including the replacement BHP guide rod (didn't want to wait for the replacement). About $250 less then the BHP I have on layaway right now. The magazine that came with it sucks!
 
Looked at all three major clones as well as the origional. Bought the FEG. So far I have not been disappointed. Cosmetically good. Very nice blueing and polished finish. OK trigger. Working on that. Polished the mags where the mag safety engages. Teflon oiled the rest. Going to try slick 50 next. Shoots better then my friends HP with a match barrel and adjustable sights at 10 yds. (I can't see much better then that!)Did have to replace the guide rod assembly, but pistol continued to operate even though it had failed. Had to do a little work to get the mags to drop free. Eats everything I have fed it, although I did do a little work on the ramp. $230 including the replacement BHP guide rod (didn't want to wait for the replacement). About $250 less then the BHP I have on layaway right now. The magazine that came with it sucks!
 
Looked at all three major clones as well as the origional. Bought the FEG. So far I have not been disappointed. Cosmetically good. Very nice blueing and polished finish. OK trigger. Working on that. Polished the mags where the mag safety engages. Teflon oiled the rest. Going to try slick 50 next. Shoots better then my friends HP with a match barrel and adjustable sights at 10 yds. (I can't see much better then that!)Did have to replace the guide rod assembly, but pistol continued to operate even though it had failed. Had to do a little work to get the mags to drop free. Eats everything I have fed it, although I did do a little work on the ramp. $230 including the replacement BHP guide rod (didn't want to wait for the replacement). About $250 less then the BHP I have on layaway right now. The magazine that came with it sucks!
 
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