Posted on 01/10/2013 4:43:16 PM PST by PotatoHeadMick
LONDON (Reuters) - The military has changed its standard issue pistol to the Glock after using the Browning for more than 40 years, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.
It said it had awarded a 9 million pound contract to Austrian arms firm Glock for 25,000 guns because their pistol is lighter, carries more bullets and is more accurate than the U.S.-made Browning.
"I have seen this pistol demonstrated in target ranges and am impressed that this new lighter, safer generation of pistol provides better value for money for the MoD," Defence Equipment Minister
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.news.yahoo.com ...
Nice of them to identify the weapon. /s
Didn’t 007 prefer the PPK?
Probably a good change as the Glock is always ready, that is if they are allowed to keep one in the chamber which I doubt.
As far as accuracy, I doubt there is any real difference.
How can I get some of those surplus Brownings? Don’t they use the 9mm HiPower?
OOOOOOH! I wonder if we can get them to ship us some of the old Browning HPs as C&Rs?
From Browning Hi Power to Glock 17. Both 9X19MM
*** carries more bullets and is more accurate than the U.S.-made Browning.***
I thought they were made in Belgium and now assembled in Portugal.
I love Belgium Brownings!
“....more accurate than the U.S.-made Browning.”
.
Isn’t the 9mm HiPower made in Belgium by FN?
At the beginning of Dr. No, Q makes Bond give up his Beretta for the Walther PPK.
I have a pristine 1964 Belgian Hi-Power. Really like my Glocks too, my 1911’s too, my Colts too, my .............
I’ve got one and it’s very accurate. I learned to shoot with it and I’d love to have another.
They were made in Canada during WWII.
I’ll ping the gun guru. Maybe he’ll know if they plan to ship the old Brownings over here for sale.
>>At the beginning of Dr. No, Q makes Bond give up his Beretta for the Walther PPK.<<
Would it be too much “follow the leader” if I bought one?
I thought the same thing. I know FN has a factory in South Carolina but did not know they are making Brownings there.
The Brownings made in Argentina are also pretty decent. They don’t have the beautiful finish but inside appear identical to my 1969 Belgian Hi-Power. I have noticed even the tool marks on the side of the barrel near the feed ramp are similar.
As proud owner of two of their latest.....the Glock 30 (small, .45 ACP) and the Gen 4 Glock 23 (.40 cal), I’d say....excellent choice. Glocks rock.
Oh....should have said FORMER owner.....damned boating accident.....sheesh.......
A firearm loaded with bullets without the rest of the cartridge is pretty useless.
The current pistol (L9A1) is basically an off the shelf FN High Power. They’re being replaced, in part, because the current issue 9mm NATO loading is beating the hell out of them.
In what way is a Glock “safer” than a Browning ?
The Browning Hi-Power should handle the hot rounds as well as anything.
Back in the 70’s the government had the HP White firm test all handguns for safety. These tests including shooting a lot of proof level loads.
The tests were clearly too difficult to pass, probably on purpose. I do recall the Browning Hi-Power was one of the few to make it through with no damage.
This brings back a memory of early spring 1983 in Germany. I got a ride to the big PX at Mainz-Kastel to go shopping. I was thinking about buying either a camera or a pistol. I reviewed the stocks of both and decided on either a Belgium Browning 9mm Hi-Power or a Canon AE-1 35mm camera with several lens; both came to about $400. I ended up deciding on the Canon 35mm camera with a 50mm lens and a 75-300mm telephoto lens. It turned out to be much more useful during my tour in all of the slides I took of my 4 years there while in the Army.
I’ve always wanted a Browning Hi-Power. Beautiful little pistol.
You still have nasty guns?
I lost all of mine in an unfortunate boating accident in the Marianas Trough.
Browning Hi-Power
BUMP
yes they do but what is not mentioned is the SIG P229, P226 are also used as well and what I have and is a great handgun
Oh for the want of a Glock 21; .45 ACP with a 13 round mag.
Another sign of the sad decline of Britain. A plastic frame loaded with stamped parts instead of that elegant, accurate, all milled steel pistol designed by John Moses Browning himself... They can’t be that far downhill, can they?
I have owned several Beretta model 92’s, some of which were basically identical to the M9. Very little to not like about them. They are about as reliable as it is possible to make a gun.
Two minor complaints were the grip did not feel quite right in my hand (something which the Browning is near perfect in) and the double action pull was a bit heavy on all of them.
Single action is fine.
FN now owns Browning and I believe the HiPower was made in Belgium but has been made in other countries, I believe it’s been made in Spain but I don’t know about America. FN made many of Brownings as I understand on a contract basis years ago . I have a Browing Lt 12 shotgun mfg. by FN in Belgium. They also made the bolt rifles before browning had them made in Japan.
A bunch had come in during 2012 including the alloys.
They are all long gone.
So? Now, looking back, what would you have done?
Browning Hi-Powers gave been issued to army’s all over the world. They have also been manufactured in many countries. Most of them are unlicensed.
Argentina is one of the few who paid the license fee and also got FN’s help in setting up the production line. They even had FN employees for the first ones made. After the Argentine workers were trained they took over.
They were made in Iraq, Hungary, Indonesia, Canada (also licensed) during WWII, and probably a whole lot more.
Back in the 50’s FN Belgique made an exquisitely engraved 9mm HiPower and a .380.
They dared to ask the outrageous price of $250 for the HP.
Being a poor student I had to settle for an Argentinian Luger that I got through the local newspaper for $40.
Sheesh, I wish I still had the Luger. Lost it in a boat accident in the Marianas Trench.
I’d be more impressed if they had switched to Ruger SuperBlackhawks. THAT would make folks take notice!
I thought the military used the Beretta model 92FS for several years after they dropped the Colts.
I snagged a pair of the alloy-framed versions. Had I more money, I'd have bought them all. :)
An alloy-framed Hi Power weighs what a Glock 19 weighs, holds 13 rounds, and fits in the hand like a glove, with no Glock "hump". To think - John Moses Browning (and his successor Saive) created perfection back in the 1920s, long before Glock started using that word in their ads.
Oh, brother.....
Don’t get me wrong, I love Glocks. Shoot Glocks, carry Glocks.
But with all they other shit the Army makes you wear I’m not sure I’d be humping a Glock too. It would be bound to get snagged on something.
Smart man.
I drug my feet and missed out.
I will never see another on at that price ever.
Another 25,000 guns on the streets of England. I thought that their gun control was so effective that the police often didn’t even carry guns.
Anyone care to wonder why this is happening? And then shove the answer up Piers Morgan’s fop hole.
Translation: Our supply of L9A1 9mm Browning HiPowers are insufficient, we don’t want to buy more from the Belgians (that are assembled in Portugal), so we go with Glocks made in Austria. [It should be noted that the UK does very little small arms manufacture of its own any more. That has been outsourced to “freer” nations.]
Although highly reliable, ergonomically, Glocks are bricks made in Austria. If you have ever fired one, you either love them or hate them.
If you want a good hand feeling weapon may I suggest Smith and Wesson’s M&P series. I’m a proud owner of both a 4.25” Pro and a Shield chambered in 9mm. Accurate, reliable and American made.
Hey, if its good enough for 007 . . .
Nope. Still glad I bought the camera. A lot of great pics of the infant daughter that arrived a year after the camera. and the other kids that followed.
Thinking back, I remember an account from somebody who was detailed to inspect a large lot of WW2-vintage Inglis High-Powers that were surplussed from Britain in the 1980s. Out of something like 10,000 well-used pistols, the number they had to scrap for serious defects was...four. Another hundred needed new extractors...and that was about it.
I had an Inglis and wish I had kept it. The finish was war time but the quality was first class. I don’t even know how I could tell, but you could tell it was quality.
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