The legendary pistol that fought on both sides of WWII is back from the dead — and looking better than ever

taskandpurpose.com ^ | Jan. 20, 2022 | MATT SAMPSON

[PROCON]

Hi-Power, meet the High Power.

The Hi-Power — known as the Browning Hi-Power, the Browning Automatic Pistol, the Grande Puissance, P-35, Pistole 640(b), and so many other names — is arguably the most widely-used military handgun of all time. Present in historic conflicts from both sides of the toughest battles of World War II to the Iranian embassy siege in London that made the British Special Air Service a household name, this single-action semi-automatic pistol was unbelievably innovative for its time, boasting a number of features that made it truly higher power than other options of the day.

Now, 87 years after it was first introduced to the world, Belgian gunmaker Fabrique Nationale (FN) has reintroduced the Hi-Power for the modern shooter, unveiling the company’s new 9mm ‘High Power’ pistol at SHOT Show 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The High Power is such an iconic design, and synonymous with FN really. We recognized the gravity of reintroducing this newly redesigned pistol with such a storied history,” FN America president and CEO Mark Cherpes said in a statement. “Rather than introduce a clone of the original, we had to deliver much more than other brands, knowing the FN High Power would be held to a higher standard. FN pays homage to the prolific design, while modernizing the ergonomics, functionality, and operation. We respect what this pistol has meant to generations of FN collectors and feel the new FN High Power dovetails perfectly with the rest of the FN pistol line, carrying a future-forward design to the next generation of shooting enthusiasts.”

[PROCON]

Great list of Browning’s genius and the many firearms he invented.

[NFHale]

One of my favorites of all time.

Need one... maybe two... :^) Got TWO hands, after all...

[atc23]

Mine that I inherited from dad - I took it to a gun dealer - some old boy in Tennessee and he said “ (sniff sniff) “ still got the Guadalcanal grease innit- I give ya 500.00 for it”

[1Old Pro]

They are great relics of history but I’ll take DA/SA autoloaders any day of the week.

I prefer the Sig P226 Legion

[SkyDancer]

I’m trying to get him to let me fire it; he also has a Smith .357 cop model w/six inch barrel - still hasn’t fired that one either, want’s to give it to my kids (if that’ll ever happen LOL)

[SkyDancer]

And of course you said?

[Kommodor]

Friend of mine bought a BHP 10 years ago or so. Tried it out, and we were both rather unhappy with the magazine safety and how it made the trigger pull feel very gritty.

I ended up buying a CZ75 instead, and I have to say I’m very happy with it.

But yeah, if the new one does not have that cursed feature, I might be interested someday.

[BudgieRamone]

Springfield is also offering a version from what Ive heard. wouldnt be surprised to see one in the new .30 ultra carry cartridge either.

[dljordan]

I’ve been thinking of selling mine, then I said ‘naaah’.

[M1911A1]

I’ve got the Hungarian manufactured Hi-Power. A little polishing and some lube fixed the action the mag safety had on the trigger pull.

It’s a fun shooter, accurate and reliable, and .380 Long is easy to come by, compared to .45 AARP.

Probably be just as happy with a CZ, truth be told.

[Myrddin]

I see another buying opportunity. I wanted one 20 years ago. Only used was available. The one I found had more rust than I found acceptable.

[Joe Brower]

I love the Hi-power ever since I tried out my Brother's Browning years ago. Finally bought one about a year ago, not a Browning, but a Tisas/Regent BR9. Made in Turkey and quite faithful to the original design, including that dang magazine disconnect.

Finish is OK, but the fitting is very good, and once I got the mag disconnect removed, a surprisingly good trigger, well balanced and accurate to boot. Not bad for about $500.

But now Springfield has their own. I'm going to let this one simmer for a bit, see if there are any kinks that crop up to be worked out, and eventually get one of these, too. Maybe they'll have a stainless version by then...

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

MY MISTAKE! It was the M-39 and M-59 semi auto pistols that caused problems back then.

[Paal Gulli]

JMB DID NOT design the HP-35. He had only got started on it before he died. It was finished by Dieudonné Saive and Saive's final design is unrecognizable compared to the prototype JMB left behind.

This is how it looked when JMB died

Springfield Armory's version is better shooter than Browning/FN's because they scrapped the magazine interlock (which was a feature that only the military could love) , which cleaned up the trigger pull substantially.

[Yo-Yo]

But now Springfield has their own. I'm going to let this one simmer for a bit, see if there are any kinks that crop up to be worked out, and eventually get one of these, too. Maybe they'll have a stainless version by then...

If you can find them, the Springfield SA-35 lists for $700. and there is no magazine disconnect to bugger up the trigger pull.

This new FN High Power lists for ~$1,300.

[Calvin Cooledge]

I’ve got a 1963 model that my Dad bought to use as his personal side arm in Vietnam
in 64 ... back when the Army allowed that sort of thing.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***the magazine safety and how it made the trigger pull feel very gritty.***

An easy fix! Just don’t lose the small spring if you ever want to make it original again.

Had an Italian version of the Cz-75 but it was too big for my hands. I traded it off to a friend. When he was shooting it a year later the front sight decided to leave the pistol.

I now have a nice SARB6P. Fits my hand real well, unfortunately the sights are non adjustable and it hits a foot low at 50 ft.

[Jeff Vader]

I removed the mag safety on all of mine, it’s a really simple job to do and makes the trigger light years better