Posted on 02/09/2018 1:10:38 AM PST by Simon Green
Browning has announced that John Brownings final handgun design, a pistol that at one time armed most of the militaries in the Free World, has been discontinued.
In a notice posted on their website, the company advised that although it is possible to still find a few Hi-Power pistols at dealers across the U.S., the Hi-Power is technically out of production. Current dealer inventories will be the last available from Browning for the foreseeable future. The gun was a classic of the 20th Century.
Famous American firearms inventor John Browning began work on the double-stack, single-action 9mm for Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium as an evolution of his venerable turn of the century handguns and, by 1923, filed a patent on his work. Though Browning died before the Hi-Power was fully realized, Dieudonne Saive completed the design and by 1935 the revolutionary 13+1 shot combat handgun was ready for production.
Though FN entered into several small military contracts for the Hi-Power before 1940, World War II saw the Germans occupy their factory and divert production to Berlin. The gun went on to be manufactured in Canada by Inglis with Saive supervising and in a twist of fate was used by both the Allies and the Germans in the conflict.
After the war was over and commercial production restarted, the Hi-Power was one of the most popular military handguns in the West, serving at one time or another with 68 countries, and carved out a stake of the civilian market as well. Browning-marked guns were made by FN starting in 1954 and imported to the U.S. with latter models assembled in Portugal from components made in Belgium.
In more recent years, a number of longtime military users such as the British Army have sought to replace the now-dated handgun, though WWII-vintage examples still march, for now, with both the Australians and Canadians.
Being an 80-year-old design, a number of Hi-Power clones are out there such as Argentine-made FMs, Hungarian PJKs, Israeli Kareen J.Os, Charles Daly HPs, and the Bulgarian Arcus 94, however, they are largely either long out of production or, in the case of the latter, no longer imported.
While custom shops like Robar and Nighthawk will trick out a Hi-Power to an impressive degree, they use Browning-made guns as a starting point, which means their pool is now limited to what is in circulation. As for Brownings own Custom Shop, they only have two Hi-Powers listed, both 9x21mm 75th anniversary Renaissance models, one in gold, the other in silver.
Likewise, neither Belgian FN Herstal nor FN-USA lists the Hi-Power as a production pistol.
Will the Hi-Power come back? In 2000, Browning put the line to rest but that didnt last long, with the company adding Mark III, Practical and Standard models back to their catalog in 2002. The Practical was put to pasture in 2006 but the Mark III and Standard remained in production until recently.
Collectors and admirers of the BHP may spark such an interest to resurrect the line once more, but only time will tell.
Old story and I hope I can tell it right, I’m older than the story. Team of Israeli commandos are going into the house of a known terrorist. Upon enters the front man surprised by a woman holding an AK jumps to the side leaving the second man exposed. He takes a round to the vest that ricocheted of and lodged into his right bicep. He took cover and returned fire hitting her twice in the face about 2 inches apart. The suspect they were after came out of another room firing his AK and the second man fired two more shots hitting the suspect twice in the upper chest again about 2 inches apart, second round smashed into the spine killing him instantly. The Israelis were carrying the Mark II FN Hi-Powers. Second man fired a total of 4 shots, suspects fired over 30.
All the guns I like and use are at least half my age.
I just have one Hi-Power and its the only gun that the govt officially knows I own.
Silver Chrome, FN/Belgium. Outstanding firearm and all around good gun. It guards the key to where the heavy artillery is housed.
I have two Hi-Powers. They are the last two decent combat pistols I have left after having to sell a bunch.
They are about as good as anything but if I could choose a few new ones they would be Sigs and Glocks. A lot of others too, but the Brownings are still as good as they ever were.
The triggers are supposed to not be good but mine are about as good as any others out of the box and I still have the mag safeties which I think are a decent feature despite everyone else not liking them
The Brownings are reliable and easy for me to hit with.
Probably the best feature is how good they feel in my hand.
I had Browning Hi-Power. Nice gun. I gave it to my son when he moved out of the house. I started looking for a replacement, but the cost of the ones I saw were pretty steep. I tried several other double-stack 9mm’s, but NONE fit my hand.
A while after, a co-worker offered to sell me a CZ-75 Compact for a reasonable cost. I like it even better than the Browning. Of course, if I ever run across another Browning that is reasonable cost, I would get that one, too. But, this means that is even less likely now.
Part of the problem is they charge around $1000 for it. I have one. I’d like to buy another or two, but can’t afford it.
YES!!!
I like it the way some people like the 1911.
Yeah, I don’t feel a need to remove the mag safety. I think the trigger issue is overstated. There’s a slightly gritty take-up but then a nice crisp break. If the break were gritty or stagey it would be a different story, but it’s not. Once you’re “there”, the trigger feels about like a 1911.
A good shooter can make up for a bad trigger. The trigger doesn’t bother me as much as the mag not dropping.
They addressed the mag issue on the later Hi Powers by using “rat trap” spring assisted magazines. Mine will eject clear of the gun even with the mag well angled slightly upwards.
Today’s 9 mm ammo is much better than the 9 mm of a couple of decades ago, but the BHP comes in 40 S & W for those who do not shoot anything that does not start with a 4.
Cheaper used Israeli surplus BHPs dried up the demand for new ones over the last few years. Most of the surplus has now dried up. Used ones are now closing in on $1000 and rare aluminum alloy BHPs are closing in on $2000.
I did the same. Back when the only 9mm ammo was fmj.
Sold it to finance a real stopper, a 1911.
Big big mistake.
True but I just go ahead and remove the disconnect if it’s one I’m going to shoot, only takes a couple of minutes, It does make a difference. My High Power in 357 Sig also had the whole comp carry package by Novak. They sent me back the disconnect. That trigger breaks right at 3 lbs and very crisp and smooth.
Probably get a chit storm started with this comment but I carry FMJ’s in all my carry guns, 9mm or 45 ACP. I’m on the ranch everyday and there’s no telling what I’m going to run into. Could be Jackrabbit’s, Coyotes or Feral Hog’s and the FMJ’s leave them bleeding from both sides. I don’t change ammo just because I’m in town where I might run into the two legged ferals.
I can see that, esp if hogs are around.
In my opinion removing the disconnect will improve the smoothness of the take-up but won’t do much for the break, which is 90% of the trigger equation. Still that would be enough to motivate me to remove it if my intent for this gun were to max out its performance, but my intent is to keep it in factory condition and enjoy the history of the design including the quirks. I wouldn’t mind getting a Hungarian or even Argentinian Hi Power and modding it, though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.