Hey guys, looking for some opinions to help me in my decision. I have a HI PWR that I had Novak do a lot of work on: trigger job(mag safety still installed), sights, crown barrel, bevel mag well, refinish in Hard Chrome, polish feed ramp. So I got it back and I am just not impressed like I thought I would be. I shot 100 rounds out of it (functioned perfectly) then shot 100 rounds out of my S&W 3906. I shot the 3906 better and liked the feel of the trigger better. I have a lot invested in that HI PWR but I don't want to let it just sit in the safe so I am thinking of getting rid of it. How do you guys think the 3rd Gens compare to the HI PWR? Unfortunately what ever I buy I always seem to shoot my 3rd Gens better and like them better than everything else.

The hi-power is a classic, yours sounds like a seriously updated classic. I have shot a number of MKIII's and they were all good solid handguns, sans the hammer bite I seem to suffer from them. But then again the 3906 is a classic too. In the end it's all about what you like. If you prefer the 3rd gens, then jump in with both feet. Life's too short to get caught up in anything that doesn't make you happy. I am sure someone else out there would love your HP.

MY 3RD GENERATION HAVE ALWAYS OUT SHOT THE HI-POWERS. BRING IN THE PERFORMANCE CENTER AND THERE IS NO COMPARISON. EVEN THE CUSTOM HI-POWERS PALE IN COMPARISON. JUST MY VIEW. JP

I agree, there's nothing to think about. Many of us have a hard time finding that gun that does it for us and go through gun after gun... (ask me how many I bought and sold in the last two years!) You found what you love - no apologies for that.

If you like the 3rd Gen guns and shoot them well great, get as many as you can before the supply dries up.

I have both, and while I shoot the 3rd Gens well I just like the feel of the Hi Power and the SA trigger.

On the range, I prefer the BHP. Better fit in the hand, and it's a BHP.

For CCW, it's a 3rd Gen of some flavor. I like a DA trigger for the 1st round, and I was never thrilled with the HP safety when I carried one several years ago. The 1911 safety is more positive.

__________________
Because of the metric system?

I have a worked over browning hi power as well, the BHP is the best 9 mm ever made. I shoot it perfectly and love it, a third gen is cool and all but the high power is arguable the perfect 9mm. I can see the carry argument but I carry sigs so I have the da/ sa trigger with a decoker.

Questions like these are funny on a gun/brand specific forum. Ask the same question on a Hi-Power forum and the regulars might think you are either a comedian or a troll.

If you asked an open, general forum, I think the Hi-Power maybe garners more votes but a NOVAK Hi-Power and it's probably a blow-out.

Even still, I'm with you and the locals. I find Hi-Powers to be pretty pistols with a vast historical heritage... but they can't even crack my top-10 in semi-auto pistol designs. I might argue the Hi-Power finishes even lower than that... for me.

I have had two Novaks hi powers, sold one kept one, but they are practicals. No way will a 3rd gen perform on any level comparable to the browning hi power. If want to sell it then sell it you will get every penny or more than what you paid for it back.

Comparing a 3rd gen smith and Wesson to the hi power, especially one worked over by Novaks is like comparing a colt 1911 to a Wilson combat or nighthawk custom. I love 3rd gens, have tactical and PC models but no way are they in the same league.

I see you're in Kalifornia, so I can't send you a 3rd gen in exchange for your HP If you decide to sell though, please PM me - I've got a buddy also behind enemy lines who's looking for a HP.

Have someone put them both in a bench rest and compare for accuracy as that seems to be what your comparing. I have no doubt, in your hands, your 3906 outshoots your BHP!

__________________
USS ZELLARS
DD-777

Living behind enemy lines in Massachusetts, we can't buy a new BHP here or import a used one (it's not on our approved roster); however, a friend has a highly-worked-over one from way back and it is an absolute dream gun for range use IMHO. If I won the lottery tonight I'd try to buy it from him tomorrow. I think he'd sell it too (he doesn't compete with it anymore) for the right price.

But for other than range use, it's a no-go as far as I am concerned. It's a wonderful gun and I drool & giggle when I get a chance to shoot it... but off the range and back into the real world, give me a 3rd Gen any day of the week.

All that said. I still hope to own a BHP someday. It will probably have to be an older used one already residing and documented here in Massachusetts and most likely bought via a private F-T-F sale. It will not come cheap.

BHP fans are like 1911 zealots, they assign both mechanical and emotional attributes to the design. And they should, why not. I do the same thing to things I love. Both the BHP and 1911 were top tier fighting guns in their day and some people believe they still are. I don't happen to be one of those people. The BHP's I have tried had unpleasant triggers, the grip tang was way too short, the sights were very odd 3 "block" sights and other than the excellent ergos nothing was really exciting about the gun. But that's me and it kind of sounds like that's the OP too (as far as not falling into fandom with the P35). Now give me a S&W 3904 / 3906 with adjustable sights or a Beretta 92G and I can't get out to the range fast enough. As they say the world don't move to the beat of just one drum...

I have a Mk III that's got some mods...sights, grips a little polish.... love it.... a classic pistol and the first hi-cap auto.......wanted one since Serpico got his! About every two years I read one of these threads and get the urge to carry it.... even have a Sparks Summer Special for it............

then I come to my senses...........

and stick with the 3G Smiths I've been carrying since 1990.......3913NL/3914 , PC compact 9mm (69??) and sometimes a 915.

But the BHP gets a range trip .....I even have a Cinner .22 conversion upper.... for some rimfire "less than High Power" shooting!

I'm still waiting on the pics.

There are a million old sayings out there about wanting or craving what we can't have... and I plead guilty to that in regard to the BHP. In fact, there are a handful of guns that fall into that "outlawed" and craved category here in MA. The BHP just happens to be the most expensive and generally unattainable of the bunch. Hence those assorted mysterious and imagined attributes you speak of.

Yeah. As much as I love my buddy's BHP, and would own it if I ever could, I would never even want to think about carrying it or even using it for home defense. There are far better pistols sitting in each of my safes for those tasks.

Here is mine

The Novak BHP Practical 9mm

Attached Images

IMG_1044.jpg (66.2 KB, 40 views)

Here she is. Thank you everyone for the input. I am going to take her out to the range and give her some more attention.

Attached Images

DSC00938.jpg (108.7 KB, 35 views)

I have a Practical and a standard blued model with target sights. Can't decide which one's prettier. I think the nod goes to the blue and walnut.

__________________
Because of the metric system?

I just noticed that you have Novak style non adjustable sights. I shoot the Target site model like I have pictured vastly better than I shot the fixed sight model like you have. That could be the reason why?

I ended up selling my fixed site BHP and keeping the adjustable site model. The smith even made a cool fiber optic front site for it.

I really like the sights. And I wouldn't toss it in the dumpster after one visit, a little range time is a good thing, to see if it grows on you.

__________________
USS ZELLARS
DD-777

I like HPs, probably not the best carry gun, I have owned a few
and have found that the Portugese models have terrible triggers.
I have the Impractical model and would put it against any 3rd
generation S&W.

Attached Images

image.jpg (182.0 KB, 24 views)

I own a MkIII Hi-Power (my first handgun, bought 5 years ago when I turned 21 since I'm a youngun) and 5903, so I guess I can weigh in for once.

My Hi-Power is also modified. A local gunsmith installed a C&S hammer and sear (and performed a trigger job) and cut the slide for Novaks. I installed a 18lb recoil spring and 24lb hammer spring, Spegel grips, and a C&S single sided safety. It has a nice, crisp 5.5lb trigger pull. I love it. It's beautiful, sits low in my hand, is very comfortable to hold, and is more accurate than the 5903 in my hands.

If I had to choose between the Hi-Power and 5903, I'd take the 5903 every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Why? The trigger. While the BHP's trigger is crisp, the reset is such that I have to nearly fully release the trigger. When trying to shoot it fast, I tend to pull it low working through the long takeup and heavier break. I can shoot it fast or smooth, but not both.

The 5903's short and firm reset makes it easy to shoot quickly, even if it sits higher in my hand and doesn't fit as well. The 5903 has also been absurdly reliable, while the BHP has been a bit finicky since the hammer and sear were installed.

I should have sent it to Novak, like the OP did, but alas, I'm too cheap. Oh well, I still love it. The 5903 is a great workhorse, but it doesn't have the Hi-Power's class. I love them both, but for different reasons, and if you spend more time shooting your Hi-Power I'm sure you will as well.