The finest fighting 9mm handgun of all time is unequivocally the Browning Hi- Power:



This is my Mark III variant and it is excellent. Easily the most comfortable, pointable, and most beautiful auto I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.

Here is pictured with an authentic British Army service holster that features a spare magazine pouch built in. It’s a great way to carry this pistol for woods bumming and walking the property.

God bless,

-Glenn

Uhhh, if I knew I was going to in a gunfight, I would choose the Beretta 92F over the Browning. The Brownings are iconic, wonderful guns, but I would much rather have a Beretta in a gun fight.

Sorry Glen, there can only be one, the Glock 17!

The Beretta is a clunky brick with a terribly placed decocker/safety.

The Glock is far better, but not finer than the Browning.

I doubt that a Glock 17 will ever be a family heirloom.

I know of a lot of CZ-75 owners who would contest the OP's opening statement.

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Release the Kraken

There truly is no such thing as “the best” for everyone; rather, some very fine choices of compromises that serve most anyone well.

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Even some 1911 owners might chime in, too.

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The best I can with what I got

I like the HP but I think that the CZ-75 edges it out a bit. I have a Beretta 92 but it is too bulky for me to want to tote it around.

I confess to being a CZ-75 fan also. I am not knocking the others, but.....

Having a lazer and light on a Glock 17 with plenty of loaded mags would come with me, along with my BUG: Glock 26 which used same mags if they are 17 rounders.

Never fired a Hi Power or 92fs. Not prepared as I am with the Glocks.

Bad fight? 9MM Uzi on a sling under my jacket with a small handful of loaded hicaps. A couple of helpers would be in the plans.

Nice looking Hi-Power. They have good history, along with the Berettas.

Sounds almost like a BBQ gun fight: just bring your 9 mils.

I'll stick with my BHP....
Doing the right thing since 1935....

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

I would take my 5906 TSW over any of those, since we are including comfort and looks. But the CZ is a contender. And yes, I have owned a hiPower, ww2 vintage.

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Kind regards, Heinz

I have:
- five Hi Powers of various flavors;
- a number of CZ-75s of various flavors;
- two Beretta 92s (a Compact L and a Compact M); and
- number of 1911s.

Plus a bunch of semi auto pistols that are not in the running for “best 9mm ever”.

Of those, I really like the CZ-75 Compact PCR.

However, I currently have a compact Browning Hi Power on my hip, and in terms of number of years carried the Hi Power would win hands down.

It still gets the job done extremely well.

CZ-75s, Hi Powers and 1911s all fit my hand extremely well and point extremely well. The 1911 wins the trigger reset race by a mile, but the CZ 75 and Hi Power also have short resets by DA/SA pistol standards.

The Beretta 92? It’s large even by .45 ACP standards and the compact versions are not all that compact at all. Even with a short reach trigger, and ultra thin grips the trigger reach is marginal and the circumference of the grip is a threat to pistol control and retention for many shooters. And even with a short reset trigger bar the reset is notably longer than the Hi Power or CZ-75.

At best it’s a distant third.

Glock maybe better for you, NOT for me. I shoot the Beretta just fine.

I would not like to take a round from any of them, but enjoy shooting all of them.

The Browning has had the longest production run and the widest distribution of any 9MM for sure.

Now THAT is how you start an argument!

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Ain't This Fun Though?

[QUOTE=Glenn R. McMannly;141948212]The finest fighting 9mm handgun of all time is unequivocally the Browning Hi- Power:
/QUOTE]

Me thinks you need to get to town more often. There are better calibers and guns. Larry

The big, bulky Beretta and a 3” K frame.

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Really two,

the Beretta 92 series

the SIG Sauer 226 series

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Ubi Est Mea

Inglis Hi Power with internal extractor (sorry OP but yours is defective). Manufactured in 1944. “Factory through repair” in England 1963. Was that when it got painted black? I don’t know. Matching serial numbers on the frame, slide and barrel but in 3 completely different fonts. It cost me $300 and runs like a top.

P.S. does anyone honestly feel the Beretta safety is ergonomic?

I’m glad we ALL have the freedom to choose!
If it’s down to up close snd personal I’m gonna have a 17 in each hand, once the shotgun is extinguished.

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Remain Viable

I tend to agree. I bought my HP brand new in 1970 for $104. I carried it on the job for about 15 years then the "powers" required me to give it up for something with a decocker. That is when I gained an appreciation for the S&W M-39 I had.

The HP is still in the family, but my son won't give it back.

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6/23/2022

Get real for a change. There is no such thing as "the single greatest" object. Very little in life is that simple.

Replied, now unsubscribing thread.

I do hope nobody minds if I step in the fray,

The Beretta is too big for my hand. So too is my standby 9MM the S&W, model 59, but the 59 and the 659 fit my hand better. In a gun fight it's a 1911, if for no other reason than it fits my hand better than all the rest. CCW my EDC is a Kimber micro nine. If 8 rounds won't carry the day, then my backup 14 should. And if that isn't enough then, well folks, it was nice wordsmithing with you. I don't have a Glock and don't want one. As I tell everyone at the LGS, "If i wanted to carry a brick I'd go to the brick yard and buy one." I do have a P08 and I guess its ok being made in 1916 unlike the ones made in Nazi Germany. But I have a 59 and a 659 handy yet my wake up in the middle of the night, handy andy is a new to me 3inch model 60, as backup to my Stevens pump action 410 filled with 3inch Winchester PDX rounds. Yes, I really did take the magazine plug out. And it's 18inch barrel makes it right handy around the house.
There i said it, and i mean it.

I agree wholeheartedly! Finest combat handgun ever made. Some complain about the trigger being gritty. It’s intended for combat; not competition. OTOH, there is no competition like combat! Compete like your life depends on it!!!!

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otis

My first place participant is a firearm that not many people have had a lot of trigger time with and that is the Walther P88

The firearm is amazingly ambidextrous. The slide can be released from either side, the magazine can be dropped from either side and the hammer can be lowered from either side all without converting any controls. I think two examples that I have had the pleasure to shoot are extremely accurate and very very reliable


As a more common and universally accepted choice I would pick the SIG P226

Certainly an extremely reliable and versitile pistol. I always feel extremely comfortable when there is a SIG sitting on my hip.

Truthfully my first choice would be one chambered in 45ACP and not one chambered in 9MM.

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"Acta non verba"

It's pretty good in .40S&W, too:

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I have 2 BHP's but also like my Sig 229, 228 and P6. I am now getting used to a Stingray in 9mm and I am looking for warmer weather so I can get some more rounds through it. It shoots well for me.

Sig gets my vote. P228 for me

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On the Oak Savannah

I believe the main reason the BHP is such a good pistol is because it was developed by two firearms geniuses, John M. Browning and Dieudonne Saive. In 1935 it probably was the best and for some of us it has stood the test of time.

I will jump in on the side of the Beretta, but they are both beautiful in their own way

CZ 75 series
Beretta 92 series
Sig P226/P228/229 series
HK USP and P30
Walther P99AS
Beretta PX4
Colt 1911s

Glock is towards the bottom of the list. Yes, Glocks are very good, popular, and highly reliable utilitarian pistols, but the "greatest???" Not even close. I buy Glocks and other polymer strike-fired handguns because they're relatively inexpensive, disposable, dime a dozen, light weight, and easier to EDC. If I were to buy a pistol that I'd have pride of ownership or as a collectable, BBQ gun, heirloom, etc., Glock doesn't come to mind.

Browning Hi- Power is an icon pistol, but I'd put CZ and Beretta above it. There's a reason why 1911s, CZ, and Berettas are still popular and going strong, and Browning Hi- Power isn't a big seller at all.

If he would have said Glock 19 was "the Greatest 9mm Ever Made," on a S&W forum no less, that would have started a riot lol. A Browning Hi- Power is a respectable nominee.

After the trials resulting in the M9’s selection, it seems everyone upped their 9mm game, and it has gotten better since then. Here is my list of 9mm pistols that will serve you well:

Beretta M9, PX4
Browning High Power Mk III
CZ75B
FN509
Glock 17/19
HK USP, P30, or VP9
Ruger P89
SIG Neuhausen P210
SIG Sauer Mk 25 or M11
S&W M&P 9 2.0
Walther P5, P88, P99, PPQ, PDP

There are probably others, but that’s a pretty good list of guns that will not let you down.

I think the CZ75 is a great pistol. I had the CZ75 compact. The thing that I disliked about it is that the slide sat inside the frame. Great for accuracy but doesn’t give you a lot to hold onto to rack the slide.

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otis

I think the finest 9mm of all time is the, in all of its machined and mechanical goodness, P.08 Luger. It's, just, beautiful.

But if I'm running out the door with a 9mm, my top three choices: G19X or a Jericho 941 or a Sig Sp2009.

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Thread Killer.

Something about the Beretta/Taurus just makes it an easy to shoot pistol and that means a lot.

May be the HK p7 series.....how about a p7m13?



Or, if we want to be really contentious.....a Colt 1911 in Super 38 This one happens to be one of my all-time favorite shooters, and a carry gun.

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On the Oak Savannah

I do love the Hi Power and Glocks do work I must confess that I only have one 9mm now. Once I got my hands on the Wilson EDC X9 the rest went down the road

I will judge the "best" by category. IMHO comparing a specialized gun to one of the same caliber for a different purpose makes little sense to me.b Here are my picks:

Target Shooting: SIG P210
Concealed CCW/EDC: SIG P365
LEO purposes: Glock 19
Design, material functionality, QC, looks: Belgium Browning Hi Power

I shoot well with both the CZ 75 and Browning HP, If I were going into a gun fight at pistol cartridge ranges, I would go with the Uzi model B and stick mags.

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Front sight and squeeze

Great answers here, and I certainly upvote the Browning and the Beretta, but the Sig P226 has been one of my very favorites since they first came out.

I do enjoy the P220 series.

I traded my G17 for a B92 and never looked back.

The decocker is a non issue. leave it off and treat the gun like the double action it is.

But if we're going to talk about the greatest, it has to the Wilson series. for those who can afford them.

A Belgian Hi-Power is not going to let you down. However, I briefly owned an Argentine version that was a complete jam-o-matic.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

P226 or CZ75

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I’m your Boogie Man, uh huh.

I agree. I owned a CZ-75 Police model that was a rough LE/mil overseas trade in.

Gun looked like hell but ran just fine. But that little slide with the itty bitty serrations was like trying to pull a slippery trout out of its nest when racking.

Down the road it went.