2 Hi Powers in 3 Days

I've had my eye on a BHP in my LGS Browning case for a month or three. Beautifully blued Standard with some fancy grips, sweet trigger, no mag safety, and some "mousetrap" mags.
Last week I finally made the decision and sold twoguns (Sig 229E2 and S&W 640) and paid most of the price he had on the tag.
I was a happy guy.

Then on Armslist in WA state, mon Wed night, there was a BHP Practical for sale for $650 (a bunch less than I paid for the Standard) with two barrels. I called the number, said I didn't want the threaded barrel and we agreed on $550.

I picked it up today and it's darn near perfect and the grips were marked "Spegel" and worth about $80.00. Now I'm an even happier (but poorer) guy.

'Course I now have a Beretta PX4c on sale on Armslist and may put a Beretta 92s up for sale as well.

But I have 3 HPs!....an Israeli surplus I duracoated and had a trigger job done on it, the Standard and Practical. Enough?

Nah....now I'm wondering which HP is next. These things are almost as addictive as S&W K frames.

I'm down to two ATM, but you never know when lightning will strike. They still fit my hand better than any other semi auto I have hefted, especially with Spegel grips on them.

3 is about the right number. Certainly no less.

I bought one last week too. A Mkll Israeli FN HiPower. I was quite surprised when shooting it. Not what I expected

Great guns you got there. Love the BHP! It is the made the way a good combat pistol should be.

I just got my first HP about a month ago, it had a grinded down hammer which I didn't like the looks, but it was cheap and came with 4 extra 15 shot mags. Its shoots excellent so I ordered a new hammer from Numrich arms and just installed it 20 minutes ago, it looks much better and will try it out at the range tomorrow. It's supposed to be a beautiful sunny and 62 degree day.

Arik said:

I bought one last week too. A Mkll Israeli FN HiPower. I was quite surprised when shooting it. Not what I expected

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Wondering if the experience was better or worse than you expected.

I know some suffer from hammer bit (which is why god made dremel tools); if the mag safety is still attached the trigger can be less than perfect; and early model sights are adequate for a combat pistol but ain't made for bullseye shooting.

But there are fixes for all of that and a little time (the mag safety is fairly easy to remove and some grind down the hammer just a tad) invested turns a really, really good pistol into a great pistol.

I highly recommend the late, very-much-missed Steven Camp's "A Shooters Guide to the Browning High Power" as must reading for any BHP owner.

(I too bought an Israeli surplus FN Mk II....it's the one I had duracoated and trigger work done on it. The pistol now sports a crisp, crisp 3.5 lb. trigger and VZ grips, looks great, and shoots like a $1500 gun. Alas, there isn't much one can do with the front sights on those, except take a bit more care and practice, practice, practice.

Redcoat3340 said:

Wondering if the experience was better or worse than you

I highly recommend the late, very-much-missed Steven Camp's "A Shooters Guide to the Browning High Power" as must reading for any BHP owner. .

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Is this book still available in print?

I have the same crew...
Standard with adj. sights
Practical
Shooter-grade MK II that does the heavy lifting.

All in 9mm.
My favorite pistols.

I'd like to find one more. Maybe an older surplus, or something like the Detective model.

HPs are one of my favorite pistols by far- congrats!

Don't worry, and you are right to be selective, I would think some more nice ones could be in your future to help get that average back up.;-)

Bat Guano said:

3 is about the right number. Certainly no less.

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I only got one. But it's a classic.

Edit. Even dogs dont bite me.

I have 2 Mk III mat and bright blue........ 3 is better!!!!!!

Redcoat3340 said:

Wondering if the experience was better or worse than you expected.

I know some suffer from hammer bit (which is why god made dremel tools); if the mag safety is still attached the trigger can be less than perfect; and early model sights are adequate for a combat pistol but ain't made for bullseye shooting.

But there are fixes for all of that and a little time (the mag safety is fairly easy to remove and some grind down the hammer just a tad) invested turns a really, really good pistol into a great pistol.

I highly recommend the late, very-much-missed Steven Camp's "A Shooters Guide to the Browning High Power" as must reading for any BHP owner.

(I too bought an Israeli surplus FN Mk II....it's the one I had duracoated and trigger work done on it. The pistol now sports a crisp, crisp 3.5 lb. trigger and VZ grips, looks great, and shoots like a $1500 gun. Alas, there isn't much one can do with the front sights on those, except take a bit more care and practice, practice, practice.

Click to expand...

The experience was worse but not in the sense that it was a bad gun or had some sort of issues. Gun itself ran fine. Hammer was not a problem which is surprising since i hold real high up and don't exactly have bony, skinny hands.

Here was my problem. I was shooting all over the place. Frag grenade pattern at 15 yards. I had with me this HiPower, a 5906 and a G19 which is my carry gun so it was already with me. What surprised me was

1) the sharp recoil. Not so much sharp in hand but muzzle flip. My G22 40sw has noticable less muzzle flip. Every time it would go high and to the right. I would have to search for the front sight afterwards. When shooting my carry gun (G19). It's just a gentle movement up and back down. Front sight stays visible and on target. I thought maybe because the HiPower has a higher bore axis than the Glock but then again so does my Sig 226 and I don't have this problem with it

2 ) accuracy. I was shooting off hand using Aguila 124gr fmj. My shots were all over the place. I'll post pictures on the bottom. If i really really really concentrated, being very deliberate and slow I could group them well at center mass. Soon as I relaxed just a bit shots opened up all over the target. Because of this I don't think it's an accuracy or mechanical issue with the gun. The trigger is missing the mag disconnect so it's light(er) and smooth(er) and I suppose an argument can be made for not being used to the trigger but I shoot my 1911 often without issue and it's a similar feel.

I was thinking it was the grips. I'm not a fan of narrow/thin grips and I'm sure that played a role but again...I shoot my G43 a lot better and that thing has none existent grips and totally uncomfortable.

Here's the HiPower at 15 yards. What you see in the center is real concentration.

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Here's the G19 shot from 20 yards and much faster. Using the same HiPower target and then a fresh target. Had a few fliers that were totally my fault

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Here is the 5906 target at 20 yards shooting slower but not nearly as slow as the HiPower. (All the low shots was DA only practice)

Nice HP grabs. As for the Spegels... $80 is what they cost new (actually $90 - I had a pair show up in the mail this week), if you are willing to wait a year to get a set. On ebay his HP grips will easily bring $150-$200 depending on wood and condition.

I got my first 2 this month and now looking at another. If I buy this one I'm done. Just ask my wife!
Nice HP's Redcoat!

I think you need at least ONE WW II military marked Hi-Power to round our your collection.
Jim

Welcome to the world of Browning HP's and here's my Browning HP with a set of Spegal Grips.

I have 2, a inglis surplus that I bought at a pawn shop in Fayetteville NC, when I was at Bragg, and a more recent, nighthawk custom. I love the hi power, it fits me well, and as reliable as sunrise

To my eyes, the HPs seem more elegant than any other autopistol ever made. I have fired several and fixed several, but never owned one. Maybe I will one of these days. Not that I really need another 9mm.