Browning Hi Power

[Hoot]

Thank you. It's an estate action so I can't make an offer. Just trying to figure out what my bid limit should/would be?

I'd say, if in excellent condition, it's worth anywhere from $700 - $1000, depending on how bad you want it.

 

[WVSig]

I absolutely love my BHP that I picked up a few years ago. It goes with me every time I go to the range. That being said, I certainly not get rid of my two 1911's just because I have a BHP. Both were designed by John Moses Browning, arguably the best gun designer of all times. Both designs are worthy of keeping.

This is only partially true. The BHP was not fully designed by JMB. It was started by JMB but he died before its completion. It was finished by Dieudonné Saive.

The Hi-Power started a contract gun just like the 1911. It was a contract spec created by and for the French military. They wanted a new service pistol which they described as, the Grand Rendement High Yield in French, or alternatively Grande Puissance = "high power". The French Govt approached FN with this concept/contract. The French contract required that the gun be compact, have a capacity of at least 15 rounds in 9mm or higher caliber.

Like all contract guns the designers like JMB put into the gun what ever the contract required. If they had wanted it chambered in 45 he would have done it. If they wanted it to have adjustable sights it would have had that. If they wanted pink grips pink grips would have been on the gun. On this project just like the 1911 JMB was working within a contract spec. There was also the issue of avoiding Colt patents because at the time Colt and FN had basically divided up the small arms world into 2 markets which one of each respectively dominated.

The original magazine design was all Savie. He is the inventor of the staggered pistol magazine. JMB thought that a 7 or so round capacity was enough for a side arm but the French wanted 15. JMB produced 2 protoypes for FN built around Savie's 15 round mag. One was a straight blow back IIRC similar to other JMB designs the second had a tilt barrel. This guns breech tilted up or down relative to the slide to lock into an aperture in the slide and tilt downwards to unlock after rearward movement. The locking and unlocking was preformed with the use of a lug which has a cam in contact with a lug. This functioned just like the 1911 which he designed for Colt but was going to be less costly to manufacture. It eliminated the 1911s expensive barrel link and pin.

FN not JMB chose the second model with the tilting barrel!!!! This was the locked breech version of the pistol. The pistol had a striker firing group which JMB designed. This gun became was known as the Grand Rendement. You can see it design specs below.

Here is another pic:

All of this info can be found in Blakes book within the first 20 pages. So if you are going to bash the BHP because of its trigger group then bash Saive not JMB. It is as I stated more his design then JMBs. It was Saive not JMB who was tasked to modify the striker design. The French wanted a visible hammer and as a result the striker mech was replaced with a hammer designed by Saive which can be seen in the 1923 model which was submitted to the French by FN. It was never adopted by the French but the Belgians did adopted it in 1935.

 

[WVSig]

For those who want to know about +P in the Hi Power, I'd suggest reading an article by the HP user's guru, Stephen Camp. Since I got my first HP in the 1970's, I've used Super Vel, +P, and +P+ and had no problems. Like Stephen, I now use 18.5 lb recoil springs, but only since about 2006.

The Browning Hi Power and 9mm

The author of the American Rifleman article, Anthony Vanderlinden, has an awesome book titled FN Browning Pistols, and the HP sections contain much information that can't be found anywhere else. It's pretty much the go-to guide for information about the history of the Hi Power.

For a carry 9mm pistol, I'd choose the MK III, only because of the better sights and safety lever. The cast frame is a bit tougher than the earlier models, but not enough that it would affect my decision.

Here's a 1988 HP that was modified a bit by Austin Behlert;

Behlert was a master. I am always on the look out for one of his guns but they are hard to come by and are pricey.

 

[WVSig]

Thought I'd bring this back up as I'm looking at a hard chrome model with the adjustable rear sight, Pachmeyer wraparounds with Made in Belgium on the frame and a 1982 serial number date. No box and only one magazine but truly appears mint. Value? TIA

The value is all about condition. The hard chrome version with the gold trigger and pach grips is not a rare gun but it it not your run of the mill MKII..

There is nothing wrong with an MKII. They are great guns and will take a lot of rounds. Do not let the internet scare you. This is an MKII and has seen some +P ammo and about 10,000 rounds of standard ammo while I have owned it and I bought it used.



It is still going strong. If you replace the recoil spring every 3,000 to 5,000 you should be fine. At todays prices you are talking about $4,000+, 20,000 round, worth of 9mm ammo before I would start to worry about the frame on a BHP.

I would say this gun in excellent to VG condition is worth about $550 to $700 depending on how much you like the adjustable sights. I personally do not care for them but lots of people like them. You can replace them with fixed sights but you will have to mill the slide which will cost you about $200 to $250.

A lot of people overpay for BHPs. If you don't mind a surplus gun you can get a VG condition gun OTD for under $500 depending on what you pay for transfers. BHPs are very affordable if you are willing to purchase a surplus gun. $450 plus shipping and transfer about the same as a used Glock.

FN Browning HP35 9mm Pistol *Original Matte* : Semi Auto Pistols at GunBroker.com

Or

 

[gwpercle]

Sorry it's a bidding situation, value is directly related to condition.
A photo would be a great help. If someone refinished it in nickel or chrome the value is much less than a factory finish. Be careful not to bid on what you think is a original like new factory gun just to discover later it has been refinished and worth about half of what you paid.
Photo's or an inspection by someone who knows what they are looking at is only way to tell.
I bought a Walther P38 I thought was "like new" , it had been refinished and I wasn't knowledgeable enough then to spot it. I know now what to look for but got burned on the first.
Gary

 

[Richard Simmons]

There are the only photos I could find.

 

[BAM-BAM]

There are the only photos I could find.

Looks like the factory hard chrome from the 80s

 

[WVSig]

Yup you can see the first letter in the date code is a P so it is 8X.

I would say a fair price is around $600 give or take.