EAA Girsan MC P35 PI - word salad title

[Checkman]

Picked this up a couple days ago. I'm not a High-Power snob and when FM (the Argentinian company) was making the Detective High Power I was an enlisted man with two young children. Money was tight and by the time I was more financially able it was out of production and the used models were pretty pricey. Girsan came out with it's version last year.

I picked this up at our local Sportsman's Warehouse on election day. It's an exclusive version made for Sportsman's. Put a hundred rounds through it yesterday. Mix of various hollow points and FMJ rounds. It didn't hiccup once, and it shot a pretty tight group. The all-steel frame made for a very comfortable shoot. Grip design is very ergonomical and I like the straight trigger. First handgun I've owned with a straight trigger. I also like not getting hammerbite.

Didn't buy this as a carry piece (that's a G19 Gen 4) but as a just neat to own pistol. This now my second Turkish handgun. Bought a Canik several months ago. Actually, I am impressed so far. The photo is from the Sportsman's Warehouse website.

 

[mckenney99]

First let me say that I am not criticizing anyone's choices and I am glad that we have those choices. I love the Hi-Power/P35 but I don't see the draw to the short slide PI models. You lose sight radius and if carrying the pistol concealed, the slide is not the part that is difficult to conceal. You still have the full sized grip of the regular Hi Power that is the most difficult part to conceal. About the only real advantage I find to the shorted slide is that it "clears" a holster just a little quicker than a full sized model.

 

[Checkman]

First let me say that I am not criticizing anyone's choices and I am glad that we have those choices. I love the Hi-Power/P35 but I don't see the draw to the short slide PI models. You lose sight radius and if carrying the pistol concealed, the slide is not the part that is difficult to conceal. You still have the full sized grip of the regular Hi Power that is the most difficult part to conceal. About the only real advantage I find to the shorted slide is that it "clears" a holster just a little quicker than a full sized model.

I suppose it's because it's different and falls under the Just Neat category. Same reason why people like and buy the various snub nose revolvers despite the shorter sight radius, increased blast and recoil and reduced ballistics. Some guns are just neat and practicality has nothing to do with it. A Glock 19 is my real world carry piece.

 

[zeke]

Have seriously been considering the aluminum frame version, and have always wanted the detective version. Imo, shorter barrels are indeed easier to conceal, especially for shorter statures and moving around. As others indicate they are also easier to draw from holster, especially for shorter arms.

Am preferring the navidrex micarta thin grips on my Hi-Powers. The thinnest have found so far, but need fitted slightly.

The only thing stopping me is the beavertail.

 

[Grayfox]

I have one of the original FM Detective models and absolutely love it. However, these days its too rare and worth too much to be using for EDC.
When Girsan came out with their PI model, I jumped right on it.
The trigger is a bit heavy, but I can deal with it. Otherwise, its been a fine pistol. Reliable, accurate and feeds everything I've put in it. I do carry it sometimes.

As for why a short Hi-Power? Why do some people prefer Commander sized 1911s?

 

[petepeterson]

As for why a short Hi-Power? Why do some people prefer Commander sized 1911s?

Unless it's a Lightweight, I've always asked the same question!

 

[stansdds]

A shorter barrel and slide can make carry on the waist more comfortable, especially when you have to sit. There is not much of a weight difference, but if the receiver is made of aluminum alloy, a shorter pistol becomes even easier to carry.

 

[murphydog]

I have shot the longer acronym version of this gun, the Ops (with rail). Trigger was heavy but crisp. Probably would opt for the alloy frame version now but they are all nice guns.

 

[crows]

First let me say that I am not criticizing anyone's choices and I am glad that we have those choices. I love the Hi-Power/P35 but I don't see the draw to the short slide PI models. You lose sight radius and if carrying the pistol concealed, the slide is not the part that is difficult to conceal. You still have the full sized grip of the regular Hi Power that is the most difficult part to conceal. About the only real advantage I find to the shorted slide is that it "clears" a holster just a little quicker than a full sized model.

It is amazing how shortening a barrel by even a 3/4" can change the "feel" and balance on a handgun. I had owned and shot full size gov't model 1911's and even though I liked them, they still weren't "my" gun. I never really thought about it, just shrugged it off. I had heard of commander length versions, but actually thought it a joke that less than an inch difference in length can make a difference. Well, one day while wondering through a gun shop and not seeing anything interesting, the woman behind the counter kept up her sales pitch with, " you don't have to buy anything, they are guns and meant to be handled". So, I picked up a used Colt Commander, and whoa, what a difference! It balanced perfectly, for me.
And don't get me started on 3" barrel K-frames versus 4". My point of all this is sometimes it is something not as easily quantified as "feel" and balance, as compared to sight radius, or lost muzzle velocity, or concealment.

 

[LVSteve]

Weight and its distribution can make a huge difference in the feel of a gun. When I first took my wife shooting, she quite enjoyed the feel of a Star Super B with its 5" barrel. Next trip I had her try a Star BM, which she hated after three rounds. Even weirder, she has no problem with a Ruger LC9s.

 

[Sistema1927]

Girsan has been making a number of different P35 configurations. I picked up one of these at my local pusher, er dealer, at an insanely low price. I did replace the RDS with a Holosun, but even then the cost is far lower than it should have been.

Girsan MC P35 OPS Optic

 

[BB57]

First let me say that I am not criticizing anyone's choices and I am glad that we have those choices. I love the Hi-Power/P35 but I don't see the draw to the short slide PI models. You lose sight radius and if carrying the pistol concealed, the slide is not the part that is difficult to conceal. You still have the full sized grip of the regular Hi Power that is the most difficult part to conceal. About the only real advantage I find to the shorted slide is that it "clears" a holster just a little quicker than a full sized model.

I carried a Hi Power for the better part of a decade and it was fine for concealed carry but the weight was excessive.

About a year ago I picked up a Girsan MCP35 PI LW Match.

It’s essentially an alloy frame short slide Hi Power along the lines of the Argentine FM detective model Hi Power, but with an alloy frame.

It’s a superb concealed carry handgun.

The lighter weigh from the alloy frame and shorter slide is a major plus, and it still has enough mass to shoot well at speed.

I’ve never understood the sight radius argument, but then I cut my teeth on bullseye shooting in a PD shooting range before I progressed to tactical pistol shooting. As such I understand and have mastery of the basics of grip, sight alignment, and trigger control.

Theoretically, a longer sight radius reduces sight alignment error, but at practical combat pistol shooting distance of 50 yards or less the sight radius difference between a regular and short slide Hi Power isn’t enough difference to make a difference, provided the shooter has a proper grip based on obtaining and maintaining sight alignment.

The problem for the vast majority of hand gun shooters I see is not a short sight radius. It’s a massive deficiency in fundamental skills.

 

[JoeDice]

I have a Girsan MC P-35PI OPS Hi Power Compact 9mm with the
4.88 inch barrel. Mine is steel frame and has an accessory rail which I will most likely never use , and adds weight. At the time I bought it the aluminum frame model didn’t exist. Weight 33 ozs.empty, 42ozs with 15 rounds. Not a lightweight carry piece. . I sometimes wish I had waited for the aluminum frame ones to come out. My Gunsmith did a trigger job reducing trigger pull from 7 1/2 lbs to 4 lbs 8 ozs. and installed green fiber optic front sight. Those changes were important to me and made a big improvement in my accuracy with the pistol. It is part of my carry rotation.

 

[Checkman]

Went and picked up the full sized Girsan High Power. About $100.00 less and it does have the magazine disconnect but it was an itch that needed to be scratched.