HiPower question

[policerevolvercollector]

Since HiPowers were made at FN under Browning's patent, is it correct to call all of them Browning HiPowers including the clones made in other factories or should the name only be applied to those produced at Browning's plant in Utah?

 

[texmex]

Browning Hi power is sort of a generic name for them all. Usually if someone has an Inglis, they will call it an Inglis Hi power, but either way is ok. I have heard people say they have a Hungarian Hi Power or an F E G Hi power. Even though the Colt 1911 is also a Browning design, people don't usually call them Brownings. I guess this is because there were none that said Browning on them until recently. Same thing for the Winchesters that Browning designed. Everybody calls the B A R (1918) a Browning even though all of them were built by someone else. Same goes for the 30 cal and 50 cal machine guns. Garlands are all Garands no mater who built them.

 

[Bat Guano]

I suppose you could call them anything you want--but 54 years after shooting my first High Power--an Inglis, courtesy of the Canadian Army--it means any licensed or unlicensed single action version. To me they're all BHPs of a particular persuasion.

And there are a lot of variants! see Stevens' book.

Amazon.com: The Browning High Power Automatic Pistol (9780889350892): R. Blake Stevens: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/312KJ5Z35ZL.@@AMEPARAM@@312KJ5Z35ZL

 

[Alpo]

That's an interesting question. But let's carry it to its logical conclusion, shall we?

S&W made a 44 Single Action for the Russian military. I believe Lowe, in Berlin, also made that gun, under license from S&W. Are those Lowe guns Smith and Wessons?

Many knockoffs of that gun were made in Belgium. Are those Belgian guns Smith and Wessons?

Are all the Spanish copies of the 38 M&P Smith and Wessons?

Is my Kimber a Colt 1911? My Springfield? My AMT? How about a Remington Rand, or a Remington UMC?

Is my Uberti #3 Russian a Smith and Wesson? My Uberti 1873 rifle a Winchester? My US Firearms a Colt SAA?

 

[LedFowl]

...is it correct to call all of them Browning HiPowers?

I bought an early FEG P9 recently. In terms of parts, it's close to the Hi-Power that Browning/FN produced. I wouldn't call it a Browning or FN, though.

Beyond that, I'm baffled. If a person can call all 1911's by that name, maybe we should refer to these as P-35's.

 

[Skeetr57]

In response to the original poster, I don't believe that any production guns were ever made at the Browning address in Utah, other than the original 600 or so single shot rifles. During WWII and shortly thereafter, Remington made auto shotguns with the Browning name on them while they were not available from Belgium.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I agree with a previous poster, if it's licensed by Browning. it's a Hi Power.

 

[Arik]

I always thought the FEG were something of a Hi Power meets S&W 3rd gen.

 

[zonker5]

My understanding is that the only High Powers made by Browning were done in Belgium. The ones marked "Utah" were actually made by FEG in Hungary and shipped here.

I have an FEG that is every bit as good as my Belgium one and the parts interchange nicely...and it's several hundred dollars less!

 

[ma deuce]

To me, if it's a P-35-pattern pistol it's a Hi Power, whether made by FN, FEG, Inglis or Fabrica Militar. A Browning Hi Power is an FN-made P-35 rollmarked with the Browning name and marketed by FN, mostly in this country, under the Browning name.

As for the FEG being a 3rd-gen S&W meets Hi Power, not true, at least not altogether. The earlier FEGs, known most often as the FEG PJK-9HP, is an exact clone, all-interchangeable copy of the FN Hi Power. FEGs later introduced changes, eventually adopting a version of the S&W lockup system. These, obviously, are significantly different, although some people still refer to them as Hi Powers. Which they aren't, since they're not P-35 pattern pistols.

The "Utah" address is part of the Browning marketing. The Browning name has long been owned by FN (Fabrique Nationale) of Belgium. They manufacture all Hi Powers marketed under the FN name or under Browning. Most sold in the U.S. are marketed as Brownings because the name sells better here. They sell the P-35 under their own FN name in the rest of the world. The Utah-addressed guns have nothing whatsoever to do with FEG.