John Moses B - final masterpiece tribute

[BUFF]

I never understood why the P-35 was named the "Hi Power." First, it fires the 9mm cartridge with no more power than any other 9mm handgun, and second, there were handgun rounds much more powerful than the 9mm even back then.

Maybe it should have been named "The 9mm Some Power."

It's easily my favorite 9mm handgun. The size and shape of the grip fits my hands better than any double-column mag design on anything else, and I greatly prefer single action over DA/SA, DAO or any other semiauto pistol trigger system. I have had a few over the years, including a couple of Canadian Inglis variants. I'm down to one of the last Belgium-only Browning Inc.pistols now, and it will be the last 9mm I own to leave the building.

My Dad's dad knew John Browning. He traded guns with him a few times and they corresponded. I have a few of his letters around here somewhere.

While Browning gets the majority of the credit for the Hi Power, as mentioned above, Mr. Saive did the majority of the design work on it. Saive is better known as the designer of the FN-FAL, the Right Arm of the Free World, and my favorite rifle.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Actually JMB started the P35 design before he died(several prototypes, one was hammerless).......Dion Desivae(sp?)FN finished it up......I've owned a P35 since 1972

 

[desi2358]

If my memory is correct the Hi-Power name came from the Belgian "Gran Pruisance" (spelling may be off) which was the term the factory used for the new design. Doesn't translate smoothly into english but was intended to extol the new design as superior with greater capacity than similar caliber guns on the market. The 9mm was considered to be a fairly powerful round in Europe and was growing in popularity there as well at that time. So the factory was justifiably proud of the combination of power and shot capacity it offered.

 

[Absalom]

It was indeed a marketing term, "Grand Puissance". And "Great Power" in English has more of an international politics ring to it, so it became Hi-Power in the translation. There was a predecessor model for the French army trials in the 1920s called "Grand Rendement", meaning "Great/High Efficiency", that never made it out of pre-production.

PS: If you're at all interested in the details and also the other FN-Browning designs, I highly recommend Anthony Vanderlinden's book. See attached. I found a new copy of the 2nd edition autographed for around 60 bucks not too long ago.

 

[federali]

Great Gun

I've had my Hi-Power since the late 70s. I can't recall a single stoppage of any kind but I did polish the feed ramp a bit.

My only complaint, and I'm surprised that it got past Salve, is that the tang is a trifle short, allowing for hammer bite in the web of the shooting hand.

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

No arguing J.M. Browning was a genius, but some credit for the Hi-power must go to his assistant at FN, Deiudonne Saive. The 13 round magazine was his design and the last 9 years of development were his as Browning passed in 1926. Saive would go on to have some great designs on his own.

I am a P35 fan also. It is easy to find pictures of the "original" gun as designed by JMB. It looks nothing like what we call the Browning Hi-Power.

 

[OLDSTER]

Hi-Power

IMO the Hi-Power ( HP-35/P-35) is the finest 9mm pistol ever made

Top is a 1980 "classic". Bottom is an Israeli Army (IDF) surplus MKII ca. 1984.

 

[Arik]

I owned one a few years ago. Don't know the model designation but it was from the 80s. Man that gun wouldn't work with any ammo. Kept getting constant jams.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[mtgianni]

One of my favorite JMB stories is when his brother Matthews son was in the trenches in WW1 and wrote back of the need for a good machine gun. He had the Browning machine gun out in a few weeks and offered it to the US Military. The offer was that they paid no royalties on for the duration of the conflict. A normal contract would have brought him $13 Million in royalties which he forgo selling the gun for $750,000. to expedite it getting to soldiers.

 

[TTSH]

TTSH, Why are they not approved? Is it because of the "high-cap" magazine only? I can't really think of anything else that would restrict a 1935 design.

How do you (or anyone in that state) actually take delivery of an old Hi-Power if indeed, you do get lucky and run across one?

You hit upon the very best way to get your hands on one in MA: Get yourself a C&R License and be able to import an older one (still a "maybe" - see below) despite our hated "lists" and the magazine capacity issue. Unfortunately, I really don't want to do that until we have moved to our recently purchased retirement property in late-2017 or early-2018.

So what are my options until then? I can buy one F-T-F from a private party within MA and pay a king's ransom... or I can buy a used one (pre-1998) with a bona fide Massachusetts pedigree from a dealer... and also pay a king's ransom. In both cases, the magazines would have to be pre-ban or 10 rounds max. In either case, there are precious few of them available for sale... and the few that are available are not exactly in great condition.

On the C&R thing, you will get different stories about how C&R folks cope with Massachusetts law... especially when foreign dealers refuse to ship C&R guns directly to MA C&R license holders and other FFLs won't touch them. Some of them will tell you no problem at all. Others will tell you that you must still obey MA law to the very last letter or else. I'm going to have to leave it at that lest I start a big argument on the topic.

 

[jimmyj]

FROM EVIDENCE??? So THAT'S why guns "disappear" sometime!?!

Hi;
I returned it and carried my own M1911 .45acp

 

[chud333]

A pure creative genius.
How many guns were of his design or inspired by
one of his designs? One can only imagine.
The Browning HP and the SIG P210 are the two 9's
i've once owned and let get away that bug me to this day.


Chuck

 

[JH1951]

I agree that the BHP is a classic. I have had several through the years.
Here are two of them that didn't manage to get away.
Nazi Occupation:

Inglis of Canada: I have carried this one a fair amount over the years. (Please forgive the poor exposure on this picture - it is a nice dark park finish.)

 

[Engine49guy]

The BHP is a neat gun,
IMO its shortcomings are its SA trigger , short tang and primitive sites on older versions.

Stumbled on one with the SFS system which at the time had never heard of, Very interesting variation. Found this Youtube video that explains how it functions .

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY6pJpHOaIg[/ame]

 

[cmansguns]

You hit upon the very best way to get your hands on one in MA: Get yourself a C&R License and be able to import an older one (still a "maybe" - see below) despite our hated "lists" and the magazine capacity issue. Unfortunately, I really don't want to do that until we have moved to our recently purchased retirement property in late-2017 or early-2018.

So what are my options until then? I can buy one F-T-F from a private party within MA and pay a king's ransom... or I can buy a used one (pre-1998) with a bona fide Massachusetts pedigree from a dealer... and also pay a king's ransom. In both cases, the magazines would have to be pre-ban or 10 rounds max. In either case, there are precious few of them available for sale... and the few that are available are not exactly in great condition.

On the C&R thing, you will get different stories about how C&R folks cope with Massachusetts law... especially when foreign dealers refuse to ship C&R guns directly to MA C&R license holders and other FFLs won't touch them. Some of them will tell you no problem at all. Others will tell you that you must still obey MA law to the very last letter or else. I'm going to have to leave it at that lest I start a big argument on the topic.

And this above "hassle" from the very State that brought us the Boston Tea Party and our eventual cherished 2nd Amendment..glad I don't drink tea and thankful that the English are not amassing in the Boston Harbor these days or it would be repelling with spitballs!

Sorry for your MA difficulties, but as a C&R holder I personally wouldn't have qualms about shipping direct to another C&R holder in a different State (and have done so) but it is truly up to the recipient to know and understand ALL laws in his/her State (Fed, State and local ordinances sometimes) before sending money and concluding a transaction. I had a Luger promised to a C&R holder in California but he was worried enough that he wanted it shipped to a 01 FFL and couldn't find one that would accept my C&R 03...so the deal went down the tubes, but another buyer (in New York State) was waiting in line so he got it on rebound. Again....only you can research and know your State laws and adapt to your own comfort level.

 

[TTSH]

And this above "hassle" from the very State that brought us the Boston Tea Party and our eventual cherished 2nd Amendment..glad I don't drink tea and thankful that the English are not amassing in the Boston Harbor these days or it would be repelling with spitballs!

Sorry for your MA difficulties, but as a C&R holder I personally wouldn't have qualms about shipping direct to another C&R holder in a different State (and have done so) but it is truly up to the recipient to know and understand ALL laws in his/her State (Fed, State and local ordinances sometimes) before sending money and concluding a transaction. I had a Luger promised to a C&R holder in California but he was worried enough that he wanted it shipped to a 01 FFL and couldn't find one that would accept my C&R 03...so the deal went down the tubes, but another buyer (in New York State) was waiting in line so he got it on rebound. Again....only you can research and know your State laws and adapt to your own comfort level.

You're kinda getting at the issue. It's not so much what MA law actually says. Rather, it's more about how people (inside and outside the state) think our laws apply (or should apply). The confusion and differing interpretations are understandable and the problem is not unique to C&Rs. Many foreign FFLs are very reluctant to have anything to do with Massachusetts. But we really shouldn't hijack this thread. When the proper time comes, I will get my C&R and I'm sure that I'll finally find my BHP someday... one way or another.

 

[Grayfox]

I bought a MK III in the early 80s. It was my first 9mm and it'll be the last to go.

 

[ridewv]

I like the High Power as well and as mentioned they just feel right in my hand. I have a few but unfortunately none of the early examples. The two anniversary examples were from CDNN and at the time were actually cheaper than what standard ones were selling for which is the only reason I bought them. The first is 150th anniversary of John Browning, the second is 85th anniversary of the High Power.






Stumbled upon this FN High Power at Cabelas. It has the standard polymer finish but was complete with (2) 10 round magazines, (2) 13 round mags, cleaning kit, box, and manual. Surprisingly for Cabelas it was reasonably priced so it followed me home.




And finally these two consecutive numbered Tangent sight versions.

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

ridewv, We really like that FN Columbia, S.C. rollmark!!

 

[lawandorder]

A John Gallagher enhanced JMB BHP..............

............love em, any flavor.