I would like to apologize in advance for the sacrilege in advance, but I need some opinions.
I have always had a fondness for the Browning Hi Power, but they were always financially beyond my reach, but now that I am a disabled single parent, the Browning will most likely never be within my reach.
I hear you on the high cost of an actual FN Hi Power.
I carried an FN SFS Hi Power for about 10 years and it was a great pistol. But it's my only Browning/FN made Hi Power, due to their cost relative to other options.
I have a few FEG made Hi Power clones and the commercial blued models are nicely finished, for about a third the price of an FN Hi Power. I've found them to be as accurate and as reliable as my FN Hi Power:
The FEGs come in a few different variants:
The FEG "Hi Power" clones
The FEG P9 is a near perfect clone of a pre-Mk II Hi Power and it has 100% parts interchangeability with the pre Mk I Hi Power. I fitted one of mine with an SFS system to match my carry gun, and it required no more fitting than the average Hi Power.
The first generation P9M:
- eliminated the Hi Power's half moon shaped slide release lever for a 1911 style release lever;
- had a different profile on the slide stop with corresponding differences in the cut on the slide,
- had and extended safety lever; and
- had larger 3 dot sights.
Otherwise it shares the same parts commonality as the P9.
The FEG "Hi Power" look alike:
The second generation P9M looks like a Hi Power on the outside, but isn't really a Hi Power at all as it uses a S&W based locking system. Part commonality with the Hi Power is low. These can be identified by the lack of a visible oval from the cross pin in the Hi Power's frame. if you can't see an oval on the left side of the frame just above the trigger, it is a second gen P9M and not a Hi Power clone.
The FEG "Not a Hi Power at all" ( a S&W Model 59 clone):
The P9R is more or less a S&W Model 59 clone, developed by FEG around the same time that 9mm DA pistols were becoming popular with law enforcement.
Importers and model numbers for the P9, 1st gen P9M, second Gen P9M, and the P9R.
KBI imported a larger number of them and called the P9, 1st gen P9 and 2nd gen P9 all the "PJK-9HP".
Tennessee Guns Inc, also imported the P9 and P9Ms and called them all the "P9M", so you can't base what you have or what's for sale based on the model number stamped on the slide.
FEG doesn't make it much easier as they made the P9 and P9M for both military and civilian markets and configurations varied. The military pistols are matte blue finished or parkerized while the commercial pistols are highly polished. The military pistols were finished per contract specification while the civilian models vary a bit based on the parts that were on hand and/or based on the specifications of the importer.
For example, the commercial P9 in the photos above has the traditional P9/Hi Power half moon slide release lever, but has the extended safety and larger sights of the first generation P9M.
Ring hammers seem to be more common on the commercial FEG pistols, but they also shipped them with spur hammers, and both hammers are found on military contract pistols.
The P9R (the DA Model 59 clone) is also sometimes referred to as an FEG "Hi Power" even though it clearly is not a Hi Power because of the similarity in the model number. Apparently it's hard for some people to get that P = Pistol, 9= 9mm Luger, and M, R, etc are different models of FEG 9mm pistols.
The FEG "counterfeit" Hi Power
FEG also made P9s for a couple of middle eastern countries that were subject to arms embargoes. In order to avoid making it obvious they were selling guns to these countries, they roll marked them as FN made Hi Powers. These are identifiable by the B prefix and 5 digit serial numbers found on them.
The "Kareen" Hi Power
FEG also sold fully assembled P9s to Israel to augment the FN Hi powers Israel had obtained, from both FN and surplus sources. When Israel wanted to develop it's own indigenous production, FEG started selling the P9 parts to Israel that were then finished and assembled by the Israelis and were marked "Kareen".
Interestingly the Israeli surplus "Hi Powers" coming into the US include FN made Hi Powers, FEG made P9s, FEG made counterfeit Hi Powers and Israeli assembled Kareens. The counterfeit Hi Powers suggest that Israel captured a number of them, and put them to good use before surplussing them with the others.
The Charles Daly Hi Power
KBI also bought P9 parts from FEG that were then finished and assembled in the US. They sold them under their upscale "Charles Daly" banner as the "Charles Daly Hi Power" (CDHP for short) and these were excellent Hi Power clones. CDHPs with an "HP" prefix were from the early production batch of 500 assembled by Dan Wesson, while CDHPs with a "HPM" prefix were the balance of the pistols assembled by Magnum Research. The Dan Wesson assembled pistols had slides milled for Browning pattern Novak dove tails, while the Magnum Research assembled guns had the slides milled for 1911 pattern Novak dove tails.
Note that all of the above pistols are FEG made or made from FEG supplied parts.
All of the FEG "Hi Power" pistols use a humped feed ramp that is reported to have issues feeding hollow points. That however has not been my experience with the three I've owned. They are all very reliable with the hollow points I've used (mostly Golden Sabers and XTPs). Worst case you can have a gunsmith remove the hump, or you can replace the barrel.
There are also Argentine "FM" Hi Powers
They also come in a couple different flavors, with various degrees of fidelity to the Hi Power.
Between 1969 and 1989, Direccion General Fabrications Militaries (commonly shortened to "FM") in Argentina made licensed copies of the 1965 Mk II Hi Power. These were assembled on FN tooling, with FN inspectors and were fully licensed Hi Powers.
In 1989 when the license expired FM started making a Hi Power clone (since it was no longer a licensed Hi Power), but with some changes:
- the scallop at the front of the slide was eliminated, giving it more of a 1911 look;
- the slide serrations were wider and fewer in number;
- the top of the slide was matte finished; and
- it used 3 dot sights with a low sight rail.
FM called it the "FM90" and sold them both to the Argentine military and on the civilian market. The later FM 95s incorporated many of the MK III Hi Power design changes as well - including the firing pin safety and ambidextrous thumb safety, although they still use the humped feed ramp of the earlier Hi Powers.
The FN licensed FMs are excellent Hi Powers, while the FM 90s and FM95s are very serviceable weapons, but were made for military use and don't have the same level of finish.
The Arcus Kind-of-a-Hi Power.
The Arcus Model 94 is a Hi Power derived pistol that shares the same magazines and grips as the Hi Power and shares parts commonality with the Hi Power for some of the internal parts. The Arcus Model 94 has a square cut trigger guard and other squared lines on the slide and frame that I suspect was done to give it a more contemporary similar to the Sig Sauer pistols.
The slide is a little heaver and it's a little larger over all, so it won't fit a hi Power holster and while the operating principles are the same and some of parts are interchangeable, it's not really a Hi Power. It's still a decent pistol however, and it's too bad CAI stopped importing them about 10 years ago.
