Girsan MCP-35 vs. 1973 C series FN High Power
Girsan versus C series and MkIII series FN High Powers?
I've been mildly interested in the clone HPs during the years I've been trying to talk a friend out of his Argentinian lightweight detective model. Bought my original HP new in the pistol rug in the early 1970's when we were given permission for an auto pistol when working plainclothes. Been trying to wear my original HP out by carrying and shooting it ever since.
I never got interested in any of the current clones because as far as I've seen and am aware, all of them are replicas of the final MkII/MkIII FNs for starters - rather than the previous T and C series HPs which are much more svelte in the hands. Those who never owned a HP before, or only owned a MkII/MkIII may not realize the difference. But as one of those who owns a MkII and two MkIII HPs (inadvertantly, long story) as well as my original HP, there is a very big difference between them when in the hands. Just enough of a difference in size that it's obvious in the hands. Pity that none of them didn't give the T and C series pistols the replication and modernization treatment, but it is what it is.
I am going to get a chance to compare my 50 year old C series HP to the Girsan - not really fair to the Girsan because my HP has gotten extremely slick over the years simply through use. I helped a friend get out of a terrible purchase (for him at least) of a Glock G30 compact .45 ACP somebody convinced him was what he needed for self defense. It came with a very inexpensive laser/light rail sight - which wouldn't stay on the rail because the design did not have a screw or bar that went in the crosscut in the Glock rail... quickly shot loose despite tightening the tension screws as much as I dared. It was a handful for me, and I carry a Dan Wesson 10mm CBOB with 220 grain rhino rollers as my bear wrench here in Montana... not good for a new shooter.
Anyways, a dealer at the Kalispell gun show two weeks ago, took that very lightly used Glock in trade for the new Girsan with Ken paying $100 difference - very fair in my opinion.
Not what I would have chosen from Girsan's HP replica offerings if I was ordering new. I would have preferred the patridge style front sight on the OPs Girsan, versus this ramp front sight similar to that on my HP Practical. That ramp on my Practical is going away when that HP gets some light work done on it. And maybe I'd have chosen their compact version instead... but without much savings in weight, probably not.
One of the advantages to helping Ken get off to a good start is I expect my Ceiner .22 conversion kit will also fit on his Girsan... meaning a lot of inexpensive practice developing the basics is available using the pistol he purchased.
(NB: I have nothing good to say about Ceiner since my dealings with him decades ago purchasing the conversion; he is one of those people who makes you want to drive across the country so you can get in his face and sort the problem out at touching distance. But that conversion kit has served me extremely well ever since I got it.)
Anyways, for me, I don't like the replica grips on the Girsan any more than I like those as the originals on the FN HPs. For me, after all the grips I've tried over the years, the now out of production Uncle Mike's rubber boot grips are the best in fit and feel. They are/were a licensed reproduction of Spegal's boot grips; I have a set of his stocks made from some beautifully grained wood. But... nobody sees the beauty when you're carrying, and I don't care on the range when the rubber version feels better in the hand. However, it's Ken's gun and Ken's hands, not mine. I'll let Ken try my MkIII with the Uncle Mike's grips versus the Girsan originals and he can make up his own mind. There are numerous sources of micarta and similar grips available out there - I think the remaining Uncle Mike's are getting harder and harder to find.
My primary curiosity is with the trigger pull on the Girsan new out of the box and how it changes. My C series trigger scales at 5 lbs and I've never touched the magazine disconnect or anything in it. The other HPs also have their magazine disconnects in place; they're a little heavier at 6 lbs, but as I've never warmed to their difference in my hands, I haven't shot them very much.
I purchased my first HP at a time when we were carrying S&W Model 10 revolvers and people weren't demanding a 3 lb. trigger pull on a handgun intended for fighting/self defense. Nor were people running around broadcasting their theory that a magazine disconnect would almost certainly get you killed. I don't know what my C series HP had for an original trigger pull, but it will be interesting to see how the Girsan compares in a number of ways.
There's what the Girsan trigger feels like after an initial cleaning, and what the trigger pull scales at. Then seeing if there's any difference in the trigger pull while using any of my 50 year old HP magazines. And finally, if any of that changes by simply replicating hours of use by polishing the contact surfaces of the magazine disconnect (and where it contacts on Ken's new magazine). There's more moving parts in the HP trigger system than just the contact surfaces of the magazine disconnect, but other than a detailed cleaning to get out any remaining factory dirt and gunk, that's an easy place to start looking for a 5 - 6 lb trigger pull for a new shooter.
As far as the crop of recent clones goes from Canik to that abortion that FN calls the new Hi Power, the Girsan with it's apparent 100% interchangeability is about the closest to what could work for me.
Whether Dieudonné Saive who did the vast majority of the design work on the High Power would approve, we'll never know. Given how much design effort he put into making the High Power as slim and trim as possible for a service pistol, he might have wondered why the copycat pistols didn't replicate the dimensions of his original design versus the MkII/MkIII.
