Need info: Browning Hi Power

[ak610]

Mobuck,
Very interesting story. Did this P-35 ever make it back to the States?

 

[Pilot]

pilot,

while the heavy part won't go away, the gritty part can be eliminated by polishing the front face of the magazine(s) and the face of the mag disconnect piston. my trigger pull is still five pounds, but butter smooth.

murf

I know the triggers can be made to be excellent with minor work. My current MK III has a great trigger, and I still have the mag disconnect installed. Very crisp, and clean break. Totally stock and it is still my most accurate centerfire pistol.

 

[kerreckt]

HP35 and FEG copy

I have had both of these for many years. Both are excellent pistols. I got the HP35 first and later the FEG. I wouldn't overlook the FEG. It is of excellent quality throughout but of course it is not a FN HP35.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Never heard of a HP35. Nice Hi-Power though.

 

[kerreckt]

HP35 is a commonly used name for the Hi-Power as is P35 and GP35 (Grande Puissance) which roughly translate from the French to Great Power. All this alludes to the fact that its capacity was 13 rounds which was unheard of in 1935 (hence the 35) when it was introduced. This pistol came about from a French military request for proposals for a new sidearm with a minimum of 10 round capacity. John Browning started the design but died in Belgium before its completion. It was completed by a Belgium designer Dieudonne Saive several years later at the FN plant in Herstal Belgium. I hope this clears up any confusion about the HP35 monicker.

 

[9mmepiphany]

This is true...while JM Browning did start the design of the P-35, it was finalized and completed by Saive.

Most of the world knows the pistol as the P35, GP35 or HP35. Calling it a Browning Hi-Power was just marketing in the USA. Browning doesn't manufacture firearms, they just contract and import

 

[tipoc]

I've been thinking about picking up a Browning HP, but don't know much about it other than the basics...Its intended use is range gun / home defense / general purpose; I just want something reliable and won't matter if I get it beat up a little. Any info would be great!

The High Power would be a very good choice for the purpose you state. They are strong, rugged and reliable guns.

Stephen Camp's site is a very good place to start for reliable knowledge on the High Power. He also objectively compares it to other 9mm pistols side by side.

The P35 has always been a strong gun. It was one of the most widely used service sidearms of WWII and continued to be used as a service sidearm continuously from then till now. The British are only now in the process of retiring their High Powers from service.

These guns are well suited to the tasks you are looking at.

In the late 80s a good many law enforcement agencies were making the switch from 9mm to 40S&W sidearms. FN the producer of the High Power tried to place the 40S&W in the High Power. But soon found theta the more powerful 40S&W round was battering forged frames and slides of the the BHP. So they strengthened both. They used the strengthened frames and slides in their 9mms as well. (Though the slides for the 40 were stronger than the slides for the 9mm). This was the Mark III version of the guns.

Now in this thread there has been a good deal of speculation and some guessing as to why the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team left the HP for other guns. Let's take a look at that.

The HRT was founded in 1982. It was armed with the BHP and later the agents also had access to the Sig P226. The BHPs were custom tuned for the HRT by Wayne Novack of Cylinder and Slide.

By 1994 though, 12 years later, the HRT and the FBI wanted a more powerful round than the 9mm. They wanted a 1911 pattern gun in 45acp. They submitted a proposal for these and Springfield Armory and Les Baer, the custom maker, provided the guns they wanted. The BHP and the Sig P226 were not discarded. Those that preferred them could still use them. Both guns had served well. But the unit as a whole moved to the 1911s.

You can read about this here...

http://www.netgunsmith.com/2012/03/les-baer-1911-hrt/

http://www.specwarnet.net/taclink/Federal/FBI_HRT.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostage_Rescue_Team_(FBI)#Weapons

There are other sources for this information as well.

The BHP is an older design. It is more expensive to produce (and therefore buy and maintain for armies and law enforcement agencies) than more modern designs like the Sig guns or the polymer framed guns. But it remains a viable choice as a self defense handgun today.

tipoc

 

[Mobuck]

ak610,
Unfortunately ,no. He did manage to "liberate" a very nice Mauser 22 bolt action target rifle and a couple of Nazi daggers but all "military" type firearms were left in Europe.

 

[Jack19]

I've owned Hi-Powers since the 70s; most stock, a few tuned; most 9mm, a few .40.

The HP is, for me, the perfect handgun. I've carried them, professionally, and personally, for almost 4 decades; they work and I can honestly say I've never owned a bad one, never had to send one back to the factory for "issues." Never, not once.

I've owned FNs, Brownings, and Inglis (the first of which was 50 years old when I bought it and it worked perfectly.)

The problem with the HP, today? Nothing, other than there are increasingly few of us who appreciate them for what they are. And, too few of us who have not been driven to DAO, DA/SA, Safe Action, yadayadayada, by lawyers, the gun rags, and those who are just too lazy, or too scared, to use a SA pistol.

Go to this site....and read read read.....

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/

 

[Certaindeaf]

You hear all this yammering about "my gun don't work!".. yada yadda. not with the HP
pretty simple