BHPshooter
Member
CDNN has offered genuine FN MkIII Hi Powers for $399 for nearly a year now... I caved in about two weeks ago and ordered one with the extensive assistance of Correia and his business partner (Thanks Larry, Thanks Jaime!).
I picked it up yesterday. It came in an attractive black carrying case, with a 10-round Browning "moustrap" mag, a Mec-Gar 13-round mag, and FN's nifty little silencer-looking cleaning kit.
Its serial number is 511MXxxxxx, making it a 2003 manufacture. It is pictured here with my Browning MkIII Hi Power, 245NWxxxxx (1994 manufacture). The Browning is on top, the FN on bottom.
There aren't many markings, which gives it a really clean look. The slide on the port side only has the FN crest, the dust cover on the port side has a rollmark that says, "FNMI, Columbia, SC." The Starboard side of the slide says, "FN HERSTAL BELGIUM."
One of the things that endears me so much not only to Hi Powers, but to the real FN/Browning Hi Powers is that FN is still developing and advancing them. I will show this later with pictures (the batteries are dead in the camera right now) but there are quite a few changes, showing that FN isn't just content to let the 70-year-old design become obsolete.
It would be pretty pointless to try to describe the changes without having pictures to describe what I'm talking about -- maybe tonight.
The two most obvious ones are that the slide stop that has been re-engineered to be more beefy, and the "new" barrel. The barrel is one of the ones without the "barrel hood lug", which also has the little window to see if there is a round in the chamber. Also, the barrel is throated like nothing I've ever seen. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but it will feed empty cases -- something none of my other HPs will do. That doesn't prove anything of course, but I'll bet that this baby will feed pea gravel if I want it to.
This is also the first Hi Power that I've ever handled that didn't have slide-to-frame rattle. This is the tightest one I've personally handled, yet it's not so tight to take away from its smooth action. Barrel fit is also very tight.
The trigger needed lubing badly -- once it got lubed, it smoothed out nicely. It's still heavy, and the mag disconnect doesn't help that, but it is very crisp. I think this one will smooth out and lighten up to be very nice.
The gun isn't as heavily sprung as my Browning was -- I would estimate that the recoil spring is about 15 pounds -- but the mainspring still feels like a 32#.
The finish is superb. It is more "matte" than my Browning was, and the finish was also applied more evenly. It looks and feels durable and utilitarian. We'll see how it holds up to my "toxic nuclear sweat."
Now, I have one gripe and another possible gripe: 1)The slide stop does not move freely by itself, meaning that if you thumb down the slide stop, everything is fine; but if you "slingshot" the slide, it won't work and the slide will stay locked. This might just be an issue of wearing-in, or it might need attention.
2)The possible gripe: The rear sights are visibly left-of-center (no, not politically), which may cause the gun to shoot left pretty drastically
... I won't get to shoot it until Saturday, so I won't know until then. We'll see.
I am very pleased. The Hi Power of today appears to be a stronger, beefier pistol than the HP of yesterday -- it's a dyin' shame that FN has decided that they will be phasing the HP out. Get yours today, folks. They won't be around forever, and at this price, it's the deal of a lifetime.
I'll post more pics later.
Wes
I picked it up yesterday. It came in an attractive black carrying case, with a 10-round Browning "moustrap" mag, a Mec-Gar 13-round mag, and FN's nifty little silencer-looking cleaning kit.
Its serial number is 511MXxxxxx, making it a 2003 manufacture. It is pictured here with my Browning MkIII Hi Power, 245NWxxxxx (1994 manufacture). The Browning is on top, the FN on bottom.
There aren't many markings, which gives it a really clean look. The slide on the port side only has the FN crest, the dust cover on the port side has a rollmark that says, "FNMI, Columbia, SC." The Starboard side of the slide says, "FN HERSTAL BELGIUM."
One of the things that endears me so much not only to Hi Powers, but to the real FN/Browning Hi Powers is that FN is still developing and advancing them. I will show this later with pictures (the batteries are dead in the camera right now) but there are quite a few changes, showing that FN isn't just content to let the 70-year-old design become obsolete.
It would be pretty pointless to try to describe the changes without having pictures to describe what I'm talking about -- maybe tonight.
The two most obvious ones are that the slide stop that has been re-engineered to be more beefy, and the "new" barrel. The barrel is one of the ones without the "barrel hood lug", which also has the little window to see if there is a round in the chamber. Also, the barrel is throated like nothing I've ever seen. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but it will feed empty cases -- something none of my other HPs will do. That doesn't prove anything of course, but I'll bet that this baby will feed pea gravel if I want it to.
This is also the first Hi Power that I've ever handled that didn't have slide-to-frame rattle. This is the tightest one I've personally handled, yet it's not so tight to take away from its smooth action. Barrel fit is also very tight.
The trigger needed lubing badly -- once it got lubed, it smoothed out nicely. It's still heavy, and the mag disconnect doesn't help that, but it is very crisp. I think this one will smooth out and lighten up to be very nice.
The gun isn't as heavily sprung as my Browning was -- I would estimate that the recoil spring is about 15 pounds -- but the mainspring still feels like a 32#.
The finish is superb. It is more "matte" than my Browning was, and the finish was also applied more evenly. It looks and feels durable and utilitarian. We'll see how it holds up to my "toxic nuclear sweat."
Now, I have one gripe and another possible gripe: 1)The slide stop does not move freely by itself, meaning that if you thumb down the slide stop, everything is fine; but if you "slingshot" the slide, it won't work and the slide will stay locked. This might just be an issue of wearing-in, or it might need attention.
2)The possible gripe: The rear sights are visibly left-of-center (no, not politically), which may cause the gun to shoot left pretty drastically
... I won't get to shoot it until Saturday, so I won't know until then. We'll see.I am very pleased. The Hi Power of today appears to be a stronger, beefier pistol than the HP of yesterday -- it's a dyin' shame that FN has decided that they will be phasing the HP out. Get yours today, folks. They won't be around forever, and at this price, it's the deal of a lifetime.
I'll post more pics later.
Wes
