[donberry]

No B.S., an actual report from an owner of a hi point. I am in no way an expert on weapons and this is the ONLY pistol I own. I do own various rifles, shotguns and a black powder rifle. Price paid for the Hi Point C9 was 129.00 out the door. Ammo used was Winchester Lugar Target Loads and the Remington Hollow Points.

The first thing I noticed when I held the C9 was the weight. It has a “high impact polymer” frame, just read that as plastic. Their website states it is high tech and very durable, but only time will tell on that. Now the slide, that is a different story. It is pot metal material that adds quite a bit of weight to the pistol. This is not a pistol I would want to carry as a concealed weapon just due to it’s weight. Mine came with a 8 round clip. It also has a plastic trigger.

It is pretty straight forward on the loading and safety which should be expected for a weapon of this price. It is a single action pistol, the safety is on the left side of the handle. Up for safety, down for fire. It also will not fire if a magazine is not loaded. This could be a quick safety feature if the pistol is used for home defense. You could have a round loaded and ready to go with the clip not fully engaged but in place. Just slap the clip as you pick it up and she is ready to fire.

First fire impressions. I used the Winchester target loads first. I loaded 8 rounds in the clip, stood 10 paces away and fired away. Not sure what to expect due to all the stuff I have read about it, she seemed to fire fine. Due to the weight of the pistol and according to their website, the polymer frame, the pistol has very little recoil. Women could fire this weapon with no problem. The 2nd round jammed though. I cleared the jam and the rest of the clip fired fine. I loaded 8 rounds again, and once again, the 2nd round jammed. Some quick research on the net (my “range” is my backyard) told me that until the clip is “broken” in, just load 7 rounds. Back to the “range”, I loaded 7 rounds and let her rip. Not a problem at all, no more jams. I started 10 paces away from the paper target just to see where she was shooting. I believe this was a used pistol, though it looked brand new, so the previous owner must have sighted it in. Most of the rounds were in the big circle, with 2 rounds right outside the circle.

The C9 has an adjustable rear sight which can be adjusted for windage and elevation. I was shooting a little low from the red circle on the target, so I did adjust the elevation a small amount.
loaded 7 more rounds, at 10 paces and she seemed pretty much right on. I was not using anything to rest the pistol on, just using a two handed grip. I am getting old and I am sure my technique is not so good anymore, but I hit the small red dot 3 times and the other 4 rounds were all close. Very satisfied with that, I went back to 25 big paces. The results were pretty much the same, though I did have a round that was not grouped well, they were all in the big circle with a few in the red. That could have been me shaking or pulling the gun, or maybe even the target ammo, but I definitely “killed” what I was shooting at.

As reliability seems to be an issue and my “range” is out the back door, over the next few days I put over 700 rounds through the pistol. After about a hundred rounds, I started loading 8 rounds per clip and never had another jam. The accuracy is very good for a pistol of this price and I blew away every pear on my tree. I did not notice any difference in accuracy between the hollow points or the target loads. I would occasionally get a small flyer, while in the big circle, it would not be grouped with the others. I attribute this more to me then the gun. Because of the light recoil, I found I was still very accurate (for me) using only one hand instead of two. Recoil is not an issue for this gun. I tried every way I could think of to fire the pistol with the safety’s engaged, but could not do it. I did a SMALL drop test, and dropped the pistol from my waist to the ground. No cracks, nothing broke and she still fired fine.

My conclusion. This is not a pistol I would conceal due to the weight. I am not sure I would stick it in my toolbox where other heavy metal was beating against it, I am not sure how the slide would hold up or the polymer frame. But I also would not stick a $800.00 Kimber in there either. I would be more apt to beat the hi point up and save my Kimber to hand down to my kids. This is a pistol that is very reliable when you pull the trigger. It is a pretty accurate weapon that consistently hits where you aim. I believe this is a good home defense pistol along with being a great plinker. I am not even remotely concerned about it jamming. Instead of grabbing the big guns, I can now grab the pistol if needed and know it will fire and hit where I aim.

I would trust this pistol with my life without thinking twice. Stripping the pistol down is not too great. It has a small pin you must knock out with a punch and hammer ( I actually used a small allen wrench to punch it out). You just lock the slide back using the slide lock and punch it out. Stripped down, it is a very simple weapon. No frills. You are supposed to strip it down every 1500 rounds. It does not bother me too much about this due to the purpose of the weapon in the first place. For home defense and plinking, I am not worried about taking the time to strip it down if need be. If I were carrying it and needed to strip it down, I would be screwed, wishing I had a better weapon. For about $200.00 you could buy a C9 and 1000 rounds of ammo and become very proficient in it’s use.
It is not a family heirloom nor a pistol that others will drool over at the range. It is a pistol that is very reliable so far and makes my wife feel much safer knowing she has a better choice then grabbing the rifle or shotgun in case it is needed. Plus it is the most fun you can buy for a hundred bucks. Long term reliability, who knows. I have shot another few hundred rounds thru it since and she still works like new. If she messes up after 10,000 rounds, I guess I will have to spend another hundred bucks and buy another.
If you buy a pistol to impress others……skip this gun. If you want a pistol for home defense or plinking…….I believe it to be a great bargain. As for the durability of the pistol, I am just curious how many times people drop and throw around their $800.00 pistols ? Would they have dropped it on the ground as I did the C9 ? I personally treat all of my weapons very carefully. I do tend to leave my Yugo SKS sitting on the ground or leaned against a tree as it was made for abuse, but I do not know many people who toss their guns around. If I wanted a gun that I could drop on concrete, I am not buying a C9, I do not think it would last long.
Many people shoot for a hobby and enjoy having the biggest baddest gun around - this is not for you.
Some people are concerned with aesthetics - this is not a pretty gun and not for you.
Some people worry about the "social stigma" and are concerned others at the range will laugh at their pistol - this is not the gun for you.
Some people do need a gun that can be beat round and take alot abuse - this is not a pistol i would recommend.
But some people could care less about what others think and want a good reliable pistol for plinking or home defense. There are other affordable pistols out there, but the hi point seems more readily available. I was actually looking for a CZ-52, but could not find one. I would guess they are built better being a military weapon, but the hi point will do everything I want it to do and highly recommend it to anyone who could care less about what others think but want an affordable , reliable pistol.