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Old February 14, 2013, 04:44 PM   #76
Pilot
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I always thought France mandated their own development of service firearms through government owned firms like S.A.C.M., MAS, MAB, etc. I'll admit, while I own a few French oddball rifles and pistols, I don't know much about the French firearms industry, so I could be wrong.
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Old February 14, 2013, 04:45 PM   #77
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I had a Hi Power in 40. Absolutely loved that gun. Great shooter. I had it stolen in a home break in. When I wasn't home, or the saga of my BHP would have had a much different ending.
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Old February 14, 2013, 04:59 PM   #78
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Question for all you Hi Power aficionados:

My wife won a .40 cal MK III HP at a RMEF banquet 5 or 6 years ago. The darn thing is camo finished with black hard rubber grips. I can't seem to find this model listed anywhere. What do you HP guys know about this gun?
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Old February 14, 2013, 05:05 PM   #79
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I don't know much details but there were camo (one of them was digital camo) versions that were marketed couple years ago. Those were factory finish
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Old February 14, 2013, 05:08 PM   #80
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This gun is a green camo. It looks ok, but not like a blued gun would. She has never fired it, and refuses to let me shoot it! I just can't decide if it is worth keeping, or should I try and talk her into selling it. She wants to keep in NIB, so she can sell it, but it sits in the safe, 5 years later! Wives?
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Old February 14, 2013, 05:17 PM   #81
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I keep hearing this "intended for the French". Does anyone have a reference for this?
Sharpdressed, check out the link, first sentence
http://www.americanrifleman.org/arti...ning-hi-power/
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Old February 14, 2013, 05:46 PM   #82
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I keep hearing this "intended for the French". Does anyone have a reference for this? As far as I know, the French never had a contract for Hi Powers. It was a Belgian made weapon, sold to the Chinese and Brits, and several other European countries, but I have never heard of a French issue. Then the Germans took Belgium over, production was started in Canada for the British forces, and later a plant was built in Argentina for licensed production.
The Hi-Power we know wasn't intended for the French, but the gun that JMB did design (also the one that Dieudonné Saive used as a starting point for the gun we know today as the Hi Power), known as the "Grand Rendement", was designed in response to a French military trial for a new 9mm high capacity sidearm, however it was not chosen by the French. Browning eventually passed away working on his Superposed shotgun and Saive took over working on the design, with the final result being the P35 that was adopted by Belgium.
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Old February 14, 2013, 09:59 PM   #83
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There was a thread here regarding the Camo-Hi-Power:


http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=360277
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Old February 14, 2013, 10:41 PM   #84
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That explains the eventual development and limited French adoption of France's MAB P-15, a high capacity 9mm pistol reminiscent to the Hi Power. but with a rotating barrel locking system.
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Old February 15, 2013, 08:32 AM   #85
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Most of what makes the HP special for me has already been posted, though I can add a couple of things, plus a pic of mine with Spegal grips:


While I appreciate the modern striker-fired poly handguns for their lighter weight and quick-into-action function, I like the simplicity of the Browning HP; detail stripping is pretty simple. Parts are available and likely to remain so.

Finally, "feel" is a personal thing - some people put great importance on this and I'm one of them. For my hand, it's perfect, and that gives me great confidence. In one aspect it's better than any other handgun I've ever handled - the grip length. My middle finger nestles up against the trigger guard while my little finger indexes against the magazine floorplate. This adds to my confidence as I can be sure I'm gripping it the same way, ever time. If it were another quarter inch longer or shorter I wouldn't have that feel with that pistol. The only other pistol that comes close in feel for me is the Kahr K9, which, not so coincidentally, I also own, and I don't own many other highly-regarded pistols that don't have this feel.

Isn't it funny that decades before the term "ergonomics" became popular, Browning was creating ergonomically excellent pistols, while as late as the 1980s other designers were creating 2x4 feel in their creations?
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Old February 15, 2013, 10:35 AM   #86
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Thanks for the thread link, spanishjames. The one in my safe is "realtree" finish or something. I will post a picture when I can.
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Old February 15, 2013, 03:10 PM   #87
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I just switched out the plastic grips for factory walnut on "my new to me" unfired 1990 MKIII

Before



After
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Old February 15, 2013, 03:33 PM   #88
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Looks much better. I find I have to notch the Right panel to allow for the proper operation of the ambi safety.
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Old February 15, 2013, 03:36 PM   #89
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I find I have to notch the Right panel to allow for the proper operation of the ambi safety.
It took just a couple of strokes with a small file.
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Old February 15, 2013, 11:08 PM   #90
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Here is an image is of the an original prototype submitted by Browning and accepted as the 1927 Grand Rendement. Which later came to be known as the 1935 Grand Puisance. Looking at the gun that JMB finished you can see what we call the BHP but clearly it is not the same gun. The pic below is prior to Saive's re-work.

The original Grand Rendement has the double column 15+1 round mag but does not have a mag disconnect. The feature was later added by Saive at the because the French ordnance board requested it. Remember this was a contract gun just like the 1911. The spec of the contract dictated a lot of what when into the finished product for good or for bad.

Many people forget that there JMB originally submitted 2 designs... one of which was a striker fired gun.... and then this which I think is 70% to 75% of what we call a Browning Hi Power.

Here is a pretty interesting write up... http://forums.somethingawful.com/sho...readid=3310599

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Old February 17, 2013, 07:51 AM   #91
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BHP

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Its what the 1911 should have been.
Nah. Like the BHP, the 1911 was designed for a military entity, and...like any contracted design...has the features that the people writing the checks specifically requested. If said feature was already in place, it was either given the green light or it was removed. When you've got an organization standin' there with suitcases full of money and a contract is on the table for a half-million units...you pretty much give'em what they want.

The High Power didn't get a grip safety because it wasn't specified. If it had been, it would be wearing one today. If the contracting party had asked for a rear sight that looked like rabbit ears, instead of the Browning High Power, the gun would probably be known as "The Browning Bunny."
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Old February 19, 2013, 04:15 PM   #92
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Because it Works

I was a "smith" for BrowninG for 38 years and the Hi-Power was one of the guns that I worked on there. I have serviced many hundred of them and the big deal with them is the fact that they are VERY WELL made, they are simple and they work. Don't forget that this design is OVER 80 years old and John did not have the tools nor material that they have today. GREAT GUN !!!
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Old February 19, 2013, 06:04 PM   #93
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the big deal with them is the fact that they are VERY WELL made they are simple and they work
I do know that my BHP has one of the slickest actions I've ever hand cycled and is one of the most special handguns I own.....I only own one 9mm pistol because the caliber is just lukewarm to my interest but the the BHP pistol itself is about perfect for weight , balance , fit in hand , and ease of control for me !

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Old February 20, 2013, 12:33 AM   #94
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I do know that my BHP has one of the slickest actions I've ever hand cycled and is one of the most special handguns I own.....
I can second that. I have a newer Mk. III, one of the ones made in Begium and assembled in Portugal. It to has an action that is slick as can be. It's definitely a quality piece, regardless of what some will say about it not being 100% Belgian.
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Old February 21, 2013, 08:39 PM   #95
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Quite lovely. Second in beauty only to the 1911, AFAIC. I don't own A BHP but hope to someday.
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Old February 22, 2013, 07:53 PM   #96
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After years of yearning I finally picked up my modern MKIII and it's as many have said. Slick action, beautiful finish and lines. Natural pointer and very accurate in my hands. Special benefit is that it conceals almost as easily as many compacts on me, enough so that it has replaced my SR9c as my EDC. Never thought anything short of a SR45c would have done that.

Factor in the history and legacy and it sure is one fine pistol.
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Old February 23, 2013, 02:16 AM   #97
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My all-time favorite semi-auto

Quite simply, it is (for me) the most natural feeling, handling and pointing semi-auto handgun I've ever found (and I've tried to shoot just about everything for over the past 50 years). All of the aforementioned also makes it the most accurate as well.

I took it to a new range last week and the manager told me he'd never fired a Hi-Power. I handed him the gun...the target was already set at 30 feet...he aimed, fired and put the round directly through the 10-ring. With a big smile, he put the gun down, laughingly said "that's it" and walked away.
When I went to check out, he was online ordering one for himself!

Yes, I love the 1911 too (and have several) and the Sig P226 is a great shooter and just keeps working...BUT - simply holding my MkIII HiPower is an almost sexual experience!
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