Shooting High Point .45ACP Pistols at 100 yards, and more...

[WildBill45]

I see there is a little difference in perspective on the High Point handguns on this forum. Such debate is a good thing so everyone can see all the issues, and non-issues. Let me tell you where I sit before I tell where I stand.

I am like a lot of you … I am somewhat of a gun snob. I am a Wilson man, a Smith man, and also love some Rugers, and more… I like quality stuff in my rifles and my handguns.

A couple of weeks ago or so a friend of mine won a handgun at our shooting club gun bash, he didn’t like it because, “It is ugly” he said. It is a High-Point JHP .45ACP. He said he would take $100.00 for it, I took it. I couldn’t see a negative to picking up a $100.00 gun, even if it ended up as an emergency truck gun, or camp gun … if it was stolen nothing was lost was my thinking. I had only seen one once before, and was not impressed at all.

I took it straight out of the box at the range where I met up with John. After going to the dealer to swap ownership, we returned to the range. I shot a video straight out of the box, which is below. That was the first one, and then I shot two more later. I never read the instruction book, thus in my videos you will see me confused as to why I only shot 9 rounds as I filled what I thought were 10 shot magazines. I finally checked the specs by happenstance and saw that the mags only hold 9! What a dummy eh?

I have just added 3 photos as well, videos below!

Here are the videos to include shooting the High Point at 100 yards on a standard police qualification silhouette target… Trust me, I was shocked!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlCuBUHN04A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuAa7bvb-1k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0KbLYczYQ

[C0untZer0]

I know Hi-Points are cheap - but still, those seem like awfully expensive targets.

I don't like Hi-Points but I don't think I'd use em for target practice.

[Timbow]

That's some excellent shooting for any firearm. Well done!

[microman]

Shooting High Point .45ACP Pistols at 100 yards, and more...

Wildbill,

I have a Hi point .45 as well. It's accurate and a good deal
for the price I paid for it. They are not half bad...

[crispy]

People rag on them all the time. Most of the time, they can't back it up beyond saying they're ugly and heavy.

But just like your videos proved, they just work.

[WildBill45]

I agree that they are not a target gun, they are not a competition gun, and they are not pretty, but pretty is subjective, ask my girlfriend. They are a viable option for someone who does not have a lot of spare cash during these hard times, and still needs to protect himself and/or his family! Hard working people have the right to protect themselves, and for this purpose the High Point seems to be on point.

You still have to shoot it enough to get familiar with it, and handle it safely of course. Also, to feel secure that it is reliable with the ammo you are shooting. The pistol I Have does this quite well, moreover, surprisingly well so far. The magazines are low price point as well, as this may be where problems would occur first. I have always used Wilson mags for my Wilson and other 1911 models ... as a good magazine can cure a lot of ills! I just got 3 more mags for the High Point, as it only comes with one. I have to shoot them in and see if they do as well as the original has. I will mark them, and I may spec them out to the one that works so well. I am sure I can get all close in spec by working the mag lips, etc. IF NECESSARY. They all may work fine.

The High-Point is NOT a Kimber, a Brown or a Wilson, so comparisons are a mute point in my opinion. A High-Point is a real .45ACP though, I assure you! It is a fun gun as well, and a few fellow gun club members were surprised watching the metal plates go down ... right out of the box. It is a fun gun, and one that you can leave locked up at summer camp, or in your trunk as a "just in case gun!" I am still surprised that it does so well for the money, although I would have never considered buying one before the gun bash situation came along. I like pleasant surprises as this has been!

[CLC]

Without sounding like a douche, why would you buy a Hi point when for $100-200 more would get you a significantly better weapon? People say, "well thats all the money they have to purchase a gun for self-defense". If thats the problem, you probably shouldn't be spending it on a firearm in the first place. Saving that money for food or to relocate to a better house makes more sense IMHO. I'm not trying to be elitest because I am not.

[chris in va]

Such a broken record. Should probably try and stick to the OP's topic, which is target shooting at 100 yards.

[kurmudgon]

Magazines interest me.
A friend got a High Point 45 mostly for fun shooting. Before we shot it I took a fairly good look at the mags and thought they were pretty nicely built.

They worked just fine for the shooting we did, which was only 50 rounds, but I think they should continue to work fine judging by their construction.

I'm curious to see what your experience is with your replacement mags.

Thanks, Kur

[Amin Parker]

That was how i felt after shooting my Norinco 213 for the first time. Also completely reliable. Like you i have many guns. I also like being pleasantly suprised by the underdog. Thanx for the review and video.

[threegun]

There are Hi Point horror stories as well. Our customers returning broken or malfunctioning Hipoints caused us to stop carrying them except those lost in pawn.

My time as an RSO and the number of malfunctions witnessed there. HiPoint is the #1 gun that I have witnessed malfunctioning despite being rather rare on the line.

Then I have the customers at the shop and the stories. Below is the one involving a shootout that I remember. It happened to a relative of one of my coworkers.

Basically he thought he was going out with a girl for some hanky panky out on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. It was a robbery setup. His new girl sent a text to her accomplice and soon this guy was looking down the barrel of a gun. The bad guy racked the slide of his gun and demanded money and jewelry. The victim began to remove jewelry despite having his own gun in his back waistband. The victim was taking to long so the bad guy racket the slide again. No bullet came out upon this second slide racking meaning the gun was empty. The victim then pulls his HiPoint and racks in a round and fires bang, bang, bang, then nothing. The HiPoint had jammed. Thankfully one of the three rounds hit home and the bad guy was arrested (non life threatening wound) and his girl was arrested the next day at her job.

HiPoints have a bad reputation for a reason like them or not.

[aarondhgraham]

Just recently bought a brand new Hi-point .45 pistol,,,
He also ordered one of those 500 round ammo cans from somewhere.

He has now gone all the way through that first can,,,
And is 100+ rounds into a second,,,
No jams so far.

This is his first handgun ever and at 50 yds,,,
Laying down on the ground using two sandbags,,,
He put 47 out of 50 rounds into a 10" paper plate.

They are cheap, heavy, & ugly,,,
But they do seem to work.

Aarond

[shortwave]

Good shooting WildBill.

Over the years, I have shot several HiPoints in both 9mm and 45.

Have had about the same results as you've experienced in the 'dependability' department.

Fired about 1200rds of 9mm Blaser fmj ammo in three days out of a co-workers new HiPoint he wanted me to bring home and check out for him.

He had asked me about HiPoints before he bought this one and I must say I advised him against getting it as he was going to keep it for a SD house gun Money isn't an object with him.

Brought the thing home and really drilled it for dependability. It was accurate, trigger was ok and the thing just didn't miss a beat. I double,triple tapped it, rapid fired several mags. It just worked!

Granted, thats the most consecutive rds I've fired out of a HiPoint as the others have probably been anywhere from 2-8 mags each.

I've been flamed a bit here on TFL in the past for not so much promoting HiPoints but for just relating my limited experiences with them and stating I feel for no more than they cost, they are a good gun.

Whatever you do, don't mention a HiPoint and Glock in the same sentence Even in a joking manor.

Can a HiPoint withstand 10-40,etc thous.rds. some other brands are capable of, don't know, never shot one that many rds. But in reality, if I planned on getting that many rds out of a gun,I guess I would expect to pay more for it.

[CLC]

That is some nice shooting and I do mean it, sorry for going off half cocked. Im just tired of people saying "watch the torture tests that will prove everything" mentality. That goes for any pistol and I honestly want a hi point Carbine. You can polish a **** but its still a turf.

[WildBill45]

"Can a HiPoint withstand 10-40,etc thousands. some other brands are capable of, don't know,"

I don't know either, and I will probably never know. I did not buy it to shoot it thousands of times, that is what I do with my carry gun(s), which at the moment is my S&W model 325. I got it just to have it, and so far it is a fun gun. It is not a duty gun, and I hope I never get into a gunfight of any sort with any gun ... I am retired!

BUT, and there always is a but in life, if it was a hot summer day, my carry gun was at home and not in my speedo, and my High Point was nearby, once I got it in my hands I would not care how much it cost or what it looked like!

Like I said on my original posting: I would never have bought one right out with what I thought I knew at the time, and only did so as the deal was so good! But now that I have it, it is a fun gun, and a great way to get a .45 ACP semi-auto for personal defense ... that is all.

I just shot a few images of the HI-Point, and will post them on the original posting on this thread for folks who have never laid eyes on one!

[shortwave]

...my carry gun was at home and not in my speedo...

We're retired WildBill,

JUST 'SAY NO' TO SPEEDO!

[James K]

When it counts, the only thing about a handgun that counts is whether it works. If it doesn't, you are dead. It doesn't matter how much you paid for the gun, how pretty it is, or how many gunzines praise the maker. You don't care because you will never read about guns again - you are dead.

If a High Point works, and they do, it is a better gun than a "better" gun that doesn't. And I have seen a lot of "better" guns that didn't.

Jim

[Dennis1209]

I'd love to win a free gun! I'd love to buy a 1911 for $100.00. How would you like a nice $25.00 profit

A set of different grips would make it look even better.

[Old Grump]

My kind of guy, shooting isn't really interesting till you get past 50 yards, 100 is good, 200 is better. Don't make me no never mind what brand or model gun, 22 to 44 mag will all reach out there and personally the 45 is one of my all time favorite long distance calibers. Colt or ACP makes no difference, that bullet doesn't stray to far from its path like lighter smaller bullets will out of my handguns. I'm glad you had fun and hope you do it a lot.

[threegun]

If a High Point works, and they do, it is a better gun than a "better" gun that doesn't. And I have seen a lot of "better" guns that didn't.

I have witnessed dozens malfunction and that would suggest otherwise. I have personally had to deal with irate customers who wanted to return the gun for reliability issues. The HP horror stories are frequent. The reputation awful. Our shop decided to stop dealing in them because it became so difficult and its kinda hard to answer a question truthfully and still make a sale. The Question, "are these guns any good".

The vast majority of the gun customers asked have a negative attitude toward HP. In fact I have never heard that HP was reliable from a customer. Here on TFL the HP is awesomely reliable. In all my interactions they have been the opposite.

The ones I have shot were accurate however.

I just am not capable of understanding how so many can be tickled pink with a gun that has proven to be so awful in my personal dealings.

[WildBill45]

"I just am not capable of understanding how so many can be tickled pink with a gun that has proven to be so awful in my personal dealings."

LOVE EM OR HATE EM!

Mine works fine, thus, my personal experience to convey to all. Ask a cop, and he sees bad people all day long, ask a gun dealer, and he sees bad guns all day long. People who have Hi-points that work are happy, happy people don't call for the cops!

[microman]

Having shot both the Hi Point 9mm and now their .45...

I will say the magazines that come with the .40 and .45 are
way better than the ones in the 9mm and .380 I find that
strange? I heard somewhere two different companies produce
them?

[KyJim]

Good shooting! I understand the need to have a "cheap" handgun when that's all the budget you can afford. When I was in grad school, all I could afford was an RG revolver. Very cheap but it worked.

"Saving that money for food or to relocate to a better house . . . " was not an option for me then and probably not an option for most. I don't know how a $100 (or $50 in my case) is going to help someone afford a better house. BTW, I lived in a decent apartment but bad guys don't stick to bad neighborhoods.

[WildBill45]

I don't know how a $100 (or $50 in my case) is going to help someone afford a better house.

I don't think the gentleman that said that meant what it appears to say, as $100.00 wouldn't make a change in someone's life station, but even so, they still have to defend themselves from criminals ... especially so in areas where $100.00 would make that difference on some occasions. PLUS, shooters who like quality guns may want an inexpensive gun to leave at camp or as a car or truck gun; if stolen it is not as big of a loss!

Then there are the folks, lets me honest, who are just plain cheap! They have money, but are fugal with it in some cases, and plain ole American Cheapskates in other cases! They may not be a real shooter or a gun fan, but are still smart enough to realize that it is better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it! So they go cheap, and Hi-Point fits that bill as well!

[graysmoke]

Hey!...These spending and cut-back times.....Not everyone can afford those hi-priced name firearms. Sometimes too over-priced.
And it's good to see a company like Hi-Point manufacture firearms that the person on a low-med budget can afford.

The gun goes BANG!! and still does the job intended.