What to do with a Hi-Point? - Page 4

Cheapshooter · March 13, 2018, 05:48 PM

My Hi Points, C9 and JHP(45acp model) certainly aren't my top favorite residents of my safe. But they are fun range blasters, and actually quite accurate. They also devour anything I feed them.
But the "difficult to field strip" complaint gets way too much attention. There's nothing in there that a blast or two of Gun Scrubber won't take care of. Eveything else can be wiped dowd, and oiled without any disassembly.
Are there better guns for carry out there for a little more money? Of course. But to some that "little bit" could be enough to put them out of reach.
I bought the C9 new at a gun show with one thing in mind. Just to see if this under $150 gun could possibly be as bad as all the haters say. I was extremely pleasantly surprised. Reliable, easy to shoot, and accurate. When a used one in 45acp popped up for $125 I coudn't pass on it. Just as reliable, just as accurate, and just as much fun to shoot.

Cheapshooter · March 13, 2018, 06:13 PM

For the OP,

Quote:

I was under the impression that they were so cheaply made that they bordered on being dangerous for the one firing it, much like the Saturday Night Specials from the 1970's.

Some interesting viewing on the Hi Point C9.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=5s&v=AbvvurXmAmg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=190s&v=ckA_dBXuceo

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2FoWpog5KU4

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=2s&v=p_HXtEvjlGg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LKkQm5TRaWE

This one speaks volues about their customer service, and warranty.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qQU_icf92f8

osbornk · March 13, 2018, 09:43 PM

Before I traded my Hi-Point C9 for a Taurus, I took it apart just to see if I could. It is not difficult to take apart and put back together because it is a simple blow-back design. The only thing different than most other guns is that you have to drive out a roll pin to take it apart. It is not difficult but it does take something to drive the pin out with (punch, nail, etc.) and a small hammer. I wish I had kept it because it was my first handgun and it looked and shot like new.

CajunBass · March 15, 2018, 05:24 AM

Quote:

The "who carries a Hi Point" was a joke. Based on the common misconception that they are to large to conceal.
They are not, evidenced here by my C9 "hiding" benieth my EDC Springfield XD40 Sub Compact.
BTW, notice the very similar "ergonomics"

I used to have similar pictures of my C9 with both a Kel-Tec P-11, and a Bulgarian Makarov overlayed. Similar results. The C-9 was bigger, but it wasn't THAT much bigger. To me the biggest handicap to carrying mine was (1) there weren't many holsters available for it at the time. No idea about now. And (2) I thought the safety was too easy to swipe off on the one I had. Again I don't know about others.

As for cleaning, I cleaned mine after every range trip just about. I used a can of WD-40, paper towels, Q-tips, and a pencil. I locked the slide back, shot some WD in, and used a Q-tip to clean what I could reach. The pencil was used to push a wad of paper towel down the barrel to clean out the crud.

I took it apart ONE time. It wasn't that bad, but some little dingus went flying across the room, BING, and I like to have never found it.

Lesson learned. Never again.

Qwk69buick · March 15, 2018, 03:05 PM

My first pistol was a C9, have you shot it yet, and then wondered why your shooting hnd hurt like hell, I didn't figure it out till I bought my Sig, the frame grip on all Hi Point pistols has a flat thumb grip that rides right on the knuckle, after I figured out why it was so horrible to shoot, I got out my dremel and put a lovely curve in that thumb crusher, put a little silicone on just to cushion it a little extra, I wasn't going to hurt it's nonexistent resale value. After doing that it was quite pleasant to shootl. No reason not to keep it, they will fix it forever, and trust me it will break because the recoil spring is attached to the thinnest piece of metal on the whole thing , right under the barrel.

GunFickle · March 15, 2018, 03:36 PM

I would keep it, it may save your life someday.

moosemike · March 15, 2018, 05:18 PM

I'd take a Hi-Point in 380 or 9mm. The others are just too large.

Cheapshooter · March 18, 2018, 05:32 PM

Quote:

have you shot it yet, and then wondered why your shooting hnd hurt like hell

No!

Quote:

the frame grip on all Hi Point pistols has a flat thumb grip that rides right on the knuckle

Sorry, can't even begin to figure out where this "flat thumb grip" is on either my C9, or JHP.
The only contact point that causes any irritation to me is the rather sharp edges on the trigger. Easily corrected with a bit of sand paper wrapped around a pencil.

Buckeye! · March 18, 2018, 06:20 PM

I took a C9 as boot on a trade ... It shot alot rounds before I got it .. a bout 1K rounds of my brothers nasty 115 gr LRN reloads , that wouldn't fed in his 5906 .. .. My brother ended up with it .. I imagine its stashed in the dash of his old Jeep CJ5 ...

photographix · March 19, 2018, 12:19 AM

Based on just about everyone's input, I took it to the range on Friday to see how it did.

I loaded 5 rounds of Independence 9mm aluminum case (yeah, yeah, I know, but I wanted to get rid of it) and it would consistently do two things:

First round wouldn't strip from the mag properly, and the slide would hang. I had to shove the slide into battery.

After I got the first round off, the second round would hang, too. After that, the gun worked properly.

Overall, I was impressed at how softly it recoiled, due the heavy slide I suppose. And it hit where I aimed it at 7 yards.

I never put more than 5 rounds in the mag. I figured if I loaded 8, it wouldn't function until 4 or 5 were gone. Might have been the aluminum casings, and that the gun hasn't really loosened up yet. I did manage to force 50 rounds through it, and it seemed to get a little looser. Still not to the point where anyone would call it reliable.

I'll take it again and run brass rounds through it and see if it does better.

The grips are comfortable, but slippery. Does Talon make a set for the C9? I've been too lazy to look....

The slide bit me twice. I'm a lefty, and I have a groove on my left thumb knuckle from the slide cycling. I had to use my right hand to release the slide lock after clearing jams, and the notch where the takedown pin lives got my right thumb knuckle.

IMG_4362.JPG

Hal · March 20, 2018, 08:11 AM

Ouch!
Slide bite and hammer bite can ruin an otherwise decent gun.

Thankfully, I'm immune to hammer bite on a High Power, but, I fell victim to slide bite on a Walther PPK/s.
I also had a run in with a S&W M66 snub nose shooting .357 mag loads. The cylinder release tore apart the web of my hand.

The solution?
Get rid of the offending guns. They have no value to you what so ever (unless it's a special gift or family heirloom.

Others will no doubt disagree & offer a cure by having you change the way you grip the gun.
My opinion on that is why should I change everything that works, just because of one gun?

@ this point, from where I'm sitting, that $25 offer from the gun store looks might attractive.

photographix · March 21, 2018, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CalmerThanYou

A good photographer could make even a Hi-Point beautiful.

Let's see...a quick one while I had a setup for another shoot.

Ibmikey · March 21, 2018, 01:45 AM

So when will it. Look beautiful?

photographix · March 21, 2018, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ibmikey

So when will it. Look beautiful?

Right after a princess kisses it and it turns into a Colt Python.

dgludwig · March 23, 2018, 04:13 PM

Even being turned into a frog would make it prettier.

turkeestalker · March 23, 2018, 05:01 PM

It will never look beautiful, (asking when was a good chuckle, thank you),
and it will always feel about like a brick on a stick in the hand.
Thing is it will always go bang from my experience and that isn't always the case with much more expensive and beautiful hand guns out there.

Sturmpanzer · March 24, 2018, 03:12 AM

The most butt-ugly auto ever made...use it for trade value only... JMHO....

nanney1 · March 24, 2018, 05:42 PM

Some people think the Walther Creed is a great budget pistol. And, I'm sure it is a good performer. But, to me the Walther looks like a Hi Point. And while the Creed is offered at a good price, it is usually around $150-200 more than the Hi Point.

dwhite · March 25, 2018, 05:00 PM

You can find "budget" guns for a bit more money.

But, no one is going to beat that Hi-Point service and warranty.

Taurus did have a lifetime warranty on their guns. Rumor has it that's changed now. Problem was you send it in to the Taurus black hole in Miami and have to wait until it comes out the other side. Honestly, I did get a ten day turn around on my 24/7 when I sent it in. Lot's of stories about people waiting MONTHS.

Hi-Point seems to have extremely fast turn around.

All the Best,
D. White

Ibmikey · March 26, 2018, 02:53 AM

So after four pages of suggestions why not just get a shovel and find an acceptable place in the back yard? No Political Correctness involved...just bury it.

photographix · March 26, 2018, 10:55 AM

I've changed my mind and decided to hang onto it for a while, maybe forever. I just need to get it to function reliably.

turkeestalker · March 26, 2018, 02:40 PM

If memory serves, I think that the destructions included with the firearm from the manufacturer suggests shooting 300 or something rounds through it to 'break it in'.
Not sure how I feel about having to break a firearm in but hey, they built it and should know.
They're not the only manufacturer that suggests something similar.
Get through that break in round count and see how it's running.

Another thing that I noticed my son doing with one that caused problems.
He was slightly hitting the mag release button with the meat of his thumb under recoil.
That would allow the mag to drop ever so slightly causing failures to feed.
It wouldn't drop from the gun, just drop enough to be a problem.
He adjusted his grip and no more problems.

moosemike · March 26, 2018, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turkeestalker

If memory serves, I think that the destructions included with the firearm from the manufacturer suggests shooting 300 or something rounds through it to 'break it in'.
Not sure how I feel about having to break a firearm in but hey, they built it and should know.
They're not the only manufacturer that suggests something similar.
Get through that break in round count and see how it's running.

Another thing that I noticed my son doing with one that caused problems.
He was slightly hitting the mag release button with the meat of his thumb under recoil.
That would allow the mag to drop ever so slightly causing failures to feed.
It wouldn't drop from the gun, just drop enough to be a problem.
He adjusted his grip and no more problems.

I did that too on my Hi-Point. I figured it was because I was a lefty. I sold it for that reason.

photographix · March 26, 2018, 03:56 PM

Thanks, guys. Good to know about the grip and the mag release. I'm a lefty too, so maybe that might part of the problem.

I found some instructions over on the Hi-Point forums about tweaking the lips on the mag so the cartridges don't nose dive under the feed ramp. I did the tweak, and it functions better with snapcaps now. The proof will be to see what happens with live rounds.

CajunBass · March 27, 2018, 04:29 AM

Back when I was shooting mine a lot, I would slap the back of the magazine against the palm of my hand before loading it into the gun.

Did it help? No idea, but it didn't hurt.

My theory was to make sure all the cartridge rims were as far back in the magazine as they could go, and it seemed to help start that first bullet into the proper "nose up" position.

And it didn't cost anything.

March 13, 2018, 05:48 PM	#76
Cheapshooter Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 8,306	My Hi Points, C9 and JHP(45acp model) certainly aren't my top favorite residents of my safe. But they are fun range blasters, and actually quite accurate. They also devour anything I feed them. But the "difficult to field strip" complaint gets way too much attention. There's nothing in there that a blast or two of Gun Scrubber won't take care of. Eveything else can be wiped dowd, and oiled without any disassembly. Are there better guns for carry out there for a little more money? Of course. But to some that "little bit" could be enough to put them out of reach. I bought the C9 new at a gun show with one thing in mind. Just to see if this under $150 gun could possibly be as bad as all the haters say. I was extremely pleasantly surprised. Reliable, easy to shoot, and accurate. When a used one in 45acp popped up for $125 I coudn't pass on it. Just as reliable, just as accurate, and just as much fun to shoot. __________________ Cheapshooter's rules of gun ownership #1: NEVER SELL OR TRADE ANYTHING!

March 15, 2018, 03:05 PM	#80
Qwk69buick Junior Member Join Date: March 14, 2018 Posts: 10	I can help you with this My first pistol was a C9, have you shot it yet, and then wondered why your shooting hnd hurt like hell, I didn't figure it out till I bought my Sig, the frame grip on all Hi Point pistols has a flat thumb grip that rides right on the knuckle, after I figured out why it was so horrible to shoot, I got out my dremel and put a lovely curve in that thumb crusher, put a little silicone on just to cushion it a little extra, I wasn't going to hurt it's nonexistent resale value. After doing that it was quite pleasant to shootl. No reason not to keep it, they will fix it forever, and trust me it will break because the recoil spring is attached to the thinnest piece of metal on the whole thing , right under the barrel.

March 15, 2018, 05:18 PM	#82
moosemike Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2009 Location: Lebanon PA Posts: 535	I'd take a Hi-Point in 380 or 9mm. The others are just too large. __________________ et cognoscetis veritatem et veritas liberabit vos

March 19, 2018, 12:19 AM	#85
photographix Member Join Date: January 6, 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 43	Based on just about everyone's input, I took it to the range on Friday to see how it did. I loaded 5 rounds of Independence 9mm aluminum case (yeah, yeah, I know, but I wanted to get rid of it) and it would consistently do two things: First round wouldn't strip from the mag properly, and the slide would hang. I had to shove the slide into battery. After I got the first round off, the second round would hang, too. After that, the gun worked properly. Overall, I was impressed at how softly it recoiled, due the heavy slide I suppose. And it hit where I aimed it at 7 yards. I never put more than 5 rounds in the mag. I figured if I loaded 8, it wouldn't function until 4 or 5 were gone. Might have been the aluminum casings, and that the gun hasn't really loosened up yet. I did manage to force 50 rounds through it, and it seemed to get a little looser. Still not to the point where anyone would call it reliable. I'll take it again and run brass rounds through it and see if it does better. The grips are comfortable, but slippery. Does Talon make a set for the C9? I've been too lazy to look.... The slide bit me twice. I'm a lefty, and I have a groove on my left thumb knuckle from the slide cycling. I had to use my right hand to release the slide lock after clearing jams, and the notch where the takedown pin lives got my right thumb knuckle. IMG_4362.JPG Last edited by photographix; March 19, 2018 at 12:32 AM.

March 23, 2018, 04:13 PM	#90
dgludwig Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 2005 Location: North central Ohio Posts: 7,486	Even being turned into a frog would make it prettier. __________________ ONLY AN ARMED PEOPLE CAN BE TRULY FREE ; ONLY AN UNARMED PEOPLE CAN EVER BE ENSLAVED ...Aristotle NRA Benefactor Life Member

March 13, 2018, 09:43 PM	#78
osbornk Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2012 Location: Mountains of Appalachia Posts: 1,598	Before I traded my Hi-Point C9 for a Taurus, I took it apart just to see if I could. It is not difficult to take apart and put back together because it is a simple blow-back design. The only thing different than most other guns is that you have to drive out a roll pin to take it apart. It is not difficult but it does take something to drive the pin out with (punch, nail, etc.) and a small hammer. I wish I had kept it because it was my first handgun and it looked and shot like new.

March 15, 2018, 03:36 PM	#81
GunFickle Member Join Date: March 1, 2018 Location: Barrackville WV Posts: 33	I would keep it, it may save your life someday.

March 18, 2018, 06:20 PM	#84
Buckeye! Senior Member Join Date: September 1, 2008 Posts: 849	I took a C9 as boot on a trade ... It shot alot rounds before I got it .. a bout 1K rounds of my brothers nasty 115 gr LRN reloads , that wouldn't fed in his 5906 .. .. My brother ended up with it .. I imagine its stashed in the dash of his old Jeep CJ5 ...

March 20, 2018, 08:11 AM	#86
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	Ouch! Slide bite and hammer bite can ruin an otherwise decent gun. Thankfully, I'm immune to hammer bite on a High Power, but, I fell victim to slide bite on a Walther PPK/s. I also had a run in with a S&W M66 snub nose shooting .357 mag loads. The cylinder release tore apart the web of my hand. The solution? Get rid of the offending guns. They have no value to you what so ever (unless it's a special gift or family heirloom. Others will no doubt disagree & offer a cure by having you change the way you grip the gun. My opinion on that is why should I change everything that works, just because of one gun? @ this point, from where I'm sitting, that $25 offer from the gun store looks might attractive.

March 21, 2018, 01:45 AM	#88
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	So when will it. Look beautiful?

March 23, 2018, 05:01 PM	#91
turkeestalker Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2015 Location: Cottleville, Missouri Posts: 1,115	It will never look beautiful, (asking when was a good chuckle, thank you), and it will always feel about like a brick on a stick in the hand. Thing is it will always go bang from my experience and that isn't always the case with much more expensive and beautiful hand guns out there. __________________ Vegetarian... primitive word for lousy hunter!

March 24, 2018, 03:12 AM	#92
Sturmpanzer Junior member Join Date: November 11, 2017 Posts: 116	The most butt-ugly auto ever made...use it for trade value only... JMHO....

March 24, 2018, 05:42 PM	#93
nanney1 Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2017 Posts: 239	Some people think the Walther Creed is a great budget pistol. And, I'm sure it is a good performer. But, to me the Walther looks like a Hi Point. And while the Creed is offered at a good price, it is usually around $150-200 more than the Hi Point.

March 25, 2018, 05:00 PM	#94
dwhite Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2007 Location: Wake County, N. Carolina Posts: 379	You can find "budget" guns for a bit more money. But, no one is going to beat that Hi-Point service and warranty. Taurus did have a lifetime warranty on their guns. Rumor has it that's changed now. Problem was you send it in to the Taurus black hole in Miami and have to wait until it comes out the other side. Honestly, I did get a ten day turn around on my 24/7 when I sent it in. Lot's of stories about people waiting MONTHS. Hi-Point seems to have extremely fast turn around. All the Best, D. White __________________ 10th Amendment - The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

March 26, 2018, 02:53 AM	#95
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	So after four pages of suggestions why not just get a shovel and find an acceptable place in the back yard? No Political Correctness involved...just bury it.

March 26, 2018, 10:55 AM	#96
photographix Member Join Date: January 6, 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 43	I've changed my mind and decided to hang onto it for a while, maybe forever. I just need to get it to function reliably.

March 26, 2018, 02:40 PM	#97
turkeestalker Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2015 Location: Cottleville, Missouri Posts: 1,115	If memory serves, I think that the destructions included with the firearm from the manufacturer suggests shooting 300 or something rounds through it to 'break it in'. Not sure how I feel about having to break a firearm in but hey, they built it and should know. They're not the only manufacturer that suggests something similar. Get through that break in round count and see how it's running. Another thing that I noticed my son doing with one that caused problems. He was slightly hitting the mag release button with the meat of his thumb under recoil. That would allow the mag to drop ever so slightly causing failures to feed. It wouldn't drop from the gun, just drop enough to be a problem. He adjusted his grip and no more problems. __________________ Vegetarian... primitive word for lousy hunter!

March 26, 2018, 03:56 PM	#99
photographix Member Join Date: January 6, 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 43	Thanks, guys. Good to know about the grip and the mag release. I'm a lefty too, so maybe that might part of the problem. I found some instructions over on the Hi-Point forums about tweaking the lips on the mag so the cartridges don't nose dive under the feed ramp. I did the tweak, and it functions better with snapcaps now. The proof will be to see what happens with live rounds.

March 27, 2018, 04:29 AM	#100
CajunBass Senior Member Join Date: May 6, 2005 Location: North Chesterfield, Virginia Posts: 4,767	Back when I was shooting mine a lot, I would slap the back of the magazine against the palm of my hand before loading it into the gun. Did it help? No idea, but it didn't hurt. My theory was to make sure all the cartridge rims were as far back in the magazine as they could go, and it seemed to help start that first bullet into the proper "nose up" position. And it didn't cost anything. __________________ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)