Information on FN Browning Hi-Power, please!

jrklaus · July 25, 2005, 08:59 PM

I am interested in any information anyone can provide about an FN Browning Hi-Power I acquired as a used firearm several years ago. It is a 9mm with what I would call the standard hammer and sights, has the external extractor, and it does not have the ambidextrous safety. It bears the marking "F.N. Browning" on the port side of the slide. On the starboard side of the slide it bears two markings--the serial number, 289XXX (located beneath the ejection port), and a T with a star above it (which looks like some form of proof mark I have never been able to identify) located at the bottom rear of the slide. The serial number is repeated on the starboard side of the frame and on the barrel, which also has some form of mark which looks like an "F" lying on its back, head toward the chamber. The only other markings on the pistol are at the heel of the grip and must make reference to a former owner: C. M. G., Sav. Ga.

I have looked on Browning's website, but this pistol falls outside of the serial number ranges listed there. I cannot get the FN corporate site to work, except for the "News Releases" and "Employment Opportunities" buttons.

Any information about the origin and likely date of manufacture would be appreciated. Thanks!

James K · July 28, 2005, 01:04 PM

I know of no BHP with just that marking on the left side. The Argentine pistols are marked "LICENCIA F.N. BROWNING", but also have the Argentine FMAP and DGFM markings, as well as "INDUSTRIA ARGENTINA".

If the gun has those markings, it is an Argentine HP, made under license from FN. These are good quality pistols, but not finished as well as the FN made pistols. Argentine pistols have their own serial number range, so you would not find the number on an FN web site.

C.M.G. in Savannah, GA, was the importer, but I don't know who that is or was.

Jim

jrklaus · July 28, 2005, 01:21 PM

Thanks, Jim, for the information on the importer. I got to speak to Glenn, the historian at Browning (nice people on the phone out there, by the way), and he said that the pistol was made in the seventies for the European trade. He did not think that FN Herstal would have any information on the pistol they could add to what he had told me.

July 25, 2005, 08:59 PM	#1
jrklaus Senior Member Join Date: July 25, 2005 Location: Tennessee Posts: 520	Information on FN Browning Hi-Power, please! I am interested in any information anyone can provide about an FN Browning Hi-Power I acquired as a used firearm several years ago. It is a 9mm with what I would call the standard hammer and sights, has the external extractor, and it does not have the ambidextrous safety. It bears the marking "F.N. Browning" on the port side of the slide. On the starboard side of the slide it bears two markings--the serial number, 289XXX (located beneath the ejection port), and a T with a star above it (which looks like some form of proof mark I have never been able to identify) located at the bottom rear of the slide. The serial number is repeated on the starboard side of the frame and on the barrel, which also has some form of mark which looks like an "F" lying on its back, head toward the chamber. The only other markings on the pistol are at the heel of the grip and must make reference to a former owner: C. M. G., Sav. Ga. I have looked on Browning's website, but this pistol falls outside of the serial number ranges listed there. I cannot get the FN corporate site to work, except for the "News Releases" and "Employment Opportunities" buttons. Any information about the origin and likely date of manufacture would be appreciated. Thanks!

July 28, 2005, 01:04 PM	#2
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I know of no BHP with just that marking on the left side. The Argentine pistols are marked "LICENCIA F.N. BROWNING", but also have the Argentine FMAP and DGFM markings, as well as "INDUSTRIA ARGENTINA". If the gun has those markings, it is an Argentine HP, made under license from FN. These are good quality pistols, but not finished as well as the FN made pistols. Argentine pistols have their own serial number range, so you would not find the number on an FN web site. C.M.G. in Savannah, GA, was the importer, but I don't know who that is or was. Jim

July 28, 2005, 01:21 PM	#3
jrklaus Senior Member Join Date: July 25, 2005 Location: Tennessee Posts: 520	Thanks, Jim, for the information on the importer. I got to speak to Glenn, the historian at Browning (nice people on the phone out there, by the way), and he said that the pistol was made in the seventies for the European trade. He did not think that FN Herstal would have any information on the pistol they could add to what he had told me.