The Classic: Browning Hi-Power

A few months ago, FN recently announced the Browning Hi-Power pistol was being discontinued from manufacture. In the perfect handgunning world, all pistols would have the mix of history, performance, and collector interest of the Fabrique Nationale Hi-Power. While Hi-Power pistols may be valuable and collectible, they fire the same readily obtained 9mm cartridge as many of your other favorites.

The Hi-Power is among the most recognizable handguns worldwide. If you scan the news, you may see a Hi-Power in the hands of Indian police or being waved by a woman during a street battle in Iraq. Our Canadian allies issue the Hi-Power, and it works as well today as a battle pistol as ever has. The Hi-Power has been issued to the armed services of more than 50 nations. A generation ago, the Hi-Power was issued to elite units in the United States including the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Squad and FBI Hostage Rescue Team.

The history of the Hi-Power is interesting. The pistol was developed by John Moses Browning as a European service pistol. Browning was a great inventor; he was also among the greatest gun salesman of all time. While 1911 fans may decry the small caliber 9mm and derisively call it the ‘Half Power,’ a .45 caliber service pistol would have been unthinkable in Europe. Browning did not base the Hi-Power on the 1911 but upon Browning principles just as the Tokarev and French 1935, by different inventors, are based on Browning’s work.

Originally, the Hi-Power was intended for the French Army. The French did not want a grip safety, and none was supplied. I respectfully submit that Browning had learned a few things since 1911, and the Hi-Power was designed to be produced as economically as possible.

The Allies left World War I with a great respect for the 9mm Luger cartridge. The 9mm met French requirements and it offers a good level of power for its compact size. The Luger cartridge is compact enough that 13 cartridges could be stuffed into a relatively compact magazine. Browning further refined his locked breech action to eliminate the swinging link and the result was the Hi-Power or Grande Pruissance.

Browning died in his office in Belgium before the final work was completed. Early models illustrate that the Hi-Power was defined by Browning. Dieudonne Saive, a respected inventor in his own right, refined the pistol and gave us the final form. The Hi-Power is a well-balanced handgun and among the finest service pistols of all time.

The French did not adopt the Hi-Power, but just the same, the type saw immense commercial success. Early variants were shipped to China and South America among other nations. During World War II, the Germans took over the FN plant and turned out the Hi-Power for the Wermacht. John Inglis of Canada, a respected maker of armaments including ships boilers, took up production of the Hi-Power for the allies.

The Hi-Power has the distinction of serving on both sides of practically every conflict since 1939. The Hi-Power has been in continuous production and remains a popular handgun today. A look at the specifications of the Hi-Power shows that it is ideally proportioned for the cartridge it chambers. There is enough weight to absorb the recoil of the 9mm cartridge, but the pistol is light enough for daily carry. The grip fits most hands well. The trigger press is straight to the rear, and the pistol is flat enough for concealed carry.

The pistol is all steel and well made of good material. The Browning design has gone through several generations but each is recognizable as a Hi-Power. The changes have been minor, usually limited to differences in the sights and the manual safety. The early versions feature a slide lock safety that is smaller than many competing types. With practice, the safety isn’t as difficult to manipulate, as some would have us believe. Just the same, in a dedicated defensive handgun, the Cylinder and Slide Shop Inc. extended safety is an aid in speed and positive function.

On the plus side, the original safety is positive in operation and unlikely to be inadvertently moved to the off-safe position. The slide stop and magazine release are easily reached and manipulated. Most, but not all, Hi-Power pistols feature a magazine disconnect that prevents the pistol from firing if the magazine is not in place. The Hi-Power is smaller and lighter than the 1911 .45, and handles quickly. With the greatest respect for the 1911, and its speed into action, if there is a handgun faster to an accurate first shot than the 1911, it is the Browning Hi-Power.

The intrinsic accuracy of the Hi-Power is often very good. Practical accuracy is limited by sometimes heavy trigger actions. Over the years, the Lyman trigger pull gauge has measured Hi-Power triggers at 5 to 11 pounds, respectively. There seems no rhyme or reason. The tangent action isn’t easily improved. It is a shame that the heavy trigger action limits accuracy potential in many variants, but then the piece was made for short-range combat.

Then again, there is the shooter who manages the trigger and makes good hits in spite of the trigger action. As long as the trigger is consistent, little else matters to these practiced marksmen. Another advantage of the Hi-Power is speed of loading. All one need do to replenish the ammunition supply was to quickly insert the tapered magazine into a generous magazine well. No need for a magazine chute with this pistol.

The Hi-Power features a heavy hammer spring. This makes thumb cocking more difficult, however, there is a reason for the heavy spring. 9mm Luger ammunition has been produced in many countries. Quality is sometimes indifferent and the Hi-Power had to function with every load and to handle variations in case length as well as hard primers. The hammer gives the primer a solid hit and the pistol has excellent reliability. The extractor design changed about 1962 from internal to external.

A complaint leveled against the pistol that may have little basis in reality is an appraisal of the longevity of the pistol and the claim that some have soft steel. It seems unlikely than FN would produce such fine shotguns and rifles and then use Basque steel in the Hi-Power! But claims of cracked slides without photographic proof are common.

I am certain Hi-Powers have suffered cracked slides. So has the 1911, Beretta, Walther P38, SIG, and Glock. I have examined well-used wartime Hi-Powers that rattled when shook. The barrel lugs were well worn and the frame showed hi wear spots, but the pistols functioned. My personal Action Works modified Hi-Power went well over 10,000 rounds without complaint—including performing as a test bed for +P+ 9mm ammunition. No problems just a little loss of accuracy at the 10,000 round mark. I think shooters need to understand that springs and magazines are a renewable resource and must be replaced. Guns sometimes wear out and need to be replaced or retired.

License-built pistols were produced in Argentina and clones and copies worldwide. The FM Argentine guns originally copied the Hi-Power while later versions deleted the step in the slide, producing a pistol with a different profile. The probable reason was to diminish machine work. The design may be stronger but it would take a truckload of ammunition to prove this out.

The Hungarian FEG is a quality variant, with good finish and performance comparable to the original, but not quite up to FN standards. Among the most interesting variants is the John Inglis produced Hi-Power. The story has been told that Belgian engineers escaped to Canada with plans under the arm for the manufacture of the FN Hi-Power.

During the war, the Hi-Power was a favored pistol for Commando use. After all, the standard British issue Webley revolver was not the most modern combat arm! The Inglis-produced pistol was sent to our Allies, including China, and was heavily used by the British. They liked the Hi-Power and while they used whatever was available during the war, after World War II the Hi-Power became standard issue for the British Army.

A bit of understanding is needed when studying the Inglis Hi-Power and any other Hi-Power. It is possible that Hi-Powers exist worldwide with the identical serial number as FN used the same blocks with different contracts. That’s all good for them, but it has a serious collector searching for identifying proof marks. The Inglis Number 1 and Number 2, Mark * 1 differ.

Marks indicate differences such as the ejector or extractor while the numbers are more important. The Number 1 is the Chinese pistol with tangent rear sights and a slot for a shoulder stock. The Number 2 is the conventional sight version. Serial numbers were applied after finishing, and if the pistol was refinished, the numbers no long appear ‘in the white.’

Most are in well-used condition. They were not as well finished as the FN versions when new. I have probably fired more rounds through the Inglis Hi-Power than any other. The pistols are pleasant to fire. The John Inglis gun is among my favorite recreational shooters. It isn’t possible to know who used the pistol, but we may draw conclusions as to how they maintained the handgun.

One example I recently handled and fired had the dovetailed front sight adjusted and then a punch was used to peen the surrounding metal. The result was that the pistol was sighted in for their eyes and the front sight isn’t likely to move again. Fortuitously, the setting was correct for my eyes and 124-grain Winchester PDX ammunition. I have also used other 124-grain loads with good results.

After considerable experience with the Hi-Power, parts interchangeability seems excellent. Other than the change to a different extractor style, the only change is in different generations of sights. The original military sights are no better or worse than many of the day. The later MK II sights are much better combat sights.

The tangent-style sights came in a number of variations. The late model Browning features variations on adjustable sights, including one type that seems to fit into the military dovetail. The adjustable sighted commercial guns are fine sporting guns—occasionally found in the used section at the shop with a sight leaf missing. These sights leafs are sometimes difficult to obtain.

Magazines interchange in all models. Mec Gar is the preferred magazine brand. I have stated my opinion on the longevity of the 9mm Hi-Power. Any handgun in use for so long will have among its number worn or broken examples.

I have found that the Hi-Power feeds modern JHP ammunition. When hollow points became common in the 1960s and 1970s many featured a wide mouth hollow nose not designed for feed reliability. As a result, these loads did not feed in military pistols without barrel polish or throating. Throating, once universally recommended in the popular press, isn’t the best course and often improperly done.

Modern loads, such as the Winchester Silvertip, perform well and feed reliably. As for Hi-Power accuracy, I feel that the average accuracy of the Hi-Power is pretty consistent. Most examples may be counted upon for a five-shot group of 2.5 to 3 inches at 25 yards with good ammunition and from a solid benchrest.

In the end, the Hi-Power is far more than a handgun to be kept in the safe and never fired. It is among the most useful of 9mm handguns. Light enough for constant carry, reliable, effective, and with more than a little pride of ownership, this is a handgun that has stood the test of time.

Have you fired the Hi-Power? How does it rank on your personal list of All-Time greatest handguns? Share your answers in the comment section.