Browning Hi-Power in 40cal?

[Blue Duck]

I found a Browning Hi-Power in 40cal. This a custom gun from a Company that goes by the name of Cylinder and Slide. It looks very nice, has night sights and two 10 round mags. It seems to have a very good action. The hammer spring has been changed out for a lighter one, and the slide is probably fitted with a stronger one to offset the lighter hammer spring, and it doesn't have a trigger disconnect. At anyrate, I am tempted but I don't know much history on the High Power in 40cal, or Cylinder and Slide.

Does anyone have any experience with the Browning in 40 cal.? They are a little rare, I don't see many of them. Do they still make them? This gun is really slick and has an attractive price, I am sure it cost a lot more then the price tag on it, but I don't want another lemmon, and I have had my share over the years. So if anyone has information I would appreciate it.

 

[ranburr]

The .40 is still available for around $450. I normally would not want a .40 Hi Power. But, the Cylinder & Slide part of the equation makes this a very desireable gun. You can count on one hand how many truly "top notch" Hi Power smiths are in this country. C&S is on that list. There is a pricey and long wait to get work done by C&S. They are one of the few houses that will not dissapoint. Buy it quickly.

 

[Blue Duck]

Well, that is pretty much what I am thinking also. I just went to the cylinder and slide website and their work seems to be topnotch and pricey. I figure this gun has probably 400 to 600 dollars worth of extra work done on it, at least, from what I can tell.

Like you I would probably prefer it in 9mm for the High power, but still this seems like a bargan. The gun has a price tag of less then 600 on it, now. Somebody had to of taken a pretty good lose on this gun. I am surprised it is not higher. But maybe the 40 is not very popular in the highpower, so the dealer probably got into it right, to sell it right. Still it sorta scares me a little, wondering why whoever went to the trouble to get the work done, traded it off, but you never know, I guess I have done similar trades.

 

[swedgon]

Blue Duck, I have put thousands of rounds down the tube of my .40 High Power. That heavy recoil spring is probably the factory 20 lb. spring. Browning's High power in .40 is not just an after thought. The slide is thicker than the 9MM and there is an extra locking lug. Do you reload? If so this piece is a real keeper. You can shoot 180 gr. lead with a light charge and an 18 lb. recoil spring and it will feal like a .45 ACP. My .40 HP has Heinie sights, trigger work and has been hard chromed. I have a Novak High Power in 9MM but I would rather shoot my .40 Cal.
You will like it.

Albert

 

[HorseSoldier]

Like you I would probably prefer it in 9mm for the High power, but still this seems like a bargan. The gun has a price tag of less then 600 on it, now. Somebody had to of taken a pretty good lose on this gun.

I'd say get a 9mm High Power and send it in to C&S to get it customized (if you don't mind a six or seven month wait), but you'd spend over $600 for the base pistol itself before putting any sort of custom package on it from them.

If it has been 'smithed, especially if it has been smithed extensively, by Cylinder and Slide, the $600 price tag is probably a once in a lifetime bargain price. I'd jump on it if I were you.

Still it sorta scares me a little, wondering why whoever went to the trouble to get the work done, traded it off, but you never know, I guess I have done similar trades.

Happens sometimes. I've never seen a deal as good as that one sounds, but I have occasionally seen guys doing consignment sales of custom gunsmithed guns for quite a bit less than they have in the gun, for whatever reason. Unfortunately, I've never seen a deal on a make/model I shoot in a caliber I shoot.

 

[Socrates]

I'd jump on it. The 40 is the most beefed up of the Hi-Powers, and, would make an excellent conversion back to 9mm, if need be.

Loosing money on custom work can very well be a way of life.

The guy before you learned a hard lesson: take a nice, but not expensive gun, put a ton of money in it, and, you've got a nice, not expensive gun that no one is likely to pay for the smithing work. You can sort of count on giving away the gun, and getting what the smith work cost, maybe.

In another place I put it like this:

A Hamilton Bowen Ruger conversion is nice, but, it's STILL JUST a RUGER.

Start with something inherently valuable, a nice 1911, Freedom Arms, BFR, to begin with, so when you get done, you have a very expensive conversion, based on either a rare gun to begin with, or, a very high quality one.

Dr. S

 

[Blue Duck]

I took another look at it today, and The story is that the guy who traded it in traded two guns, both had been to Cylinder and Slide. As far as the work done, I believe it is probably limited to trigger work, different springs, night sights, and a skeleton commander style hammer. The mag well was not beveled, not that that it matters much to me on a High Power. I don't know if it had any dehorning done, but it is smooth with no edges anywhere that can bite you.

I took a closer look and it is a FN made in Belgium, but not a Browning and it doesn't say assembled in Porchigul like some do. ( I know I misspelled that). I don't know if that really matters or not. I probably will buy it, if someone doesn't beat me to it, right now I am just debating on wheather I really want it or not.

 

[velocette]

I to have a Browning Hi-Power in .40 S&W. I am very pleased with it. totally reliable, powerful and accurate. 10 in the mag and 1 up the spout gives you some serious firepower.
A little trigger work to improve the mushy, heavy trigger & it's a real keeper.
I strongly suggest the Hogue monogrips for the pistol, they take the HP's excellent ergonomics to a much higher level. The pistol feels as if it has melted in my hand.

Roger

 

[Socrates]

How good is the trigger?
If it's excellent, I'd jump on the gun. Also, I wonder if the 40 is more accurate then the 9mm versions I had 20 years ago?

Dr. S

 

[Dave_n]

The FN Marking is simply the correct name for Belgian Browning manufacture. It was always FN that made the Browning in Belgium. So yes, it is a "Browning". I have both the 40 cal Belgian made Browning and the Inglis made Highpower in 9mm. I do not call the 9mm a Browning because it is not. It is a reverse- engineered copy of the GP35 made by Inglis in Canada for the UK Army during WWII (originally for the Nationalist Chinese and then for the UK/Canada). Dave_n

 

[Blue Duck]

The trigger is pretty good on it. I may get it tomorrow, I though I would cool off a little before I made a decision.

 

[AngusPodgorney]

The FN Marking is simply the correct name for Belgian Browning manufacture. It was always FN that made the Browning in Belgium. So yes, it is a "Browning". I have both the 40 cal Belgian made Browning and the Inglis made Highpower in 9mm. I do not call the 9mm a Browning because it is not. It is a reverse- engineered copy of the GP35 made by Inglis in Canada for the UK Army during WWII (originally for the Nationalist Chinese and then for the UK/Canada). Dave_n

Well yes and no...

You can get FN rollmarked Hi Powers and Browning rollmarked Hi Powers. One is technically not a Browning. Same gun, same assembly line, etc., etc.

The Inglis guns were not reversed engineered. FN and Dieudonne Saive worked very closely with Inglis switching from metric to inch pattern and building the guns under FN license.

 

[Dave_n]

Angus:

I respectfully disagree. Read The history of the GP35 and also the story of the "Inglis Diamond". FN in Belgium were overrun before Inglis started to "reverse engineer" (metric to inch without any blueprints) the GP35, so no licence whatever. Also FN was where almost all "Brownings" were made. The Utah "branch" was "Browning Arms" but merely a holding company, no manufacture of High Powers or as better known in its home country, GP35.

A "Browning Roll Mark" is simply a marketing ploy as is the Utah and sometimes Canada markings on the pistols. I have two Browning BDMs both made by FN and sold by Browning in Utah, but not USA-made! Similarly, the Browning 380 is a Beretta made in Italy and sold under the Browning name. It is a modified copy of one of the Beretta 80 series pistols. Likewise, the Browning DA 45 is a Sig 220 in "Sheep's Clothing". How do I know? I have one or more of all of them.

FN had GP35s made (more frequently simply assembled) in Portugal, and also licenced them to I think Brazil where they are known as FM versions. Plus the Hungarians made a non-licenced copy that is sold by FEG and I also think a version is actually imported by other goups under a different name.

If you want an example of "reverse engineering or two", the maufacture by the then USSR of B29s required conversion from inch to metric of everything in/on the planes. Similarly the C47 by both the Russians and the Japanese.
Dave_n

 

[AngusPodgorney]

Ok, I'll give a bit on the "reverse engineering" as Dieudonne Saive provided drawings to the English from memory which the English later provided to the Canadians. BUT, a formal contract was drawn up on November 23rd, 1943 between the Canadian Government and the exiled representatives of F.N. namely Msr. Joassart.

Also FN was where almost all "Brownings" were made. The Utah "branch" was "Browning Arms" but merely a holding company, no manufacture of High Powers or as better known in its home country, GP35.

A "Browning Roll Mark" is simply a marketing ploy as is the Utah and sometimes Canada markings on the pistols. I have two Browning BDMs both made by FN and sold by Browning in Utah, but not USA-made! Similarly, the Browning 380 is a Beretta made in Italy and sold under the Browning name. It is a modified copy of one of the Beretta 80 series pistols. Likewise, the Browning DA 45 is a Sig 220 in "Sheep's Clothing". How do I know? I have one or more of all of them.

FN had GP35s made (more frequently simply assembled) in Portugal, and also licenced them to I think Brazil where they are known as FM versions. Plus the Hungarians made a non-licenced copy that is sold by FEG and I also think a version is actually imported by other goups under a different name.

I think you need to re read what I wrote. I stated they were the same gun from the same assembly line but they had different roll marks. Yes the guns were functionally identical but when it comes time to sell them Browning marked guns sell for more both new and used.

You are correct, Browning is a distributor. The last gun made in the U.S. by Browning Brothers was the single shot rifle in the late 19th century that first got JMB noticed.

ALL Browning Hi Powers were built in Belgium. Argentina makes the F.M.'s and originally under license on F.N . equipment.


The St. Louis, Montreal, etc. markings on the pistols is not a marketing ploy but a listing of the addresses of the distributor, Browning Arms.

F.E.G. guns and more recently F.E.G. parts have been used to make the Israeli Kareen, Charles Daly and even knock-off F.N.'s.

 

[Harry Callahan]

Great gun

I have a Practical model in .40 that I bought a couple of years ago. Haven't gotten around to a trigger job yet but I'm told that it has a great trigger "for a Browning". I can shoot alright with it, nothing to write home to Mom about but my main problem with it is that it is BRUTAL on my hands! After I get through loading up some magazines my thumb is so sore I can barely fire the damned thing. Definitely more pop than a 9. I've probably fired only around 300 rounds through it but I'm wondering how much more break-in for the magazine spring or will my thumb come off first?