Hi-Power Reliability?

[ARDogman]

Hey, all. I have a guy with what appears to be a very nice BHP in .40 who wants to move it. I'm thinking of procuring it soon. It's got night sights, two sets of grips (one is a nice walnut, other is black plastic looking) and 3 mags. He's asking $599, which I think is a good price, based on looking around on the web. Thing has no holster wear, and appears to have been well cared for. My question is strictly about reliability. I've been blessed with semiautos that have so far had zero malfunctions (notably an XDm and LCP.) Can I expect similar results from the BHP?

I dig the way the HP feels in my hands, and how slim it is. Seems like a nice design.

And PS - I can put in aftermarket 9mm bbl and mags, right?

 

[rock185]

Soon after they were introduced, I owned a BHP in .40. The .40 BHP was 100% reliable with every type of factory ammo I tried and my reloads. Browning/FN did it right. The .40 BHP has a heavier slide and an additional barrel locking lug that easily handles the more energetic .40 loads. Fit and finish in and out were very good. Unless you switch the complete slide/barrel assembly to 9mm, you would need an aftermarket barrel, like BarSto, to switch to 9mm. I don't believe there's any difference in the cast frames of the .40 and 9mm, so the 9mm magazines work fine in the .40 frame. Gunsmith Richard Heinie remarked, in one of the gun magazines a few years ago, that he wasn't getting the same accuracy from the factory .40 barrels that he did from the factory 9mm barrels and might have to go to an aftermarket barrel for the custom Browning .40s he produced. His experince mirrors mine on that. My .40 BHP was not bad, it just didn't shoot quite as accurately as my 9mm BHPs with their factory barrels.

In my opinion, the BHPs in .40 S&W are quality guns and I would not hesitate to buy another if i wanted/needed one. ymmv

 

[S_Constitutionist]

I have an FM/Argentine licensed Hi-power in 9mm and mine has been extremely reliable with the 1500 or so rounds I have put through it (cleaned once at 500, now im just trying to see how dirty I can get it without a malfunction). I have not had one issue.


I believe the platform IS somewhat sensitive to a low grip/limp wrist malfunction (moreso than the XD, for example). My girlfriend (who is not an experienced shooter) has produced 2 FTE/Stovepipes with a low grip. Once her grip was corrected the problem never came back.

Anecdotal evidence, but my gun dealer and many people whom I've spoken with said if they could only take one gun to a fight and it had to be a pistol, it would be their BHP.

Its still used by many police and military forces, including the SAS.

If everything is alright with it that is a great price in my neck of the woods. My dealer sells like new BHP's for around $7-800. Cool piece of history as well.

 

[Amin Parker]

The Browning High Power is one gun that i have and will always stake my life on. It is completely reliable. I have 3 that i have been shooting since the mid 90s and have NEVER experienced a failure of any kind that was not magazine related.. A few years ago i bought 10 magazines for a bulk deal, some of them were used. 2 of those mags were problematic during testing. It was the ONLY time they have experienced malfunctions. It was directly magazine related.

The High Power is a pistol with which you will never get a light strike. No primer is too hard. If there is a round in the chamber it will go bang.

The Browning High Power is the finest 9mm pistol you can find. It is reliable, ergenomic and downright beautiful. It has a manual safety and can be carried condition one. What more does one want from a handgun?

The above is my experience with 9mm versions. I do not own a 40 Browning. I am really passionate about them and just plain love them. The one is to shoot, the other to carry and the third for home defence.

 

[Coltman 77]

The Browning High Power is one gun that i have and will always stake my life on. It is completely reliable. I have 3 that i have been shooting since the mid 90s and have NEVER experienced a failure of any kind that was not magazine related.. A few years ago i bought 10 magazines for a bulk deal, some of them were used. 2 of those mags were problematic during testing. It was the ONLY time they have experienced malfunctions. It was directly magazine related.

The High Power is a pistol with which you will never get a light strike. No primer is too hard. If there is a round in the chamber it will go bang.

The Browning High Power is the finest 9mm pistol you can find. It is reliable, ergenomic and downright beautiful. It has a manual safety and can be carried condition one. What more does one want from a handgun?

The above is my experience with 9mm versions. I do not own a 40 Browning. I am really passionate about them and just plain love them. The one is to shoot, the other to carry and the third for home defence.

Great post!

The BHP is a classic, awesome pistol.

 

[BLUEZ4U]

I've had my .40 for a few years now and usually take it to the range every other month. In that time I've found it to be 100pct reliable. The beefed up design and feel is excellent. The accuracy is right on.
I have a the 2 tone practical. It's a great carry thats nice and slim.
It's one that I will always keep.

 

[Amin Parker]

Thank you Coltman

When i talk about a Browning i get emotional.

There are very few things that are as well made, functional, timeless and beautiful.

 

[MrAcheson]

I've never had a problem with my 9mm FN. FMJ or JHP. I have seen it misfeed once, but I'd let someone else load the mag and shoot it so I don't know what happened.

 

[Bart Noir]

The .40 S&W cartridge is fatter than the 9mm. So the distance from center to outer edge of the rim is greater.

If you take a .40 BHP and put in a barrel for a 9mm, I have my doubts about the extractor reliably grabbing the edge of the rim. This is because the extractor for the .40 is going to be a little farther from the center of the bolt-face.

But then again, the extractor is spring-loaded. So it might have enough movement inward to grab the 9mm rim.

It will be interesting to hear from anybody who has actually used this 9mm conversion method.

Bart Noir

 

[deercop]

I presently have three Hi Powers, 2 are Brownings, 1 is a FM. I have no clue as to the total round count, but I have never had a single malfunction with any of them.

These are all 9mm's, I used to have a Browning Hi Power Practical in .40 S&W. I don't recall having a malfunction with it either. I really wish I still had it, but sometimes we do dumb things in our youth.......

 

[ARDogman]

Deercop,
There are a very limited amount of things I would not do to own the gun in the bottom picture. Beautiful.

 

[bamaranger]

mine

I have one, .40 cal, fixed sights, walnut grips. I shoot it alternately in our local IDPA matches opposite my issue duty auto of another mfg.

It has thus far been 100% reliable over about 1000 rds. One aspect is the mag/ctg/chamber alignment. Straight ahead. There seems little place for a ctg to go but into the chamber. No jump on a bbl ramp, etc, just forward.

When I heard Browning started to make hi-Powers in .40, I had to have one.
Took awhile to find what I wanted, deep blue, walnut grips, fixed sights. When I did, I didn't hesitate long.

I shoot the SA better than my issue DA/SA other. And 10+1 in the hand seems plenty. The trigger on mine was heavy, but has broken in nicely w/ use.