Shooting the 40-Caliber Hi Power...

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I recently was able to shoot a borrowed 40-caliber Hi Power Standard Model that came with adjustable sights. The pistol was stock. Its owner had made no changes to it in any form or fashion.


The 40-caliber Hi Power I shot was this Standard Model that came from the factory with Millett adjustable sights. The trigger-pull measured 7-lbs.

The pistol fed, fired, ejected and extracted flawlessly and the slide never failed to lock open after the last round was fired. I made no adjustments to the rear sight not only because the pistol is not mine but because its owner had it pretty well "dialed in" himself. Shooting was done only at 15 yards due to my having a limited amount of time and other folks were using the 25-yard facilities.

Slow-fire 10-shot groups were fired at 15 yards using bullseye targets. My goal was only to shoot for group; I wanted to see if I could even approach the mechanical accuracy that the 40-caliber Hi Power possesses.

This Hi Power was fired with the following .40 S&W ammunition:

Winchester 180-gr. FMJ
Remington 165-gr. Golden Saber
Remington 180-gr. Golden Saber
Speer 180-gr. Gold Dot Hollow Point

I did not shoot the pistol very much, certainly not enough to amount to any determinant of durability or reliability. Less than 120 shots total were fired, all of it commercial factory ammunition. Ejected cases consistently landed 10 to 12 feet away and none exhibited any signs of excessive pressure.


Group sizes were similar with all of the ammunition fired in today's range session. I believe that the 40-caliber Hi Power has enough "built-in" accuracy for most of us. I know that it does for me.

Reliability was 100%.

Sixteen years ago I owned Browning Mk III in .40 S&W but soon sold the pistol. I simply preferred the 9mm in the Hi Power platform and while I shot a few 40-caliber Hi Powers over the years, none were mine and my times with them, sporadic. For this reason I had forgotten how comfortably the steel-frame Hi Power handles the forty's recoil.

Today's shooting session was more enjoyable than I envisioned and more comfortable than I remembered. Though I still have no desire for a 40-caliber handgun, were that to change I would definitely be looking for an FN or Browning Hi Power.

For those who might be interested, a more detailed report is here:

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Shoo ... 0Power.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best and good shooting.

[Dirty Bob]

Great review, as always. I never wanted a P-35, until I started reading your articles. I've resisted, though your write-ups talked me into an SP101. No regrets, there. It's every bit as good as you said.

Were you able to get a sense of muzzle flash/blast with the .40 Hi Power? It seems that the Browning's barrel would allow better burning of the powder charge than some of the compact or sub-compact .40 pistols.

Like you, I think I would go with a Hi Power if I were looking for a .40 S&W pistol.

Once again, a really great review, with superb photos. Loved the clear shot of the "mousetrap" spring. It really clarified how that spring works.

All my best,
Dirty Bob