The Hi-Point Semi-Auto Pistols

["DoubleAction"]

From what I've gathered over a period of several years, from those who own the Hi-Points, is an impression of these pistols being of the upper end of the lower priced variety of semi-automatics. From the many testimonials on behalf of the Hi-Points, the cheap stereotype image of the pistol is defied by the few complaints and praise for the pistol by those who own them.

I've never been inclined to purchase one of these pistols, nor have I had the opportunity to shoot one. I was informally introduced to a Hi-Point about ten years ago by a friend looking to find out it's value; after looking up it's retail price and looking at the used condition of the one before me, I formed an immediate impression, wiped my prints off the gun, and handed it back to him.

Imagining the possible street value of these guns, verses their actual resale value in any legitimate gunstore, is the impression relayed to me during that first introduction. I have not yet, or ever, researched the production numbers of the Hi-Points, nor have I researched the number of violent crimes committed with the use of these pistols.

Laying aside any negative impressions formed by the possible high volume street profits of the High Point Pistols, I began looking at it's attrbutes among the law abidding community.

The purpose behind the large heavy looking slide, with help from it's recoil spring, is to prevent the unlocked breech from prematurely opening when the pistol is fired. With the barrel fixed to the frame, a recoil spring guide assembly is mounted under the barrel.

The Hi-Point Pistols are available in .45 acp, .40 S&W, and 9mm , although many believe the .40 S&W has far too much energy for the recoil system of the Hi-Point.

If a less expensive handgun can offer a purpose in providing self protection and defensive posture to an otherwise defenseless law abidding citizen, I'm for it. If the same gun can offer the same person the opportunity to safely practice shooting the pistol, I'm for it. If the same pistol can be safely stored, handled, and maintained by the same defenseless citizen, I'm for that also.I'm also in favor of a company that will stand by such a product to be defect free. That's alot to ask for such a price, and alot more to ask of the customer.

Here are some links to this pistol

Disassembly and Cleaning

home.columbus.rr.com/dzimmerm/hi-point_cleaning.html

Here is an NRA cerified pistol instructor with his own tests

www.fraternalorderlawenforcement.com/

[somery]

wow! new gun is $90?! can't be broken with a hammer? thats a bargain! CF380 that is....wow. i can get two of those and practice dual shooting ;D i love how DA fixes us up with good reading material...gotta go back to the site and read more...bye!

[TMan]

Well, since we've reached a new thresh-hold: I added a link to www.mkssupply.com the web-site for Hi-point.

Somery, if you check their web-site, you will find that their guns are 100% made in the U.S.A. Also, you will find that the guns have a lifetime warranty. I'm not sure if this means the life of the gun or of the company that produces them.

I've handled a couple, but only asked to dry-fire one once. I did, it broke, and she wasn't too happy with me.

These are striker-fired pistols like the Glock, and the trigger was heavy.

The one thing about the price is that you need to factor in the shipping charges for the trips back to the factory for repairs. ;D

I almost bought one once, but then I figured that the money would be better spent on ammo. Also, anything I buy, I have to store.

Right now my garage gun is a Walther P1, which concerns me a little about moisture. Perhaps a Hi-Point would be a good choice for that purpose. However, with the P1, I have absolutely no doubt that if I need to pull the trigger, it will go bang, and I will hit the target.

[somery]

lol they are kinda ugly, but i think i want one, unless it fails my in person test....they don't carry these in stores?

["DoubleAction"]

tman said:

I'm not sure if this means the life of the gun or of the company that produces them.

TMan; You forgot to add The Life Of The Buyer to the list ;D

["DoubleAction"]

One particular thing bothers me about those who buy this gun with the purpose of storing it in their vehicle. With the inexpense involved for such a pistol, many seems think they won't loose much if the pistol is stolen.

["DoubleAction"]

somery; This thread was not meant to be any indicator of endorsement for the Hi-Points, nor was it meant in anyway to give it bad marks. I'm sure someone who knows more about this pistol, first hand, will one day step forward with their own review.

[TMan]

somery said:

lol they are kinda ugly, but i think i want one, unless it fails my in person test....they don't carry these in stores?

Considering your ride, I can't believe you would call something ugly. ;D

They do carry them in stores, although I find it interesting that Davidson's www.galleryofguns.com just in case you aren't familiar with it, doesn't carry them. Think about the math though.

My primary dealer charges $15 for a transfer. He also has a 7% markup on the guns he sells. So in order to make at least the $15, the gun has to sell for $215, in other words, it doesn't behoove him to carry the Hi-Points. He would rather have someone order it from somewhere else and collect the $15 transfer fee.

My secondary dealer has had them in stock before, but doesn't want to sell me one. Of course I had to twist his arm to get him to sell me the engraved Jennings. I figured if I pushed it on the Hi-Point he would loose all respect for me. He was the one that talked me into the Browning Hi-Power, and I bought my Springfield XD from him as well as a couple Browning Buckmarks. I've also brought numerous used pre-owned guns from him that were in excellent condition. He and his staff have strongly discouraged me from buying certain firearms that he has had for sale.

[5ontarget]

Just noticed your new Avitar, TMan. Did you dig it out so you could photograph it, or was that a picture from the web?

It has been a long time since I shot a Hi-point 9mm. One of my friends owned two. If I recall, one worked well, the other- the one I used, sucked. I had to apply upward pressure on the mag to get it to feed, the trigger felt like it sat in the bottom of a cesspool, and was then dragged across the salt flats, thorugh the tar pits, Death Valley, and tumbled down the stairs of the Sears tower a couple times. (I didn't like it, as I recall)
The other gun worked very well, and was surprisingly accurate. The trigger was a little better on it too.

So where does a used Hi-point go?
Why buy used, when you can buy new for $150? What would a used Hi-point sell for?

["DoubleAction"]

5ontarget said:

So where does a used Hi-point go?
Why buy used, when you can buy new for $150? What would a used Hi-point sell for?

5ontarget; I've asked the same question to myself. I have never found the Hi-Points to be among the other selections of used handguns in my own area.

["DoubleAction"]

These are the supposed production numbers of the Hi-Points (Beemiller) in ranking with other manufacturers.

Top Pistol Manufacturers in 2003
Sturm, Ruger 98,422
Beretta USA Corp 92,033
Beemiller Inc. 81,150
Springfield Inc. 78,254
All Other Manufacturers 461,801
Total Pistols Manufactured in 2003 - 811,660

home.comcast.net/~americanfirearmpage/firearmfacts.htm

[TMan]

5ontarget said:

Just noticed your new Avitar, TMan. Did you dig it out so you could photograph it, or was that a picture from the web?

5ontarget, I'm still in China, but was able to find one on the web. The thing I like about the picture on the web is that the name Jennings is clearly visible.

I'm flying out of here today - I hope. We are pretty well socked in with fog. The flight over here from Tokyo was delayed an hour, if that happens going back, it will be tight because I only have a two hour lay-over in Tokyo.

When I get home, I can dig mine out and show the real thing - the engraved one. Wait, what would possess me to want to do that. A joke is a joke. Perhaps "possess" is a good choice of a word.

[somery]

admin said:

somery; This thread was not meant to be any indicator of endorsement for the Hi-Points, nor was it meant in anyway to give it bad marks...

the LEO on that link of the first post indicates, and i quote, "the HI-Point is as good as any Glock, Raven Arms or [something else here] that i know of" indicating that you could hit it with a hammer (this i gotta try) and it wouldn't hurt it. TMAN! are you poking at me again with the jennings pic!!!? lol im going to go find a smashed element and make it my avatar .... ;D ;D ;D just kidding, my burb is so ugly its beautiful its a beast, $100 a tank gas-a-guzzlin', i'm sure youve been in one, but you can sprawl out in the front, your legs have room! i can fit a 4x8 sheet of material in the back, or racks of machine guns and pistol bays and still have room for a 30 gallon drum of emergency gas, water, food, ect

["DoubleAction"]

somery said:

admin said:

somery; This thread was not meant to be any indicator of endorsement for the Hi-Points, nor was it meant in anyway to give it bad marks...

the LEO on that link of the first post indicates, and i quote, "the HI-Point is as good as any Glock, Raven Arms or [something else here] that i know of" indicating that you could hit it with a hammer (this i gotta try) and it wouldn't hurt it.

somery; He just about had me sold on the Hi-Point too, until I realized how many of those in law enforcement carry the Hi-Points.

[MLB]

The Buffalo News ran a series on "the handgun problem" here in Buffalo in June. I'd love to offer a link, but alas, it is not available.

It was the usual one sided story, with the first installment consisting of the sad stories of a few dozen people killed or maimed in the Nickel City. One common thread in these stories was that they were all accomplished thruough the use of handguns (the vast majority of them Hi-Point), smuggled into Buffalo by one man.

This tied into the following installment that concentrated on the smuggler, and how easy it was for him to obtain these (bulk) handguns through gun shows and dealers in Ohio. His sad story of a promising sports future and it's downward spiral was of his own doing, and evoked no sympathy from me.

Another installment focused on Hi-Point Handguns itself. A tour of the factory was included, showing numerous racks of slides and frames in various stages of completion. I found it a bit amusing that the factory uses common household ovens to bake the finish on.

The article made a half-hearted attempt at impartiallity by interviewing the owner (whose name I have forgotten), and his position that he is simply trying to offer a needed product at an affordable cost. This was of course tempered with the suggestion that the reader should form his own opinion considering how his products were often used. A very damaging comment made by the owner was that he considered closing his business due to the fact that his product was involved in the majority of homocides.

It should not be a surprise to anyone here that I am not in favor of placing any blame on handgun manufacturers for thier illegal use. That being said, even I came away from the article with a less than favorable impression of the company.

P.S. Regarding used Hi-Points: another comment in the series (from a conviced gang-banger) was that the attraction to Hi-Point 9mm handguns was that you often had to get rid of them after using them, and that a new Hi-point was $80, as opposed to $400 for a Glock. So, I'd imagine that slightly used Hi-points could be readily obtained in the Niagara River if you're interested. ;D

["DoubleAction"]

I have already read of some Good, regarding this Ugly pistol. The Bad image seems to be reflected through it's high sales volume to a particular element of unique users.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/june99/guns11.htm