Firing the Browning Hi-Power
After researching everyone’s favorite 9mm, I found that the Browning Hi-Power appeared on quite a few lists. So when the Kid and I got bored this afternoon we hit the range to fire it.
The Browning Hi-Power is single action with a magazine that can hold up to 18 rounds. The extra capacity is a nice touch since I find reloading to be a pain. The gun feels old; it’s all metal with no composite or plastic materials that I could find. It’s not especially heavy and I found the gun to be well balanced in the hand. The trigger was tight and the mechanism smooth; I especially liked the slide release above the trigger on the left side although I tend to pull the slide all the way back to load the first round.
We fired Remington Golden Saber 9mm Luger ammo today, so we had a clear comparison with the SIG P239 – although after a few rounds there really wasn’t any comparison. The Browning Hi-Power was easy to control with not much of a kick for a 9mm. In fact I would say that it’s one of the least kicking 9’s I’ve fired – if not the least (the Kid seems to think that one of the Beretta 9 mm’s we fired early on in our “gun journey” was better – so we’ll test that the next time out).
The Kid still shot a little low; he’s clearly over compensating controlling the gun, but he’s young yet. I’m beginning to think that .22’s are more his speed right now. I found the Browning’s sights to be easy, and I fired relatively tight groups quickly and smoothly at 10 yards. The kick was completely controllable and I had no trouble resuming my aim. In fact I found it too easy – and we burned through $12 worth of ammo extremely quickly due to the larger magazine.
This is an Old School classic. It’s 1922 technology that works much better than most of the the more recent designs we’ve fired so far in 9mm. It’s the best 9mm I’ve fired so far, but I will check the Beretta that the Kid mentioned in a future post.
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