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Post by Poohgyrr on Aug 20, 2017 2:56:16 GMT -5
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Post by CXM on Aug 20, 2017 7:24:08 GMT -5
Interesting article... thanks
Chuck
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Post by warthogge on Aug 21, 2017 22:04:24 GMT -5
In '77 I was in Jerry's Gun Shop in Kingsville, TX looking for a 9mm pistol. I handled both the HP and SW Mod 39. I preferred the HP, but couldn't afford the extra ~$100. I took the SW39 home and owned her for about 38 years until I got back into shooting pistols. I sold her and now own 3 HPs. I will say that even though the grip of the SW39 never really fit my hand, the trigger was fantastic right out of the box. Thanks for sharing the article. Brought back memories.
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Post by CXM on Aug 22, 2017 8:38:32 GMT -5
The Mod 39 was my first non 1911 pistol way back when... I along with most every one I knew preferred revolvers... I was looked upon as somewhat odd for liking semi-autos... 1911s, the M39 and a SIG P210 I bought used at a (for the time) low price.
I was pleased when the M59 came out... though it's ergonomics were not nearly as good as the M39.
The M39 is still fun to shoot... but I'm lucky the HP fits my hand very well... so it is the 9mm I most often shoot.
FWIW
CHuck
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Post by gt40doc on Aug 22, 2017 12:55:32 GMT -5
I purchased my first BHP in 1971($109 out the door) to take with me on my first all expense paid vacation to Viet Nam. I took it out to try it out, and it had a terrible trigger pull, and I couldn't hit squat with it!! Time was short, so I just took my old standby Colt 1911A1, as I knew I could hit with it. Thank God, I never needed to use that 1911 on either vacation. I still have that 1911, and a very close friend has that BHP.......and he won't sell it back to me.
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Post by CXM on Aug 22, 2017 13:55:42 GMT -5
I was on Guam in 1970. The Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) was going full blast (pun intended) in the air war on north Viet Nam. There were lots and lots of B52 bombers and KC135 tankers based on Guam... The crews were issued S&W M15 revolvers (fine pistols)and 130gr jacketed RN ammo (VERY bad stuff.) As a result the BX sold about as many hand guns as it could get it's hands on... mostly S&W and Colts' but also High Powers, Beretta 950s and SIG 210s (the joke was only Colonels could afford the SIGs... at prices I would buy lots and lots today. The most popular gun of all was the S&W M19 .357 Magnum. It fit the issue leather gear and could not be told from the issue gun without taking a closer look. Also very popular was the Colt's 1911A1 and the Commander in .45acp. From time to time 1911s showed up in 38Super and in 9x19mm, those guns were however less popular than the various 1911s. They even managed to get and sell a few Single Action Army 45Colt's revolvers... though those were pretty obvious. A sort of funny aside, the commander of one of the transient wings decided his crews would carry ONLY issue revolvers... and nothing else... this turned into something of a flap, with the other two wings refusing to go along with him... The whole mess was solved when the AF three star showed up one morning at stand up carrying one of the S&W M39s he had just bought at the BX... which he proceeded to show one and all at the stand up... he delivered the coup de-gras by telling the offend wing commander what a great pistol the M39 was and that he should get one... To add insult to injury, realizing discretion was still the better part of valor he went to the BX to buy a M39 as suggested by the three button... only to discover his order that no pistols be sold to members of his wing was still in effect and he was denied the purchase... much to his displeasure... of course he reascended the order but the story was all over and resulted in lots of laughs... It was a funny world... V/r Chuck I purchased my first BHP in 1971($109 out the door) to take with me on my first all expense paid vacation to Viet Nam. I took it out to try it out, and it had a terrible trigger pull, and I couldn't hit squat with it!! Time was short, so I just took my old standby Colt 1911A1, as I knew I could hit with it. Thank God, I never needed to use that 1911 on either vacation. I still have that 1911, and a very close friend has that BHP.......and he won't sell it back to me.
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Post by sistema1927 on Aug 22, 2017 18:06:47 GMT -5
I purchased my 1st handgun on my 21st birthday, a Ruger Blackhawk convertible .357/9mm. It was only about a month later that I decided that I needed a serious defensive pistol, and found a slightly used Browning that I began to carry everywhere. It is the pistol that I described in one of the first threads on this forum.
I have had numerous handguns since, gravitate towards revolvers, but the BHP is still the finest in my eyes.
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Post by gt40doc on Aug 23, 2017 16:08:12 GMT -5
I was on Guam in 1970. The Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) was going full blast (pun intended) in the air war on north Viet Nam. There were lots and lots of B52 bombers and KC135 tankers based on Guam... The crews were issued S&W M15 revolvers (fine pistols)and 130gr jacketed RN ammo (VERY bad stuff.) As a result the BX sold about as many hand guns as it could get it's hands on... mostly S&W and Colts' but also High Powers, Beretta 950s and SIG 210s (the joke was only Colonels could afford the SIGs... at prices I would buy lots and lots today. The most popular gun of all was the S&W M19 .357 Magnum. It fit the issue leather gear and could not be told from the issue gun without taking a closer look. Also very popular was the Colt's 1911A1 and the Commander in .45acp. From time to time 1911s showed up in 38Super and in 9x19mm, those guns were however less popular than the various 1911s. They even managed to get and sell a few Single Action Army 45Colt's revolvers... though those were pretty obvious. A sort of funny aside, the commander of one of the transient wings decided his crews would carry ONLY issue revolvers... and nothing else... this turned into something of a flap, with the other two wings refusing to go along with him... The whole mess was solved when the AF three star showed up one morning at stand up carrying one of the S&W M39s he had just bought at the BX... which he proceeded to show one and all at the stand up... he delivered the coup de-gras by telling the offend wing commander what a great pistol the M39 was and that he should get one... To add insult to injury, realizing discretion was still the better part of valor he went to the BX to buy a M39 as suggested by the three button... only to discover his order that no pistols be sold to members of his wing was still in effect and he was denied the purchase... much to his displeasure... of course he reascended the order but the story was all over and resulted in lots of laughs... It was a funny world... V/r Chuck I purchased my first BHP in 1971($109 out the door) to take with me on my first all expense paid vacation to Viet Nam. I took it out to try it out, and it had a terrible trigger pull, and I couldn't hit squat with it!! Time was short, so I just took my old standby Colt 1911A1, as I knew I could hit with it. Thank God, I never needed to use that 1911 on either vacation. I still have that 1911, and a very close friend has that BHP.......and he won't sell it back to me. I was in Tactical Air Command(TAC) in F-4 Phantoms. We were required to carry the issue S&W Model 15 and 6 rounds of 130gr FMJ......but, we could "augment" our armament with the handgun of our choice. I trusted my old Colt 1911A1 to get the job done if needed, and it was MUCH easier to reload in case one was a bit "nervous" at the time!!
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Post by Mister Coffee on Aug 23, 2017 22:53:16 GMT -5
In '77 I was in Jerry's Gun Shop in Kingsville, TX looking for a 9mm pistol. I handled both the HP and SW Mod 39. I preferred the HP, but couldn't afford the extra ~$100. I took the SW39 home and owned her for about 38 years until I got back into shooting pistols. I sold her and now own 3 HPs. I will say that even though the grip of the SW39 never really fit my hand, the trigger was fantastic right out of the box. Thanks for sharing the article. Brought back memories. Wart, what made you decide you wanted a 9mm pistol? Why the 9mm calibre?
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Post by warthogge on Aug 30, 2017 2:08:29 GMT -5
Mister Coffee - A police buddy of mine was touting how great the cartridge was and not knowing any better, I determined that was what I wanted.
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Post by Mister Coffee on Sept 10, 2017 23:11:35 GMT -5
Personally, I don't remember when the Browning Hi-Power was the only 9mm around. I got into it just a smidge before the whole Beretta-Glock-Sig thing started happening in the 1980s. Or so it seems in retrospect. It's interesting how things turned out, with every American agency going to automatics.
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Post by jaypee on Sept 11, 2017 7:00:47 GMT -5
Personally, I don't remember when the Browning Hi-Power was the only 9mm around. I got into it just a smidge before the whole Beretta-Glock-Sig thing started happening in the 1980s. Or so it seems in retrospect. It's interesting how things turned out, with every American agency going to automatics. They had no choice but to go to autos, MC. I was a revolver cop and we had been outgunned for so long with our six shot pop guns that police associations and unions were screaming bloody murder for autos. The powers that be just simply ran out of justification for revolvers and didn't have a leg to stand on after the mid-80's - there were just too many badguys out there with 18 shooters. The big problem with adopting the 9mm prior to that was the absence of good defensive loads in the caliber, as well as the absence of auto pistols that police agencies felt comfortable with - the big agencies almost uniformly rejected the single action auto out of hand, so the BHP never really had a chance to make big inroads into the police market here in the USA. In fact when my agency adopted the S&W M4006 in 1991, they outlawed single action autos for even off duty use. They were scared to death of them.
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Post by HRFunk on Sept 12, 2017 11:40:27 GMT -5
I actually came to the Hi Power by a different route. When I went through the police academy in 1990, I used a S&W 5904. I was less than enthusiastic with the 9mm after spending 4 years in the Marine Corps with the 1911; so, I traded my 5904 for the first 4006 I came across when they became available the following year. To me, the 40 S&W seemed like the perfect compromise between the effectiveness of the .45 ACP and the ammunition capacity of the 9mm. For the majority of the next 25 years, I carried a pistol chambered for the .40 S&W as a duty weapon. During that same time, I conducted a great deal of ammunition testing for my department and made recommendations to the administration based upon my testing. A few years ago, I was evaluating new 9mm ammo for our submachine guns. It was during that testing that I started to recognize just how much the 9mm had improved as a result of advancements in bullet technology. Subsequent testing and research tended to indicate the historic terminal advantage of larger handgun cartridges had been eroded considerably over the years. In fact, the popular premium 9mm products marketed by major ammunition manufacturers are very good in terms of their terminal ballistics. Add to that, the increased recoil (and corresponding decrease in accurate shoot-ability), and the greater expense of the larger cartridges, and the 9mm actually has some advantages. I was eventually persuaded by these factors to switch back to a 9mm for a duty pistol. About that same time, I started looking at a lot of 9mm pistols I had ignored over the years. Being a student of history, I am quite drawn to firearms with historic significance. It is quite difficult to find a firearm with a more interesting and significant history than the Hi Power. The rest, as they say, is history.
Howard
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Post by Mister Coffee on Sept 16, 2017 0:06:37 GMT -5
the big agencies almost uniformly rejected the single action auto out of hand, ... they outlawed single action autos for even off duty use. They were scared to death of them. As a mere civilian, I don't get this. I would think that LE professionals could deal with a weapon — let's say the 1911 — that was designed for horse soldiers. But maybe I'm missing the political nuances here.
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Post by Mister Coffee on Sept 16, 2017 0:08:28 GMT -5
Being a student of history, I am quite drawn to firearms with historic significance. It is quite difficult to find a firearm with a more interesting and significant history than the Hi Power. The rest, as they say, is history. Howard Would this be a good time for me to mention my interest in buying a Glock, a weapon that some might say altered the course of history?
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