Why Browning Hi-Powers Are Great Surplus Handguns

Browning Hi-Power handguns are no longer in production (though they are still in service in some areas) and though these handguns may be older than you think (developed in the early half of the last century) they’re some of the best handguns that were ever developed.

A Browning Hi-Power might not be a 1911, or even a 1911 clone, but the truth is, where you can find them, these are some of the best military surplus pistols that money can buy. Let’s take a closer look. 

The Browning Hi-Power and Value As a Military Surplus Pistol

A single-action, semi-automatic pistol with a short recoil-operated action, the Browning Hi-Power was produced by FN Herstal on a design of John Moses Browning’s; the visionary himself didn’t live to see the design come to fruition, as the Hi-Power was not produced until 1935. 

Chambered in 9mm, the Browning Hi-Power pistol was so named not for the power of the cartridge, but for the fact that it fed from a double stack magazine, allowing for considerably more capacity (firepower) than similar competing models like the Colt 1911 original or Walther P38.

Capacity aside, there are many things that made the Browning Hi-Power a popular handgun, one that was produced until just a few years ago, and which is still in service in some parts of the world. 

The original model was designed at the request of the French military, which wanted a compact handgun that could hold at least 10 rounds, one that also had a magazine disconnect, an external hammer, and a safety catch. 

Since it was intended for military service, a model was also needed that could easily be field stripped as well as assembled and disassembled easily for maintenance and cleaning. 

Notably, the chambering had to be adequate to be lethal at 55 yards, and with a caliber of 9mm or larger. 

That made the 9mm a no-brainer, considering, despite the fact that it was a relatively new cartridge at the time. 

It’s also one of the reasons that Hi-Power pistols are such popular surplus handguns; 9mm is affordable, widely available, produces reasonably little recoil, and with proper shot placement is more than adequate at stopping most threats at moderate ranges. 

But the chambering, and the capacity, which were high at the time (and which are still serviceable today, even in the era of Glocks) were only two of the things that made the Hi-Power so prevalent in official service. And they are only two of the things that have kept Hi-Power variants so popular as military surplus pistols ever since. 

The ergonomics of the Hi-Power are lovely, and not entirely dissimilar from the venerable 1911. The platform has been called an archetype for a handgun before, which is high praise by any metric. Not to oversell it, but the ergonomics of the Hi-Power are indeed excellent. 

Specifically, the deeply radiused cleft at the rear of the handgun intermeshes perfectly with the web of your dominant hand and indexes the bore perfectly with your grip; or so many shooters have noted. There’s only one way to test this for yourself.

That, and the trigger feels close and perfectly aligned. Together, the indexing and quality of the trigger contribute to what has been called uncanny reliability and accuracy. One shooter has remarked in a review that when you shoot it, “a 9mm hole shows up right where you imagined it.” When you shoot a Browning Hi-Power, that’s just about right. 

Now here’s one thing that also attracts a lot of shooters to this as a military surplus pistol; the trigger is heavy, which some shooters actually prefer. It’s not as light or as crisp as a Colt 1911 original, but it is a heavy, sure trigger that breaks reliably. And, to be fair, this isn’t a precision rifle. A lot of handgun shooters prefer a heavy trigger. Just ask anyone that carries a wheelgun. 

And then, another thing that keeps this platform eternally popular as a military surplus handgun for sale is its history. It was carried widely in the Second World War in the hands of Allied-aligned forces, or at least those hostile to those of the Axis, and for many collectors and shooters, that’s good enough.

So what we have is a reliable, accurate handgun with impeccable ergonomics, and one that served widely on the right side in the last major global conflict. Those alone make Browning Hi-Power handguns among the most popular military surplus pistols for sale that you can find. 

And since they’re out of production, if you find one of these military surplus handguns, don’t look the other way. It might be your last chance to get one in the safe, let alone get your hands on it.

Here for Military Surplus Pistols or Browning Hi-Power Parts? 

Whether you’re here for Browning Hi-Power parts or want to explore military surplus pistols, we have what you need. Check out our full collection and get in touch with us if you have any questions and we’ll be more than happy to help.