Dick Special, Hi-Power edition
While Mr. Browning’s Colt 1911 design has been abbreviated over the years to Commander and Officer-sized models among others, his Hi-Power never got the same widespread treatment from FN. Sure, there were custom gunsmiths such as Austin Behlert’s shop and Bill Laughridge’s Cylinder & Slide who made so-called “Mini-Brownings,” and Argentina’s state-owned FM plant made so-called “Detective” models that were imported by folks like Armscorp, Century and Sarco, but even this limited supply petered out more than a decade ago.
I remember the FM’s very well, having owned a full-sized model for a while in the early 2000s.
FM was an FN-licenced Hi-Power maker from the 1960s-1980s, so they knew what they were doing and the guns generally mimicked the Belgian C/T-series guns but with a less refined finish. I actively carried this gun for a while. (Photo: Chris Eger)
Both the standard and “Detective” FMs were readily available once upon a time, as noted by this circa 1992 SOG ad in The Shotgun News. Don’t call SOG to get these prices anymore, they stopped paying their phone bill a couple years back. For reference, $239 in 1992 is about $505 in today’s dollars.
Fast forward to today and, cumulating a push by BHP fans to EAA– I know I’ve been telling Chase (and anyone who read our MCP35 reviews)– that the imported needed a Detective/Mini-Browning in the catalog, they just announced the new Girsan MCP35 PI as in, well, you get it.
The EAA Girsan MCP35 PI is a factory-shortened Hi-Power clone that still accepts standard magazines and most parts, save for slide and barrel components. (Photo: EAA)
More in my column at Guns.com.
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