Tag Archives: FN Hi-Power

Ukraine Tepid on Surplus WWII-era Hi-Powers, Canadians May Scrap

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Canada built its own, more Maple Leaf, version of theBrowning Hi-Powerin Toronto during World War II and may torch the survivors, as Ukraine apparently doesn’t want the vintage pistols.

The classic 9mm pistols were manufactured during the War in Ontario by John Inglis & Company, with a little help from Dieudonne Saive, the Belgian firearms engineer who helped design the gun in the first place.

Canadian-made No. 2 Mk1* Inglis Hi-Powers, produced between 1944 and 1945, are distinctive period BHP clones with the “thumbprint” slide, high rear sight, and internal extractor, features that FN discontinued by the early 1950s. (Photo: Canadian Forces Combat Camera)

These Browning-Inglis No. 2 Mk1* pistols remained in service until 2023, when they were replaced by the new C22, a variant of the SIG P320 ordered the previous year.

The Canadian Browning-Inglis production was aided during WWII by FN’s exiled staff, with the BHP’s co-designer, Dieudonné Saive, helping with the technical package, making these unofficial clones. Ultimately, an agreement was reached to pay FN a royalty of 25 cents after the war for each gun produced. (Photo: Guns.com)

With 11,000 surplus Inglis-made guns on hand in 2024, the Canadian government did what the Canadian government typically does and, saving 500 for museum pieces, moved to recycle (um, scrap) the rest. Then came the idea to instead offer them as military aid to Ukraine. I

t was a win-win for the Trudeau government, both saving the cash that would have been spent to destroy the guns and earning some kudos on the international stage by helping the embattled Ukrainians.

The thing is, flush with more than $61 billion in much more modern munitions given to Kyiv by the Biden Administration, and with major European arms makers setting up local production in Ukraine proper, those 10,500 very well-used Hi-Powers just didn’t seem that attractive, and the deal never happened.

So, as recently reported by the Ottawa Citizen, the Canadian government has returned to the original plan and has scrapped 2,000 of the highly collectible war veteran handguns and is once again asking Ukraine if they want the 8,500 or so guns still on hand.

If not, well, you know how this song goes.

Cue the Indiana Jones, “It belongs in a museum,” memes.

America’s Hat Gets its SIGs

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The Canadian Armed Forces have received its first batch of new 9mm pistols from New Hampshire-based SIG Sauer.

The CAF last October announced the planned acquisition of SIG Sauer P320 modular handguns in a $3.2 million deal for 7,000 pistols with an option for as many as 9,500. The SIGs are replacing World War II-vintage Maple Leaf-marked Browning-Inglis No. 2 Mk1* Hi-Powers that had been produced in Toronto during the conflict.

The Canadians adopted the Hi-Power in 1944.

The Canadian Browning-Inglis production was aided during WWII by FN’s exiled staff, with the BHP’s co-designer, Dieudonné Saive, helping with the technical package, making these unofficial clones. Ultimately, an agreement was reached to pay FN a royalty of 25 cents after the war for each gun produced.

The SIG pistols, type classified as the C22 in Canadian service, will equip the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, and Military Police.

As I have been covering in past years, the country has been trying to replace the aging classics since at least 2007 with the government and military officials running hot and cold on the process numerous times since then.

The C22 is a P320 modular, full-size, 9mm striker-fired pistol. The C22 contract pistol enhancements included an improved ergonomic design, 17-round capacity, and a loaded chamber indicator that is visible to the user at any angle. (Photo: SIG)

Verdict on the New (and Improved) FN High Power

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FN one-upped the now resurgent Browning Hi-Power race by distancing itself from the clone wars to deliver an improved and modern take on the pistol, the High Power (note the difference in spelling).

I’ve been looking at this new generation of the pistol over the past few months and, with 500 rounds and lots of careful evaluation and testing, have a lot to talk about.

Stoked with 17+1 rounds of Federal Hydra Shok Deep 135-grain JHPs in condition one, the High Power hit the scales at 43.5 ounces. While a hefty carry, for those who are fine with a full-sized pistol, you could do much worse than the High Power.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Last Inglis Hi-Powers Set to Fade Away

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Canada was the center of Allied Browning Hi-Power production during World War II with an estimated 150,000 crafted in Toronto by the John Inglis Company– which is now Whirlpool Canada.

Originally built for the KMT, complete with 300M sights and a wooden stock/holster, most Inglis Hi-Powers went on to be made in a simpler No. 2 format sans stock and with simpler sights.

While Nationalist China accepted 40,000 No. 1 models, the British took almost 50,000 simplified No. 2 models, and further deliveries were made to other allied countries, the Canadians kept around 20,000 No. 2s for themselves and have been using them ever since.

Canada has kept their No. 2 MK I  Inglis Hi-Powers in operation since 1944, using commercial BHP parts to keep them running.

Well, that is set to change next year as the last of these veteran Maple Leaf-marked Browning-Inglis models will be turned in, replaced by new SIG Sauer P320s.

The contract, announced last week by Canada’s Minister of National Defense, is valued at $3.2 million (USD) and will be for an initial batch of 7,000 P320 handguns with an option for up to 9,500. The pistols, type classified as the C22 in Canadian service, will equip the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, and Military Police.

More in my column at Guns.com.

FDE Times Two

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So on my plate in the next few weeks are these beauties by way of Fabrique Nationale’s hipper new American subsidiary, FN USA. I met both of these hoglegs in prototype/first run format at SHOT Show/NRAAM earlier this year and finally got hooked up with production versions of them for T&E purposes. 

The guns are the FN Five-seveN Mk3 MRD, the company’s third generation take on the 20+1 capacity 5.7x28mm pistol, and the new 17+1 9mm FN High Power, which looks a lot like Mr. Browning’s/M. Saive’s Hi-Power of old (notice the difference in spelling) but only looks that way.

Expect more on both very soon.

Meet the FNH HiPer, not to be confused with the Hi/High Power

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Belgian-based FN Herstal this week announced its all-new 9mm NATO handgun pitched to defense and security markets: the FN HiPer.

A clear play on words from the old Browning/FN Hi-Power, which was the most prolific handgun in the Free World for most of the last half of the 20th Century, the new HiPer was fully designed, developed, and manufactured in Belgium. This is a change from the Hi-Power, which was assembled in its final years in Portugal, and from the newly-announced FN High Power which is made in South Carolina by FN America.

Basic specs of the polymer-framed striker-fired pistol are a 3.94-inch barrel with a 7.08-inch overall length and a 15+1 magazine capacity. Weight is 25.75 ounces, unloaded. This puts it about the size of a Glock 19, S&W M&P M2.0 Compact, or CZ P-10 C. For that matter, these specs read almost identical to the FN 509 Midsize.

Among the more advanced facets of the HiPer are what FNH says is a straighter, more optimized grip angle, which helps with the controllability of the pistol’s low bore axis.

The surface controls are also curious, featuring an ambidextrous slide catch located where a frame-mounted safety normally is, thus, according to FNH “prevents any accidental activation by the user,” and a rotary magazine catch rather than a push-button, paddle, or heel release. FNH contends the new-style release allows the user to “reliably change magazines in seconds without shifting grip while staying aligned on the target.”

So, in other words, the big sliding lever on the grip is a mag release, while the manual safety lever isn’t– it’s the slide catch. Talk about a Belgian waffle…

More in my column at Guns.com.

FN Teases new HiPer Combat Pistol

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Belgian-based FN Herstalis teasing a new full-sized 9mm pistol, intended to be the heir to the vaunted Hi-Power, the HiPer. 

“Since its inception over 130 years ago, FN Herstal has continuously brought innovative, small caliber oriented solutions, with most of them becoming world references on the Defense and Security markets,” noted the company in a statement on Tuesday. “One of the most legendary examples is the FN Hi-Power, which was the reference pistol for military and law enforcement for a long time.”

Of note, the Hi-Power was the default military sidearm for most of the Free World (and some of the guys on the other side) from World War II until the Glock 17 came around and dethroned it in the 1990s. Legacy stocks of Hi-Powers soldier on in the militaries of Australia, Canada, and India, among others. 

Speeding past any mention of this year’s new High Power, unveiled at SHOT Show in Las Vegas in January by FN America, the Belgians this week released a 42-second sizzle reel showing off elements of the FN HiPer to include a magazine capable of holding at least 15 rounds, a very slim straight grip, forward slide serrations, an optics-ready slide, and what appears to be a sliding magazine release. The overall profile is much different from current FN models such as the FNXor 509 series. 

About the best image I  could get from the HiPer teaser video. Alternatively, the sliding surface control on the grip or the apparent switch to the rear could be a selector switch, which is very cool but drops the possibility of it ever reaching the U.S. to about zero.

The official release is set for May 31. Plumbing the depths of trademark and patent filings, FN Herstal secured the HiPer trademark with the USPTO last September.

I reached out to FN America and were told that the HiPer, for now at least, is an FN Herstal product, and they will not have it on display at the upcoming NRA Annual Meetings.

Either way, stay tuned for updates.

The 411 on the new FN High Power (not the Browning Hi-Power)

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I dropped by FN’s booth at SHOT Show in Las Vegas this week to get the scoop on the new FN High Power pistol line.

Not just a restart of the old FN/Browning Hi-Power, the new 9mm guns have a 21st-century flair to them, with a 17+1 magazine capacity, ambi controls, texturing on the frame, better ergonomics, and FN 509-pattern dovetail sights. They will be available in three variants including the standard black model, one in FDE– sure to be a hit with modern FN owners who collect that genre– and a true stainless steel model. 

Each will ship with two sets of grips.

More in my column at Guns.com.

After taking a half-decade off, FN has Re-entered the Hi-Power Game

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FN America on Tuesday announced they are returning to the Hi-Power market in force with a new generation of 9mm pistols in three different variants. 

FN was the initial maker of the classic last handgun design conceived by John Moses Browning and realized by Dieudonné Saive, the latter the father of the FN 1949 and FN FAL. The company ended the line in 2017 and others have gone on to clone the iconic 9mm. 

To set the record straight, FN has returned the Hi-Power/High Power to production in an updated format with improved internals, a modern barrel lockup, a 17+1 flush-fit magazine capacity, and the ability to run hollow points.

Featuring ambidextrous controls and the elimination of the oft-detested magazine disconnect, the new High Power is available in stainless, FDE, and black finishes, retaining a single-action trigger that breaks crisply and cleanly.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Canada and the Everlasting Inglis Hi-Power

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The Canadian government is reportedly moving forward with a plan to replace its military’s downright vintage Browning Hi-Power pistols. 

Local media in Ottawa, the country’s capital, are advising that a contract for as many as 20,000 “modular pistols” will be issued later this year for the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, and military police. The guns will replace Canadian-produced Inglis Brownings made during World War II. 

Yup, as in 1944-45 production.

Canadian-made No. 2 Mk1* Inglis Hi-Powers, produced between 1944 and 1945, are distinctive period BHP clones with the “thumbprint” slide, high rear sight, and internal extractor, features that FN discontinued by the early 1950s. (Photo: Canadian Forces Combat Camera)

More in my column at Guns.com.

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