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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.