do a search here on this site. There are a number of links to help.

 

Trigger945,

During the time period your Hi Power was made, FN reused serial numbers over and over and over again. Often this was because the customer wanted their weapons serialed a certain way to dovetail with their existing inventory.
There are older Hi Powers with serial numbers way lower than yours and younger Hi Powers with serial numbers greater than yours.

For a good answer you'll have to take up-close and detailed photos of the pistol and all of its marking - including those inside of the slide and frame. The reason for this is that these markings had meaning and they changed at known time periods. The presence or absence of these markings along with the physical features of the pistol will hopefully pinpoint a date.

Fun, huh?

 

Got it. Thanks fellas. Will do some search and also post some pics soon. I appreciate the help!

 

Mr. Burgs is...as always, providing great advice, close-ups of the various stamps will allow the most accurate date.

Until then; FN slide legend, perfectly matched SNs, "proofs" inside and out, fixed sights, internal extractor, no thumbprint cut on slide...prolly '61.

 

I will take detailed photos and post them here. I have yet to pick it up due to the 10-day wait requirement in my state. Thanks everyone for the help thus far!

 

Hi Everyone,

I am back, but now with detailed photos. Please see below and let me know if you can help pinpoint the year of manufacture of this FN High Power. I just picked it up about two hours ago and immediately took pictures. I got it this way - cerakoted with a battle worn look and with the hammer filed the way it looks.















Kind of hard to read with the cerakote, but I think it says:

First line: "BELGIUM HI-POWER CAL. 9X19"
Second line: "C.A.I. GEORGIA, VT"




















Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Hi Everyone,

I am back, but now with detailed photos. Please see below and let me know if you can help pinpoint the year of manufacture of this FN High Power. I just picked it up about two hours ago and immediately took pictures. I got it this way - cerakoted with a battle worn look and with the hammer filed the way it looks.

It appears to be one of the Israeli surplus guns sice it has import markings on it. The serial number would make it a 1961 production.

 

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to ask another question about my other Hi-Power, this time, a Browning. What kind of sights are these? I got the gun this way. A brief search through Google is not yielding anything.












Here are some additional photos for your viewing pleasure (or if in case they can help):











Thanks again in advance!

 

The adjustable sights are Milletts. Company is out of business, but you can still find them from time to time.

 

Thanks! Would the gun have come this way from factory by chance, i.e. a factory option? Or were the sights replaced? Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, I know, but I am just really curious.

 

Millet sights were OEM adjustable Hi Power sights into the early MK III production. Yours are factory. (Edit for posterity: This is incorrect, they are NOT factory.)

 

Millet sights were OEM adjustable Hi Power sights into the early MK III production. Yours are factory.

Thank you! :rock:

 

By the way - the adjustable sighted Hi Powers are called "Sport" models. Yours appears to be a particularly clean one.

 

I LOVE that finish!

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

 

Trigger945,

I have to revise my previous info on your adjustable sighted Hi Power. The front sight, while well done, is not the factory Millett Hi Power sight, as evidenced by the orange strip.
The orange front sight was not a FN feature. The Hi Power OEM Millet installations had serrated black front sights. So your Milletts are an after market modification. Your Hi Power was built as a fixed sighed "Vigilante" model.

I apologize for any confusion - I should have clicked on the orange front sight right away.

 

Not a problem.

Curious though, as the orange strip looks to be a stick on strip. And the front sight is black serrated. Does this change things then?

Also, this HP with the Millet sights is a Browning one per the rollmark. The FN one is the cerakoted one.

Thanks!

 

No, that doesn't change anything. That's the Millet after market Hi Power sight.
Underneath, inside the slide there's probably a double tenon holding it on, although many gunsmiths used silver solder.

FN makes all of the Browning branded Hi Powers too. The only difference is the markings.
FN owns Browning.

What is the serial number on the Millett Hi Power?

 

Got it. Thanks for imparting your knowledge. As you can see, my knowledge of HP's is very limited.

The SN prefix of this one is 245RN. Upon googling around, it is a 1979 model, which made it a bit more special to me being my birth year.

Thanks again for your help (and for your patience)! Really appreciate it.

 

Re: The “Z”. It's a parts gun plain and simple, a ‘61 frame and barrel with a later (‘64-‘68) slide. Note the 2nd. “Trimester” ‘61 barrel and the externally proofed frame yet an external extractor internally proofed slide. The “Z” prefix was added post FN factory.....

 

Thanks for this! Wow, lots of knowledge here no doubt!

So the "Z" mark is added to indicate that the original gun was rebuilt with parts not original to the gun, i.e. the slide? Is this customary? And when you said "post FN factory," did you mean it was rebuilt by other than FN?

 

Somewhere it its life somebody added a newer, external extractor slide. This is rather common. It was almost assuredly not done by FN, although FN was known to provide such parts to major clients. The conversion could have been accomplished by a military or police armorer, or it might have been anybody.

The Z prefix may have something to do with the upgrade, or not. It might be some sort of inventory code. There's no way to tell unless there are other similar Hi Powers with the Z prefix that have a known provenance that explains it.

Welcome to the mysteries of vintage Hi Power ownership! :rock:

 

Thanks for this explanation. I think this will end my pursuit.

Thanks to all those who helped as well.

Wow, vintage HP's are mysterious indeed. Somehow, I manage to find myself deep into one of these mysterious things. One curiosity buy is all it takes sometimes...

Now that I think about it, I won't feel bad turning this into "my" gun. It is a parts gun after all. And it has been cerakoted by a previous owner. Perfect. The sights are the first to go. I shot it today and the front sight was difficult to see despite the neon green paint.

Thanks again everyone! [emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106]

 

I am of the same opinion. Take something you like, and make it better.

 

Help with FN HP Year of Production

just purchased FN Hi Power Chrome w/polished sides (? have a Browning HP Chrome - all mat). It has a mark - *M. It is my understanding, it was made 1978-1998... I would appreciate any Help with a specific Year.