Uh this is a point of major contention? Sorry, I was not aware of this......
I apologize I was just making a joke. Here is a more in depth and hopefully helpful answer. You will find a few Tisas fan boys here who will tell you it is better than a FN/Browning but if you read between the lines you learn that some of them don't own a real FN/Browning to compare it to. That said I don't own a Tisas but I do own currently 12+ FN/Browning guns and another 6-8 have come in and out of the safe over the past 15+ years. So you will find advocates on both sides of this. I am not a BHP expert just a guy who loves the platform and has put some time and some money into them over the years. I am not a gunsmith and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night so take my $.02 with a grain of salt and remember how much you paid for them.
I personally would not buy a Tias but lots of people on this forum have or intend to buy one. I would look for a good condition surplus in the $500 range like this one which sold for $475. The gun is finished challenged and looks like it was road hard and put away wet but it will be like most of the Israeli surplus guns which have been carried a lot but not shot much.
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Clean it up a bit, remove the mag disconnect. Put a heavier trigger return spring in it. Install a new set of grips and hit the range. It will give you a feel for the platform and if you don't like it you can get your money out of it instantly at the price you paid. If you like the platform keep it and start looking for a VG to excellent condition MKIII to use as a base gun. I like to keep a stock example on hand as a reference point. Send it out to get reblued and for $600 +/- you have a legit FN/Browning gun worth what you have in it. I do this with 1911s as well. I have a stock 70 series Colt that goes to the range with any new 1911 as a point of comparison. It has served as the foundation for what I want and don't want in a 1911.
If you go the Tisas route you will pay about $500 and if you shoot it and do not like the platform and have to sell it you will not get $500 for it. You will be lucky to get in the $400 range in private sale. You have just driven a new car off the lot. Plus you are buying a clone with some known flaws. Springs, firing pin retainer, older safety and proprietary sight and sight cut etc... If you decide to keep it you have a $500 clone which is not a bad thing but if you really like it you will want a real FN/Browning at some point.
One major flaw is that I understand Novak will not work on these sights and they are the fastest least expensive way to swap out a set of sights on a BHP. IIRC someone from here was going to send one but they would not accept it. I know it can be done because C&S is using a Novak cut to install low mount sights on their level 3 custom package on the Tisas guns. The fact that C&S is willing to use them as a base gun is a plus but if I was going to put $1600 into a BHP it would not be a Tisas when you can do the same work on a real FN/Browning gun costing only a few hundred dollars more. As a counter to C&S the best living BHP smith IMHO Mr. Ted Yost will not work on the Tisas. He will not work on any clones because even the best of the breed are not up to the standards that he looks for in a base gun. So even amount the most knowledgeable of BHP smiths there is a difference of opinion.
Your OP stated
So I don't own a highpower, I would like one to try the platform out and see if I want to invest in a high end one. Is it better to buy a used older one or a new production gun from turkey? Also what changes do you Hi-power owners recommend? Thanks guys!
Looking at your signature you own some very nice pistols. WC, NH Ed Brown etc.... If you are going to customize a BHP I would only do it on a FN/Browning gun. If it is going to be a heavy shooter I would look for a forged frame MKIII or a cast fame MKIII. These will be more durable than the older guns. Generally Browning Roll marks are more popular and more attractive than the later model FN rollmarked guns. The only advantage of the later FN rollmarked guns is that they can be checkered because of their serial number placement not being on the grip strap. However these days the only smith I know of that checkers BHPs is Mr. Yost so for many this is not a consideration. For Mr. Yost will checker T series, 69C series (with the right serial number location, Practicals and hard chrome models as long as they are thick enough. Not all BHPs meet that spec which I learned first hand. :bawling:
As to what modifications to make this is my recommended list. I have custom BHPs from Yost, Williams, Garthwaite, Cogan, West, Novak and a few lesser known or unknown smiths. My thoughts come from doing basic builds to full house customs. I like to work with one man shops and talk to the smiths and get their take, learn from them through the process and put their expertise into the pistol. These are IMHO must dos if you are putting money into a BHP. Mr. Yost jokingly said, I am paraphrasing, that "really all a BHP need to get from good to great is a good trigger, good sights and a good safety everything else we do to them is to make them pretty for their owners."
Must do list:
- Trigger, sear & hammer need to be replaced and tuned.
- Reliability tune extractor, throat barrel & recrown.
- Safety needs to be replaced with a custom piece or C&S part.
- Sights need to be changed to meet the shooters needs.
- Grips need to be fitted to the gun and the shooters preference.
- Refinish in manner of choice.
- Mod hammer if you suffer hammer bite.
Make it pretty list:
- Stipple the grip straps.
- Flatten and serrate the top of the slide.
- High Cut the trigger guard.
- Bevel Magwell
- Beavertal if you like them I prefer no beavertail
- Match Barrel but only if the smith doing the work thinks it needs it. All mine have factory barrels.
- French Border the slide.
- Checker rear of the slide.
Here are a few pics of some of my custom BHPs.
