You mean the High Power?
There are more than a few reviews on youtube.
Seems too big and too expensive, compared to the original.

 

Also some people are just diehard originalists. There should be room in the tent for most everybody.

 

It's ugly and not really a Hi Power.

 

It's not a true Hi Power. It is more of a Frankengun, borrowing from other designs, and made to resemble the BHP. It's probably a decent firearm, but overly priced, IMHO, for what you get.

 

For me personally owning a hi power is about owning a small bit of history. Sure it’s a reliable platform still very capable in todays world. So a completely redesigned modern take on an old classic just doesn’t interest me. I am sure it’s good gun. FN does not typically make crap. However there are plenty of modern pistols that fill the role of duty weapon with more capacity, proven reliability, at much less cost. JMHO, but I would never say anything negative to someone who wants one. Buy, shoot, and carry what you like/works for you.

 

When a student brought a original Hi Power to class. I showed the lady how to Field-strip, clean and put back together. Watching her shoot and qualify with it I will admit was nice to see. I thought I would want a Hi-Power before that day.
However I still love my .45acp and 10mm. With that being said, I lost that loving feeling with the old. So with that said, I will place the new Hi Power in the same class with some other types of firearms. If I choose not to love, I am sure I will not be missed. As someone else will pick up my slack

 

I see no use for it in the marketplace. No military or LE agencies are going to be interested in an old-fashioned all-steel pistol with no rail or optics mount, and quite obviously Hi-Power purists hate the thing. There will be those who either like the looks of it or are enthused with the idea of it being the ultimate evolution of the Hi-Power, but in truth that also merely makes it the perfect dinosaur.

 

Look, none of the parts fit the old HP - or vice versa... The magazine isn't compatible. And, at 40oz, "FN adds 25% more rounds over the original, with an industry-first 17+1 capacity."

Of crufty, ancient 9mm. And their marketing pretends to be targeting governments. So, not 38super, or 357sig, or 5.7xwhatever - nothing interesting, intriguing, trend-setting, or "game changing".

And it's all overpriced... Better off getting a DE.

 

And, at 40oz, "FN adds 25% more rounds over the original, with an industry-first 17+1 capacity."

"If you're involved in a situation where you need anything more powerful than a snub nosed .38 Special revolver, you're already dead." - Robert B. Parker

 

Did you get the answer(s) expected?

I have read multiple positive reviews. And as others have said, FN isn't known for making junk. But still, it seemed like forever before finally getting my hands on one.

Grew up shooting HI Powers of every sort in the 60s. Both of my older brothers were gun dealers and the stuff available then is legendary.

Have owned multiple commercial Belgium BHPs. Never let one go. Still shoot them regularly. A lot of shooting.

Recently a LGS put a FN High Power in my hands. It was the sand (?) colored version. It is beautifully fit. Could not see or feel that it is larger. Have read the specs that they are. Liked everything about it. But not a fan of the coating finishes.
Yeah, it cost over $1000 (but certainly not alone in that regard).

When a LGS has the Stainless Steel version it will be coming home with me. Will be great interest to shoot it.

NOT to replace a BHP.

 

I was under the impression that it was well received. That doesn't mean it's for everyone.

 

I handled one for the first time
Saturday.
FOR ME it did not feel like the Hi-Power I remembered. TO ME it was chunky and heavy.
I picked up a SA-35 on an impulse and that scratched the Hi-Power itch for me. Not exactly a Hi-Power but close enough and the price was right.
The gentleman who has the gun had just gotten it back from FN. It had to go back due to issue with the back strap. FN did a quick repair and return and he was happy.
The gun looked nice…Just not a Hi-Power to me. YMMV.

 

Trigger and safety are MUCH better than any Hi Power I've owned or handled. No mag safety. Drop the mag and show safe with the thumb safety engaged. Load with the safety engaged. Shoots as well or better as the original. I don't particularly care what FN was marketing to. I like it...

Oh yeah, I compared. That's the latest of four Hi Powers I own or have owned.

 

Was fortunate to have the ability to buy the black DLC one and shoot it the last few months. I still own it to this day, but have some positives and negatives to share.

Positives:
1) It's an incredibly soft shooting handgun, and very pleasant in any grain weight I've tried (Haven't tried any +P+, probably won't).
2) Capacity of 17 rounds is nice!
3) It came with two sets of colored grips, one brown, one black, so choice is nice.
4) The grip is large enough and very comfortable. Also, cool new feature I found out was the backstrap comes off and gives you access to the mainspring without having to fully disassemble the lower frame, which also leaves room for new design back straps with hopefully full beavertails in the future.
5) The left side safety is very positive and clicks off and on.
6) And finally, the trigger is very good and would be considered a major improvement over any stock original high power trigger with the magazine disconnect safety removed or still in place.
7) It's an internal extractor again, and it's pretty beefy. The claw is huge! Also pretty easy to remove. It comes out of the breech face rather than from the rear, so no rubbing the channel and breaking or chipping off the hook.
8) Collectability! It says High Power, gotta have it!

Negatives:
1) It's incredibly soft shooting because it's definitely heavier than the original copies. If you've shot a Sig 226 SAO, you've shot the new FN "High Power".
2) Black Front on Black Rear Sights. I don't mind them since they're target sights, but still would prefer standard night sights at the price point asked.
3) Speaking of sights, they're machined press, and were way off out of the box, so trying to correct them myself with a hammer and brass punch led to seeking a gunsmith with more patience and tools then I had. When I called FN directly about it, that's how I found out they were machined press, and according to the rep were sighted in and were accurate. That was not my experience from a bench rest across five different grain weights of 9mm. But the gunsmith corrected them for perfect zero and all is well. Still would've not preferred the hassle.
4) It's a cast lower frame. You can see the beads on the metal they painted over. So if you were hoping the stainless model was stainless upper and lower, likely it isn't.
5) Had to send it back to the factory because the right side ambi safety became loose. You could literally wiggle it up and down while on or off with a lot of play. And it only came loose after approximately a 150 rounds. When it came back, it was still loose, but not as loose. Also the letter from FN implied nothing was really wrong. Okay, guess I'm blind.
6) Premature lockback. Shot it one handed to discover if it was me or the gun as it kept happening. So it turns out, that ambi slide stop is realllyyyyy sensitive to touch. If you even just brush it with your thumb, boom, locksback on a live round in the magazine. So for you thumbs forward people shooting like Rob Leatham, be warned, you'll likely be causing malfunctions unintentionally. The minute I moved my left thumb to rest on the trigger guard, no issues.
7) It's an internal extractor (lmao, I know I put this under positives, but it's also a negative potentially for some users), so it's not a question of if but when it loses tension, there may be issues feeding/extracting and feedway stoppages. Unknown round count for when this may happen.
8) For what you get, I really can't justify the price tag. It's really a 900 dollar gun masquerading as a 1300 dollar gun.
9) No compatability with any of the original Hi Powers, not even the grips

Undetermined, but to be aware of:
1) If you're living in a part of the Soviet States of America that has limited capacity, there is no 10 round magazine yet for it, so the 17 rounder will need to be blocked, which could effect functionality. When I asked the rep on the phone he said eventually one would be released, but only after the Stainless came to market. Eventually could be never if this gun never takes off in the mainstream market, so buy at your own risk in those states that let you block and cap the mags at 10.
2) FN Customer service seemed more annoyed than helpful about these issues, so getting assistance might be unpleasant if any issues should pop up.
3) Still no night sights have come to market. Also the FN rep said that the front sight was based on a 509 night sight, but the rear was proprietary to the gun.

In conclusion, I hope this assists anyone looking into trying the new FN High Power out. I'm glad I bought it, and don't regret doing it, and this is a sample size of one, so your experience may differ, but this was mine. Good luck and happy hi powering!

 

As well, FN is not really pushing the model and is concentrating on their new HiPer model:

 

I appreciate all the responses. When I saw the price and incompatibility, I soon figured it out!!
I have always thought an orig. HP would be nice to have but no plans yet to scratch this itch.

 

My main beef is the size, I'm used to the old P-35s, and along comes this pistol. It's bulkier, and weighs as much as a 1911. Seems like it defeats all the things I love about a P-35, slender lines, compactness, etc. I haven't fondled the new ones, just going by the pics and specs I've read elsewhere, but if I'm going to carry something that heavy, it might as well be a 1911. The old P-35s were "Commander-sized", and weighted 32?ozs., while this thing is at least 10oz. heavier.
It just doesn't seem to be a good replacement for the old P-35s.

 

They took an iconic, classic and screwed up the dimensions for the sake of a few more rds., and added controls that were not needed, and changed the contour/aesthetics of the pistol. That is why, IMHO.

 

Sadly Iv’e rarely seen many LEO’s that can “ shoot well”. Unlike back in the 60’s 70’s most were gun guys that had a few. Depts. provided maybe enough rounds for training, if not officers bought more.
Around 2000 had to qualify for state carry for job. I shot my usual LW Colt Commander, missed max score by 2 points. A sheriff of the county was standing behind me watching. When finished he asked, “ where in the heck did you learn to shoot like that.” Told him AMU and years of shooting.

 

Sadly Iv’e rarely seen many LEO’s that can “ shoot well”. Unlike back in the 60’s 70’s most were gun guys that had a few. Depts. provided maybe enough rounds for training, if not officers bought more.

When I thought I wanted to be a cop, almost 40 years ago, the physical testing sometimes included proving you could pull a double action trigger five times in three(?) seconds, and that was the only physical test that you could repeat until you passed, so it apparently was thought to be the least important ability?

 

Yea, remember several “ tests” that one had to pass. Had a friend that was a patrol Sgt. He carried a S&W Mdl 58 for a few years as the inspections were not very good. We all laughed that it would be fine until he had to shoot someone. He came in the range couple days every week to shoot and shoot the bull. One Monday he came in wearing a Mdl. 10, we laughed when he told us the Lt. did a through inspection and caught it. He was just told to put it up and carry his Mdl. 10. Had FBI, ATF and game wardens shoot every month and they were all gun guys and loved to shoot and talk guns. Those were the days..

 

They're not collectable. Without being collectable, it's just an old design, and an overpriced one at that. There are many modern guns much more suitable for pretty much any type of use.

 

I have wanted to see how well it groups in the hands of reviewers. I really only care about being easy to shoot well. Under 2 inches at 25 yards is a start. I cannot shoot 2 inches standing at 25 tarts with any gun. Three inches is doable on a good day.
The SA-35 seems to average around 2.75 inches at 25 yards from a rest. Hope this does better.

 

2.75 inch groups at 25 yards is already better than service grade accuracy. And means it's capable of more. That's the point to try different ammos to find its preference. You are grouping well enough already to see it.

The BHP has been used sucessfully in Bullseye (and other) competetions. In large part due to its intrinsic accuracy AND excellent ergonomics and pointability.

Like you, can't wait to get my hands on this new one to explore the actual accuracy it's capable of. FN fully has the ability to produce an excellent firearm. They have proven themselves many times. Willing to take a chance on their new Stainless HIGH Power.

 

i handled and shot a friends Springfield "hi-power" then i went and bought a real one!

 

The '..new..' HighPower may be a perfectly fine pistol (???)...as are a great many others, from a great many other firearms firms...but it has little (or nothing at all) to do with the original Browning Hi Power pistol (much beyond being a single-action design)....and everything to do with trying to '..cash in..' on an iconic brand name. I suppose that that's typical of FH/Browning. They NEVER threw ANYTHING away. They probably have marketing plans drawn up to re-issue a '..T series..' serial numbering scheme !!

 

Well now. I bought one. Do like. Whether or not it's a cynical attempt to cash in on the "classic" BHP, I couldn't say, inasmuch as I don't sit on FN's board of directors. But I can tell you this. The sights are an improvement over the previous "real" HP's, the trigger is easily one of the best out of the box I've ever enjoyed, regardless of make, model or price point, and the safety is very similar to the Mk. III, which many people consider an improvement over the older small BHP safety. No malfunctions after a couple hundred rounds of ball and JHP, and I can keep most shots in the center "A" zone of an IPSC target using both hands at about 25-yards. That seems adequate for my purposes.......

As far as the gun being "huge" compared to "real" HP's, I'll freely admit it's about a quarter inch taller and another quarter inch longer than the '72 C-Series and ex-Israeli '90 Mk. III plucked at random from the safe. I used the wife's kitchen scale to get the following weights, unloaded and without magazines, of several similarly sized pistols which would be recognizable to most people:

The New FN: 34.375 ounces.
'72 BHP: 29 ounces.
'90 ex-Israeli BHP: 30 ounces.
Pre-B CZ75, ex-Czech cop gun: 31.125 ounces, nearly same length and height.
1918 Colt 1911: 35.5 ounces
Colt ex-USMC M45: 39.625 ounces
Match-prepped 45-auto built to current CMP specs for "service pistol": 39.375 ounces.
Beretta M9 (civilian): 29 ounces (aluminum frame)
SIG M17 ex-US Army: 26 ounces (polymer frame), nearly same length and height.

Average weight of the above pile: 32.667 ounces.
Average weight of the above pile without the SIG: 33.5 ounces.
Average weight of the above pile without the SIG and Beretta: 34.143 ounces.

With the exception of the CZ, the SIG and the "real" BHP's, all the rest are longer and taller than the new FN.

So, objectively, the new gun is a lot closer than some might think to the size and weight of other similar pistols, including our beloved "real" BHP. Is it better than the "real" BHP? Hard to say for sure, but it does hold more cartridges and comes with better sights, trigger and safety than many of the "real" ones did, a situation not cheaply remedied. Am I gonna dump all my "real" BHP's now that I have the new FN? Oh, HAIL no. I may be stupid, but I'm not crazy! Or, is it perhaps the other way around?

 

I've had one for a few months now. Since it was 'made' (designed and built) by FN and it actually works like the original BHP (trigger bar overhead in the slide) It is the next iteration of a Hi Power. The slide glides on the frame rails like it's on ball bearings.

I also have an SA 35 and a Girsan P35 clones.