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I've been watching, and enjoying, the NBC show "The Blacklist."
It's a bit formulaic, but lots of fun.
James Spader is a joy in this role.
Not the smallest matter of fun is his chosen pistol is a Browning Hi-Power.
The HP is one of my all-time favorite nine millimeters.
If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up!
I keep reading about 9mm 1911's.
When I look into it, they're not actually 1911's, they're double stack 9mm that look like a 1911, but have almost nothing in common with one.
That sounds like another gun...
The more things change, the more they stay the same?
Ye Olde Grande Pussiance ticks a lot of the same boxes as a some of these newer guns do; plus style!
Update:
While I was referring to the current fad of 2011's, Willard is correct that a Star Model B is the true 9mm 1911.
And it's as close to the 1911 mechanically as the current crop of 2011's so it still qualifies by their standards!
I don't have the budget for this, but the wants are VERY strong. I'd tell people it was an M17.
The best John Moses Browning guns are from after he's in the cold, cold ground.
The M1911A1 morphs into the .38 Super Gov't Model.
But "his" best design is the Grand Puissance.
This gun was brought to fruition by his apprentice, Dieudonne Saive.
Saive lacks the name recognition that Browning gets, and two of his designs get accredited to Browning. The Grand Puissance and "Baby" Browning.
Never mind that Mr. Saive also begat the MAG; still in wide service.
Should you get an FAL?
Of course!
They are a fine example of what a battle rifle could be in the early to late 1950's.
They are not a fully modern, modular gun.
Don't go into owning one thinking this is something that it isn't.
It's interesting that few people get into owning a Garand thinking they're getting a modern, modular battle rifle; but expect an FAL to be.
Not being modern or modular should not dissuade you.
They're great guns.
Magazines are not cheap and plentiful anymore, though. Hmmmm, just like 7.62x51mm surplus ammo isn't cheap and plentiful anymore either.
I'm quite content with mine.
File under: "Stop liking things I don't like!"
Found a thread at the wretched hive of scum and villainy known as Arfcom asking what the point of owning a Browning High Power was.
Other than I like it?
The only real "problem" with one compared to a more modern design is that it's heavy. But it's not THAT heavy. Same weight at a Beretta M9, and just 0.3 lb. heavier than a Glock 17.
People forget that extra mass helps with recoil.
Lots of people complaining about the feel of the grip. Can't agree with them here, mine fits like it was made for my hand. I think JMB and I have the same hands, I've seen this with his designs before.
The difference in capacity is mitigated by there being flush 15-round magazines for them (and cheaper and more available than the original 13-rounders too).
Hammer bite is real, and mine bites me. It's not that big a deal. Take. The. Pain.
Some stuff that didn't come up were the sights being products of their time. There's not a lot you can do about the with early through Mk.2 guns; unless you completely disregard future collectors and have the slide milled for dovetails.
Have you ever noticed that the venerable High Power is nearly the same size as a Glock 19 which everyone loves? Actually, it's smaller than a 19 because it's slimmer.
The trigger is kinda bad, but it's nothing you can't get used to and shoot good groups with.
The magazine disconnect is irritating, but it's easily removed and improves the trigger.
Would I carry one?
Qualified, "no." I bought one to have one and have never invested in any holsters. You are not unarmed with one and I've carried older designs.
Do I carry one?
No. I carry a souless plastic fantastic.
But that's not the point of owning a classic!
Life would be very dull if I pared things down to just what was needful.
Prolly only have about three guns here too.
I did some shooting myself on Friday.
The Grand-Puissance and I still get along wonderfully.
I still marvel at how small the HP is compared to other wonder-nines.
Jasmine and a Rhodesian brush camo inspired Hawaiian shirt.
Apparently, there's people who act like this photo can cause physical harm to them.
Nope.
Just a picture of a rifle on a shirt.
I am a fan of John Moses Browning.
I own several of his creations and a couple he gets undeserved credit for.
Fine guns, nothing wrong with them.
Well...
Except for that whole obsolescent thing.
Dude's been dead for 96 years.
His last designs weren't much of his by the time they hit market and Saive's been dead for 52 years and he'd been retired for 16 years before that.
But we're getting to the point where "I'm not driving no infernal combustion engine Robert Fulton's good enough for me!" proportions.
Don't get them started on double or triple expansion engines let along them new fangled turbines.
And when you say you don't like these new guns, and are sticking to Browning, these new guns ARE Brownings!
Except for materials they work just like Saive's improvement to the tilting barrel premiered on the Grand Puissance.
I love my Hi Power, but I'm packing a souless plastic pal who's fun to be with.
Improved materials, lighter weight, more capacity, smaller package, more resistant to corrosion and lint.
There's just no down side.
Then when you add in that Gunwriters® have to run thousand round torture tests to distinguish between models and that so many are passing the excessive torments...
Yeah.
Now that the rant is done. Don't comment without saying "rutabaga" to prove you got this far.
I've carried 1911's in two calibers (.45 and .38 Super).
I've pocketed a 1908 Pocket Hammerless in .380.
I've toted an FN Hi-Power a time or two.
They do the job. They did the job.
They did it as well as any gun I've ever carried because I've never, once, had to draw or fire in self defense.
Nothing about new guns being a vast improvement in many objective ways makes the old JMB guns no longer work!
Nothing about new 9mm hollow point technology makes a .45 ACP ball round make smaller holes.
These old guns still work. Note my carrying a S&W 59 for a while: I was testing that they still work.
The take-away isn't that the old, proven, designs no longer work; it's to not close your mind and to be open to changes which make your experience better. But not too open or you will end up being a jaded Gunwriter® who no longer derives any joy from shooting.
He's human, after all.
The OG HP did not use any leaf springs. They're all coil or wire springs.
Edit:
I make mistakes too! The sear spring is a leaf spring. Thanks unsigned anonymous commenter whose post is deleted for not following the instructions!
I am still having trouble with how capacity has ballooned in small pistols.
I remember being giddy about how my old Shield fit in my pocket and was still a full-up 9mm.
But this...
14 rounds, ready to go; though pocket carry demands using the 10-round mag. But still, 24 rounds at the ready and casually concealed on the hottest Florida day.
I mentioned before that this capacity is Hi-Power territory.
It's just a wee bit smaller than Saive's wonder-nine.
Living in the future is kinda neat.
It doesn't even stop with pocket guns.
The 2.0 9C is the same height and width as the Browning, but shorter, lighter and has more shots in factory configuration.
Playing with the new compact and doing some dry fire and I notice that something feels a bit familiar.
Then it hit me, the grip length!
That's near as never mind identical to the old Browning Hi-Power!
The grip is much narrower, though.
It's a good grip length, I think.
Even FN!
Sort of.
They made it ambi and increased capacity to 17 rounds.
Sure didn't come down on the price from the old version...
While it's interesting, at that price point I'm prolly not going to be the one writing a review unless someone at FN reads this and says, "Hey, Thag, we sure wanna hear what you think about it and we're sending one to you."
Simians may also issue forth from my alimentary canal with great force, taking on a ballistic trajectory.
What I want to know, though, is magazine compatibility with the old guns.
High Speed Wobble, a Belgian tripel from The Liquid Garage.
My mom's father's old pipe.
A Belgian triple of FN designs.
Happy New Year everyone!
Even if I wouldn't buy whatever it is after they threw Illinois gun dealers under the bus...
...but it's rumored to be a High Power clone.
Just having some fun with the camera and making arrangements. Trying stuff out.
There's things that don't show, but I know they're there. Like removing the M7 bayonet and putting an FAL one in its place. Like putting an FN magazine pouch to replace the 1911's.
Heck, you can't hardly tell there's a Browning in that holster.
Plus that's a real grenade launching blank there.
The Mosin-Crate apparently got in a shipment of FEG Hi-Powers.
They sold out in four days with a $399 price point.
He had about 60, as indicated in the vid.
I wonder if Tisas is up to speed with their clone yet.
