It is no secret Browning is my favorite and go-to firearms manufacturer and the P35 Hi-Power is in my (and others') opinion the best handgun ever designed. So often I hear how this venerable pistol is outlived its prime. This article (actually part of it) may change some of y'alls perspective.....
"Handgun Excellence
Most of us red-blooded American gunmen would view the classic 1911 as John Browning’s masterwork. Designed specifically to kill the radical Muslim terrorists of the day, the 1911 fired a bullet that weighed fully twice what the European-standard 115-grain 9mm did. For all of its justifiable merits, however, the 1911 has a few shortcomings.
The single-stack 7-round magazine was designed to improve upon the contemporary 6-shot revolver. Additionally, the swinging-link barrel locking mechanism could be simpler. FN needed a pistol to answer a French call for a new service sidearm. As Colt held the patents on his 1911, Browning had to design this new gun from scratch. The result was the most capable combat handgun in the world.
Browning died before he could complete the P35 Grande Puissance or Hi-Power. A Belgian colleague at FN named Dieudonne Saive finished the project. The Hi-Power action went on to drive most of the world’s combat handguns. Interestingly, the French ultimately rejected the Browning design."
THIS IS THE FUN FACT SEGMENT......
"The Hi-Power sports a pivoting single action trigger utterly unlike that of the 1911 though offering a comparably crisp character. The magazine holds 13 rounds was designed by Saive and paved the way for today’s high-capacity autoloading handguns. In place of the swinging link on the 1911 the Hi-Power employs a remarkably effective cam-locking system. If you have never seen one just crack open your favorite Glock, Smith and Wesson, HK, or Ruger pistol. They all run on Browning’s Hi-Power action."
"Handgun Excellence
Most of us red-blooded American gunmen would view the classic 1911 as John Browning’s masterwork. Designed specifically to kill the radical Muslim terrorists of the day, the 1911 fired a bullet that weighed fully twice what the European-standard 115-grain 9mm did. For all of its justifiable merits, however, the 1911 has a few shortcomings.
The single-stack 7-round magazine was designed to improve upon the contemporary 6-shot revolver. Additionally, the swinging-link barrel locking mechanism could be simpler. FN needed a pistol to answer a French call for a new service sidearm. As Colt held the patents on his 1911, Browning had to design this new gun from scratch. The result was the most capable combat handgun in the world.
Browning died before he could complete the P35 Grande Puissance or Hi-Power. A Belgian colleague at FN named Dieudonne Saive finished the project. The Hi-Power action went on to drive most of the world’s combat handguns. Interestingly, the French ultimately rejected the Browning design."
THIS IS THE FUN FACT SEGMENT......
"The Hi-Power sports a pivoting single action trigger utterly unlike that of the 1911 though offering a comparably crisp character. The magazine holds 13 rounds was designed by Saive and paved the way for today’s high-capacity autoloading handguns. In place of the swinging link on the 1911 the Hi-Power employs a remarkably effective cam-locking system. If you have never seen one just crack open your favorite Glock, Smith and Wesson, HK, or Ruger pistol. They all run on Browning’s Hi-Power action."
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