Hi-point Firearms - opinions?

http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com ^ | 2-5-07 | Self

[Bat_Chemist]

So I'm looking over the web for a new handgun (the only one we own is my wife's 9-shot .22, a pretty little piece, but not much for home defense). I came across the website for Hipoint firearms, makers of "polymer frame" handguns, and I thought, "Wouldn't that be really unstable and fragile?" I wanted to get the opinions of the "strangers I trust" here at FR before I actually go drop a couple hundred there. And that's the other thing...these guns are American made and inexpensive. Are they too good to be true?

[Postman]

An addendum:

I selected my Taurus .357 revolver (627SS4) because it has a ported barrel which lessens recoil and makes it easier to reacquire the target; has seven chambers using either .357 magnum or .38 special ammo (as opposed to 5 or 6 chambers on other revolvers) and has a 4" barrel which, I've found, is a good compromise for a home defense weapon. I had to replace the grip with a Hogue 73000 because the ribbed original grip was just too small and felt strange. It is also a moderately priced gun which, although made in Brazil, is made, as I was told by someone I trust, using the original Colt dies. I bought it on the internet and had it shipped to an FFL in the PRNJ. I'm very happy with it and think that with a revolver you never go cheap but top of the line isn't necessary. On a semi auto pistol, I think top of the line is a must.

Also, when my perimeter alarm went off several weeks ago at 2 am, I made the mistake of grabbing my gun and leaving the bedroom to see what triggered it. After taking the NRA course I mentioned in my earlier post, I realized this was eminently stooooopid. The trick is to establish a room. preferably the master bedroom, as a safe room and then grab the handgun or shotgun and stay there behind some cover such as the bed or a bureau; call the police using a cell phone and DO NOT HANG UP(bad guys now tend to cut phone lines) and let whatever triggered the alarm come to you; Shout GO AWAY, I CALLED THE POLICE. I HAVE A GUN, I WILL SHOOT. If X enters your safe room, aim for the upper torso and fire as many shots as you need to put X down. Of course, there will be variations on events and actors and you should play act as many as possible.

I hope this is helpful and again urge that you and your wife take the NRA basic handgun course. Good luck.

Good luck

[PzLdr]

You can take a shotgun to the range. And in terms of home defense, 25 or 50 yd targets are more on the money than handgun [if less than 25 - usually 10 yd or less], since you don't really want to get too close to the perp. Taking the gun to the range also allows you to: [a] get acquainted with its use, sighting system, handling characteristics and recoil, and [b] pattern the shot on the target with various chokes to see which one works best.

[steve86]

I'm going to repeat this because a lot of people still don't get it.

Haven't fired mine yet, but it sounds like seating the cartridges in the magazine properly with the first tilted up solves virtually all the problems.

And there is a re-engineered magazine available that takes care of that problem.

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

My daughter would love it. My wife? Not so much...

I know what you mean. Of all my guns the benelli my wife finds the scariest. She says it just looks like a gun made for killin.

[OldPossum]

Actually, the worst guns available in the US are domestic

Smith & Wesson?

[ßuddaßudd]

I own one of these and they are very fun at the range with slugs. Spend the extra money and buy some quality, imho..

[ReignOfError]

Actually, the worst guns available in the US are domestic

Smith & Wesson?

Allow me to clarify. The worst guns you can legally buy in the US are domestic. Many of the best guns you can legally buy in the US are domestic. I did not mean to lump them all together in absurdly broad categories.

S&W, Springfield, Colt, Charter Arms, Remington, those are all fine and well-built machines. Some of the European manufacturers have also opened up US plants.

The next gun I buy will almost certainly be a Springfield XD. I have pretty small hands, and anything that can fit 13 rounds of .45 ACP in my hand comfortably is cool by me. I can't say anything about accuracy or recoil, because I haven't fired one yet, but the reviews I've found online are uniformly positive.

What I meant to point out is that there is a cluster of companies, the same folks using shifting company names, usually based in Florida, who build mean-looking cheap crap to cater to the gangsta crowd. They are so inaccurate that if you threw them off a bridge they'd probably miss the water. To call them the Yugo of the firearms business would be a gross disservice to the fine folks who built the Yugo.

[R. Scott]

If a hostile grabs your barrel, take a step back and pull the trigger. That serves to point the muzzle at him, and encourages him to release it.

I hereby nominate this for “Understatement of the Year”.

[Ghengis]

In my concealed carry class, the instructor said NEVER use rifles or shotguns for home defense. Studies show the long barrel is a huge disadvantage in a dark home. Intruders can and have grabbed the long barrels and turned the tables on the homeowner.
And, even with a pistol, hold it close to your body, not stiff-armed outward.
And, with pistols, you get what you pay for. Any name brand gun that you feel comfortable with should be a very good investment.

That is good basic/beginner instruction/advice. But if rifles or shotguns were such a bad thing for home defense, SWAT and military entry teams would never use them to clear a house of potential hostiles.

In a home defense scenario, most times you will be choosing the safest place to take a stand and awaiting response to your 9-1-1 call (made either before or after the shooting).

FWIW, I utilize shotgun and handgun in my home defense plan.

[TexasRepublic]

If I could have only one pistol, it would be a Smith & Wesson in either .44 Special, 45 Long Colt, or .45 ACP, with a 4" barrel. Then I'd load it with serrated hollow-points that mushroom at low velocities. That kind of gun makes big holes, has moderate recoil, and is more reliable and simpler to use than an automatic.

[kram3d]

I have a Hi-Point C9 Luger I was not to sold on it at first but with a LIFE TIME WARRANTY if your the first or the tenth owner it is 100% Life Time Warranty. They must think it's a good gun. I have only shot one box through it but I like it. And if your are going to carry the Hi-Point is half the weight of my Smith & Wesson.

[sweetwater]

Well, had to share my opinion on this, seems like I've got guns stacked up here like cord-wood.
First, High Points are good solid guns. They are clunky, gorky, ill fitting things, but very solid. I have shot several of them and I own the 9mm carbine. They do not possess the snob factor of a ruger/colt/kimber, etc.

I personally feel the pistols don't exactly fit like a glove in my hand, but your results may vary. I do think they are dependable though and fun and affordable to shoot!

Now, when it comes to home/personal defense, I do believe in a name brand quality. I think the HPs are great range guns for plinking, but if I had my choice, I would ( and do ) use a smith revolver and a Springfield .40 for personal carry weapons (depending on my mood and outfit). One, if not both are in my general proximity when I sleep and ready at a moments notice...to fight my way to my SHOTGUN!!! I have to say, this is the BEST home defense weapon.

I prefer the Mossberg 500A. Face it, If I stand at one end of the Hallway and fire it, the blast radius will effect everything in that hallway. I load it with Turkey loads (#4 shot) so stray shot will likely not penetrate walls and harm family members. Additionally, the sound of a shotgun "racking back" to feed a round would have to be the worst sound ever to a burglar. That would most likely make them flee, but if not, they can "say hello to my little friend" as Tony Montana bluntly stated.

Still, any weapon is better than none, and home defense is a largely personal matter. There are lots of options, just take advantage of one that you feel comfy with, drill, and practice.

[sweetwater]

My local Gun shop showed me an intersting weapon, it is a Tarus Revolver chabered in .45 Long Colt and it also shoots .410 shotgun shells. The Best of Both Worlds! It's a big sucker though

[ccordray]

Norinco? come on, I have a Norinco .45 copy of the 1911A1 I bought about 20 years ago and it shoots just fine. Have no idea how many hundreds of rounds I have put through it. As a matter of fact, the metal is better than the Colt. I do not understand your bias against Norinco. I also have a Hipoint 9mm I bought in a weak moment, but I have put over a thousand rounds thru it without a jam, which is more than I can say for my 92F-which is also my duty gun. Anyway, good to hear from you, and I do agree on the Jennings junk.

[Spktyr]

The later Norinco imported 1911 clones have had frame cracks reported. Also, the Norinco copies of the Tokarev and Makurov are substandard quality and sometimes unsafe to shoot.

Also, do a search for Norinco/PolyTech M-14 clones. You’ll discover that the only good thing about them is the receiver. Which is nice, because the gun will *probably* blow up because of the crap parts they used to build the rest of the gun.

[Spktyr]

Oh, and also, you don’t want to hear my opinion of the 92F. Someone *gave* me one for a special occasion and I promptly sold it.

I prefer Browning High Powers (I have over 50,000 rounds on one of mine without a jam) and have recently been sucked in by the Springfield XD.

[B4Ranch]

>And in terms of home defense, 25 or 50 yd targets are more on the money than handgun [if less than 25 - usually 10 yd or less], since you don’t really want to get too close to the perp.<

PzLdr
Do you live in a commercial warehouse? Most residential gunfights take place at distances under 10 feet. Got that? Your attacker is at least halfway across the room before you get a chance to pull the trigger.

That is why shotguns are such a good self defense weapon for use inside the house. One shot and the attacker has a big chunk of meat missing from his frame. Two shots and he is generally missing a chunk of his face too.

You are most likely not going to get a chance to use the fancy titanium night sights or even shoulder the shotgun. Point and fire is the rule for indoor gunfights.

[brazzaville]

Good morning.

My primary carry piece was a Colt Government model 1911 until I found myself not carrying it because of weight and because of size on hot days.

I then got Kel-Tec P-11’s in 9mm (less than $200.00 each)for my wife and I, but was never happy with them and they were quickly retired to the stashes by the front and back doors, or to the glove box in my Bronco.

I then bought a Makarov for $125.00 and it was my summer gun for years. I was never really happy with the sights or the puny 9x18 round, but the gun was accurate, went bang every time I wanted it to and was easy to carry all day. It still goes to the range with me when I go and my 12 year old grandson is downright lethal with it.

Now my primary is a Kimber Ultra Carry II in .45 acp that I bought for $800.00 out the door. It's the best gun I've ever owned (out of the box) and is never out of reach except when I'm forced to go somewhere where it is illegal, or where there is electronic security at the door. I try not to go to those places.

A good gun is worth the cost, and a bad gun is better than nothing. A comfortable way to carry concealed is also important.

Whatever you get, practice, practice, practice. Then some more.

Michael Frazier

[Spktyr]

A neat trick for that sort of thing is to have a small but powerful flashlight clipped on the end of your shotgun, set and focused so that the main pool of light is just larger than your shot pattern. Put pool of light on intruder, fire.

Not for all situations, but it works.

[B4Ranch]

I have nite lights on the far side of every room in the house. The target would be backlit for me.