Buddy's New Gun

[abelethan]

So my friend just recently bought a new (and first) hand gun for home protection and plinking. Its a Hi-Point 45. I tried to persuade him to something a little more refined shall I say. Have any of you owned shot one of these? Thoughts?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Back 40]

I've heard that if you hold them side ways (gangster style) they are much more accurate. They were initially designed to be shot that way.


Sorry I couldn't resist, I have not shot one but they weigh a ton. I have heard from a buddy that they are pretty tough. He keeps one in his duck boat and it gets treated pretty badly and he swears that he has never had a problem with it. Maybe it will be your buddies "gateway" gun and bring him to the realization that there are much better options out there.

[SIGguy229]

I'd keep the receipt handy...

[jwhite75]

Well i personaly dont like them. They are ugly heavy and cheap made. Now that being said. I have a friend who has spent his entire career as a firearms examiner in major crime labs. Here is his take on them as a whole. It was a post from another forum we belong to. Keep in mind that he has tastes that linger towards the high end and buys a LOT of customs firearms and gadgets. So he is not a Hi-Point fan boy.

"I want to give you my professional opinion of Hi-Point firearms. I work in the LE community as a forensic firearm examiner. My daily job is to examine firearms for their function and operation, as well as determining whether a bullet or cartridge case has been fired by a particular firearm. With that said, in my 10+ years of work, and examination of literally hundreds of Hi-Points, I can honestly say I have never seen a Hi-Point that has not fired. With that said, I've seen them broken, cracked, pieces missing, you name it, but no matter what the issue was it wont prevent them from firing.

I personally know the president of Hi-Point and let me tell you what he is absolutely a phenominal guy who would give you the shirt off his back. I have no doubt that if... and that's a big if you had any problems with one of his firearms he would make it right without hesitation. He also adds additional steps in his manufacturing process to aid in identifying his firearms, as well as putting hidden serial numbers on them. I've also visited his manufacturing facility and it's quite impressive.

Now with that being said, are they the most expensive firearm? No not by a long shot. The majority of the gun is cast and injection molded. It costs huge amounts of money to machine something out of a solid piece of steel or aluminum. Hi-Point firearms are less expensive than some of the big names, but he works hard to keep prices down so it's affordable. Yes it may not be as sleek, maybe not as light, maybe not as accurate... but it is a good quality firearm, affordable to buy, accurate, reliable to shoot, and above all else dependable.

For the $ they simply can not be beat in my opinion."

Although I would not buy one myself. They do seem to work when you pull the trigger. Their warranty seems to be pretty good. If he is just using for HD i would say its OK but dont let him buy one for a carry piece.

[glockman10mm]

If this is his first gun, I have noticed that non gun people, or people new to firearms usually cannot distinguish quality therein , as they have no experience to draw from.
I would applaud his first step, and as he get some shooting time and feels the difference for himself in more(refined) guns, he will eventually want to move up in quality.
The great thing about guns like the Highpoint, is they offer a relative cheap entrance into our world for people who want but don't want to make a big initial investment.

[SIXTO]

If this is his first gun, I have noticed that non gun people, or people new to firearms usually cannot distinguish quality therein , as they have no experience to draw from.
I would applaud his first step, and as he get some shooting time and feels the difference for himself in more(refined) guns, he will eventually want to move up in quality.
The great thing about guns like the Highpoint, is they offer a relative cheap entrance into our world for people who want but don't want to make a big initial investment.

Agreed. If he is interested in firearms beyond having one in his sock drawer, he'll learn soon enough.

[bigmacque]

I watched a guy pull the trigger on a Hi Point 45 at the range one day, and watched the entire top of the gun come off, in two different directions -- some of it went down range, some of it came back at him. Kinda scary.

[adaman04]

You can't buy anything better for $140. They are disgustingly ugly, always oversized for what caliber they are, unrefined and the opposite of everything I look for in a handgun.

With that said, if you can only afford a $140 handgun, they are fairly reliable option. Don't expect more than $140 out of it but for the money, they're not bad.

I know several guys who have bought them for no reason other than they are cheap. "Heck it was $140, how could I pass that up?" I'd pass it up by buying $140 worth of ammo for one of my better guns and training more. He definitely has room to upgrade. HP customer service has been pretty good from a lot of reports I've read. Throwing in free magazines, etc, etc for function issues.

[azchevy]

JUNK

[C hawk Glock]

I watched a guy rack the slide one handed because the weight was so heavy! LOL

[Ghettokracker71]

Mixed opinions. Everyone I've seen/had experience around, went bang when the trigger was pulled,therefore working properly.... From what I hear, their CS is better than Taurus or alot of other manufactors should you run into a problem....

I could careless about looks. I don't buy a firearm to show off, or to "look pretty" . Its a tool. It should function. Function > Form.

[azchevy]

In that case steer clear of the hi point. Don't believe me? take it apart and look at the pot metal trigger mechanism and how it engages.

[JOHNSMITH]

Based on what I've heard and read, while they aren't as refined as a more expensive gun, they do mostly work, especially for the price. They also have that lifetime warranty.

You also have to take into account whether they are "unreliable," or whether the people who buy these inexpensive handguns are the types who don't know how to take care of their belongings properly, and so do not perform even basic maintenance on their pistol. Think of a similar situation to people who buy old used domestics and then go on to complain they are unreliable, because they were never willing to perform even a simple oil change on it and constantly abused it far beyond reasonable use.

[VBVAGUY]

Whatever happened to that Hi-Point challenge where someone was suppose to compete with it ?? How did that ever go ??? God Bless

[MadMac]

If you can't afford anything better than a Hi-Point, how do you afford to use it for "plinking" in .45 ACP?