“Can every one who truly needs a firearm for self-protection afford a Kimber stuffed full of Hydra-shoks?” Student of the Gun firearms guru Paul Markel asks, rhetorically [via ammoland.com]. “The reality of our world is that many of those most in need for a firearm for personal defense are also those with the lowest level of disposable income. Do the poor of the nation have the right to self-defense? Or, is self-protection with arms a privilege reserved for those who can afford more expensive tools?” Wait. Don’t tell me. I know this. But seriously, the Hi-Point pistol may be an enthusiast’s last choice of handgun, but . . .

not everyone is an enthusiast. And hats off to the company for producing a gun at that price point that’s drop-safe and goes bang when you pull the trigger. Lest we forget, Lorcin lovers, it was not always thus.

That said, I still think a revolver is the best choice for a financially-strapped consumer who wants to strap-up. Unfortunately, the cheapest of the breed tend to clock-in at $300, new. Used revolvers get down to the two Benjamins range, but I understand that some low-income buyers can’t or don’t want to shop around.

Is there a market here? If there was, someone would have filled it. Pity.

[h/t andypantera69]

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

96 COMMENTS

  1. I agree with the author. A revolver is probably the best choice for the least financially well off as it doesn’t need magazines and is easy to use.

    Rock Island makes a .38 Special brand new that sells for just over $200.

    • But aren’t there reports of it being dangerously unreliable?

      The worst things you could say about a Hi-Point are cosmetic and ergonomic. At least they seem reliable.

      • I haven’t heard any of those reports. All the videos I’ve seen of those .38’s has been mostly positive. The only cons being the double action trigger and the guns not being +P rated.

      • I HAD a C9 at one point. It was not reliable at all. Mine jammed all the time. It was also ugly as hell (but accurate). I bought it used for $90 and sold it for $60.

        I’ve also had three cheap used Rossi’s (2 38s and a .357), an NEF 22 revolver, and a Heritage Arms 22 revolver. ALL 5 of those “cheap” revolvers were 100% reliable and cost $200 or way less each. My P3AT and SW9VE have also been reliable for inexpensive guns.

        For the budget shopper, I’d go with a used $200 dollar Taurus or Rossi (or new Rock Island revolver) long before getting another HiPoint pistol. The S&W Sigma can also be found in the $200ish ballpark used. They have a crappy trigger but are very reliable (and 16+1).

      • I’ve never seen anything negative on YouTube about the Armscor/RIA revolvers. I happen to own an Armscor M206, a clone of the Colt Detective Special.

        I never had a problem with it and only shot +p a couple of times. I do use +P rounds for carry but its not recommended to feed it hot ammo on a regular basis so I use reloaded .38s for practice.

        This six shooting snubbie was my old CCW pistol and its now my wife’s HD gun. the one that buys her time to get to the Benelli

    • I researched the Armscor 38 a couple of years ago because it is a decent looking knockoff of the old Colt Police Positive. Every post I read by actual owners indicated that, unlike their 1911 pistols, their revolver is not very durable or reliable. The timing easily goes out on them. I don’t know why Armscor fell down on this gun when they do so well with their Rock Island pistols. The EAA Windicator imported from Germany seems to have a good reputation, and it runs about the same price ($300). The Commanche II (imported by Firestorm?) is in the $200 range, but its availability and quality remain something of a mystery.

  3. When you are strapped for cash and you have to choose between five rounds and ten to defend yourself what would you choose?

    • Any number greater than zero is better than zero, two is better than one, three is better than two, etc, etc.
      But never let perfect get in the way of doing something that is good enough.

  4. Revolver FTW. Hi-Point is not the low point of pistol manufacture. The guns work, kind of, although they are not accurate pistols. They’re cheap and in the hands of a defender, they will do the business. Mostly. But cheap revolvers are easier to use and more likely to perform in a pinch. Mostly.

        • You know, I wasn’t going to make a big deal of my issues with those reviews or that reviewer at the time, but now I will say this:

          Anyone who claims that they shot a handgun of any type that couldn’t put a round onto paper at three yards is, in my experience, either vastly incompetent, or peddling BS.

          I’ve shot handguns that had almost no rifling left in the barrel, with a muzzle crown that looked as though it had been put in there with a weedeater, that were able to put every round they had into a group that I could cover with my hand at five yards. I’ve shot pistols with no sights and been able to throw down a hand-sized group at five yards merely by sighting down the side or corner of the slide. Jimmy Cirillo was the guy who taught me how to do that, BTW, and it is a very effective combat shooting technique if you don’t have the light to find the sights.

          This is why I’ve been telling TTAG to get a Ransom Rest. When a reviewer uses a Ransom Rest, the issues of accuracy become highly believable because the shooter is taken out of the system, and readers with experience in handguns start being able to obtain some useful information out of the gun review.

          When someone tells me that they’re adjusting the sights and going the wrong way in group placement, doesn’t tell us which bullseye target (NRA target # or other specification), and then they claim that Zamak alloy is similar to AR-15 lowers… well, I’m not impressed with the reviewer’s skills and can’t trust that he’s capable of putting a round onto the broad side of a billboard with a shotgun.

        • I’m with DG on this, I have seen a .45 hi-point out shoot a $1000 Kimber 1911, 3 out of 3 different shooters did better slow firing that cheap gun. I would prefer the Kimber, but I would take a HP over a rock, stick or pepper spray any day.

        • @DG, a Ransom Rest can be helpful, but it’s not useful without the proper grip insert. Also, the Ransom Rest’s claim to fame is that it is a “passive device that holds, fires, and recoils as nearly like the human hand as possible.” Except that nothing holds, fires and recoils more like a human hand than a human hand itself. Anything else is an imitation.

          And FYI, the two reviews I pulled off TTAG were not the only ones out there that criticized the accuracy of that pistol.

        • “I’m not impressed with the reviewer’s skills and can’t trust that he’s capable of putting a round onto the broad side of a billboard with a shotgun”

          The old saying: ‘he couldn’t hit the side of a barn’, .. we’ve always expressed as the even more terrible: ‘he couldn’t hit the Inside of a barn’ (ostensibly having five, if not six, times more things to shoot at) .. or in extreme cases: ‘couldn’t hit the ground with a rock’.

        • So… you buy the correct grip inserts for the Ransom. Or make them.

          A Ransom rest is about $500, inserts are about $60 a pair. If a handgun hasn’t a set of manufactured inserts, they can be made.

        • Go to 14:38 of the Nutnfancy vid I posted and look at the groupings. If he’s getting groupings like that with an inaccurate gun then he’s a badass.

        • “So… you buy the correct grip inserts for the Ransom. Or make them.”

          This sounds like a job for a 3-D printer, making the inserts.

          Using the engineering geeks in the gun community, build a digital ‘library’ of inserts and pass ’em around. Perhaps Deference Distributed.

          Might be one hell of a good use for that CNC ‘Ghost Gunner’ mill, machine up the inserts from aluminum.

          At least until Ransom sics the lawyers on you…

          Just my .02 and worth half as much…

    • Love a wheelgun for CCW. I bought a Taurus 605 in .357 for 300 bucks brand new 5 years ago and I never had an issue with it. I wanted something a little nicer so I sold it to my uncle, who carries it every day and loves it.

  5. How can you argue of course this man is correct….protect yourself and your family…..think the bad guys are going to care if they get shot with a Kimber or a High Point……Naaa their just going to bleed.

  6. My first handgun was a Hi-Point C9. It was ugly and heavy. It was also reliable and accurate. That $125 purchase was my downfall since it got me hooked. I now have several more expensive “brand name” handguns but none of them perform any better than my Hi-Point.

    • Same with me, I have more expensive handguns but they are not any more or less reliable. I own all sorts of brands and calibers to compare with..

    • That has been exactly our experience as well. Two of my sons bought C9s as their first carry guns. Despite purchasing more expensive pistols as time went on, they keep the c9’s because they just plain work. Reliable and accurate. Their biggest issues is they are bulky and cumbersome to CC. There are better choices for that.

  7. I’ve always thought someone needs to run a cheap/value/inexpensive guns 3-gun match.

    I realize that’s not a realistic test, most low-end guns are going to be purchased, and probably not shot more than a magazine in their lifetime, waiting for the day they’re needed for home defense. And for that, they fill the role fine as long as they go *BANG* when needed.

    I’d be super curious to see how well low-end guns would do when going head-to-head with other low-end guns.

    My analogy would be paintball, I got 8 sort of crummy early 80s Tippmann pump guns for free and rebuilt them as best I could. Then I got 7 friends together and we ran a bunch of games against each other. It was super fun, the skill of the player really came to the forefront.

    • That’s not a bad idea. Make the three gun match based on MSRP values of no more than $300 for each gun or a total MSRP value of all three guns no more than $1000.

      My three guns would be a Hi Point .45, a Mossberg Maverick 88, and a Marlin Model 60.

  8. I used to complain that I had trouble feeding my Kimber, until I met a man who who couldn’t feed his Hi-Point, and who was crying because he had just met a man with no freekin’ firearm because his stupid a-hole neighbors needing jobs (their f-ing gov’t) went rogue on him and put his family in an oven after working and starving them to death.

    Hi-Points are awesome enough. Put a $17 WalMart (we used to be just ok now we suck a_ _ because we just turned wet sh_t and don’t sell nice guns) bb-gun red laser sight on the thing, and maybe, you won’t even have to pull the trigger if a perp shows up. Anywho, at 7 times the price you can get a breed of Kimber with at least 39% of a Hi-Point’s reliability.

  9. For just a few bucks more than a Hi-Point, you can pick up a Taurus PT-111. They’re easy to find for $200 brand-new these days. Comes with two 12-round magazines, accurate, easy to shoot, about ten pounds lighter than a Hi-Point C9, and it’s easy to conceal. I picked one up a few months back when the price first dropped to the $200 point, more out of curiosity as to what a two-Benjamin pistol would be like, and I’m astonished. It’s well-built, boringly reliable, and fun to shoot. Several hundred rounds without a single failure so far.

    I didn’t mean for this to be an ad for the Taurus, but it is definitely possible to get a decent new gun for cheap, and it doesn’t have to have the ergonomics of a cinder block.

    • A “few more bucks” is a lot of difference for some people. I looked around and paid $125 for my Hi-Point so a $200 Taurus is a considerably more expensive purchase. If you keep saving for better, you might never make it. I have 2 Taurus handguns but they are an upgrade along with my S&W and Ruger. The Hi-Point was a worthwhile purchase and a good starter handgun. “Limpwristing” is less of a problem with them because they are heavy.

      • Best sub-$300 cost-to-quality ratio pistol is the Ruger P95… 15 rounds of 9mm in a dead reliable platform that’s built like a tank.

    • I’m with you Stinkeye-my 4 Taurus’ ran great. My Hi-point not at all. Get a pardner pump for cheap new or used for reliable self-defense. The Hi-point carbines rock.

  10. I owned a 995 carbine (yeah, I know) at a point in my life. It shot straight, was simple to handle and didn’t have any sort of operational issues such as FTFs, FTEs. No it wasn’t an Uzi or an AR 9mm getup but for the price it was very practical, fun to shoot and I would have had no qualms about trusting my life to it. They make great beater guns IMO or if you’re just looking for something basic and don’t want to spend the extra $$$. Not everyone has Sig or Glock $ to spend on a gun.

    • Those are super fun, I have one of the 995TS in 9mm picked up for a hair under $150 because I’d heard good things about them.

      I love the sights on it.

      • Admittedly my AR 9mm setup isn’t reliable enough that I would consider it for home defense. I would actually take a hi-point carbine over it in that regard. But I do love me some 32 rnd mags, when they work…

    • I love how people get all snooty about Zamak cast parts, but then develop a case of priapism over the latest bit of injection-molded cheez-whiz.

      The slide on any semi-auto pistol need not be steel. It is steel in order to give it mass. The lower density of Zamak alloys over steel is why the slide on the Hi-Point appears so brutishly large – it is mass, not size, that is needed to absorb the kinetic energy of a straight blowback semi-auto design. In a straight blowback design, you have only two ways to deal with the “equal and opposite” force and conservation of momentum issue: Either a hellacious spring, or a large sliding mass. Hi-Point went with the large mass.

      • I agree with all that.

        However, I’ll stick to steel and wood for my preferences. No ZnAlCu alloys for me.

        • And the same for me. I should run for election as TTAG’s “Resident Gun Snob.” I sometimes handle guns worth more than many people’s automobiles. I like, I mean really like high end guns, especially high end SxS or O/U shotguns. Oh, and custom rifles – the sort of custom rifles that start at $8K and go up, up, up from there, made by US gunmakers who are members of the American Custom Gunmaker’s Guild.

          But for all that, I believe that low income and poor people have a God-given right of self defense as well as rich people, and they deserve a reliable gun that fits their budget. The “ring of fire” guns (Jennings, Bryco, et al) are horrible pieces of crap. The Hi-Points I’ve seen and shot have all the sex appeal of an East German Women’s Swim team member (you tykes who were born in the late 80’s to mid-90’s need to go look up some footage of the DDR’s swim team of the late 70’s and early 80’s), but they worked and they didn’t seem as tho they were going to grenade in someone’s hand, unlike the Ring of Fire pieces of crap. The Hi-Point carbines I’ve seen and shot (and helped people learn how to strip and clean), worked reasonably well and they fit a market.

          That said, I believe that there are good deals out there for people with tight budgets in used guns, especially older police revolvers with lots of holster wear. S&W revolvers are solid handguns, and I see .38 Specials with lots of holster wear (but not much actual shooting wear) on the market for very reasonable prices.

  12. Looks like a place for another milsurp plug– $250 or so for a 7-round solidly reliable P-64 or a 9-round solidly reliable Wanad. The trick, I guess, is to find one at the LGS without having to go thru J&G or AIM or someone.

    • The problem with a P64 is you need to be a gorilla to fire it in double-action mode.

      the 64 stands for the approx 64lb trigger pull.

      • Mine is a lot better–and you only have to do it once. Or–go with the Wanad, their triggers are reportedly much better.

        • They are. My P-83 is a better pistol in almost all ways than my P-64 (the only places the P-64 outshines it are in a more stylish appearance and a more concealable size). The trigger is much, much nicer – not quite as good as my CZ-82, but close. For $200 with two mags and a holster, it’s a heck of a deal. My only concern if I were using it “for real” would be parts availability, but what’s going to break on a commie pistol?

  13. If you live in a bad neighborhood, don’t make much money, and some miscreant is kicking your door in at 2am, the Hi-Point takes on a charm and beauty all its own.

  14. Every DGU I’ve studied in my area, less than 5 rounds were fired. Usually it was less than two. And bullet size didn’t matter. 9mm to 12g. Home invaders are, in a word, wusses. As soon as there’s any deadly resistance, they’re done. Caliber wars, elitism, etc all mean nothing when you’re in a situation where just about anything will do.

  15. “Can every one who truly needs a firearm for self-protection afford a Kimber stuffed full of Hydra-shoks?”

    No! thats why brands such a Karh exist. If self defense really is a very priority and you have already scrapped together enough for a new Hi Point, why not just tighten the belt a few months more to scrape up that little bit more for a better piece?

    You can get used XD’s and LE returned Gen 3 Glocks for 350ish so there’s no excuse for cheaping out on self defense.

    • “…why not just tighten the belt a few months more to scrape up that little bit more for a better piece?”

      Did you watch the video?

      • Personally, at that distance I’d be lucky to hit the sand with my Xd. Well I have hit a 14′ STEEL at 100 yards twice but…I think it was verging on luck. I’m going to hazard a guess that the Hi-Point is just fine TYVM.

    • Not to take away from Mr. Merkel’s point, but his question is something of a false dichotomy. There’s a wide array of options across the spectrum between Kimber and Hi-Point. If all you have is $150 and no need for an EDC gun, then get yourself a Hi-Point and go buck wild; it’s made of cheap materials, but is overbuilt enough to make it decently reliable. I’ve shot them before and can vouch that it’s no match-grade pistol, but at self-defense distances it’s quite accurate.

      One really good idea is to check out gun shows and stores to see what other patrons are looking to sell. I picked up a Taurus PT92 AFS for $250 from a guy trying to sell it at a local gun store and then unloaded a Bersa Thunder 9 UC for $180 at a gun show this weekend.

  16. I think $200 for a Taurus PT111 is a good buy, but low-information shoppers won’t see them at that price in a local gun store. Cheapest I have seen is $275, which is $100 more than a Hi-Point.

    Although low income people will splash out for big screen TVs and Xboxs, I can see the price increase being a deterrent.

    • I got mine at Cabela’s for $200. Granted, it was on sale, and their regular price is closer to $300, but I didn’t have to go through the order-on-the-internet FFL transfer hoops. Just walked in with my money and walked out with the gun. But you’re right, some people aren’t going to shop around or do any research. That kind of person is going to walk into a gun store or pawn shop with X dollars and say, “what can I get for this?” Hi-Point will always have that market, I suppose.

  17. At various times in my life I’ve been poor enough to drive hoopty cars, or not drive at all and use the bus. I’ve also seen the time when all the gun I had was a yard sale single shot H&R shotgun.

    I remember when a titan .25 acp at 40 bucks was a major purchase. Now I have a 2 safes overfilled with guns.

    But I remember the bad days. Here in CA a new hi point is legal to buy where as some of the bargain autos from eastern europe are not.

    If the only gun I could afford was a hi point I’d get the .45 and would not feel undergunned. I make whatever I have work.

    • Yes, like I said, the big trick is finding one of the commie-bloc bargains locally. I read about someone picking up a Hungarian P-63 for @$150 at a local pawn shop, but that is just one of those serendipitous finds.

  18. I bought the hi point 45 five years ago. I’ve never had any problems with it. At the time it was $140. If gun elites want to exand 2A support to the law abiding poor then they must be able to afford the cost of a gun. A favorite form of early gun control was to make guns cost more by government regulations. This way newly freed slaves could not afford to buy a gun.
    There are some very brave people working with the poor buying them guns and training them in self defense.

  20. Com block pistols are near the same price point (probably a little more) and are better in most regards. Some are even new and not surplus like the Zastavas that have been reviewed here. Used shotguns can be had for the 200 range. But Hi-Points do work. I would rather have one that no gun at all.

    • The problem with the com-block pistols is the ammo, much of which is 9×18. You can find it, but not as readily as 9×19.

  21. It’s baffling to me that people think a five-shooter is a good home defense gun.
    In a fight inside a house, five rounds isn’t much, especially in the dark.
    And then, since the typical five-shooter (Smith 642, for a nice example, and one of which we own) is pretty nearly the hardest handgun to shoot well and fast, it’s also the worst.
    If someone just has to have a revolver for defense, a seven-shot 686+ might be good… but heavens, are they expensive.
    Still, any revolver is harder to shoot fast and accurately than even middling semis. We do many, many Intro classes a year. The evidence is on the paper: the people with semis (we lean towards M&Ps) get way better hits way sooner than revo shooters, and they can get them way faster. Much faster.
    The second and third hits with a J-frame are very difficult to get, especially without an enormous amount of live-fire practice. You’ll almost certainly need more than one hit- a J puts you behind the curve in a couple of different ways.
    Standing in a booth and respecting the range’s slow-fire rules on stationary target while the shooter is equally stationary gives results that are worse than useless: they’ve deceptive.
    We hear things like “the missus has a five-shot (teeny revo) and can drill the 10-ring out all day long.”
    Well, I’d put down good money she can’t get useful fire with speed and combat accuracy, not under pressure, not with distraction, not with having to move, and certainly not with getting three good hits on a drugged-up maniac. Drawing conclusions from booth shooting is apples and oranges.
    That whole diatribe comes from a guy who owns more revos than semis, and even, on occasion, goes abroad with a six-shot Colt snub instead of the usual Commander.
    But, as much as I love them, revos are inferior in almost every way to semis for personal protection.
    Speed with multiple quality hits is the problem.

    • A J-frame isn’t a home defense gun, it’s a deep concealment gun. J-frames are meant to be concealed in a very small space.

      If you want a revolver for a home defense gun that’s in the nightstand (or whereever), what you want is a K-frame with at least a 4″ barrel. S&W Model 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, as well as the original M&P, are all suitable revolvers. Colt E&I frame revolvers used by police would also be suitable, but have been driven up in price by collectors.

      J-frames are difficult to shoot accurately due to their light weight, some of them have DAO hammers, and I’d rate them as an experienced shooter’s gun. I’d rather see people start with a S&W Model 10, where they can pull the hammer back and have a good trigger on the first shot.

      • Yep, the k frame is probably the perfect gun for the non gun person. It ain’t bad for the experienced POTG, either.

        But used k frames are also going up in price. The last decent mod 15 I’ve seen used was 500 bucks.

      • I’ve got several revolvers, but none of them come close to my Sig 226 TacOps – 21 rounds of 9mm +P before needing a reload. Zero jams so far after almost 2,000 rounds, although I cleaned it before shooting it the first time.

        For bear defense it’s the .460 XVR in a shoulder holster. Although I could get away with a lowly Glock 35 with 15+1 of Underwood .40 “+P” when faced with smaller CA black bears. Although a 686 or one of those fancy Smith 8-round .357 revolvers would also be pretty cool. Or the Ruger Match Champion.

        Always, I think a Hi-Point is a pretty decent gun on a super tight budget. Used shotguns are also cheap. Aw hell, I can appreciate just about any gun. It just needs to work and be used intelligently, but I prefer high quality guns and optics, as well as stainless steel like 416R.

        • You are very correct – shotguns, especially not-so-nice shotguns, are very affordable in the used market and are my second recommendation for people’s home defense on a budget. There are shotguns out in the market that have been rode hard, put away wet (literally) that with a little oil and TLC can be brought back into operational trim, but will never be something nice to look at. Still, they’ll launch a round of buckshot in the direction necessary to do the job.

  23. I don’t like hi-point i will not own one. I have owned them in the past and they do go bang every time but they are just big clunky not very accurate POS. want a good gun for little money i’d say taurus is your best bet. i have a taurus .40 cal i picked up for 324.00 on sale. if you shop around you can always find a good deal and there are a lot of revolvers out there for less than 200.00

    • It’s unfortunate that you’ve never been poor or been in the real world. If you had ever been where you weren’t sure where your next meal was coming from or how you were going to pay the rent, you would have a very different outlook on life and the value of a Hi-Point for those in a danger environment .

  24. If anyone does get a hi point for home defense, I suggest making it a .45 ACP. Hi Points can have issues with hollow points, so if you can only use FMJ ammo .45 is the best choice. FMJ is also cheaper than hollow points.

  25. I see that we are POTG. We overthink the problem and think all the low income folk who need a gun have our experience and knowledge. Or want our experience or knowledge.

    You live in a crap community and need a gun, NOW, to protect yourself and loved ones. You’ve never used a gun and really don’t care to but you need that gun NOW.

    I see advice to haunt gun shows and pawn shops. Gun shows cost money to attend and even have parking that costs. Here in CA we have gun shows in the Cow Palace which is one of the crap neighberhoods that you need a gun for. But you have a 10 day wait so if you find that magic deal at a gun show you have to make arrangements to pick that gun up at a later date and place. More costs.

    Pawnshops? I don’t know of a single pawn shop within 10 miles of my house that deals in guns.

    9×18? 7.62x38r? If you’re poor enough to consider a hi point as your only real option you’re probably not shopping on line. Which is where you have to be to get those rounds here. And if you do shop online but live in a crap neighborhood in Oakland? It’s against the law to ship ammo to you there.

    Apparently people that have leisure and resources to be commenting on ttag have not experienced real poverty, where a flat tire can be a major disaster financially.

    I did without a car for 2 years after my divorce and I got custody of my sons. 2 years of working 2 full time jobs just to keep from being homeless.

    A hi point would have been welcome in my home then.

    What would not have been welcome would be some internet commando telling me to suck it up, wait a few more months and buy a real gun.

    And the money I was saving for a real gun would go for another of life’s little disasters when you’re poor and you’d still be unarmed.

    • Agreed. We often take for granted what we know.

      If you do not have money it helps to have time. If you do not have the know how then ask dad, grandpa, or the nicest old dude who won’t bite your head off. Big opportunity for old [white – dare I write it] dudes here. Be a listening ear.

      “Now I have a 2 safes overfilled with guns.”

      If you are feeling especially charitable (and it is legal in your state) sell one at a sweet-heart price to potential HP customer 🙂

      But yeah Hi-Points work.

      • I’ve done better than that. I’m an ofwg that has given guns away. I’ve known xtreme poverty. I do not joke when I say I was just a couple of days from being homeless with my kids more than once. I’ve sold blood.

        But I’ve also known good times. I’m in very good times now. I do not forget the bad days. And I try to help when possible.

        I’m not a religious man. But I believe that if you do good things for others, good things will come to you.

  26. In 2003, I wasn’t a gun enthusiast. I was a young father with a new wife and no money. I saved for 4 months to buy a C9 and 2 boxes of hollow point ammo ($152 OTD). I put the first box down the pipe and saved the second box for home use. It served me for 9 years; then . . . I became a gun enthusiast.

  27. There’s something nice about the “Walmart Factor”.

    The ability to walk into a brick and mortar store or chain store and find what you need the first time around without having to research online for a week or mail-order and wait. Thats what Hi-Points have going for them.

    It can be a crapshoot if a gun store has a particular surplus pistol in stock or an inexpensive used gun that fits the budget. The Gun-savvy prowl the stores too and are more then willing to snap up a bargain pistol. While some are willing to roll keep rolling the dice to find that best buy by repeatedly visiting gun stores many just want the gun now. The same people probably aren’t willing to mail-order ammo and aren’t likely to buy a gun that they can’t feed at Walmart.

    Most every gun-store I’ve seen carries some Hi-Point pistol for a low price. All Hi-points come in common calibers. Add in to that their warranty and an initiate to gun-ownership is going for one over a communist surplus pistol that fires a funny bullet and if it breaks is dead (to them).

    Best choice? Maybe not. Bad choice? No.

  29. For the record, I paid $300 for a brace of .45 Hi-Points (with sequential serials, yet!)

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/7g3ymjbuqz99h4p/GEDC0012.JPG?dl=0
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/lupqnj0uvb62bs3/GEDC0015.JPG?dl=0

    At 7 yards, the chest shots were done Lamont Cranston-style, with a roaring .45 in each hand. Then I stopped fooling around and did a Weaver stance for the head shots.

    I have zero reservations about using my JHPs for personal defense, with, of course, the Siamese kitteh as backup. 🙂

  30. I’d trust Taurus long before Hi-Point, and when KY Gun Co. has a sale on the Taurus Millennium G2 for $199.99, the Hi-Point loses it’s bargain edge.

  31. My father had a Hi-Point he bought many years ago. We took it to the range one day a few years ago and the thing jammed once or twice in about 50 rounds. The biggest issue came when he inserted a magazine in to the weapon, the baseplate of the mag shattered causing the spring and all of the ammo to fall out, spilling bullets all over the floor. I took him to a gun show a few weeks later and had him buy a gently used Glock 22. I’ll never in good conscious recommend a Hi Point to anyone.

  32. Having been there Done that with a Hi Point firearm, it will get the Job done, Butt Ugly, Heavy, hard to field strip, with a pinned barrel makes a very accurate Pistol out of the box, Mag release is a little touchy on my gun, as are the Mags themselves
    Sights are there, I have close too 3K rounds through it
    Just a fun gun because I’m not afraid too use it,

  33. i had a first generation of Hi Point 9mm. they were absolute CRAP. the 45’s are quite a bit better i have heard. i have heard that the New Gen of Hi Point 9mm’s are alot better(more reliable). thats good because the one i had couldnt go through even a single magazine with out jamming.

  34. Hi Point is better than nothing. At least when it jams at the range nobody snickers and laughs, like they do when your $1000.00 Kimber jams up.

  36. I agree with the dude in the video. A lot of people will suggest used high quality guns but depending where you live those used “high quality” guns can cost as much as a non used one. Houston being a good example. Most gun stores and pawn shops here charge a premium for any firearm. Houston is essentially, the land of the ffl transfer.

  37. People have a love them or hate them view of Hi Point. They are junk or the best deal in firearms on the planet. I am not a fan of the handguns, bulky, heavy, cumbersome, crappy trigger etc. I do own an ancient 9mm carbine though and love shooting the thing. I bought it several years ago out of a pawn shop for $65. When the new stocks came out I bought one from them for like $35.00. This weekend while shooting it a piece of metal cracked off the slide around the firing pin hole so I called them. They want it back and will replace the broken parts, replace the barrel since it was recrowned a couple years ago, and send me back an extra mag for my troubles. With a warranty service like that on a gun I’m not the first owner of I can’t complain!

Comments are closed.