I have talked to several people who do not like the hi-point pistols, ironically, none of them actually owned one. Everyone I talk to that has one seems to like it. Granted its no Kimber, Glock or Sig, but have been told their quality has improved over the last couple years.
Does anyone here own one, and if so...what is your opinion of it? Are they truly the junk most people make them out to be, or are they a relatively decent handgun for the money? Your opinions please. Thank you.

Cons: Ugly, pain to field strip, safety lever is a joke, heavy, low capacity single stack magazine for the size of the pistol, horrible trigger.

Pros: Cheap, Accurate, goes bang every time, cheap, low recoil due to weight, sights are okay...and did I say cheap.

My brother and I both own a C9. Fun for plinking at the range. I wouldn't trust my life to it. They are American Made with a lifetime warranty. Good range gun for someone on a tight budget.

Ugly, heavy but work probably more reliablely than some more expensive pistols.

I had a couple last summer, and even tried out the 995ts carbine. I think I held on to the carbine the longest, about three weeks. I got them all lightly used. I paid about $100 for the pistols and traded a Maverick 88 20 gauge for the carbine.

They are reliable, have good customer service, and are extremely affordable. There is also a forum dedicated to all things HP.

OTOH, the trigger is absolute crap. My other complaint is that the ergonomics do not fit my well at all.

For me, there just wasn't enough redeeming qualities to make me keep them around. I never missed 'em and have turned down several others since.

Do they still have those cheap looking and feeling cast slides?

I had one a LONG time ago.

For about a weekend.

If they fall off the boat the carbines would probably float.

My brother has a .45 acp and has never had a problem with it. It is HEAVY. So heavy that my 9 yr old can shoot it with no problem. If all else fails you could use it to beat someone to death. I just picked up a glock 21 and love it!

If you find a good deal of one (these days under $150) its probably a safe buy. They are reliable, and shoot well. Lots of cons too, but for $150, the cons dont mean as much.

Had a 40 cal , first semi auto i owned rode two years in the truck boat tractor etc ran thousands of rounds of ammo very reliable , comfortable to shoot fairly accurate . Tried to clean it , ended up having to send it back lost parts . The were awesome had the pistol back to me less than a week , cleaned re assembled and with a free mag, very easy to deal with . ended up giving to a friend for a house gun in Houston , I bet that gun has had 5k plus rounds put through it .

I have two buddies that own the carbines and they both claim for the money they ain't half bad.

I have on in .40. Ugly and not all that comfortable, but it's seen a lot of rounds and abuse and I've never had a problem with it. I use it as a truck gun because it's reliable when I need it and it wouldn't break me if someone broke in and stole it.

The carbines are not bad at all. Had it not been for the trigger, I might have kept it just for fun. It shot pretty well out to 75 yards or so, and it never had any kind of failure.

To be fair. I thought I really wanted a "pistol caliber carbine = PCC" at the time. I ended up trading into a Beretta CX4 carbine that cost a bit over twice as much as the HP. The trigger on the Beretta was worse! I liked handling the Beretta, hated shooting it.

These two statements are contradictory. If it is reliable, as in "goes bang every time" then why would you not trust your life to it?

I don't own a Hi-Point, and have never shot one, so I can not give an opinion either way. I can see that one may say that it is too heavy, or too bulky for daily concealed carry, but to say that you wouldn't trust a firearm that you deemed as reliable doesn't make sense to me.

When it does feed reliably, which is MOST of the time, it does go bang when you pull the trigger. I wouldn't trust my life to it for a couple of reasons that I stated in the same post:
-Neither mine, nor my brother's, has been 100% reliable...unlike some other pistols I have (XD). We've both had some failures to go completely into battery and have to bump the back of the slide to get the round to fully seat in the chamber. This is not common, but happens often enough for me to choose something else to trust my life to.
- The safety lever is loose and I have concerns that it would be easily pushed out of the safe position. Not really a huge issue, since my finger is the only true safety...but an issue all the same.
- You need a punch, hammer, and both hands to field strip it. If something were to go wrong with it and I needed to field strip in a hurry (say I needed to clear the barrel of dirt or something) this would not be an easy task. There are much better options out there.

None of these things are huge deals in themselves. All together though, and the fact that I can afford a nicer weapon, are why I wouldn't trust my life to it.

I had a pistol stolen from my vehicle and replaced it with a used hi-point 9mm. It's sort of like a really ugly baby; you come to love it but you don't want anyone to see it.

Seriously, it's butt ugly - the ugliest firearm I've ever seen. It's ergonomic in the same way that a medicine ball, a 2x4 stud or a sack of cement is. I can fit more rounds in my Glock 21.

That said, it actually shoots pretty well. The trigger isn't going to make your toes curl in ecstacy, but if you can shoot a Glock you can shoot a Hi-Point.

If you're looking for a daily carry weapon or a primary sidearm, then you're not looking for a Hi-Point.

If you're looking for a pistol with A+ functionality and F- aesthetics for very little money, then you're looking for a Hi-Point.

Only buy used Hi-Points. If you buy a used one and find that it doesn't work, send it back to Hi-Point and they will probably do some warranty work on it (which usually means "send you a new one")

All of their pistols are straight blowback operated, which is partly why they are so ugly. The slide must have a lot of inertial mass to keep the chamber locked until the round has left the barrel. It also means that your hi-point will like some ammunition better than others. You may need hi-impulse ammunition to, for example, get the slide to travel back far enough to reliably strip a round from the magazine and have enough momentum to drive it all the way into battery.

I've been wondering about this. When I was shopping for a 45, Gunbroker had a lot of them for $150.00.

Yep This ^ Mines a truck gun for the lease. Carry it at the lease and don't care if it gets banged up. If it does I send it back and they fix it up or replace it. And send you a free mag "for your trouble."

When I received this carbine I went out to the pasture, set up a target and unpacked the gun. I made sure the barrel was clear of grease (carbine was a bit oily), loaded one mag with various brands of ammo and blazed away. No problems whatsoever. I have owned HP carbines in all calibers and have found them to be extremely reliable and pretty dang accurate. I have never handled one of their pistols though.

Pretty/ugly doesn't figure into my demands for a firearm. I want something that is reliable and accurate.

This my 9mm with a muzzle brake I made, it's just for looks now, Since I'm using 147 gr. with less powder it hardly has any recoil at all. Both 45 acp and 995 have done well with no complaints

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen. I was looking for something to keep in my truck console between the seats. It wouldn't be a chl gun, strictly a "truck gun". I am not too worried about aesthetics, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't a gun that would misfire or fail to eject if ever called upon. I think for the price I may give it a shot. Again, your opinions are greatly appreciated.

I think it would make a decent truck gun. .45acp would be the way I'd go if I were ever getting another.

Every so often you'll find someone selling a hi-point for $50-$80. It usually means that they haven't read this:

"The Hi-Point of Service:
Damage, age, and plain old wear and tear - these things happen. When they do, Hi-Point customers enjoy a lifetime, no questions asked warranty. And lifetime means just that - free repairs for the life of the gun, whether you are the first owner, or the third. That service is fast, friendly and expertly performed. Your Hi-Point will be back in action, good as new, in no time.

Please take a look at our selection of affordable, reliable handguns and carbines. Whether you’re a target shooter, varmint hunter or anything in between, there’s a Hi-Point semi-automatic that’s perfect for you.

For more information on Hi-Point firearms, visit the Hi-Point Forum."

I ended up buying the .45. Was $223 with additional Hogue grips and extra magazine.

I bought a 9mm and have put about 200 rounds through it with no problems. I dont see what people have against them.

I love my c9. Cheap and fun to shoot. Hundreds of rounds through it and has never jammed. Heavy, ugly and takes a beating in my mule. Never had a problem in 9 years.