I have shooting High Powers and I have collectible High Powers. The HP lends itself to both of these categories.

Here are poor photos of my collectible HPs, the first being a pic supplied to me by the seller of this pistol, the second being a quick pic for insurance purposes.

R. Blake Stevens in his book The Browning High Power Automatic Pistol states that Browning Arms Company begagn importing High Powers in late 1954, at around serial number 70000.

My early Browning import has a serial number just above 70000. Even with the poor snapshot of this pistol, the lustrous beauty of the finish comes through. These early Browning imports were merely standard military examples with different slide markings.




Stevens' comment on the early Browning imports





Next is a very late T-Series

Never fired and I don’t think the action has ever been cycled.

Well, damn, man, don't be a fanatic about it. Field strip and lubricate that pistol.

I bought an Israeli HP for $400 or $425. The Star of David was shown to be well-stamped in the online pictures. That was a fortuitous choice as the gun is extremely accurate. The grips are mismatched black plastic. The finish is not as nice the blued. The safety is positive. IIIRC, I bought nice wood grips, which are in a box. The gun has been used at one or more USPSA matches. Overall, I am feeling lucky to be the caretaker of this icon of pistols.

I bought this one 25 years ago today- December 31, 1999.

The word has just gotten out on the internet that Browning intended to discontinue importation of the High Power- a perfect excuse to buy another one.

1995 production MkIIIS. FN was using cast frames by that time.

Shown wearing a set of Craig Spegel Delrin grip panels. This one remains unfired.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Well, damn, man, don't be a fanatic about it. Field strip and lubricate that pistol.

You’ve talked me into it! I looked up the serial number and it’s a 1988 manufacture, doesn’t seem like there’s anything special other than the fact it’s unfired. So I’ve decided I’m gonna shoot it, because I damn sure ain’t getting rid of it.

Yes, you can see the serial number in your pic, with a '245PP' prefix.

245 was the code for a Sport Model. 215 was the code for a military version. PP = 88 for 1988. Yours is a MkII, as indicated by the annular bushing at the muzzle, just barely visible in your pic. The MkII was made from 1982 to early 1988. The MkIII was introduced in 1988 and was superseded shortly thereafter by the MkIIIS, the 'S' indicating the incorporation of a firing pin safety into the design.



Here's my 1990 production MkIIIS, the last of the forged frames. This is my HP shooter. I've considered getting the frame HC'd because the grip straps are missing a lot of bluing, but the pistol functions so well and the action of the slide against the frame is glass-smooth, I just don't want to change the dimensions of the frame rails, not even that little tiny bit.

Shown with a MecGar 20 round magazine

Para, you are indeed a wealth of knowledge. I’ve got a couple more to post later that you’ll be interested in, and will probably know a bit about them.