Hi Point 9mm or .40?????

Question

I am thinking of buying my first handgun, but I do not want to spend a ton. I found the Hi-Point and I think that is the one for me. Perfect price and I read great reviews on it.....except of course some people seem to hate it....but I cant decide on the 9mm or .40 cal. This will be nothing more than for home protection, so my wife will learn to shoot it as well. She is worried about the .40 having too much recoil for her, but I am not sure.

I have shot several handguns, but its been 10 years since I shot last so I cant even remember the difference.

any thoughts??

Answer 1

My first handgun I bought a Smith and Wesson Sigma (first gen) in .40 cal. Yes it was a mistake. First I did not like .40 but did not realize it until after I bought it and second I had nothing but issues after the first month with jamming. Even after having a S&W gunsmith work on it, it still had issues.

I say all this to tell you that cheap is not always better. I know that the Hi-Points are inexpensive but they are not worth the money; especially if its main use is home protection. I would not trust Hi-Point with my life.

As for the .40 caliber...I do not like the snap-like recoil it has. I think 9mm and .45acp are much more smooth.

As for something reliable and inexpensive, look at Taurus. Their Millenium Pros are about 300. Gunbroker.com has great deals on very reliable handguns....

Either way, I hope this helps. In the end it is your choice and I wish you good shooting.

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.as...

Answer 2

.40; It doesnt have much recoil and 9's dont have barely any recoil at all;

-You should really buy a better gun than a Hi-Point, they're cheap guns that jam a lot and get hot real easily. Try a Smith n Wesson, Glock, Kimber, Sig Sauer, Glock, or Berretta. Most of them are expensive but would you rather a cheap gun that ends up malfunctioning when you need it the most or a gun that cost a lot more but does exactly what it's supposed to do?

Answer 3

I would highly recommend looking at the Ruger P95, its a 9mm, holds 15+1, integral rail for mounting a light/laser on it, and you can usually pick one up for about $300 brand new, I had one and it NEVER jammed.  As far as caliber goes, I don't notice any recoil difference at all between them, and I've got both a Ruger P95 9mm and a Glock 23 .40.  I do think the .40 is way overhyped, the only difference you'll notice between the two is when you buy ammo for it, i can almost get twice the ammo for 9mm as .40,  another good choice would be a used revolver preferably a .38 or .357, in a .357 magnum revolver you can shoot .38 specials through it, but NEVER fire .357 mag shells in a .38 revolver, revolvers are the most reliable design, NO auto comes close to the reliability of a revolver.  Go to a gunshow and take $300 with you, and you'll leave with a good gun, just please don't buy a Hi-point, and good luck with your choice.

Answer 4

Ok if I understand you correctly, you are buying this HIpoint, and you are not consedering any other brand.

That said, I will answer as if you were deciding on caliber only.

The .40 is an american round therefore it is described in inch system, as opposed to metric. The .40 cal, is a 10 millimeter bullet. It makes a wound channel 1 millimeter more than the 9 mm.

The .40 was born because military and police sought a weapon system that did more damage than the 9mm, but had the high capacity of a 9mm. Its a balance between the .45 and the 9mm.

At the time of its birth, there were very few high capacity .45s on the market, so it caught on well.

I carry one on and off duty as a police officer, and can tell you that through my training and experience it is not that much better than the 9mm. It is bigger though, and if cost of ammo is not an issue, go with the .40.

Otherwise, know that the 9mm is a devestating caliber, and is widely used all over the world in military and police applications. It is the most popular caliber for sub-guns, and has evolved into a great caliber.

If I only had to buy 1 pistol, and the choice were .40 or 9mm, I would get the 9mm.

OK STOP BOOING!!! The reason I say this, is that no gun is a good gun if you don't make a good shot placment. The 9mm is much cheeper to shoot at the range, and this will give you good skills.

In fact, a .45 cal is cheeper to shoot than the .40. For the record, the .45 is my first choice for an auto, but that is not the parameter of the question.

As far as HI Point is concerned, I have no experence with their pistols. I will say that I do subscribe to GUN TESTS. This is the Consumer Reports of the shooting world(a must have periodical). I recall they had tested HI Point carbines, and found them to be reliable and easy to shoot weapons. They do not have a good fit and finish, but they work great. If this is an indication(and it usually is) of how their pistols are, then I guess its a good buy.

For the record, I would rather see you in a .45 cal in a more popular name such as Springfield Armory, Glock, or even Smith and Wesson . All these are low cost polimer frame striker-fired pistols that require little time and training to master.

Good luck

Answer 5

1st thing - do NOT purchase a Hi-point pistol.  IMHO they are not safe OR reliable.

2nd thing - If it is going to only be for home protection, get a shotgun.  Much more imposing looking to a would be dirtbag and easier to use with less over penetration (you are responsible for all of your rounds down range-even the ones that miss).  If you are set on getting a handgun, get a revolver.  More than likely, this weapon will sit, unused for long periods of time with rounds compressing the magazine spring.  Then when you go to use it, it will jam because that spring doesn't have the power to push the next round into the chamber.  A revolver does not have that problem.  If you pull the trigger and all you hear is 'click' -pull the trigger again and it will cycle a new round into line and fire away.

With fall on the horizon, most of your sports stores are adding new weapons to their shelves and will be having a sale very soon.  You should be able to grab a nice short barreled Scum Stopper fairly inexpensively.  A Mossberg 500 Persuader with a 7 round tubular mag will set you back about $350.  Clamp a flashlight to the magtube and you are all set.  Then sit it in the corner waiting to be called into duty, unless you have kids, then secure it to avoid a possible disaster.

Answer 6

I see all the HI-Point bashers are here today! I own a C-9 and a 40 S&W Hi-Point and have never had a single problem with either. The 9mm has alittle less recoil but the 40 will have alot more stopping power. It's all a matter of what you think you need. Each caliber has it's own good and bad points but for home protection I would go with the 40. I think your wife can handle the recoil just fine! And by the way I do own more expensive guns then the Hi-Points but still consider them good weapons.

Answer 7

Any thoughts??  Sure, don't buy a Hi-Point!!  Isn't your family's safety worth more than a couple hundred dollars?  Hi-Points are cheap guns with a good warrantee.  But what good is a lifetime warrantee if the owner gets killed because his POS Hi-Point jammed when he needed it most!

For a couple hundred more you can get yourself a really nice Ruger P-series pistol, or a good revolver.  Either would be immesurably better than a Hi-Point.

(Now if you had asked about the Hi-Point for plinking purposes only, I would tell you to go for it!  Get the 9mm because it is cheap to feed and easy to shoot.  It is not however a gun you should bet your life on.)

Answer 8

Hi-point handguns have notoriously bad quality and ergonomics. I would spend $200 more and get a Taurus 24/7 in 9mm.

Answer 9

neither get a glock

Answer 10

I would get .40. It's recoil isn't bad. I personally don't like 9mm. If a high point is all you can afford then I guess go for it. But I would get somthing of higher quality.

Hi-points are cheap and were not meant to last. But they do have an unlimited lifetime warranty so after it breaks down 4 or 5 times and has to be replaced for free by them I guess it's ok.

Personally I have a sigma. It's kina like a hi-point as to the only people that ***** about them are usually those whom have never owned one.