Did browning have a stainless or chrome hi power in 1967

[skp137]

I am looking into trading my gun for a stainless 1967 hi power. I don't know if it is a washed gun aka bluing taken off or if it's really authentic. Please help.. some people say browning didn't start making stainless until the 70's and if that is the case this is no a real stainless.
My last question is what price is a fair price for one? I have always wanted one but has always alluded me.

[ron]

I am looking into trading my gun for a stainless 1967 hi power. I don't know if it is a washed gun aka bluing taken off or if it's really authentic. Please help.. some people say browning didn't start making stainless until the 70's and if that is the case this is no a real stainless.
My last question is what price is a fair price for one? I have always wanted one but has always alluded me.

Another possibility is Nickel. But Nickel looks more Yellowish than chrome or stainless which looks more white than nickel and hard chrome is a very dull white. So if it's been chrome plated, it will likely have a high-gloss finish and the same thing if it's nickeled, unless it's electroless nickel which will have a satin finish but will be more yellow in color than chrome. If it's "in the white", meaning that the bluing has been removed, and then the gun was polished or given a brushed finish, that isn't good because it will need to be refinished or it will soon discolor.

I think that should be your main concern. If it has a chrome or nickel finish that is not original to the gun I don't think that effects the value of the gun very much. But if it's in the white you will need to spend another hundred or so finishing it and Firearms finishing can either do a satin or high gloss blue or parkerized if you like the military look which I do. High Powers are not cheap and it's hard to fine ANY Hi-power for under $600 bucks. My advice is to looks at some of the gun auction sites and see what they're going for, but keep in mind that starting bids are sometimes low and go up from there so try to focus on what they are actually selling for. On gunbroker, sometimes they will list a "Buy now at:" price

Like you, I have always wanted one but didn't get one for a long time but now I'm glad I did. Last year I got an Israeli police surplus P-35 FN Hi-power from AIM surplus made in the mid seventies for a little over $500 total price and then paid another hundred or so to have it parkerized and have a trigger job done on it by Firearms Finishing and it looks beautiful and is a joy to shoot. I also got a 15 round Mec-gar magazine for it and it works perfectly and mec-gar is currently making magazines for new Browning HP's.

And the thing about a Hi-power is the ergonomics. the pistol fits just about everyone's hand like it was made for it and has a perfect balance. CZ copied the browning grip shape with the CZ75 and that's what makes those guns great as well. Here are some websites to view for comparing prices. but just to give you an AVERAGE ballpark figure they sell for around $600-900 and up for FN Hi-powers and not much less for those that are stamped assembled in Portugal. And as with any gun, everything depends on condition, with or without box or accessories, etc. The one I'd realty like to get is the one that they made in 40 caliber and I found one on GunsAmerica for $700 in the original box which is an incredible deal but I don't have the money right now. I just checked again (10/21) and it's still there, Dammit! A lot of people don't like the 40 caliber but I like it just fine.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/983650906/B ... 40-S-W.htm


Here is that same website, (GunsAmerica) and a couple of others to give you an idea of what these guns go for:

https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.htm?C=106

http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-f ... cat_id=134

http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx?Ke ... +power+9mm

And here is a website that states that no stainless guns were ever made by Browning but that they did make some in electroless nickel and hard chrome.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/stai ... powers.htm

[skp137]

Thank you Ron, as always you are a wealth of knowledge. I have a call into the browning historian.
Thanks again.

[UpInIdaho]

Hopefully you got the info you needed from Browning, but there were definitely whiteish silver colored finished Browning's in 1967 and before. They look kind of like a gun in the white before bluing. They weren't stainless, but some kind of chrome or satin nickel. The Renaissance pistols, including the sets have that finish, but they are also engraved. I still have one of the .25's in silver colored finish that's pre 1968.

Regardless, please don't even think about getting it refinished until you find out for sure what you have.