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@zrozulu asked this in the general firearms section.
I see this come up a lot here and other places. So I thought I would share some of my limited knowledge on the BHP with the forum. I hope this helps someone looking to purchase one or learn more about them. I am not a BHP expert by any means but I own over 12 currently and another 5-7+ have come in and out of the collection over the years. I love to shoot them and love the history and the story behind the gun. Many attribute the design to JMB which is only partially true. He did design a gun based on Saive's 13 round double stack mag but it is not the gun we shoot today. This is JMBs last pistol patent. It was known as the Grand Rendement.
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Dieudonné Saive who was the lead designer at FN Herstal, designer of the FN FAL, refined and completed the pistol we call the Grande Puissance, Browning High Power, Browning Hi Power, P35 etc... after JMB died. IMHO it is more Saive than Browning but that is a discussion for another thread. FN named the pistol after Browning out of respect for JMB who they referred to as "le Maitre”, The Master and because of the huge marketing power the JMB named had at the time. Some people incorrectly list Saive as JMBs assistant at FN Herstal but this was not the case. JMB was not a FN Herstal employee he was a contractor.
The BHP has been discontinued by FN Herstal. Since that announcement prices have moved upwards. The old take back has driven up prices but that does not mean you should overpay IMHO. Another factor is that the surplus market is drying up which used to be the best source for quality used BHPs. Today the range for stock BHPs runs from $450-$2000+ depending on a lot of factors. $450 represents surplus guns which have been road hard and put away wet. The over $2,000 range is getting into collector guns some of which are very limited production variants which have high collector appeal but are not necessarily better shooters. Some people pay a premium for one vs the other. The reasons for this are somewhat based in fact and somewhat based in myth. In really broad strokes I breakdown BHPS into 5ish distinct variations. Within each of these there are subset which make one pistol more or less unique and therefore more or less valuable to some people. The 5 variants are as follows:
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I see this come up a lot here and other places. So I thought I would share some of my limited knowledge on the BHP with the forum. I hope this helps someone looking to purchase one or learn more about them. I am not a BHP expert by any means but I own over 12 currently and another 5-7+ have come in and out of the collection over the years. I love to shoot them and love the history and the story behind the gun. Many attribute the design to JMB which is only partially true. He did design a gun based on Saive's 13 round double stack mag but it is not the gun we shoot today. This is JMBs last pistol patent. It was known as the Grand Rendement.
Dieudonné Saive who was the lead designer at FN Herstal, designer of the FN FAL, refined and completed the pistol we call the Grande Puissance, Browning High Power, Browning Hi Power, P35 etc... after JMB died. IMHO it is more Saive than Browning but that is a discussion for another thread. FN named the pistol after Browning out of respect for JMB who they referred to as "le Maitre”, The Master and because of the huge marketing power the JMB named had at the time. Some people incorrectly list Saive as JMBs assistant at FN Herstal but this was not the case. JMB was not a FN Herstal employee he was a contractor.
The BHP has been discontinued by FN Herstal. Since that announcement prices have moved upwards. The old take back has driven up prices but that does not mean you should overpay IMHO. Another factor is that the surplus market is drying up which used to be the best source for quality used BHPs. Today the range for stock BHPs runs from $450-$2000+ depending on a lot of factors. $450 represents surplus guns which have been road hard and put away wet. The over $2,000 range is getting into collector guns some of which are very limited production variants which have high collector appeal but are not necessarily better shooters. Some people pay a premium for one vs the other. The reasons for this are somewhat based in fact and somewhat based in myth. In really broad strokes I breakdown BHPS into 5ish distinct variations. Within each of these there are subset which make one pistol more or less unique and therefore more or less valuable to some people. The 5 variants are as follows:
- Internal extractor guns which broadly covers all BHP up to about 1962. There is some over lap and you may find some internal extractor guns with date codes after 1962 but that is the generally accepted data. There are many variants and many configurations under this broad heading but all of them have the internal extractor design. The thumb print on the original design was removed in the 1959-1960 range. The internal extractor is no longer made by FN and has a reputation for breaking which some site as the reason for the production change but cost to manufacture the part and assemble the part contributed to the change. I do not recommend these as heavy shooters. They are the most "fragile" of the BHPs IMHO. It is not that they cannot be shot but the parts availability along with the softer forgings can be a issue with high round counts. The guns in the right condition get the some of the highest prices especially the tangent models with shoulder stock. These guns are in the collector range so prices swing wildly. Any internal extractor gun should be priced based on condition, authenticity, vintage and verification of correct date codes. My advice with these is be careful if you don't know what you are looking at.
- The T series which is the first external extractor BHP. As others have noted many people consider these post WWII guns to be the best of the BHP in terms of fit and finish. The T was added to BHP serial numbers as an inventory code and accounting designation. Early Ts might have the older rust bluing but most guns by 1962-1963 get salt bluing which was a cost saving measure. Oddly this process created a deeper darker blue-black finish which is one of the things coveted about the T series. The real difference in the T series bluing compared to those that followed is that they were the last BHPs to be hand polished. They also received a lot of hand fitting which ended in 1970 when the polishing was done by machine. They still have the smaller half moon sights and original nub thumb safety. Some have tangent or adjustable sights. They make great shooters but many people are buying them for collector value. They also are one of the few frames that can be checkered by people like Mr. Yost because of the location of the serial number on the frame below the ejection port vs the front strap found on later BHPs. People pay premium for these guns. It is rare to see one sell for less than $800 and many go as high a $1,5000+ if they appear to be unshot and have all the accessories like original mags and the black leather pouch.
- The C series comes next. The general accepted dates for the C series is 1970 but there are many C series guns that have a 1969 date code with a serial number placement identical to the T series. Most C series guns after 1970-1971 have the frame serial number placed on the front grip strap. The Ring hammer was replaced by a Spur hammer by 1970. You will see some C69s with ring hammers. By 1970 the bluing and the polishing of the BHP has moved to a high automated process. Some people consider them a step down from the T. Except for the spur hammer, the bluing, polishing, a serial number change the C series is identical to the T. The C was simply another inventory designation change. When FN introduced the C series they serial number contains the date of production. The first 2 numbers following the C are the year of production of the frame. These are excellent guns and are typically cheaper than T series. They came in fixed sights, adjustable and tangent sight models. If you are lucky you can find one in the $600 range but most good examples are going to cost $700-$1000 with some variants pushing higher.
- In 1975 the C series naming convention is replaced by a machine engraved 2 letter date code system. The first 3 numbers are the model number and the the two letters which are the date code. You can refer to the late Mr Camps sight for the coding system. Somewhere in this timeframe from 1973-1980 the final assembly production of the BHP moved to Portugal. Guns were not marked "Made in Portugal" until the 1980s but there are indications that production was moved before the roll marked changed. These 2 letter date code guns after 1975-1981 are essentially C series guns without the C series serial number. No other changes were made in their production. These guns are generally priced lower than true C series guns. $600-$900 depending on condition and configuration.
