Hi Point Torture Test

[HiredHand]

I'm sure the Hi Point fans will enjoy this video!

http://www.handgunsmag.com/2011/05/31/trying-to-break-a-hi-point/

 

[Twmaster]

Wow. Poor little Hi-Point..... Got it's ass kicked and still barks!

 

[TMA-1]

Love the video. My Hi-Point is not nearly as pretty as my other pistols, but it's never failed to perform when asked.

 

[nich018]

They are one ugly,but tough gun. Never had a desire to own one. A relative of mine has two of them.

 

[Jeff Freeman]

I think owning a Hi-Point for me would be a torture test.

 

[inactive]

They are one butt ugly, tough gun

Fixed

 

[bencc29]

I would like to see some of the more expensive guns go through the exact same test. Ive never owned a high point and probably never will but i guess they will hold up ok.

 

[Vamoose]

Are Hi-Points the AK47s of hand guns?

 

[been]

they should do this to the carbine

 

[ez bake]

I would like to see some of the more expensive guns go through the exact same test. Ive never owned a high point and probably never will but i guess they will hold up ok.

Several have - there are tons of torture videos on the net for Glocks, M&Ps, XDs, etc. These tests don't really mean much but it makes the average person think "if it can stand up to that, then surely it can stand up to every day use with no jams at all". The true test of a gun is shooting it... a lot.

Guns are mechanical devices, and every single design ever built will fail at a certain point. I've owned HKs, Kahrs, Glocks, M&Ps, rifles of all sorts that have malfunctioned at some point. When it really comes down to it, you're playing with statistics - its not a matter of if, but when.

For Hi-Points, it ultimately boils down to "how much of a guarantee can they give you that their gun won't malfunction within X number of rds with only $150 to cover manufacturing, QC, R&D, Packaging, Sales/distribution, etc.?".

I'm not saying that the opposite is always true either.

Guns that cost a lot more don't always run better (hence the Kimber comments from back when they had external extractors and loads of problems in the early days), but guns that cost a little more and have a reputation for being reliable usually do so from the true test for a gun - hundreds of thousands of rounds put through it and knowing exactly when it will fail. There are only so many civilian gun owners out there so the extreme example of this test comes from military and law enforcement contracts. Documented proof of what thousands of models of your particular gun will do when it has been in service and shot for thousands of rounds is a good thing to have and so far, I don't know of a single large-scale LEO or Mil group using Hi-Points. I also don't know of any competition shooters that endorse them. I've seen folks who run them for fun just to see if they will work, but you don't see a ton of hi-points at pistol matches.

Are Hi-Points the AK47s of hand guns?

No. They appear to have stepped up their QC as of late, but they still haven't been proven as a 100% reliable gun since a lot more of their guns ship with problems - folks that get a good one rave on them, but there are still a lot of complaints about them arriving brand new and not functioning.

The real problem is sifting through all the noise of the haters and fanboys to get actual information on how reliable they are.

I will say this though, you really have to ask yourself "how far do I trust this gun?" and if the answer to that is "I don't know because I've only shot <100rds through it" then you need to shoot it more before forming an opinion on that specific gun.