Hi All, I am new here; have just posted in the New Member Welcome area. (Greetings from the Netherlands) The Hi Power I have recently agreed to purchase is in very nice condition.... This gun has a four digit SN, but finding information about the year of manufacture is difficult. Must be before 1945, since the shoulder stock was discontinued during WWII? (Not sure if the shoulder stock is matched to the gun.) I would welcome any and all feedback from you experts out there.... Many thanks!
Hello and welcome. While I own a Hi Power I’m not an expert. And though I knew that Inglis of Canada made the pistols with stock holsters, I wasn’t aware that FN did. The only book I’m aware of covers all the FN pistols. Unfortunately shipping to Europe is very expensive, and there’s a chance it won’t cover what you need to know. https://www.fnbrowning.com/fn-browning-pistols
Followed your link to the site- looks great! I also have an FN 1910 and 1922; I can order it from a large bookstore here in Venlo. Many thanks! Do you know anyting about any correlation of the Browning 4-digit serial numbers with the year of manufacture?
This is my most used reference. Unfortunately, as far as Hi Powers are concerned, there’s nothing before 1955. Hope the book helps. http://www.nramuseum.org/media/940941/serialization-date of manufacture.pdf
Serial numbers are often not helpful as they were re-used at different time. Detailed photos of the entire gun, including the sights and any proof marks on different parts may help to determine an approximate date of manufacture and assembly. Plus... I'm sure we'd all enjoy seeing pictures of your High Power! My favorite books for High Power info are 'The Browning High Power Automatic Pistol' by R. Blake Stevens, and 'FN Browning Pistols' by Anthony Vanderlinden. Both offer different clues. I look forward to seeing your pictures!
Many thanks!! I still don't have the gun yet- (have to go through Dutch documentation), but I am going again to the owner to take some more photos. I'll check out these books at our local bookstore- they can order in from the US with no problem.
A four digit serial number could be 1935 or 1936, if Belgian Army proofed and depending upon how tangent rear sight is cut it may have been issued with a stock. The Belgian stock is a flat board with a leather holster attached, the Inglis uses a wood stock hollowed out so the pistol fits inside. In order to determine what your pistol is make good clear closeup photos of all markings and a side shot of the tangent rear sight. FN would repeat or make duplicate serial numbers depending upon the request of the ordering entity so for the older pistols a serial number is not necessarily going to reveal year of manufacture.
It didn’t occur to me until now that if FN made, there should be a date code on it. That’s assuming it was made before the Nazis took over production. The date codes can be found here: http://shotguns.se/html/belgium.html
I also have a Browning High Power with a 4-digit serial umber. It's a 'capture' that Legacy Collectibles states was made in 1944, with Waffenamt markings.
Gator, Yes you have a four digit number but it also has a suffix as part of the total. The Nazis used blocks of numbers and then repeated them only the letter would be different. Nice pistol the Nazi marked firearms are becoming increasingly collectible.
Apologies for posting a picture of the gun with a new, Browning 10-round magazine...I was afraid that a Peoples Republic of California SWAT team might break down my door looking for the original 13-round mag.
Many thanks for all your replies- am still waiting for Dutch documentation and licensing to go through, won't be for about 2 months I'm guessing. Here in NL, one can have a shooting license (5 firearms max) and also a collector's license (number of weapons is unlimited) Getting the collector's license is quite time consuming- but I'm in the later stages of that process As soon as I obtain that firearm, I will post a few photos. For more information on the gun ownership laws here in the Netherlands, here's a link: Ownershp of Firearms in the Netherlands: in the Luger Forum: "General Discussions" ( Thread first posted on 11.23.2016) http://www.lugerforum.com/
