Browning Hi-Power

The Browning Hi Power is a single-action, semi-automatic handgun available in the 9mm and .40 S&W calibers. The Hi Power name alludes to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of contemporary designs. The pistol is often referred to as an HP (for "Hi-Power" or "High-Power"), GP (for the French term, "Grande Puissance") BAP (Browning Automatic Pistol) or BHP (Browning High-Power). The terms P-35 and HP-35 are also used, based on the introduction of the pistol in 1935. The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols in history.

1933

 * Whenever I hear of culture, I reach for my Browning!
 * From the play Schlageter by Hanns Johst, (Act 1, Scene 1)

1996

 * ...having entered the school with 4 handguns and 743 rounds of ammunition, Thomas Hamilton fired 105 rounds with a 9 mm Browning self-loading pistol over a space of about 3-4 minutes before committing suicide with one shot from a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver....Thomas Hamilton had with him two 9 mm Browning self-loading (or semi-automatic) pistols and two .357 Smith & Wesson revolvers....As regards the pistols, Thomas Hamilton had used one of them in order to fire all of his shots at his victims.... The examination of the scene showed that Thomas Hamilton had fired 105 rounds of 9 mm ammunition by means of pistol A. He had with him 25 extended box-type magazines, each of which was capable of holding 20 rounds of 9 mm ammunition and suitable for use with either pistol. (The standard magazine for such pistols was capable of holding 13 cartridges.)...I have no doubt that if Thomas Hamilton had chosen to do so he could have killed every person in the gym....Thomas Hamilton then re-entered the gym where he shot again. He then released the pistol and drew a revolver. He placed the muzzle of the revolver in his mouth, pointing upwards and pulled the trigger. His death followed quickly. Mrs Mayor and 15 children lay dead in the gym and one further child was close to death. They had sustained a total of 58 gun shot wounds. 26 of these wounds were of such a nature that individually they would have proved fatal.

2000

 * ...in just a few months, a petition drive throughout their nation collected 705,000 signatures urging that handguns, already tightly restricted, be outlawed entirely. The Snowdrop campaign was named for the tiny, fragile flower that is the only bloom in season in Scotland during March. It faced opposition, certainly, with some members of Parliament arguing in part that a ban would prevent Britons from participating in shooting competitions. But less than 18 months later, the government prohibited the possession of all handguns in Britain. The law is one of the strictest gun-control measures in the world.... Each was but 5 years old that Wednesday morning when Thomas Hamilton, 43, walked into their school. The former Scout leader bore grudges in abundance, and he felt most slighted by townspeople he thought had hampered his efforts to run local boys clubs. In the gymnasium he found 29 pupils. In mere minutes, with two Browning semiautomatic pistols for which he held legal licenses, he fired 105 rounds. Only one child was not hit. Ultimately, 12 lived. Hamilton committed suicide.

2004

 * “He’s an artist,” she said calmly. “I’ve dealt with the type before, and recently. Like the bad guy said, never give an artist a Browning; they’re some of the most dangerous folks you can meet. The Festival fringe—shit! Artists almost always want an audience, the spectacle of destruction.”
 * Charles Stross, Iron Sunrise (2004), Chapter 2, “Out of the Frying Pan” (p. 47)

2007

 * [Michael and Fiona are in their car being chased by cops.] Michael: Do you have guns in the trunk, Fi?! Fiona: A few semi-automatics, yeah. I got a deal, Michael. This guy was selling Browning 9mms for 200 bucks a piece. Michael: You have unregistered weapons in a stolen car, Fi!
 * Burn Notice (TV series), episode Broken Rules


 * Mike: What’s happening, Buffer? Buffer: They’re still looking for a tube, sir. Mike: [Looks thoughtful.] Tell X she’s got a pistol. Use it. Buffer: You want him to shoot her? Mike: Tell X to break down her Browning, remove the 9-millimetre barrel, use it as a tube. Over. Buffer: Got it.
 * Sea Patrol, episode Welcome Aboard (series premier)

2010

 * Jim Moriarty: [Enters through a side door] I gave you my number. I thought you might call. Is that a British Army Browning L9A1 in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me? Sherlock: [Draws the gun, points it at Moriarty] Both.
 * Sherlock (TV series), episode The Great Game, August 8, 2010.

2013

 * ...43-year-old Thomas Hamilton entered the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland at 9:35 a.m. on March 13, 1996, using Browning pistols and Smith & Wesson revolvers to kill 15 children and their teacher.... Parliament responded with sweeping new bans.... The national outcry after the Dunblane shooting in 1996, however, sparked a far more sweeping ban. In the 1997 Firearms Act, private citizens were virtually barred from owning most types of handguns.

2016

 * Snowdrops are in bloom this weekend as Dunblane shakes off its winter chill and looks ahead to spring. But in this Scottish town, the carpet of while petals marks not just a new season but also the anniversary of a school shooting that led to an immediate change in gun laws. Twenty years ago this Sunday, a local gun owner walked into the town’s elementary school and fatally shot 16 first-graders and their teacher before killing himself. Pictures of anguished parents running through the streets for news of their children deepened public outrage, and a crusade to tighten controls — led by townspeople and victims’ families — won widespread support. The "Snowdrop Campaign," which took its name from the only spring flower in bloom at the time of the massacre, resulted in a ban on all private hand-guns.... The Dunblane shooter, unemployed 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton, was the legal owner of all four handguns used in the attack: two Browning pistols and two Smith & Wesson revolvers. However, the police firearms-licensing office was unaware that complaints had been made about Hamilton's behavior towards young boys at after-school clubs that he ran. The Snowdrop Campaign successfully argued for deeper background checks of firearm certificate applicants.


 * Just after 9.30am on 13 March, 1996, a local former Scout leader, Thomas Hamilton, drove into Dunblane Primary’s car park, got out of his van, and tried to block the phone lines of the school by cutting cables on a telegraph pole. He entered the north-west side of the school, which gave access to the gym and the main hall, carrying four handguns – two Browning pistols and two Smith & Wesson .357 Magnums. He had 743 rounds of ammunition, enough to wipe out the entire school. Dressed in black, with holsters strapped to his body and wearing two body pouches, his ears were protected by specialist muffs familiar to anyone who frequents gun clubs. When Hamilton went back inside the gym, he dropped the gun he was using and selected the Smith & Wesson. He put the barrel in his mouth and fired. He was blown off his feet, and landed surrounded by a pool of blood. Hamilton had used his Browning pistol 105 times; 17 people were dead, 32 sustained gunshot wounds, all under just four minutes. The 106th bullet was for himself.... The political fall-out was substantial. John Major’s government reacted quickly by promising a nationwide gun amnesty, with orders to Lord Cullen to set up a judicial inquiry and “report as soon as practicable”. Dunblane’s grieving parents could have retreated from the front line, and no one would have blamed them for doing so. But there was no retreat, only defiance and a determination to ban private gun ownership, and ensure no other parent would witness the slaughter of innocents.... The Firearms (Amendment) Act was passed in 1997, with another stronger version passed later the same year.


 * Timeline of shooting: Wednesday 13 March, 1996 8:15am: Thomas Hamilton leaves home in Stirling, five miles from Dunblane Primary School. 9:30am: He parks his van at the school and cuts telephone wires. 9:35am to 9:40am: Entering the school, armed with four handguns and 743 rounds, he fires into the Assembly Hall and girls’ toilet. In the gym, where 28 five and six-year-olds, are waiting for their PE lesson to start, he opens fire with a 9mm Browning self-loading pistol. Gwen Mayor, teacher of the Primary 1 class, dies instantly. Two other teachers are seriously injured but make their way into a store room, with several children. Hamilton fires 29 shots, killing one child and injuring others. At one point he stands over a group of cowering children and fires 16 shots at point-blank range. After leaving the gym and firing into a classroom, Hamilton – who fired a total of 105 shots in around three minutes – re-enters the scene of slaughter where he drops his pistol and takes out a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, puts it into his mouth and kills himself.

2018

 * The Hi Power was in many ways the Glock of its day. Easy to disassemble and with a large magazine capacity, the Hi Power was a leap ahead from contemporary gun designs when it was first introduced in 1935. The Hi Power used many features in Browning’s other famous pistol, the 1911A1 but showed considerable refinement, including such features as a twin-row, double-stack magazine that accommodated 13 rounds of nine-millimeter ammunition. That was up to twice as much ammo as other semiautomatic pistols and is where the pistol gets the name "Hi Power". The Hi Power was eventually outclassed by other handguns in its class such as the Glock 17, Sig Sauer P226, and Smith & Wesson M&P, that offered modern features at a lower price point. Unusually, the Hi Power was never updated with modern features such as an accessory rail, night sights, and the use of polymers. John Browning’s last pistol stayed true to form until the very end.