By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2023
FABRIQUE NATIONALE
Founded in 1889, FN Herstal originated in the small city of Herstal, near Liège, Belgium. Fabrique Nationale was started by a group of Belgian investors to manufacture 150,000 Mauser Model 89 rifles for the Belgian army. The force behind the new company was Henri Pieper of the Belgian arms manufacturer Anciens Etablissements Pieper, the new company’s largest shareholder.
Another key player in the Fabrique Nationale story was John Browning. In 1898, Browning had a fallout with the Winchester company regarding his new autoloading shotgun design, the A5. Winchester wanted to give Browning the regular one-time single fee payment for the rights to the A5, while Browning wanted royalties based on unit sales.
Browning signed a deal with FN to produce the new A5 design, and Browning moved to Belgium to work with FN. Browning would go on to design several firearms for FN and passed away working at his bench while working on the FN Hi-Power design. Browning’s protégé, Dieudonné Saive, finished the creation of the Hi-Power for FN.
THE GIRSAN HIGH POWER MC P35
Turkish Firearms manufacturer Girsan was founded in 1993 in Giresun, Turkey, and has produced quality firearms for police and military units. They teamed up with Florida-based firearms importer European American Armory (EAA) and brought the EAA Girsan MC P35 Hi-Power variant to America.
Girsan Firearms is ISO 9001 certified, and their homage to John Browning & his Fabrique Nationale (FN) protégé Dieudonné Saive’s iconic design is manufactured to the highest standards.
THE FRAME
4140 chrome moly steel with a Cerakote finish is fully machined from a forging.
The short recoil barrel and the slide allow for quick follow-up shots, getting you on target faster, and the traditional slim trigger allows for a short trigger reset.
Other features include a serrated ring hammer for less hammer bite, an external extractor, ambidextrous safety, and magazine disconnect safety.
THE SLIDE & BARREL
The slide is milled from cold-drawn bar stock 4140 chrome moly steel with a Cerakote finish. The barrel is a high polish carbon steel, with a six groove, 1:9.84 inch, right-hand twist rifling.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Short Recoil, Hammer-Fired, Semi-Automatic
Caliber: 9mm
Magazine Capacity: 15 Rounds
Sights: Square Notch Rear, White Ramp Front
Barrel Length: 4.87 Inches
Overall Length: 7.75 Inches
Width: 1.29 Inches
Weight: 1.8 Pounds
MSRP: $567
URL: www.eaacorp.com
THE VERDICT
A well-made Hi-Power variant at a great price point. New high-power copies are twice this price, so if you’ve always wanted a Hi-Power, this is your chance.
EAA and Girsan also offer versions with red dot sights and other high-speed accessories.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, Soldier of Fortune, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Off Grid, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected]