Both Tam and Kevin made me remember that I actually own a 9mm Hi-Point carbine, which I acquired early on in my gun owning days, and have hardly shot since. It’s actually pretty reliable, but the ergonomics of the gun are atrocious, and it does, unfortunately, seem to slowly eat itself while it shoots. The bolt is essentially made from pot metal, and I’ve noticed some parts bending after firing repeatedly. Of course, you can buy three of them for the cost of a 9mm AR, so it’s disposable. I wouldn’t depend on one to save my life, but it’s not a bad shooter if you just want a 9mm carbine to shoot on occasion. As it is, I’ve only shot mine once in the past 8 years, and that was in Knoxville, several years ago. I just don’t have a fancy for pistol caliber carbines.
15 thoughts on “Hi-Point 9mm Carbine”
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Throw away nothing, its got a lifetime whatever happens warranty, so send it back and basically get back a new one. They have also redesigned the stock and whatnot to address a few issues, and will sell an upgrade kit.
If you are interested in off-loading the thing, let me know. I’m strangely fascinated by pistol-caliber carbines, and can add it to my collection of pot-metal firearms (Walther P22…)
Assuming the silly thing is NJ-legal anyway. Can’t see anything that would nix out. Though I suppose I would be better off buying a 10-22 and carbinizing it.
I have two of the 995’s. If I had to sum them up, I’d say it is a crude but quite effective 9mm delivery system and needs to be viewed in that light.
It always cracks me up that people tout the reliability of the Hi-Point so much.
Of course it’s reliable. Hi Point’s guns are all straight-blow back designs chambered in cartridges that generate more force than is generally considered prudent for that operating system.
When you have that much gas generating that much pressure, blasting the bolt/slide back with no locking mechanism, feeding from a single-stack magazine, of course it’s going to run. The entire design is a simplistic brute-force solution.
Sure, the gun will run, but the overall system penalizes the shooter with a gun that’s overly heavy (in the case of the pistols), cycles so slowly you have enough time to make a latté between shots, and has an inordinate amount of muzzle flip. Furthermore, given the cheap materials the guns are made of, I would be unsurprised to find out that they don’t hold up to long-term high-round count use.
Now, if we lived in a world where the only way to have a reliable gun was to get a Hi Point, I suppose those deficiencies could be overlooked, but we don’t. I’ve seen no evidence that there is any practical or demonstrable difference in the reliability of a Hi Point versus, say, Glocks or the S&W M&P, and those guns have a lot more going for them from a design standpoint.
As for the claims about the lifetime warranty, sure, that’s great and all, but it’s the sort of perk that’s really only touted by people who aren’t really all that serious about their shooting. You can’t take advantage of a lifetime warranty in the middle of a field course when your pistol falls apart, or even worse, in a self-defense situation. It’s much better to have a gun that runs right the first time.
I will note that some of my complaints about Hi Points are more endemic to the pistols, and that these issues become less of a big deal when talking about the carbines, but still.
Incorrect on many counts. Overly heavy? A C9 weighs less than a Beretta 92 and is up to 10+ ounces lighter than a 1911.
If a Hi-Point has an inordinate amount of muzzle flip, I’ve never noticed it. You’d think it’d be quite tame “since it’s so heavy” and all.
Cheap materials that don’t hold up? There are Youtube videos of people Trying, On Purpose, to blow up a Hi-Point. Over-spec ammo, pounding metal bolts into the end and then firing it… there’s a forum thread around of a guy who “cleaned” his with Crisco and then put it in his cat’s litter box for a couple weeks. Still worked fine.
Me, I have one of the old, original 995 carbines. It’s never jammed never ever. Not bad considering I’ve also never ever cleaned it.
I’ll trust my life to a Hi-Point over a $1000 Kimber any day.
“A C9 weighs less than a Beretta 92…”
Wow, a single-stack 3.5″ ‘compact’ auto with a polymer frame weighs slightly less than a 15-shot, 5″, alloy-frame service pistol? Truly a marvel of engineering!
“You’d think it’d be quite tame “since it’s so heavy†and all.”
Not especially, since all the weight is up top and reciprocating. How are your split times with a Hi-Point 9 compared to, say, the aforementioned Beretta?
Heh. I don’t claim my desire for a pistol-caliber carbine is anything other than a perverse lust
It weighs the same or less than a polymer Ruger P95 too.
The point, of course, is that people rag on how “heavy” the C9 is when it’s really not that bad and for most intents and purposes doesn’t matter. I don’t see people ragging on a 1911. “No way will I use a 1911 for home defense… it’s too heavy!”
So because a C9 is only heavy up top, it has the same recoil as, say, a PF9? Good to know.
Let’s take another look at an important thing Justin said:
“Of course it’s reliable.”
“I’ve seen no evidence that there is any practical or demonstrable difference in the reliability of a Hi Point versus, say, Glocks or the S&W M&P,”
That’s some strong statements for a gun that costs 140 bucks.
I have the .40S&W model and I have never had an issue with bending parts or it killing itself after long term use. Maybe I’m just not paying as much attention but I have yet to have issue with mine.
Hi-Point will replace the stock with a newer type if you send it in. Although that’s an ‘upgrade’ so it will cost you. They do have an unlimited warranty.
The only real complaints I have is if you have to take it apart you have to remove the sights. So every time you have to completely disasseble it your zero will probably be off. And if you’re not careful taking off the stock some of the trigger parts will fall out. Took me a good 4 hours to figure out how they went back in.
I’ve got .380 9mm .40 and .45 pistols
I’ve got a 9mm and a .45 carbine.
They all work as well or better than the other various Glock, Ruger, S&W, Rock Island Arsenal, Kel Tec, and luger pistols I own.
I load all my own ammo and the hi points are less picky than the M1 Carbine or Mosin Nagants I shoot. They go bang all the time and the bullets hit where I am aiming. How boring is that?
Yeah the pistols are heavy and big. They’re also less than $200 each.
I had to send a 9mm back for repairs. Got it back repaired and with a new magazine for my trouble … for free.. in 2 weeks.
So all you guys that look down on American Made guns that work and don’t cost much …. well y’all are WRONG!
I can count with no finger the number of times I’ve had to send my Glock or S&W in for repairs, in thousands of rounds.
there are only two guns that are the best that ever were……the one you know you paid way too much for…..and the one that is soooo cheap that it has to be good…..go figure …..you almost always get what you pay for…..
good gun works shoot all the time american made affordable and protects the family and user oh and can and has been used as carry conceal more so than people admits also like any decent auto you have to break adjust and know what works for your weapon high points all the way
what?