Custom Browning Hi-Power C-Series SA 9mm 4 5/8” Semi-Auto Pistol C&R
SOLD FOR: $1,125.00
LSB#: LSB260306ML020
Make: FN/Browning
Model: Hi-Power
Serial#: 69C21549
Year of Manufacture: 1969 / C&R
Caliber: 9x19mm
Action Type: Semi-Automatic Pistol, Exposed Hammer, Single Action with Detachable Magazine.
Markings: The left side of the slide is marked, “BROWNING ARMS COMPANY MORGAN, UTAH & MONTREAL P.Q.” / “MADE IN BELGIUM” The barrel is marked, “9 m/mP” The right side of the frame is marked with the serial number, “69C21549”.
Barrel Length: 4 5/8”
Sights/ Optics: The front sight is a squared ramped blade fixed to the front of the slide. The rear sight is a fully adjustable square notch screwed to the slide.
Magazine Quantity & Condition: This pistol comes with 2x 13rd and 1x 20rd magazines in Excellent condition.
Stock Configuration & Condition/ Grip: The grips are two piece textured G10 panels screwed to the frame. There are little to no handling marks throughout. There are no chips or cracks. Overall the grips are in Excellent condition. These grips are not original.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: Refinished
Bore Condition: The bore is bright, and the rifling is sharp. There is no visible erosion in the bore. There is minor fouling in the grooves. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates 9.5/10.
Overall Condition: This pistol retains about 97% of its metal finish. There are light handling marks, scratches, and nicks throughout. There are faint spots of patina. The action has light wear. The firing pin retainer is not installed and the firing pin protrudes too far to drop the hammer. The screw heads are sharp, and the pins are undamaged. The markings are clear. Overall the pistol is in Fair condition due to the uninstalled firing pin retainer.
Mechanics: The action does not function correctly as the firing pin retainer plate is not/ can not be installed. Please have a qualified gunsmith look over this firearm. The trigger is crisp. We did not fire this pistol. As with all previously owned firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards. The magazine disconnect has been removed.
Box, Paperwork, and Accessories: Carry bag, leather holster, 3x mags, firing pin retainer.
Our Assessment: The Browning Hi-Power is one of the most influential military and service pistols of the 20th century. Developed from John Moses Browning’s final locked-breech pistol concepts and completed by FN designer Dieudonné Saive, the production design entered service during the 1930s. Its single-action mechanism, double-column magazine, comfortable grip frame, and efficient short-recoil action established a pattern followed by generations of later service pistols. More than one million original-pattern Hi-Powers were manufactured during the design’s long production history, and variants were adopted by military and police organizations throughout the world. This 1969 example comes from the desirable early C-Series period, immediately following the highly regarded T-Series configuration. This example has been extensively customized and refinished. It retains approximately 97% of its applied blued finish, with scattered light scratches, handling marks, small nicks, and faint spots of patina. The bore is bright with sharp rifling, no visible erosion, and only minor fouling, rating 9.5/10 in this writer’s opinion. The original grips have been replaced with textured G10 panels, and the pistol has been fitted with an adjustable rear sight. Its magazine disconnect has also been removed. The pistol includes two 13-round magazines, one 20-round magazine, a leather holster, a carry bag, and a loose firing-pin retaining plate.
As presently configured, this pistol is not safe or suitable for firing. The firing-pin retaining plate is not installed and reportedly cannot be fitted, while the firing pin protrudes sufficiently to prevent normal hammer movement. These conditions may indicate incorrect components, improper assembly, alteration, or damage within the firing-pin system, and the pistol requires examination and repair by a qualified gunsmith before any attempt is made to load or fire it. Despite its current mechanical condition, this remains an early C-Series Belgian Browning Hi-Power with collector, restoration, and custom-project appeal. -R.E.