TFB’s Exclusive First Look at Hi-Point’s New $200 Pistol
Russ Chastain 01.24.19
As if to underscore what I’m missing at the 2019 SHOT Show this year, James Reeves of our sister site TFB has been hard at it, checking out the latest and greatest stuff being shown off in Vegas this week. One of those was a TFB exclusive — the unveiling of Hi-Point‘s new pistol design, which they’re calling (for now) “the new C9.”
Hi-Point is well-known — some would say ‘infamous’ — for its affordable and unattractive firearms. They may look like hell, but time and time again they’ve been proven reliable… and for less than $200, anyone on a budget can put his or her hands on a 9mm pistol and thus have some means of effective self defense. And that has a LOT of value in today’s world.
In a Las Vegas hotel room, James meets with Dave from Hi-Point, who gives James the honor of opening the freshly-shipped package containing the brand-new 3D-printed mockup of their newly-upgraded pistol design. Viewers can join James in getting the first view of it outside of the Hi-Point factory.
Dave calls it a “total 21st century update” on the C9 pistol. Features include:
- Reshaped slide top
- Front & rear slide serrations
- Threaded barrel
- Accessory rail
- Ambidextrous magazine release
- Grip safety
- Rear sight that can be replaced by a picatinny rail adapter
- Reversible backstrap insert to modify grip angle
- Independent ejector (old design uses firing pin as ejector)
- Hybrid double/single-stack magazine will hold 10 rounds instead of 8
- Higher-cap magazines will be available
And when will it be available? Dave says, “The hopeful plan is 2019. We just wanna show everyone at SHOT Show that something new is happening, something new is in the works, we are kind of going back and starting some new stuff.”
The slide will still be Zamak, the frame will still be plastic… and it will still be ugly. But a whole new ugly — and with plenty more features, especially at a $200 MSRP.
What do you think of it? Watch the video here and please comment below.
