The Canadian military is set to finally part with its remaining World War II-era 9mm Browning Hi-Power pistols by the of the year. That the end is in sight for the Hi-Power's service in Canada comes as the country recently received the final deliveries of the 9mm Sig Sauer P320, which are replacing the classic Hi-Powers.
Maybe they'll sell them to private citizens? Might be a good way to pick up a classic with a story at a good price. But, in this day and age, I guess not. Can't trust mere "citizens" with a pistol, you know!
At present, none of the roughly 11,000 pistols left in the country's inventory have been disposed of (i.e., destroyed), Forrest confirmed. It is possible that a select number might be kept by the Canadian military for specific training purposes, or other special uses, although a firm decision has not been made as of yet, she said.
It was in 1944 that the Canadian military began using the Hi-Power. Chambered in the 9mm Luger cartridge, the Hi-Power (originally known as 'High-Power') is a semi-automatic pistol made of steel. The double-stacked magazine design boasts 13-rounds standard which, for the time at least, was a very large magazine capacity. The single-action only pistol is cycled via a short-recoil operated tilting barrel. The tilting barrel design is used in most modern semi-automatic pistols and is commonly referred to as the "Browning action" today.
