The Browning High Power and the Kimber Mako
By MARJ LAW
About 8 months ago, Joe and I were visiting a local gun shop. I usually cringe and hope he doesn’t crave something expensive. After all, who needs more than one handgun? Or maybe two?
But no, this day I’m out of luck.
“What’s this?” Joe asks, peering through the glass case.
Of course, the owner of the shop is only too happy to pull the gun out of the case.
“It’s a Browning High Power,” he says.
From this beginning, Joe is hooked.
“No, we can’t afford it,” I say as dismissively as possible. “No, we do not need another handgun.”
Reluctantly, Joe hands back the gun. He drools on the case where the gun has been returned.
For the next couple of weeks, all I hear is how wonderful that gun is.
“It’s a collector’s item,” he moans. “It even has… (dramatic pause) beer barrel sights!”
“Yep. Nice,” I say dismissively. “We don’t need it!”
By the third week, I’d heard enough. I return to the store, hoping the gun is gone.
No such luck.
Since Christmas is only 8 months away, I decide to start saving pennies.
“Will you tell Joe, when he sees that it’s gone, that you’ve kept it for your own collection?” I ask. Of course, the shop owner makes the deal with me.
For 8 months, every time we visit, Joe asks after that High Power. He doesn’t know it is hiding in the bottom drawer of my dresser.
This 9mm High Power was designed by the famous John Browning, and completed by Dieudonne Saive at FN Herstal. It was called a High Power because its magazine was able to hold 13 rounds; more that its nearest competitor at that time. The High Power is “one of the most widely used military pistols in history, having been used by the armed forces of over 50 countries,” reports Wikipedia.
Naturally, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range is closed during the holidays. Joe keeps bringing out his new gun from the case, field-stripping it, and using a soft cloth to wipe off microscopic and imaginary pieces of lint from the blued finish.
I have to agree, the gun feels great in the hand. It’s solid. At 31.5 ounces, the body is all metal. It balances well in my hand and the beaver tail sits well in the web of my hand.
The High Power’s barrel is 4.7-inches long. And yes, it has those beer barrel sights which can be adjusted for both windage and elevation. The high sides of the sights make it easy to line them up with the front sight.
This gun was manufactured in 1979. Now, how will the High Power stand up to a modern handgun?
Not that we are competitive with each other, ahem, I wonder how my Kimber Mako will stand up to the highly venerated Browning High Power.
“Shall we take both guns to the range, now that it is open after the holidays?” I ask Joe.
Well, we can hardly pack up fast enough.
“Best five rounds each?” he asks.
“I’m good,” I reply.
While the High Power has stood the test of time, the Kimber Mako is a new handgun. It is Kimber’s first striker-fired handgun.
Joe and I have different opinions of striker-fired versus hammer-fired guns. So, even though Joe’s new (old) High Power is hammer-fired, I’m quite sure my Mako will shoot better. Just a difference of opinion, even though I’m right that striker-fired is better.
The Mako may not have beer-barrel sights, but it does include a Crimson Trace red dot sight. Almost everyone I shoot with finds the red and green dot sights make a big difference in accuracy, so I’m feeling pretty confident that Mako will beat out High Power.
While the barrel of the High Power is 4.7-inches long, the barrel of Mako is 3.37 inches. OK, a longer barrel may give Joe the advantage here.
The Mako only weighs 19.5 ounces; much less than High Power’s 31.5 ounces.
Mako is 6.2 inches long and High Power is 7.8 inches long.
High Power’s grip is made for a large hand. It is wide and flat on the sides. Mako’s grip has an all-around texturing, palm swell, and it fits my small hand well.
We test trigger pulls on the Lyman scale. After an average of 3 tries each, trigger pull on the High Power came out to 8.2 pounds and Mako 5.1 pounds. Trigger pulls vary, so these poundages are unique to our particular guns.
High Power holds 13 rounds, while the Mako holds 11 or 13 rounds.
When Joe and I both shoot five rounds from each handgun, which gun will win out?
We are going to compare trigger pull, trigger pull travel, recoil, grip, and difficulty of racking the slide on each gun.
We both agree that trigger pull on the High Power is fairly light. I think the great balance and weight of the gun give a shooter’s perception to think that trigger pull is lighter than it actually is.
Trigger travel is equally short.
Recoil is similar. Joe feels the Mako’s kick to be firmer, but I find the High Power to have a firmer recoil.
I find High Power’s levers and buttons to be very smooth to operate. The Mako fits my hand really well.
The High Power has a large, rectangular grip. It’s too large for my hand. Joe has large hands, but finds the wood grips to be thick, and he will look for thinner ones.
With the Mako on the left target and the High Power on the right, both targets reflect nine rounds. One round on each target has flown off to never never land. While Mako’s holes are closer to the central red dot, High Power’s are grouped more closely together.
Both these guns shoot similarly well, but I expect with a bit of tweaking the sights, the High Power will be hard to beat.
So, I’m going to practice some more with the Mako to be ready for our next competition.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.
