# Salty's Gun Review: Hi-Point C9 (The Most Hated Gun On The Internet Exposed)



## Salt-N-Pepper

I am posting short gun reviews for "survival guns" that I own and use, from my own personal perspective. The views expressed are my own, and I will pull no punches... these are guns I own and shoot, and I will address them from a "prepping/survival perspective".

Welcome to my take on "the internet's most hated gun."

The Hi-Point C9 has fueled more hate-filled diatribes by internet know-it-alls than, perhaps, all other guns combined. This is a gun that is so hated that the diatribes dedicated to it almost defy description.










What do the detractors say?

1)	It's cheap (not inexpensive, rather CHEAP)
2)	It's made of "pot metal"
3)	It's UGLY
4)	It's heavy
5)	It's a "gangster gun"
6)	It's unreliable
7)	It "feels cheap"
8)	It's too big for a gun that only holds 8 rounds
9)	Its magazines suck.
10)	It's trigger sucks

Wow, that's quite a list. Want to know what? Many of them are correct.

1)	It IS cheap
2)	It IS made of "pot metal"
3)	It is UGLY
4)	It is Heavy
5)	It is a favorite of gangsters
6)	It does feel cheap
7)	It is too big of a gun for one that only holds 8 rounds (or 10 with the extended mag that makes it bigger and uglier)
8)	It's magazine design does suck.
9)	It's trigger sucks

The question becomes, does the good points of the gun outweigh the bad?

What are the good points?

1)	Unlike what the detractors say, it is EXCEEDINGLY reliable with good magazines
2)	The magazines, when treated properly, are reliable
3)	It is one of the most accurate pistols around
4)	It's affordable 
5)	It has a good sight picture
6)	It's well behaved in shooting

Let's go down the list point by point:










PHILOSOPHY OF USE (From a prepper's point of view): This gun has several uses for a prepper. It can be used as the "first gun" for preppers just starting out who need a handgun that has enough stopping power for self defense. Another use is as a "room defense" gun, a firearm to stash in spare rooms if you are one of us who keeps guns in touch-open safes around the house (having 6 Glock's or M&P's or Sigs or 1911's gets real expensive). The gun is also one to consider for putting away in hidden caches. One more use would be as a "pass out" gun to new members of your group/displaced family members who are joining you who are unarmed in a SHTF scenario.

DESIGN:

The C9 is a simple blowback 9mm. Due to the fact that it needs to generate a lot of force to operate by blowback in the 9mm platform, the slide is HUGE and the springs are heavy. This makes chambering a round a challenge for somebody who doesn't have a lot of hand strength.










The mag release is conveniently located and I "think" it's supposed to be "drop free" but DO NOT DO THIS. Never, and I mean NEVER, drop a Hi-Point magazine unless you don't want to use it ever again.

It has a thumb safety on the right side of the upper body/slide. It works, and can also be used to lock the gun open for non-strip cleaning.

The gun is made out of what Hi-Point calls a "High Impact Polymer Frame" with "High Impact Grips", which have a "Durable, attractive easy-grip finish" (well, they do have a finish, not really sure I would call it attractive). They don't talk about he slide, which is some kind of metal amalgam. It has last-shot lock open.

The sights are 3 dots, and they are fully adjustable. Honestly, they are actually pretty good.

This gun has a "magazine safety" which rattles around like a politician's soul.

The gun is +P rated.

It comes with a free "peep" rear sight, and man did I hate that when I put it on! That's just me hating peep sights on pistols, not really anything wrong with the Hi-Point design. Peep sights on pistol are "not my thing" to say the least.

The gun is 100 percent American made, and features a transferable lifetime warranty.

It comes with a "free" trigger lock which sucks, and a manual which really really really sucks.

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Barrel length: 3.5"
Overall length: 6.75"
Weight: 29 oz. (really. No kidding. Feels more like 29 POUNDS but hey, who am I to be a doubter?)
Frame: High-impact polymer
Finish: Black powder coat
Capacity: 8-shot mag standard (10-shot avail)
Sights: 3-dots, fully-adjustable rear sight

MAGAZINE:









Oh my. Oh dear me. Where to start.

Let me start with the bottom line&#8230; if you have a magazine where the front feed lips are not bent out of the weird shape that the gun needs it to be in to shoot, you are good to go.

What do I think about the Hi-Point magazine design? Reread the last paragraph. It uses the word "If". Magazines are the heart of any semi-auto weapon, and when describing one, a person should NEVER EVER EVER have to use the word "if".

"If" the magazines are good to go, then you will have an exceedingly reliable gun.

"If" the feed lip is bent, then you will be glad that your gun weighs nearly two pounds so you can use it as a club, because it ain't going bang.

In all fairness, the magazines are pretty robust UNLESS YOU DROP THEM when they are unloaded. If you drop them unloaded, because of the way they are designed, and if they hit something solid like&#8230; say&#8230; the ground, the feed lips can bend a little. This is a BAD thing.

My recommendation, buy three Hi-Point brand magazines (and for the love of all that is Holy on this earth, do NOT buy the after-market mags for this gun&#8230; they will suck you into a great abyss of despair and woe and cause you to be desperate enough to drink Miller Lite to try and bury your grief) and try them out. If they work, KEEP THEM LOADED and shoot with them to the point that you are comfortable they will run flawlessly. If you do that, you are good to go.

The gun comes stock with an 8 round mag (single stack). You can buy an optional 10 round magazine if you don't mind making your "compact" gun into something that looks and feels like a rejected design for the enemy forces in the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I stick with the 8 rounders.

That brings me to a legitimate gripe on this gun. For a gun this size, as heavy as it is, that should be a 15 round double stack mag, especially in the 9mm version. With 9mm, for self-defense, one of the big things you do is trade the stopping power of a .45 for more shots&#8230; A 1911 holds less than half the rounds of a Glock 17, and you can make a case for both philosophies of defensive firepower. The 8 round mag in the Hi-Point is the worst of both worlds, less stopping power but less rounds.

SHOOTING

EVERYTHING above is just a bunch of "blah blah blah". Shooting is where the rubber hits the road.

With one major exception, the gun shoots just fine. It's top heavy, unbalanced, but does fit in the hand decently well. The sights are quite good, and the gun is one of the most accurate handguns I have ever shot. I mean, once sighted in, it flat hits the danged target every time (barring operator error).

Reliability? With good magazines, it goes bang every single time, no matter what kind of rotgut ammo you put in it.

SO&#8230; what's the major exception? The trigger BLOWS. Big time. It's heavy, doesn't break over clean, and feels like&#8230; Ok, you know when you are walking outside and there's a bunch of snow that's just melted into about a foot of slush? When you step on it, it kinda "oozes"? That's what the trigger feels like on a C9.

There's not much else to say, it goes bang and the metal gongs go "Dong" when the bullet hits them dead center. Every time.

After you get done shooting, cleaning is a total pain. There are pins that must be removed, to take down the gun. I'm not going to describe the process, just check out one of the thousands of youtube videos of C9 owners showing how it's done. Mostly, I just lock the chamber open, clean the barrel and chamber area, it works fine.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Almost all of the reasons that people hate this gun are true, with the exception of reliability. 
Having said that, I still recommend the C9 to any prepper who has a need for one or more inexpensive 9mm handguns for caching, stashing and passing out to unarmed group members.

I do not use one for my personal carry weapon, but I would not feel unarmed if that's all I had.

---------------------------

Here are links of my other reviews:

Hi-Point 9mm Carbine

Henry AR-7 .22LR Semi-Auto Survival Rifle

Marlin X7 Bolt Action Rifle

The Ole Smoke Pole: Review & Discussion Of Single-Shot Shottys

Henry Golden Boy .22

Phoenix Arms HP22A

Chiappa 1911-22

Windham Weaponry M4 AR-15 SRC

Rock Island Armscor M200 .38 Special

Kel-tec PF9

Ruger American Rifle .22LR Bolt Action

ISSC .22LR Semi-Auto (Glock clone)

North American Arms .22 Magnum/22LR/L/S convertible w/holster grip

Nagant Revolver (just for fun)

Glock 26 as a CCW/BOB/GHB option

Crickett Kids Rifle For Training Younglings & As A BOB/GHB Option

Mossberg 702 Plinkster

Ye Ole .22 Single Shot

Ruger SR-22 Semi-Auto Pistol

Hi-Point C9 Semi Auto Pistol

Heritage Arms .22 Convertible Revolvers

Ruger LCR .357 and .22LR revolvers

Mossberg Maverick 88 Security 12 Gauge Shotgun

Ruger Mini-30

Cobra Small Derringer

Chiappa Little Badger Survival Rifle

Ye 'Ole .22 Single Shot Old Rifle


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## csi-tech

I have to heartily agree with your entire review. With hotter ammo and good magazines they really do work.


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## Prepared One

Always a pleasure reading your reviews Salty. thanks


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## sideKahr

What a clunky looking object. Where do you find these monstrosities? Good review.


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## NotTooProudToHide

Totally agree with the review. I'm one of those preppers who bought one of these when I first got into it and money was tight along with a Mosin Nagant 91/30. I paid 130 for the Hi Point and it came with a hard case and 2 boxes of white box 9mm. I've had no problems with the 8 round magazine that came with the box. I did purchase a 10 round magazine that I had issues with but the factory replaced it and sent another one for my troubles, I've had no problems with either since. At the range I was consistently putting all my rounds in a bullseye the size of a dip can between 10 and 25 yards out. I have upgraded my pistol to a Smith & Wesson M&P .40 however my Hi Point is still in my system as my Get Home Bag Gun that always sits in the trunk of my vehicle. There is no doubt that my M&P is a superior pistol in caliber, capacity, and ergonomics however I have no qualms bout depending on my Hi Point in its role of trunk gun and or back up handgun.


***Edit*** I also think its worth mentioning that despite this being a "cheap" gun I believe mine has held its value. Like I said I paid 130 for it in 2009 with the case and 2 50 round boxes of ammunition and currently on Buds Gun Shop new ones are going for 163 without the hard case. I see them all the time used around here for around 100 dollars give or take some. Also when the 2013 crisis hit Hi Points, Tauruses, and Rugers where the first guns off the shelves in this area.


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## Chipper

If they would just make a double stack 15-20 round version at the same price point. For $150 I'd have to have one in every car, truck, atv and motorcycle I own. 

The stupid mag safety kills the gun for me. Makes the pistol worthless if the mag gets lost. Being able to shoot single shot may still save your butt.


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## Snocam

I've owned one of these for three years. It's a great gun as far as reliability. It is heavy. My wife actually enjoys shooting it more than some lighter 9mm pistols. Mine usually stays in the truck. I also have the 45 ACP Hi-Point, and like that one too. Sure, I plan on buying a lighter, more user friendly pistol this year, but both Hi-Points have served me well so far. Good review, glad to see other owners having good experiences with Hi-Point, or at least seeing the positives.


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## budgetprepp-n

That was a nice review 
Thank you


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## Hawaii Volcano Squad

Inexpensive weapons are good!


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## turbo6

For the price they are pretty tempting albeit being fairly bulky. Compared to your average ugly gun it makes most others seem like Swedish bikini models. 

For quite a bit less than $200 your getting your moneys worth in most cases it seems like. Especially comparing it to something like a Jimenez. 

Though as an entry level handgun I'm fond of the S&W SD9VE, but we're talking $120+ more.


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