Earlier this year, I had my 9mm Hi Point carbine out, I think at an HRA shoot. 

I love my Hi Point, as most Hi Point owners tend to.  I have found it to be very reliable and very accurate, and its affordability is a given.  It's actually the only 9mm I own. 

Anyway, I was having issues with misfires, which had never happened before.  I scratched my head and put it away, then somehow managed to clean and store it without really investigating the problem.  I'm guessing I was in a hurry or had my brain turned off.  Anyway, into the safe it went with no special attention.

I brought it back out for H&FD a couple of weekends ago.  I'd actually forgotten about the misfire issue.  Across the day, I ran a couple of hundred rounds through it without issue, but towards the end of the day, the misfires returned.  Suddenly, I remembered. 

Each time I had a misfire, I would collect and scrutinize the cartridge.  All showed either very light or even no firing pin strikes.  If I ran the cartridge back through the gun, it tended to fire normally.  The failure rate was maybe 20%, two misfires per magazine.  I decided that wasn't fun anymore and determined to polish off the tail end of a box of ammo then put the Hi Point away.  Oddly, the very last round not only was a misfire, it wouldn't eject!  Just stuck to the bolt face and rode in and out like some Chihuahua fuck machine.

Now, if you've owned a Hi Point carbine, you have already realized just how oblivious I was.  Again, I must have left my brain in mo other pants.  Or I was so distracted by the image of mechanized Chihuahua sex toys that I missed that vital clue.

Last night, I got around to disassembling and cleaning the gun.  I paid particular attention to the firing pin, firing pin spring, and firing pin channel.  Nothing seemed unusually dirty or obstructed.  Then, as I was polishing the firing pin, it suddenly dawned on me that it was about an inch and a half too short!  The firing pin had actually broken off of the base, leaving just a nub behind!

For those who don't know, the Hi Point design uses the firing pin as the ejector.  When you retract the bolt, the firing pin protrudes through the bolt face about an inch.  This is why the whole "failure to eject" thing should have been a dead giveaway.

I called Hi Point this morning, and after two minutes on the phone, my new firing pin (and related parts, they ship the assembly) is on the way.  For free!  No hassles, no fuss.

But here's the truly remarkable part.  Looking back over this, it occurs to me that my little carbine was operating at 80% reliability.

Without.

A.

Firing.

Pin.

 

That is an awesome story!  Pretty good considering.  I once fired an entire F class match, with my savage bolt action with the barrel loose. I scored pretty well even though the barrel was rattling around.  It was making a strange sound when I fired, and at the time I could figure it out.  I didn't discover the issue until later, even when I cleaned the barrel. What gave it away was when I tried to size the fired cases for reloading I had to size way more than usual.  I thought that was odd. I grabbed the rifle by the barrel and noticed it had broken loose and was rattling. Lol. I felt stupid about that one. Haha

Great report Tom G ! 

The hi-point carbine is actually the one hi point firearm that people actually do seem to have respect for. A random diamond floating in the turds.

The hi-point carbine is actually the one hi point firearm that people actually do seem to have respect for. A random diamond floating in the turds.

Guess I'll keep mine based on Tom's report and Sworbeye's comment.

Hate to admit it but I bought mine because it looked a gun from the original Planet of the Apes. ( and I was consolidating to 9mm )
Lent it to the military neighbor to zero and he and his wife loved it. ( My eyes and shooting aren't good enough to zero irons. )

If I had a dollar for every time I heard or read "Hi-points all suck. Except their carbine, that thing is surprisingly good." I could probably have bought one.

What bums me out is that a range officer told me that we are not allowed to shoot pistol caliber carbines on the silhouette side. Found that out when my Dad brought out his sub-2000 one day.

Rifle caliber pistols are fine, but pistol caliber rifles are not? Balderdash I say!

If I had a dollar for every time I heard or read "Hi-points all suck. Except their carbine, that thing is surprisingly good." I could probably have bought one.

What bums me out is that a range officer told me that we are not allowed to shoot pistol caliber carbines on the silhouette side. Found that out when my Dad brought out his sub-2000 one day.

Rifle caliber pistols are fine, but pistol caliber rifles are not? Balderdash I say!

Amen to that!  I'd love to shoot .357 Mag/.38 SPL or .44 Mag/.44 SPL lever guns on that side.  But alas, only rifles allowed are .22, so. . .

looking at a 9mm hipoint carbine now  ima sucker for cheap reliable things.  great story tom G.

Amen to that!  I'd love to shoot .357 Mag/.38 SPL or .44 Mag/.44 SPL lever guns on that side.  But alas, only rifles allowed are .22, so. . .

Is there an actual, practical reason for this? I understand that some pistol calibers like the .357 gain ALOT of velocity out of a full length rifle barrel, but it still isn't as much as some of the gun I've seen shot there.

Is there an actual, practical reason for this? I understand that some pistol calibers like the .357 gain ALOT of velocity out of a full length rifle barrel, but it still isn't as much as some of the gun I've seen shot there.

Not sure about a practical reason.  The reasons that I've been told by ROs was that's the club rules.  Not really a big deal to me though as I really enjoy shooting steel with handguns, just that I think it would be more fun with lever action guns.   

Is there an actual, practical reason for this? I understand that some pistol calibers like the .357 gain ALOT of velocity out of a full length rifle barrel, but it still isn't as much as some of the gun I've seen shot there.

The club that runs the range is a handgun club.  They want to make sure that the range is available for that purpose.  You have to admit, it gets plenty crowded with the current rules.  Imagine the added usage if pistol-caliber carbines were allowed!

FYI, it ain't Silhouette club policy it comes from up top. Club just follows chief range officers instructions. We too would enjoy and would like to shoot pistol caliber carbines too.
Mahalo

Resurrecting this zombie to post a picture of the firing pins.

Remember, the gun was 80% effective with that little nub!

the gun was 80% effective with that little nub!

too easy...

too easy...

...
Ha! 80% with a little nub. Not too shabby!