I have a hi-power and have shot it a LOT. I have been using it in USPSA and 3gun since last spring. I have thousands of rounds through it.
Preban mags are available. 13 rd OEM mags are expensive. $40+. There are no markings and no way to identify a true preban. I have a whole bunch of 17 round KRD steel preban mags. They work pretty well but are not quite as reliable as OEM mags. There are also preban 13 round mec-gar mags which work as well as OEM.
It's called the hi-power because it's double stack and holds 13 rounds in a flush magazine. The design was started by John Moses Browning but it's NOT the same design as the 1911. The locking lugs are the same and the slide stop lever holds the barrel link. The magazine release is besically the same too. Thats pretty much where the similarities end.
The hipower does not use a trigger bar like the 1911. When you pull the trigger there is a small pin that protrudes up in the area of the rear of the trigger. That pin pushes up on the transfer bar located in the slide. The transfer bar pivots in the middle so when you push up on the front, the back goes down and pushes down on the sear which in turn releases the hammer. What this means is that when you pull the trigger it's heavy. You're fighting the trigger spring, the transfer bar return spring and the mainspring (plus the mag disconnect if you have one). I installed a C&S lightening kit and I still have about a 6lb trigger. The trigger reset is about a mile long and there isn't anything you can do about it without a lot of work by a good gunsmith.
If you want a cool gun with history, go for it. If you want a good shooting gun avoid it like the plague. The trigger is too heavy for accurate shooting IMO and the pre-travel and reset are way too long to be a good gun for going fast.
Overall, now that I have shot mine a lot, it's a crap design and I am replacing it for USPSA/3gun shooting with something else that has a better trigger.
Save yourself a headache and buy a 1911 or 2011.
