What can you tell me about this gun?

[Prc329]

All I know is my grandpa brought it back from WWII. For him to give it to me what do I need to do?

[Tweak338]

I think your grandpa can give it to you, and you send the $19 to the DoJ err BoF(i still think thats funny)
since its going down and not across the family

Nice FN Hi-Power your grandpa has

[Mssr. Eleganté]

If you and your grandfather are both California residents then he can just give you the Hi-Power. You just need to have your Handgun Safety Certificate and send in the Operation of Law form to CalDOJ along with the $19 that Tweak338 mentioned.

If your grandfather lives in another State then the transfer will have to go through a California FFL Dealer who can charge you whatever he wants for the transfer. Since the gun is C&R it is exempt from the California "Safe Handgun" roster. The only way to avoid going through a California FFL Dealer is to wait until your grandfather passes away and he leaves the gun to you. Then the transfer is exempt from the Federal requirement for an FFL transfer.

The gun probably has a 13 round magazine. It is now illegal to transfer this "high capacity" magazine in California, so you would need to get a 10 round replacement magazine. Unless, of course, your grandfather had the foresight to give you the magazine back in 1999.

[Prc329]

I don't plan on shooting it. It has a lot of family history behind it. I just feel honored he is offering it to me.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

It has German Waffenamt inspector stamps on it, so was probably manufactured after the Nazi's overran Belgium and took over the FN factory.

[Prc329]

There is one on the slide and the barrel. The story I was told behind it was it came from a German officer he "got" in a trench along with a dagger that had an eagle head for the handle. It did not have any nazi markings on it. He carried this gun along with a 1911 the rest of the war. He did not get to keep the 1911. He was a commander of an anti-aircraft halftrack.

[Rogerbutthead]

You have a Nazi third variation HiPower. The following historic info was culled from numerous sites:

The High Power pistol was designed by John Moses Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Herstal, Belgium. The Belgians were first armed forces to adopt the High Power as an official sidearm, they did this in 1935. Between 1935 and the German capture of the FN factory on May 29, 1940 contracts were filled for the armed forces of several countries including Belgium, China, Peru, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden and France.

From the plant's seizure by the Germans in May of 1940 to its liberation in September of 1944, over 319,000 High Powers pistols were manufactured for the German Wehrmacht. The first several thousand pistols were made up from captured parts and had a high polish finish, a shoulder stock slot cut into the rear grip strap and tangent rear sight. To speed production, the Germans eliminated the shoulder stock slot and then the tangent sight at about serial number 145000. As production continued, the quality of finish was reduced to dull blue over a progressively less polished metal. The Germans used three Waffenenamt stamps on High Power pistols:

Eagle over WaA613
Eagle over WaA103
Eagle over WaA140.

Your pistol is the third variation, these were stamped with eagle over WaA140, had fixed 50-meter sights, wood or brown plastic grips and dull military-blue finish over rough machine marks. The approximate serial range for this variation is 145000 to 210000, then 01a to 100000a and finally 01b to 63000b.

Yearly production of High Power pistols under German occupation was as follows:

1940..................... 8,500
1941..................... 65,700
1942..................... 80,600
1943..................... 101,200
1944..................... 63,000

Nice pistol.

[Prc329]

Wow, thanks for the info.

[Nylo]

Have your Grandfather (do it now) write a history about how he became the owner of this piece, and have him sign it. Then take a couple photograph of him holding your HP, and a few of the both of you with the HP.

This will be invaluable for future family members and give your HP a wonderful historical provenance.

Nylo

[bobfried]

Have your Grandfather (do it now) write a history about how he became the owner of this piece, and have him sign it. Then take a couple photograph of him holding your HP, and a few of the both of you with the HP.

This will be invaluable for future family members and give your HP a wonderful historical provenance.

Nylo

I definately second that.

A C&R is one thing, a family heirloom is another.

But a true historically significant piece must have the personal history behind it to make it special. I would request your grandpa to recount his vaious actions and campaigns during the war, what he did after and pictures of him throughout the period. A more detailed description of how he came into possession of the pistol, what he did with it and what it meant to him will bolster it's credibility and value even more.

It will not simply be a "WW2 bring back pistol" but a true family treasure with the story, history and personal significance to make it a lasting memory.

[50 Freak]

Careful shooting that gun. I have heard that a lot of guns produced for the Germans were intentionally sabotaged with weak barrels and such by the slave labor that was forced in working for the Germans.