By Aaron Watson
I have a nasty habit. Well, quite a few, the truth be told, but one that pertains to firearms seems applicable here on TTAG. You see, I like matching pistols with rifles. M&P 15-22, and Smith & Wesson 22A. Henry lever gun in .22 Mag, Heritage SAA in the same loading. I even made a black powder .50 rifle kit build, and was driven to create a bitchin’ little cap lock pistol to match. So you can probably foresee my dilemma when I was blessed enough to pick out a Remington R1, series 80 M1911 a few years back. I had openly lusted to buy a Thompson “Tommy” gun for the carbine match, the all black military Commando style, but the starting prices are way out of my ballpark. Or, wife-allotted budget, as it were . . .
So, one day I am browsing the LGS on the other end of town, and hefted one of the stout, solid beasts by some folks out of Ohio. Beemiller is the owner of the Hi-Point brand, which I had barely heard of, except as makers of some arguably hideous looking pistols. I have since learned that the early carbines took a few lashes from the ugly stick as well, but these “later” ones had a certain appeal.
But this shop had an array of these carbines in 9mm, .40 cal, and the matching caliber to the R1, .45 ACP. This posed a bit of a psychological dilemma. I had more recently picked up a Ruger P95 at a gun show for a great price, and still had the recent purchase tingle. Maybe it’s not as much a habit as a disease. Brain-based malfunction, don’t ya know?
I opted for the .45, even though my newer pistol had some fresh dies for the old reloading bench, and I’d spawned a few hundred 9mm cartridges over the weekend. Bag the debate, the 1911 had been waiting longer, so with my CPL firmly in hand, the .45-flavored item made its way to the counter, then out the door with me.
That weekend, I took `er out for a little test firing, but wouldn’t you know, the rain started down pretty heavy as I arrived at my favorite BLM shooty spot. I was only able to empty the three mags that came with the purchase before I was thoroughly drenched. All of them emptied in a most satisfying manner, so I tucked it back into the cab of my ol’ Ford pick-me-up, and took it home for a tear down and cleanup.
The very next weekend was much more settled on the weather front, so I went back out with a buddy and his grandson. I also scrounged through my ammo cans and loaded up some old lead rounds from a different shooting friend, who knew who had reloaded them. BIG mistake. Ammunition from a friend of a friend should be torn down and used for their basic components, but I figured a trigger is a much quicker and more efficient way of unloading suspect rounds.
Wouldn’t you know that the last round of the second mag made a slightly less fervent noise than the preceding ones? At least that’s what I was told by my friend standing to my left, later on. It cycled out the last brass, so I popped out the magazine and set it aside to fire one of the other aforementioned firearms.
Upon returning to the HP 4595, I popped in one of my own reloaded magazines with good ol’ 230 grain hard balls, and charged the rascal to make ready for firing. Most of my prior targets were not far beyond the 1911’s range, but this time I reckoned I’d go across the berm to the further hill, 250 yards or so out.
On trigger squeeze, even I noticed the odd noise emitted, and saw no puff of dust. Also, my vision was momentarily obscured by a foreign black object, which clattered to the ground at the kid’s feet, who dutifully picked it up and said, “you dropped this.”
It turned out to be the black cover/rail off of the fore end that blew off when the jacketed round impacted the last lead round that was still in the barrel.
After looking down toward the front sight, sans cover, at the gaping hole, I knew we had a problem, Houston. It took about a week to recover from the shock, then I started looking around for replacement barrels and covers, etc.
Being in the AR camp, I was stunned at how little there is out there for after-market barrels. Like none, so I shot an email out to Beemiller, requesting a price. They replied back that I should give them a call. I did, and was flabbergasted by their response:
“It’s under warranty, just send it in.”
“But I blew the danged thing up by exercising poor munitions management in firing those rounds.”
“Here’s the address to send it to…”
I did, and a week later my wife called me and said I had a large, heavy package.
“From Ohio?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Remember that rifle I blew up?” She was as shocked as I was, but when I got home, I opened it up, and there she was, gooder’n new!
That weekend I went back to the scene of the crime, and ensured I put over 150 rounds through it, and all MY reloads. Ran like a champ, and I was in perma-grin mode.
The weather has gone the way it tends to do the last few months, so not much shooting was done, but I found a pleasant enough weekend, to schlep some shooting irons out to another of my usual haunts, which is a touch more formal, but only a touch. The important things are the measured range lanes, rustic tables with benches, and a roof!
Above is a picture of the ranges, with a couple of 50-foot stations for pistol practice, all the way out to the 480 yard buffalo gong, and beyond. I had probably fired another hundred or slightly more rounds since the big break-in with 150-round after barrel replacement, and it never missed a trigger pull. Smoof.
But this was the first time I tried for any measurable accuracy. The center target was adorned with a few targets, some site-ins, and the requisite all black one, designated by the TTAG guidelines. I didn’t like it, nor did my son, Robert, who was spotting for me, but it is what it is. Black holes on a black target are hard on a spotter.
I was also sporting a freshly mounted Browning Buckmark reflex sight, as the irons just weren’t getting it for me. The stock sights are a true PITA to remove, but I figured a HUD style sight would work a little better, as they have worked well on everything else I’ve bolted them on to.
The first 10-round mag on spotting targets seemed fairly well inside the minute-of-badguy realm I was hoping for;
But this was never meant to be anything remotely approaching a sniper rifle, especially with a pistol caliber cartridge making the 50-yard walk at around 900 fps. So I loaded up five rounds in each of the three magazines and took aim at each of the black targets. Here is the best one:
Not exactly what I was hoping for, and I really can’t tell if that is three tumblers, two very close, or what, but even with my limited capabilities, this is pretty horrible. Firing the aforementioned Remington, with its comparatively diminutive 5-inch barrel, was able to mark targets similarly. I had hoped it would be a bit tighter grouper than this at a bit further useful range than the 1911 but preliminary accuracy testing is not proving that out.
But I bought it as a match to make a set, and a heavy pinker, (as half my collection is gathering dust with the scarcity of .22LR ammo in the last 2+ years), so it works quite fine for these purposes.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Manufacturer: Hi-Point
Model: 4595TS Pro
Caliber: .45 ACP
Magazine capacity: 9 rounds
Stock: All-weather, black molded polymer
Weight: 7 lbs.
Barrel length: 17.5”
Overall length: 32”
Sights: Adjustable peep sight
MSRP: $387 ($280-$300 via Cabela’s)
RATINGS (out of five stars):
Style * * *
It has definitely taken a step forward in overall aesthetics, compared to the early model carbines, but still has, at least, been introduced to the proverbial ugly-stick.
Accuracy * *
This is no sharp-shooter, which is kind of a given when lobbing 230 grain hardballs in the straightline ACP case. But, as the longer barrel should build a bit more velocity and spin, I had hoped for better.
Ergonomics * *
The overall balance and feel when firing is pretty natural, but it can bite. Sure, the .45 has a bit of a punch, but the spring-loaded dampening system at the butt end can compress with your cheeky bits in contact. Ouch.
Reliability * * * * *
This is actually a strong point, at least in my dealings. If there is a round in the chamber and the safety is off, it will go boom. If there is a round in the magazine, it will feed. No malfunctions experienced at all when the correct ammo is present.
Customize This * * *
Anything you can mount on a Pic rail will mount on this, if it is an upper or lower mount. Two levels of lower, and one of upper. As to other third party items like barrels, compensators, or triggers, there are none that I could find.
Overall * * * *
A full star was achieved through the no-hassle and timely repair work. The fact that it goes bang every single time, was also a huge plus. With this price point, and overall solidity, it is a fine firearm.