The latest evolution of the Hi-Point pistol-caliber-carbine, the 995P, looks like a great starting point for a versatile Poor Man’s suppressed SBR (Short Barreled Rifle). Featuring a configurable design, the 995P comes in a legal pistol format. However, if you are inclined to register it with the ATF, you can easily convert it to an SBR.

The Hi-Point 995P 9mm Pistol

The 995P’s 13.25-inch threaded barrel gives it room up front for a can without becoming overly long or nose-heavy. The new stub-buttstock is fitted with a thick aluminum buttplate adapter. It comes factory-fitted with a rugged, aluminum, vertically oriented Picatinny rail section, and QD sling swivel socket.

This configuration is ideal for installing a side-folding pistol brace. Likewise, you can mount a side-folding stock if you register the gun with the ATF as an SBR.

The QD socket is perfectly located for carrying the gun with a centrally balanced single-point sling. Its versatility doesn’t end there. The Picatinny rail adapter can be unscrewed to expose a threaded hole for mounting an AR buffer-tube supported pistol brace. However, again, if you register the gun with the BATF as an SBR, you can mount any buffer-tube-supported collapsible stock.

The diversity of options available in the latter category virtually overwhelms the imagination.

Life Imitates Art?

Had the Hi-Point Carbine been around in the mid-1970s, I suspect its futuristic looks might have landed it some Science Fiction movie roles. To my eye, the 995P pistol has a very strong Star Wars “blaster” sensibility to it. But I can only speculate if this is a case of life imitating art or evolutionary coincidence.

In many respects, I like this pistol more than the carbines because it’s handier, no less accurate, and it is more pleasant to shoot. This is because the energy transfer of the bolt’s heavy-reciprocating mass is separated from your face by virtue of the versatile brace/stock mounting buttplate design.

You can really tailor this gun to your tastes. For the purposes of this report, my tastes were heavily influenced by the Star Wars films, tempered by practicality. I also focused on value-priced accessories sensible for a gun with a street price that’s likely to be less than $350.

The Firefield brand met all these requirements.

STAR WARS Accessories

When buying red dot optics, prices increase as water/dust resistance increases. However, prices decrease as physical size and weight increase. For a Star Wars 955P, I wanted a larger sealed-tube red dot that could at least survive a rainstorm. I also wanted a targeting laser for close-range point shooting from the hip.

At $100 on sale, the Firefield Impulse 1×30 Red Dot Sight had both. Its 3 MOA red reticle has six manually adjusted brightness settings, capped turrets for elevation and windage adjustments, flip-up, plastic, lens covers, and a sturdy aluminum body with integral, piggy-backed, red targeting laser and Picatinny rail mounting clamp.

It was also IP55 certified. So, it was tested against water ingress on land, but not suitable for submersion. This should be suitable for most shooters.

I also wanted a tactical light on the 995P to increase its utility for close-range self-defense at night. It also acts as a protective hand stop to keep my fingers away from the muzzle. I didn’t need anything rated for clandestine operations. So, I chose the 150-lumen LED Firefield BattleTek Weapon Light, which cost only $40 on sale.

It was also IP55 rated for water resistance, had an integral Picatinny rail mounting clamp, dual finger paddle operation, and even included a strobe feature. The casing was glass-filled nylon rather than aluminum. But its specifications show it to be shockproof through .45 ACP recoil or a three-foot drop.

I chose Firefield’s braided Tactical Single Point Paracord sling mostly because of its unusual look. However, from a practical standpoint, when is having 80 feet of 550-pound strength paracord on hand ever a bad thing? On sale, the sling cost $30, and I paired it with a triangular QD swivel from Brownells.com.

Finding a Brace for the 995P

The most challenging accessory to track down for the 995P was a suitable folding pistol brace. The one you see here is actually borrowed from a SIG Canebrake Rattler and is fabulously expensive for this application. There are more economical alternatives on Brownells at the $160 price point, with folding adapters for AR buffer tubes starting around $90.

When selecting a folding brace or stock, consider if it will interfere with firing when folded. In the case of my SIG brace, it inadvertently activated the magazine release unless I positioned the tan rubber arm brace strap support either vertically or horizontally.

There was an upside to positioning the SIG rubber arm strap support horizontally. It served as a transverse grip for my supporting hand. This allowed me to adopt a comfortable Weaver-style stance when shooting freehand.

Shooting the Hi-Point 995P

At 6.1 pounds in the raw and unloaded, the 995P requires some serious arm strength to shoot offhand. However, it’s manageable on tin cans at 25 yards using the two-hand hold Weaver stance or a fore-and-aft grip style.

In low light, the targeting laser allows accurate shooting from below your line of sight. When the pistol is extended at any length from supporting contact with the body, the recoil is disruptive to aim, thanks to the heavy bolt. But it’s in no way uncomfortable.

Hi-Point offers .45 ACP and 10mm versions of this pistol, which I’d expect to be peppier but similarly pain-free. Fully accessorized, as you see here, the test pistol weighed a whopping 8 lbs. 2.7 oz. Unsnapping the sling for offhand shooting got it down 7 lbs. 9.3 oz.

Final Thoughts

The pistol functioned perfectly with all loads tested. Curious about how much velocity was lost when the carbine’s 16-inch barrel was reduced by 2.75 inches, I shot the test loads through both the carbine and the pistol.

The M1152 9mm +P showed a drop of 140 feet-per-second (fps), the largest recorded. The Black Hills 115-grain FMJ load showed a drop of only 40 fps, and the Winchester 115-grain JHP lost 23 fps.

In addition to being 100% American-made, they are covered by a genuine lifetime warranty.

For more information, please visit Hi-PointFirearms.com.

Hi-Point 995P 9mm Pistol Specs

Performance

Performance was tested with a series of five-shot groups fired at 25 yards from the bench with iron sights. A Competition Electronics Pro-Chrono Digital Chronograph was set 15 feet from the muzzle. Bullet weight is in grains, velocity in feet-per-second and the group size in inches.