The Hi-Point 995 Carbine is a 9mm PCC made the the US. It’s the cheapest PCC you can buy ($400-600 in Canada) and has firm lovers and haters out there. I bought this one cause it was a hell of a deal and I thought it’d be fun to review.
I . . .didn’t like the other reviews I found online. There was a mix of “good enough for the price” reviews, “smoking copium” reviews that claimed it was just as good as way better guns, and other reviews where they just shit talked the gun the whole time. In this review, I’ll focus on the design, quality, and potential use cases.
Hi-Point 995TS Specifications
- 16.5 or 19″ barrel
- Sold with black stock or hydro dipped in weird camo patterns
- Comes with a sling and weird trigger lock
- 10 round mag
- 6.5lbs on my scale
- Last round bolt hold open (but no release)
- Not ambi (safety and mag release are for righties only)
- Left charge, right eject only
- Lifetime, no questions-asked warranty
Weird/Bad Design Choices
The Hi-Point carbine feels and looks like it was designed by someone with materials from a 90’s toy company at hand, a “low cost is everything” mantra, and no knowledge of modern firearms design. So many ways that this gun does things are not done by any other gun manufacturer and that’s not a good thing.
It’s sorely overdue for a redesign: it spends money on items it shouldn’t and there are cheaper AND better ways of doing things these days.
- Spring loaded buttpad
- Rear sight is windage and elevation adjustable AND the front sight is elevation adjustable
- Weird cross pin retention plates
- The sling swivels only go on the right and if you follow the directions on where to mount the sling, it carries terribly and jabs your back with the grip. Why bother?
- Weird trigger lock
- Firing pin on spool: very long, not supported, high likelihood of bending
- Bizarre disassembly
- Pic rail under barrel that seems to bend for everyone
- Why not go ambidextrous and sell 10% more products?
- Why is the mag proprietary? Why not make it compatible with their own C9 pistol or something else like a 1911-9mm. Shit, why not double stack?
Is it any good?
No, straight-up. Reliability is poor on many of them including this one, the design has not aged well, the materials are the cheapest possible, disassembly is a pain in the ass, and many of the extra features it has are bizarre and unnecessary.
Some guys might have good reliability from theirs but the design is not conducive to long term durability and reliability and the risk of getting a lemon seems high.
If it was a stripped down version that was more reliable and simple, I think it’d be a compelling buy. The closest PCC in price&performance around here is the Kel Tec Sub2000 and some people may prefer a fixed stock like the Hi-Point Carbine that you could mount a red dot on full time. I even prefer the “mag in grip” style of the Hi-Point vs mags forward of the grip like on the Ruger PCC and I think the bolt hold open and left charge are great (for righties).
Accuracy at 100M was around 5-7 MOA.
If I could change the Hi-Point 995, what would I do?
- Glock mags. If you can’t figure out double stack, go to 1911-9mm mags or at least make the gun take Hi-Points own fucking 9mm pistol mags. The proprietary, carbine-only mags are also 5 rounds only in Canada since it can’t take pistol mags.
- Remove the spring loaded butt pad. Just put a pad of moderate squishiness in there.
- Don’t bother including the sling, tool, or trigger lock. Mold in sling attachment points into the plastic or just don’t worry about them at all: no one should be carrying this thing hunting or for zombie defense. Include a bullshit cable lock or trigger lock like everyone else.
- Replace the weird cross pin system with the simple pins Kel-tec uses on their guns
- Update the choice of plastics
- Go ambi on magazine release and charging handle so lefties feel at least a bit welcome: make grip ambi as well
- Metal picatiny rail on top
- Use a detent ball to capture the charging handle instead of a bolt
- Replace the disassembly clips like the one on the bottom of the gun with . . . fuck, something better
- Grease the trigger a bit and use a stronger trigger return spring so it resets more reliably
- Change the firing pin design. A tiny little spool with a long, thin firing pin that rockets towards a small firing pin hole is going to get bent (and many of them do)
Hi-Point Carbine Aftermarket Accessories
Hi-Point themselves sell:
- Stick on cheek pads
- Shitty red dots, scopes, and lasers
- Shitty folding vertical grips
- Extra magazine holders for the stock
To be fair, Hi-Point sells replacement parts at VERY reasonable prices. If they sell mags for $20, what importer is ripping us off to the point that they’re $49 in Canada?
There’s a surprisingly robust aftermarket of ok add-ons and junk you can buy for your Hi-Point Carbine.
- There’s an aluminum picatinny rail you can buy. For $45, it’s a decent, practical add-on. Some replace and use the barrel brace for extra stability.
- Extended mags. Some with OK reliability, others are garbage. Promag makes a 30 and 50 round drum mag for the Hi-Point.
- Charging handles
- M*Carbo makes a spring kit to improve the trigger feel
- End plate adapters so you can use a buffer tube and AR stocks
- Nicer steel guide rod for the recoil spring
- Extended range front sight??
- You could add a suppressor or muzzle brake
- For some reason, there are barrel shrouds
- Oversized magazine releases
- High tower Armory sells a bullpup stock
- ATI sells a stock
Who should buy the Hi-Point Carbine?
It only makes sense for very few people. As a cheapo plinking 9mm carbine, it’s a hoot. If you don’t need it for anything critical like competition or zombies, it’s fine. That means it shouldn’t be someone’s first gun. It’d be great for someone who already owns a pile of reliable guns but wants a low volume shooter PCC for fun at the range.
