I'm a modern kind of carry guy, so carrying milsurp wouldn't really apply to me.
But.... If I had a nice Browning Hi-Power, I might carry that. I used to have a Walther PP in 7.62, but never carried it.
I carried a BHP when I lived in NH for undergrad and I found its two pounds of mass assuring. The BHP is a nice gun for OWB or open carry. I never noticed the heft and at the time I was probably 5'8" and 140lbs. In a nice holster and worn under a hoodie or jacket, the BHP is quite fine.
Except for the fact that the safety lever system on the BHP blows absolute miserable donkey chunks, unless you go aftermarket.
If I was forced to carry a milsurp, I'd carry a 1911 over that any day of the week due to that lever alone. The 1911 safety is inutitive and just works, and even on the older guns
its not horrendous to manipulate.
Then there's the f***ing magazine safety, but at least that shit is removable. But by default, a BHP has at least two strikes against it.
The safety on the BHP sucks, yes. But there's a few things to keep in mind about it: (1) the 1911 safety sucks as well when you're looking at original, military-issue 1911s and 1911A1s, at least it does for me because the safety on a GI 1911 amounts to a bump on the frame; in comparison, the BHP safety (1935 design) is contemporaneous with an original 1911A1 safety (1924 gun), and the BHP safety is better than the old 1911 safety. (2) The BHP Mark IIs and Mark IIIs have improved safety catches and the Mark IIIs specifically are ambidextrous. (3) The mag safety on a BHP is pretty much a non-issue unless (a) you're shooting competitively with it and have to do a lot of unload/show clear, which I've done and I've gotten around by just telling the range officer "this has a mag safety" and by carrying an empty mag in my pants pocket; or (b) you get into the defensive situation where you've dropped the mag, have a round in the chamber, and can't insert a new mag, or the person you're up against is literally on you and managed to drop your mag on your gun, and either situation is pretty out there.
People shit on the BHP's trigger because of the mag safety but I never noticed a decrease in my shooting abilities specifically because of the mag safety. If you give me the BHP and another mid-sized (BHP has a 4 5/8" barrel, its close to full size but isn't as big as a 1911 or Beretta 92) 9x19, I'll shoot just as accurately with the BHP as I will with other guns. Just takes time and practice, like anything else.
Now, I'll add that I've since switched to polymer striker fired pistols with red dots because Browning discontinued the BHP and mine, a BHP Mark III Standard, has about doubled in value; the BHP isn't ideal for adding a red dot; and I'd rather have a Glock trigger safety than having to deal with any manual safety like on a BHP or a 1911. If I can't have a Glock/Steyr, I'd rather have a BHP over a 1911. But, that's what I know and everyone's got biases.
Niche case but as a lefty at least many Hi-Powers have an ambi safety so I can use it. I'm not aware of any milsurp 1911s that have one.
Let's be clear, the surplus Mark II and Mark III BHPs are
police surplus, not
military surplus. I'm sure some police department or the FBI has some ambi 1911s. Obviously, though, as we both know, those aren't available for $500-600 (or, were) like the Israeli police surplus BHPs.