tahunua001
Member
hello all,
a couple years ago I decided to waste a whole lot of dollars so that other people wouldn't have to. ok to be a little less facetious, I started going back to college and had a lot of poor college students asking for advice on decent handguns that could still be had on a college students budget. so I began purchasing a number of low price tag handguns in order to compare and contrast and build an educated opinion. today I finally had the chance to shoot the most recent one and I think I might have enough information to build an unbiased review. these guns are all 9mm and all pictures are stock photos for several reasons, mostly because I didn't like most of them enough to take pictures. so without further Adieu, here are 4 low budget handguns that may be of interest in no particular order.
1. Arcus 98 DA ($325). The Arcus 98 DA (DA/SA) is probably the roughest handgun I've ever owned. it is to the handgun world what the mosin nagant is to the rifle community. it is not winning any fashion contests, and it is riddled with tool marks and non-rounded edges. the 2 15 round magazines are cheaply made and have some sharp edges which really hurt your thumbs after a hard day of loading magazines. however that's about the extent of negative things I can say about the 98. the trigger was heavy, but crisp, similar to a lower end 1911. the model I got had rubber overmolded grips, similar to hogue wrap arounds which fit my hands nicely (large hands) but there are also non-wrap around grips available for certain models for people with smaller hands. the finish appeared to be a form of parkerizing so long term wear is not expected, although some internals and magazines have a really thin bluing so rust may be a factor in highly humid environments. the sights did come misaligned from the factory so I did end up dropping an additional $25 for my local range to drift the sights for me. there is almost no aftermarket support for this model(holsters, modifications, etc)
Summary: it's rough but functional, it'll get the job done, but you probably won't have much fun doing it.
2. Canik TP9(first generation) ($365). The Canik TP9(DA/SA) was a new concept for me. I had never seen a DA/SA striker gun before, and had never seen a striker gun with a decocker(I was not aware of the walther P99 at the time). the canik was a little bulky, and the trigger was a little fatter than I'm used to (a wide flat piece of plastic). the 2 18 round magazines were excellent quality and the freebee retention holster that came with it was actually really nice, so long as you used the belt loop attachment rather than the paddle holster attachment which did absolutely nothing to keep the holster attached to your belt or hooked to your pocket. the slide was heavily coated with a cerakote type material and was fairly durable, I think mostly due to the sheer amount of it. the gun was horribly unreliable out of the box. it failed to return to battery about 75% of the time so a trip back to Century was in order. thankfully Century's customer service was excellent and they fixed it right up. I never had a failure after that, unless you count the failure to hit what you were aiming at, which was a serious concern. it was horribly inaccurate, which is more than likely related to my ability to shoot it accurately. the trigger travel was quite long in DA although SA was not so bad but pull weight in both modes was quite heavy. the gun fit my hand well but that was about the only saving grace it had when all was said and done. (there is little aftermarket support for this model specifically, however I have heard unconfirmed claims that the dimensions are close enough to a P99 that holsters and such designed for the P99 will work).
Summary:the worst handgun I have ever owned. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't in the cards.
3. Ruger 9e ($299). The cheapest gun on this list but probably my favorite(still trying to remain unbiased). the Ruger 9E is a cheapened version of the SR9, with all the goodies taken away. the only handgun on this list that comes with only a single 17 round magazine, which did not bother me so much as I already owned an SR9 so I had spares, but may be an issue for people who are buying this as their first handgun. the ergonomics are the same as the SR9, fairly well suited for medium sized hands but I'm able to make it work with the reversible backstrap. the finish on the slide is a cheaper bluing which has yet to show wear, granted it hasn't seen and overly large amount of use, or carry. the slide is angled rather than rounded but it still fits in all of my SR9 holsters so aftermarket is not an issue. it is fairly accurate and the trigger is similar to the SR9, although I still have yet to break it in so there is still a bit of a grittiness to it after a couple hundred rounds. to offer full disclosure, I removed the magazine disconnect right out of the box, so I have no information on it's reliability during high stress reloads(not that it's too much of an issue considering it only has one mag unless you buy a spare). I was actually able to score a couple hits on an oxygen tank at 200 yards(no that is not a typo) with it, granted that was 2 hits out of a 17 round mag. I have actually used this handgun to train a friend on handgun safety and proficiency and it served the role admirably, it will likely act as a truck gun/loaner/trainer for the rest of the foreseeable future.
Summary: this is the only $300 gun that I would recommend for a new gun owner. it's been reliable, accurate, and has the best aftermarket availability.
4. Canik TP9SF ($380). last but not least the Canik TP9SF. to be honest I had to talk myself into buying this handgun. my experience with the TP9 really colored my opinion of Canik as a whole but I figured I would give them one more chance. the SF is the latest in the new line of TP9 hanguns. it gets rid of the decocker and replaces the DA/SA setup with a SAO setup. the trigger is crisp and clean, although still slightly heavier than most striker guns. trigger travel is pretty short with reset being extremely short. the grip shape and textures are different and it takes different magazines than the original, although they are still 18 round capacity (comes with 2 mags), and still very high quality mags at that. the retention holster has been updated and now can be used as either a belt loop or paddle without having to swap parts around. the paddle actually stays put as well so no accidentally drawing the holster like the old model. this gun is far easier to shoot accurately and it is fairly close to zeroed from the factory. it still has the same heavy cerakote type finish, but seems little less "gloppy" with the application. there is a slowly growing aftermarket base for the new generation Caniks, but since it is such a vast difference from the P99-ish early TP9s, it is probably safe to say that aftermarket items intended for the P99 will not work on the SF. although I only have a little over 100 rounds through it, thus far, it has yet to fail in any way.
Summary: The best gun on this list in my opinion. despite being the most expensive. I would not hesitate to recommend it.
Winner? Canik TP9SF. I am pleasantly surprised with the SF. as far as the total package goes, you end up with a decently accurate, not-unreliable, handgun with outstanding ammo capacity(only the springfield XDM has higher ammo capacity in 9mm that I'm aware of), and comes with a fully serviceable retention holster if you would like to practice open carry. however I would be remiss if I did not point out that it is the most expensive model in this list and if a person bought a spare mag and serpa style holster for the Ruger 9E, you would end up with a fairly comparable package for a fairly comparable price, from an american based company (I just had to throw that little jab in there).
I also should point out, that given the price range, that is assuming a completely rigid budget for handguns, not able to spend one penny above $380. not included in this list are 2 handguns which I acquired for $400 and $420(before sales tax) respectively, the Ruger SR9 compact and the Springfield XD-S 4" both also 9mm handguns. when comparing the guns in this list to those models, the specs of the TP9SF begin to fall a bit short, especially if the potential buyer in question is hoping to carry concealed as all of the guns on this list are full sized service models. so there you go, as unbiased as I could make it. let me know your thoughts.
a couple years ago I decided to waste a whole lot of dollars so that other people wouldn't have to. ok to be a little less facetious, I started going back to college and had a lot of poor college students asking for advice on decent handguns that could still be had on a college students budget. so I began purchasing a number of low price tag handguns in order to compare and contrast and build an educated opinion. today I finally had the chance to shoot the most recent one and I think I might have enough information to build an unbiased review. these guns are all 9mm and all pictures are stock photos for several reasons, mostly because I didn't like most of them enough to take pictures. so without further Adieu, here are 4 low budget handguns that may be of interest in no particular order.
1. Arcus 98 DA ($325). The Arcus 98 DA (DA/SA) is probably the roughest handgun I've ever owned. it is to the handgun world what the mosin nagant is to the rifle community. it is not winning any fashion contests, and it is riddled with tool marks and non-rounded edges. the 2 15 round magazines are cheaply made and have some sharp edges which really hurt your thumbs after a hard day of loading magazines. however that's about the extent of negative things I can say about the 98. the trigger was heavy, but crisp, similar to a lower end 1911. the model I got had rubber overmolded grips, similar to hogue wrap arounds which fit my hands nicely (large hands) but there are also non-wrap around grips available for certain models for people with smaller hands. the finish appeared to be a form of parkerizing so long term wear is not expected, although some internals and magazines have a really thin bluing so rust may be a factor in highly humid environments. the sights did come misaligned from the factory so I did end up dropping an additional $25 for my local range to drift the sights for me. there is almost no aftermarket support for this model(holsters, modifications, etc)
Summary: it's rough but functional, it'll get the job done, but you probably won't have much fun doing it.
2. Canik TP9(first generation) ($365). The Canik TP9(DA/SA) was a new concept for me. I had never seen a DA/SA striker gun before, and had never seen a striker gun with a decocker(I was not aware of the walther P99 at the time). the canik was a little bulky, and the trigger was a little fatter than I'm used to (a wide flat piece of plastic). the 2 18 round magazines were excellent quality and the freebee retention holster that came with it was actually really nice, so long as you used the belt loop attachment rather than the paddle holster attachment which did absolutely nothing to keep the holster attached to your belt or hooked to your pocket. the slide was heavily coated with a cerakote type material and was fairly durable, I think mostly due to the sheer amount of it. the gun was horribly unreliable out of the box. it failed to return to battery about 75% of the time so a trip back to Century was in order. thankfully Century's customer service was excellent and they fixed it right up. I never had a failure after that, unless you count the failure to hit what you were aiming at, which was a serious concern. it was horribly inaccurate, which is more than likely related to my ability to shoot it accurately. the trigger travel was quite long in DA although SA was not so bad but pull weight in both modes was quite heavy. the gun fit my hand well but that was about the only saving grace it had when all was said and done. (there is little aftermarket support for this model specifically, however I have heard unconfirmed claims that the dimensions are close enough to a P99 that holsters and such designed for the P99 will work).
Summary:the worst handgun I have ever owned. I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't in the cards.
3. Ruger 9e ($299). The cheapest gun on this list but probably my favorite(still trying to remain unbiased). the Ruger 9E is a cheapened version of the SR9, with all the goodies taken away. the only handgun on this list that comes with only a single 17 round magazine, which did not bother me so much as I already owned an SR9 so I had spares, but may be an issue for people who are buying this as their first handgun. the ergonomics are the same as the SR9, fairly well suited for medium sized hands but I'm able to make it work with the reversible backstrap. the finish on the slide is a cheaper bluing which has yet to show wear, granted it hasn't seen and overly large amount of use, or carry. the slide is angled rather than rounded but it still fits in all of my SR9 holsters so aftermarket is not an issue. it is fairly accurate and the trigger is similar to the SR9, although I still have yet to break it in so there is still a bit of a grittiness to it after a couple hundred rounds. to offer full disclosure, I removed the magazine disconnect right out of the box, so I have no information on it's reliability during high stress reloads(not that it's too much of an issue considering it only has one mag unless you buy a spare). I was actually able to score a couple hits on an oxygen tank at 200 yards(no that is not a typo) with it, granted that was 2 hits out of a 17 round mag. I have actually used this handgun to train a friend on handgun safety and proficiency and it served the role admirably, it will likely act as a truck gun/loaner/trainer for the rest of the foreseeable future.
Summary: this is the only $300 gun that I would recommend for a new gun owner. it's been reliable, accurate, and has the best aftermarket availability.
4. Canik TP9SF ($380). last but not least the Canik TP9SF. to be honest I had to talk myself into buying this handgun. my experience with the TP9 really colored my opinion of Canik as a whole but I figured I would give them one more chance. the SF is the latest in the new line of TP9 hanguns. it gets rid of the decocker and replaces the DA/SA setup with a SAO setup. the trigger is crisp and clean, although still slightly heavier than most striker guns. trigger travel is pretty short with reset being extremely short. the grip shape and textures are different and it takes different magazines than the original, although they are still 18 round capacity (comes with 2 mags), and still very high quality mags at that. the retention holster has been updated and now can be used as either a belt loop or paddle without having to swap parts around. the paddle actually stays put as well so no accidentally drawing the holster like the old model. this gun is far easier to shoot accurately and it is fairly close to zeroed from the factory. it still has the same heavy cerakote type finish, but seems little less "gloppy" with the application. there is a slowly growing aftermarket base for the new generation Caniks, but since it is such a vast difference from the P99-ish early TP9s, it is probably safe to say that aftermarket items intended for the P99 will not work on the SF. although I only have a little over 100 rounds through it, thus far, it has yet to fail in any way.
Summary: The best gun on this list in my opinion. despite being the most expensive. I would not hesitate to recommend it.
Winner? Canik TP9SF. I am pleasantly surprised with the SF. as far as the total package goes, you end up with a decently accurate, not-unreliable, handgun with outstanding ammo capacity(only the springfield XDM has higher ammo capacity in 9mm that I'm aware of), and comes with a fully serviceable retention holster if you would like to practice open carry. however I would be remiss if I did not point out that it is the most expensive model in this list and if a person bought a spare mag and serpa style holster for the Ruger 9E, you would end up with a fairly comparable package for a fairly comparable price, from an american based company (I just had to throw that little jab in there).
I also should point out, that given the price range, that is assuming a completely rigid budget for handguns, not able to spend one penny above $380. not included in this list are 2 handguns which I acquired for $400 and $420(before sales tax) respectively, the Ruger SR9 compact and the Springfield XD-S 4" both also 9mm handguns. when comparing the guns in this list to those models, the specs of the TP9SF begin to fall a bit short, especially if the potential buyer in question is hoping to carry concealed as all of the guns on this list are full sized service models. so there you go, as unbiased as I could make it. let me know your thoughts.
