Do You Have an Excellent Handgun that was Inexpensive?

[Tallball]

I have a lot of firearms. I "paid retail" for a few, but most of them were inexpensive. A few of my inexpensive firearms were bad. Most are okay. A few of them are outstanding.

I am a revolver guy. I had an excellent 357 and snub 38 that were stolen when I was burglarized around 12 years ago. I prefer to have a loaded 357 near my bed at night, so when I saw this used Taurus Model 689 at my LGS soon afterwards, I asked if I could hold it. It had good sights, tight lockup, and an unusually good trigger. For $199 I decided to give it a chance. It has functioned perfectly for twelve years now. My FiL believes it is every bit as accurate and his Dan Wesson and Ruger GP100 (because it is). The grips are aftermarket ones I put on it last year.

It was one of my best handgun purchases ever.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Maybe not as cool/inexpensive as yours, but I have two:

Pre-Model 10 (circa 1936): $380
Sig 239 (Current carry choice): $550

I shoot them both quite often. They will shoot minute of frying pan at 240 yrds.

 

[Tallball]

My best ever semi-auto purchase was this Russian Makarov. It is the commercial version in 380. I paid $149 for it NIB in the late 1980's.

It has yet to malfunction. The sights are good. The trigger is excellent. It is one of my most accurate pistols.

 

[Tallball]

I am recovering from ankle surgery and don't have enough to do, obviously.

And to clarify, I am not a Taurus fanboy. My stepdad has one that is junk. One of my other Taurus revolvers has had to go back to the factory twice, and I don't know when or if I will ever trust it for SD. But a few of them have been very good.

Do I value my life at more than $199? Of course I do. But I have fired thousands of rounds through this revolver over the course of twelve years, and it has gone bang every single time. I know that I can count on it. If it ever has even the hint of a malfunction, one of my S&W's or Rugers will take its place as my preferred HD handgun. Until then, it will stay by my bed.


"Pre-Model 10 (circa 1936): $380" - That sounds very cool and inexpensive to me!

 

[GyMac]

+1 for the Russian Makarov in .380. I shoot mine all the time. I would add all other Makarovs, too.

 

[Furncliff]

I would not have considered a Bersa until a friend let me shoot his. For an inexpensive pistol (found a deal for $240 - new) the one I bought for my wife recently is a real gem (.380).

I'm looking for A Makarov now.

 

[jad0110]

Ruger Police Service Six .357 Mag, paid $280 in 2009. I'm in black bear / coyote country right now, and I have it on my hip loaded with Buffalo Bore 180 hardcast .357s:






Taurus 431, 3" 44 special, paid $268 in about 2012:

 

[Wishoot]

I bought a stainless 4" GP100 for $299 a while back. A CZ82 for around $180. A S&W 637-2 for $300. A S&W 4006 for $299.

All go boom on demand.

 

[Deaf Smith]

My best ever semi-auto purchase was this Russian Makarov. It is the commercial version in 380. I paid $149 for it NIB in the late 1980's.

It has yet to malfunction. The sights are good. The trigger is excellent. It is one of my most accurate pistols.

Same here. East German Makarov. Paid $105 years back.

Deaf

 

[Mike J]

Probably my best ever handgun deal was back around 96 or 97 I picked up a Dan Wesson model 15-2 & a used holster for $100. I have no idea what that would be in 2015 dollars though. I found it at a pawn shop. The finish shows some wear but it is probably my most accurate handgun.

 

[Captcurt]

Hats off to Turkey.

One pistol that has really amazed me is the Sars K2p. Fed it several different loads and it shoots all of them very well. Sold 3 and have never heard a bad word about them. Good ergonomics (CZ clone), decent sights, and good trigger.

 

[palmetto99]

I have a Rossi 518 .22lr revolver. Stainless. Size of a j-frame with a 4" barrel and adjustable rear sight. Very good DA pull and good SA.

 

[Liberty1776]

Rossi 571 stainless 4" .357. Shoots very well, great trigger, reliable, cheap.

 

[Sol]

I rented a few Taurus revolvers a while ago (years) and they were the first revolvers I ever used.

I know Taurus catches flack but honestly I couldn't fault the samples I used.

Nice lookin piece for $199.

 

[HexHead]

My S&W Model 10, pencil barrel square butt. $200 OTD

 

[shootr]

Russian 9mm Mak here. Accurate as all get out. Paid $85 for it NIB late 80s.

 

[Tallball]

Wow Shootr, I should have gone shopping with you instead. I paid $64 too much. You got a fabulous deal!

Thank you Sol.

 

[Eb1]

Rossi M720 .44 SPC $200 local pawn.
Bersa Thunder $250.
Tisas .45 ACP $320.

 

[Antihero]

Im pretty happy with my zastava m88a, paid 179

 

[Twiki357]

Mine would be a Llama Micro-Max 380. I found one on Gunbroker for $239. When I checked with my local FFL about the transfer, there’s one in the case for $219 + tax. No $70 in shipping and transfer fees.

 

[JERRY]

Bersa model 383, D/A in 1992. best $149 I ever spent.

 

[CajunBass]

I had a Hi-Point, C-9, 9mm that retailed for $149.00. That thing worked like a Singer sewing machine. Probably one of the best guns I ever owned. Not something the kids would fight over when I'm gone, but it worked. I sold it a couple of years ago for almost what I paid for it.

I also bought a "Unique" (that was the brand name) 22 pistol a few years ago for $99.00. It was made in France in the post war years. Man that was a really nice little pistol. All steel construction. I eventually sold it to a fellow who wanted it for his daughter, but nice gun.

 

[bannockburn]

Picked up a Manurhin P1 in a trade a few years back. Don't remember what I had in the other gun but it wasn't all that much.

 

[49willys]

I have a sw9ve that I traded a s&w 22a for,has been 100%.very accurate and with some trigger work,it has a pretty good trigger pull.Not bad for an initial $200 investment.

 

[jimbo555]

Kahr cw45. I'm very pleased with mine. It has been reliable out of the box, accurate and soft shooting. Cost, 330 dollars.