Cosmoline
Member
I've noticed a number of old police duty handguns going for amazingly low prices. I'm not sure what the market's reasoning is, but as far as I can see a lot of these old style duty guns are the best deal going for concealed carry or light weight carry. Here are some examples I've seen locally.
Colt Police Positive Special, second and third generation
These are massively undervalued compared with other Colts. Why I don't know. I found my PPS to have the best double action trigger on any revolver, and it was exceedingly accurate and pleasant to shoot with 158 grain lead RN loads. I got my PPS at a pawn shop for under $200.
Ruger Security/Service Six. These are often overlooked, but IMHO they represent the golden mean between S&W's and the newer, more massive Rugers. They are big without being too big, and have much better ergonmoics than the GP-100 frames. At the same time they do better with a hot diet than a S&W. I found an old Security Six for $100 and after $80 and a trip to Ruger it's been re-blued and completely fixed up. It's not too heavy, yet it's easy to control and pleasant to shoot even with hot loads.
Walther PP. This is a real mystery to me. The PPK's go for a mint, but their slightly larger older brothers often go for half the price. I recently picked one up and have been very pleased. Accurate, reliable and very well made.
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that a lot of these handguns are in "unfashionable" chamberings. People poo-poo the .32 ACP, the .38 S&W and even the .38 Special as too weak for protection. Their loss can be your gain, though. Many of these old handguns are much lighter than modern equivalents. The Colt PPS, for example, is so light it can be used as a CCW piece even with a 4" barrel.
Colt Police Positive Special, second and third generation
These are massively undervalued compared with other Colts. Why I don't know. I found my PPS to have the best double action trigger on any revolver, and it was exceedingly accurate and pleasant to shoot with 158 grain lead RN loads. I got my PPS at a pawn shop for under $200.
Ruger Security/Service Six. These are often overlooked, but IMHO they represent the golden mean between S&W's and the newer, more massive Rugers. They are big without being too big, and have much better ergonmoics than the GP-100 frames. At the same time they do better with a hot diet than a S&W. I found an old Security Six for $100 and after $80 and a trip to Ruger it's been re-blued and completely fixed up. It's not too heavy, yet it's easy to control and pleasant to shoot even with hot loads.
Walther PP. This is a real mystery to me. The PPK's go for a mint, but their slightly larger older brothers often go for half the price. I recently picked one up and have been very pleased. Accurate, reliable and very well made.
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that a lot of these handguns are in "unfashionable" chamberings. People poo-poo the .32 ACP, the .38 S&W and even the .38 Special as too weak for protection. Their loss can be your gain, though. Many of these old handguns are much lighter than modern equivalents. The Colt PPS, for example, is so light it can be used as a CCW piece even with a 4" barrel.
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