Purchasing a new pistol, behind enemy lines

[Al-jim19]

I will preface this post with: I live in Massachusetts. For those out of the loop, we still have the awb and a list that governs what pistols a dealer can sell you.

Now to the good stuff.

I have a small chunk of change saved and I want to buy a new pistol. I have a SW shield 9mm already, so I'm looking for something bigger, mainly used for HD, winter carry, and good ol' range fun killing cans and fruit. I'm flexible on caliber as long as it's pretty easy to find and relatively cheap (9,40,45). I would like for there to either be pre ban mags available, or for 10 rounders to be the standard capacity magazines. I have 310$ saved up currently, but am willing to spend up to 400....ok, 425 out the door.

So far I have considered:
-some variety of 3rd gen SW, for capacity...if someone could give me the crash course on these, I would appreciate it. I can't seem to crack the code of the number system.
-ruger sr45, at the upper end of the budget but a full size 45 bought new would be cool and fit the bill
-SW SD9/40ve, well within budget and easy to get in my neighbourhood
-ruger p series pistol, again within budget, but I don't know the differences between models.

To everyone who may contribute, thanks!

 

[HDCamel]

 

[aarondhgraham]

Are Bersa pistols available in Mass?

Are Bersa pistols available in Mass?

If so, you should handle a Bersa Thunder Pro.

Actually there are two models of Thunder Pro pistols.

There is the full size Thunder Pro which is 17 rounds of 9mm and a 4.25" barrel,,,
And the Thunder Pro UC (Ultra Compact) which is 10 or 13 rounds of 9mm with a 3.25" barrel.

Oddly enough the Thunder Pro comes in 9mm or .40,,,
The Thunder Pro UC comes in 9mm, .40, and .45 ACP.

Of course the mag capacity goes down a bit as the caliber increases,,,
Each pistol comes from the factory with two magazines,,,
Both pistols are DA/SA with a decocker,,,
Both have ambidextrous controls.

I recently purchased the UC model in 9mm,,,
The 10 round and 13 round models are identical,,,
The only difference is which magazine the gun ships with.

I bought my Duotone model at The Evil Pawn Shop,,,
With an extra 13 round magazine,,,
I paid $439.00 for it.

I'm very happy with this gun,,,
It's eaten 200 rounds of steel cased Tulammo,,,
As well as 200 rounds of brass cased Federal FMJ from Wal Mart.

I'm not saying this is the best pistol out there,,,
But I own three Bersa pistols and they all perform well,,,
I'm just tossing this out because I am liking my 9mm UC so much.

Happy hunting.

Aarond

.

 

[Al-jim19]

Sadly bersa pistols are verboten from dealer sales (to my knowledge), most of my options are newly made rugers or smiths, or older used pistols from before 1998.

 

[shockwave]

Everybody should have a S&W 686+ 6" in their lineup.

 

[FireInCairo]

If you want hi-cap mags, I believe you will have to buy a gun that has been in production since before the ban. That limits you a good deal. The best option would be Glock because of the availability of used hi-cap mags that are pre-ban.

You can find used Glocks for around $400, but they will have some wear. The good news is that they're easily rebuilt with replacement parts as the lower and uppers are pretty much indestructible.

I once bought a G23 for $425 in the Commie-wealth (pre-panic of 2013) at an LGS. IT was well-used, but still kept humming. You can also find decent used prices on northeastshooters classifieds.