What do you really get for 3 grand?

[M&PVolk]

I think my "scratched up" comment must have struck a nerve. For me, it's like the difference between a Viper and a Honda Civic. While I would care for both the best I could, I guarantee I would drive the Viper less, even if I loved it more! There is a matter of practicality to be considered, along with investment. Typically, the greater the investment one has in something (financial, labor, etc.), the more care one takes in keeping that thing as close to pristine as possible.

It's not that I wouldn't USE or even love a $3,000 gun, but subjecting it to excessive abuse from carrying when a $500 gun is likely just as good or even better for the job seems foolish to me. You are essentially taking all the positives about a $3k firearm and negating them. AFICS, you get a better finish, tighter fit, and some better parts. The better finish is going to wear just as quickly, if not more quickly than even a poly gun. The tighter fit actually contributes to lower reliability under daily abuse. The lack of MIM is great, but adds weight. I can't see carrying such a gun.

All that said, if you are in the income bracket that allows you to look at $3,000 guns the way I look at $500 guns, I can easily see why you would go in that direction. Even if a $3,000 gun is something that takes a lot of saving to purchase, I still understand wanting and buying one. If you can or want to do so, buy one. For me, it would wind up being a range gun only, and I just can't conceive of actually using it as a daily carry.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

"Beware the man with one gun; he probably knows how to use it." If that man has one of those high grade $3000 pistolas, he might be something to contend with. If I could just whittle down to one gun, then I could afford it to be a $3K gun. But then I'd buy a second, just in case #1 was out of play, or I needed one for the other hand.

 

[PattonTime]

For Three Grand !

I have bought two 1911's in the past month.
One is a Colt Lwt Commander XSE 38 Super
It was a special order from the Colt custom shop. It has a factory target trigger that breaks at 2 1/2 lbs on my Lyman digital trigger scale it also has no take up , it is like no other trigger I own.
The next gun is a DW Commander Bobtail 45acp I bought it used but unfired for $900.00 I paid $1000.00 for the Colt.
I am so happy with both guns, I can't imagine needing anything nicer myself.
But I am sure something will soon catch my eye, because I seem to be the same with guns now as I was with girlfriends as a young man...
Rather fickle, and dedicated to trying them all...
It is as much fun now as it was back then, so long ago....

 

[ms6852]

For 3 grand I would get this instead
12/22 revolver x 2 and

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx?item=PX9154LP

http://www.usfirearms.com/cat/12-22.asp

 

[EddieNFL]

It's not that I wouldn't USE or even love a $3,000 gun, but subjecting it to excessive abuse from carrying when a $500 gun is likely just as good or even better for the job seems foolish to me.

The "as good as" part is subjective, but provided you did your homework and bought the 3K version from a reputable maker, how is the $500 version better?

You are essentially taking all the positives about a $3k firearm and negating them. AFICS, you get a better finish, tighter fit, and some better parts

.

You just contradicted yourself.

The better finish is going to wear just as quickly, if not more quickly than even a poly gun.

How does the better finish wear quicker? Isn't polymer molded in color, rather than coated? How do I carry a polymer gun if it's not offered in the configuration I need?

The tighter fit actually contributes to lower reliability under daily abuse. The lack of MIM is great, but adds weight. I can't see carrying such a gun.

Been hangin' out in gun shops swappin' myths? The "tight fit" reliability myth ranks right along side plastic guns will kaboom and pass through airport security undetected. Any 1911 smith worth his salt can properly fit slides to rails. A properly fitted gun works.

 

[jaysouth]

I have a Norinco with a better trigger than a Les Baer.

I have a slightly modified Kimber that is more accurate than a Wilson target.

Why would I own a $3,000 Brown? Just one reason....bragging rights.

Just because I can.

 

[LeonCarr]

If I ever were to pay 3000 bucks for a 1911, it better be functionally and cosmetically perfect. Period. I have seen Les Baers choke and puke during matches, even after their recommended break in.

You can buy a 1911 for 3000 bucks that is good to about 50 yards, or for 3000 bucks you can have a rifle that is good to 2500 yards. Not a hard choice for me if I had the dough.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[millertyme]

I think if you could "afford it" (whatever that means) you might buy it. Guys with more money have toys with higher price tags. I'm sure there's a price point where if you had x amount of dollars you spend it on a $2,000 custom. Me - I'm a broke college student so I picked up a Ruger P95. If I was finished with law school and making some money? Yeah, I'd splurge. I could easily see myself walking out of a gun store with the prettiest pistol I could get my hands on. I love to shoot, but I also enjoy whatever level of refinement I can afford. Sometimes it's a grilled ribeye, sometimes it's name brand peanut butter. Put yourself in a job making $150k/year and see what piques your interest then.

 

[Pappy109]

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys! I wonder if shooting a hole in a paper target with a Hi Point .45 would make a smaller hole?

 

[Pappy109]

If I ever were to pay 3000 bucks for a 1911, it better be functionally and cosmetically perfect. Period. I have seen Les Baers choke and puke during matches, even after their recommended break in.

You can buy a 1911 for 3000 bucks that is good to about 50 yards, or for 3000 bucks you can have a rifle that is good to 2500 yards. Not a hard choice for me if I had the dough.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Check this out..230 yards with a stock Glock 23:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFd3kF6LHz4

 

[LeonCarr]

Hey Pappy,

Pretty good shooting...I once shot a jackrabbit at 175 yards with a Glock 17. Pure luck. I smiled the rest of the day.

 

[EddieNFL]

I was thinking about a Glock 37 after a fellow at the range told me he could hit balloons at 380 yards with no hold-over. That's a pretty flat trajectory.

 

[jpatterson]

What I would do with 3k 1911 budget:

- Buy a quality 1911 under 1k. (Springfield, Kimber, etc.)
- Buy about 500 rounds of ammunition.
- After and while shooting those rounds, ponder what things I might like to better fit them for myself.
- Get that custom work done, be it a trigger job, etc.
- Then shoot the snot out of it!

I'm the kind of guy who would rather buy an affordable model and have any custom work that I might want done to that one. Why spend 3 grand on a gun with custom work that I don't want or need?

 

[Pappy109]

What I would do with 3k 1911 budget:

- Buy a quality 1911 under 1k. (Springfield, Kimber, etc.)
- Buy about 500 rounds of ammunition.
- After and while shooting those rounds, ponder what things I might like to better fit them for myself.
- Get that custom work done, be it a trigger job, etc.
- Then shoot the snot out of it!

I'm the kind of guy who would rather buy an affordable model and have any custom work that I might want done to that one. Why spend 3 grand on a gun with custom work that I don't want or need?

I will do your custom work and charge the hell out of you for it if that will make you feel good about it! We can even fit it with a 460 conversion kit so you can moose hunt in Alaska with it.

Sit down here sir, open your wallet and let me see what I can do for you....

 

[inSight-NEO]

I know this is not a "rifle" thread, but I must say that if I had 3 grand to burn Id go for a nice AR-15 and use the remaining cash for a very nice semi-auto pistol. Hell, maybe two! Unless Im shooting for money or am making a "rare" purchase which would yield higher monetary gain in the future, I could never see the reason for blowing thousands upon thousands of dollars on one weapon.

But, more directly related to your question is the fact that "custom" work costs...ALOT. Its no surprise to me that buying a weapon already "pimped out" is not quite as hard on the wallet. Why this is I have no real idea. But, its like buying a car (to a degree). You can load up with the options and additional accessories upon the initial purchase and spend a bit more or you could have this stuff done later on and spend much, much more. Just the way it is.

 

[millertyme]

Like insight said. you can spend a lot of money on your firearm to make it stand out as something unique and personal to you AFTER you buy the gun, or you can buy a gun that is unique and stands out by virtue of its price which limits the availability to only those with the funds and discretion to purchase it. Either way, you buy a RIA and add all the doohickeys and make it "yours" or pay a seemingly absurd amount of money on something that contains all the possible customs you'd want and make it "yours" by virtue of you paying more for it than would anyone else you know.

 

[EddieNFL]

Either way, you buy a RIA and add all the doohickeys and make it "yours" or pay a seemingly absurd amount of money on something that contains all the possible customs you'd want and make it "yours" by virtue of you paying more for it than would anyone else you know.

Apparently, I know more people than you.

 

[mcdonl]

I am just insanly jelous because I purchase guns based on the cheapest ones I can find.

That being said, I dont think I have any less fun when at the range. The comparison of a Honda to a BMW and a (Pick your cheap gun) to a $3K 1911 is pointless for the recreational or even amatuer competition shooter. It is not apples to apples... you get in your honda and use it as a necesarry transportation. A gun for *ME* is something I keep for protection, but mostly just for fun at the range.

So yeah, I would LOVE if someone gave me a $3K 1911, or if I had the money to buy one but I bet when I am at the bench, and I am shooting at targets I enjoy it just as much as the guy next to me with the expensive guns.