[czechmate]

What is the best cheap (and preferably reliable) handgun you have ever owned?

[critter]

High Standard Double Nine-nine shot .22 revolver. Had it for nearly 40 years and it still shoots nicely.

[hansolo]

I assume you could transpose the word "inexpensive" for cheap: at $340.00, I am still amazed at my CZ 75B.:D
By your handle, I may not be alone .


Steve in Krappy-Fornia

[Newton]

Toss up between my Makarov for $130, or my FEG Hi Power with factory hicaps for $199.

Both have been 100% reliable and would serve you very well as a combat handgun, the Mak for concealment and the FEG as a sidearm.

Newton

[firestar]

That is a very good but hard question. What is the defination of "cheap"? Is there a price cut off? Do you mean "best' as in quality, reliability, accuracy, durability, smoothness, etc? I am not trying to be pedantic, I just need more info to narrow down my choice.

Here is a list of some that I have owned that I thought were worth much more than I paid.

Ruger Speed Six SS 357mag $200
S&W M-19 $285
Star Firestar $250
Bersa 23 .22lr $175

All of those I still own and I doubt I will ever sell any of them because they don't make them anymore and I really like them. I think I value them more than they are worth but that is a good thing, it beats the alternative.:D

[hksw]

My Hi-Point 9 mm Comp has worked out very well. Cheapest handgun I own. At over double the price, the Astra A-75 has also worked very well (have a second A-75 that doesn't get shot).

[Hkmp5sd]

Colt "Junior Colt" .22 short Pre- '68 GCA - Made in Spain.

[Sean Smith]

CZ-75B.

[Mike Irwin]

I'm pretty much in lock-step with Critter on the High Standard.

I've got a High Standard Sentinel .22 that's a great little .22.

I've also got a Charter Arms Off Duty .38 that was my first CCW revolver oh so many years ago in Pennsylvania.

[Daryl]

For me it would be my East German Makarov that I got for a little more than $100.

[Ala Dan]

An old Astra 4" barrel .357 magnum!:D Built like a tank,
this target sighted revolver was dependable and fairly
accurate; to be a product of Spain. My records indicate
that I purchased it NIB for $150.00, out-the-door.:uhoh: :rolleyes:

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[Majic]

A Star model SA for $100. IMO by far the most reliable and strongest .380 that was on the market. It was built on the 1911 format so it was small, flat, and tough with it's locked breech. I shouldn't have sold it.

[P95Carry]

Hmmm .... gotta draw a distinction here ......

''Cheap'' ... my Phoenix HP-22 .... great value plinker.

''Lower cost'' .. definitely my FEG HP clone.

[czechmate]

FireStar,

Let's see, by best "cheap" handgun my first criteria would be:

1. Price
2. Reliability
3. Accuracy
4. Durability
5. Looks (Really not necessary at all.)

My two favorites are:

1. CZ-75B w/ Tritium nite sights 325.00
2. E. German Makarov 175.00

[Gewehr98]

But my $150.00 CZ-52 was definitely worth the investment.

Same for my $200 S&W Model 696.

[Tamara]

My 1952 vintage five-screw S&W Military & Police. For $275 I got a gun that shames my newer Performance Center revolvers in build quality.

[sm]

Mike Irwin-Is that High Standard a 6" bbl ?
:( I bought for a little money that very gun from my dad...yes that gun.

Next would be an old Model 10 4" that was a backup pc kept at home by an officer. When he passed I was offered this for free...I didn't pay nearly enough even then--his widow just wouldn't hear of it.

[WonderNine]

I don't own any "cheap" guns. Champaigne taste on a beer budget....that's me.

[10-Ring]

Cheap? Well maybe not cheap...more inexpensive ;) & those honors go to my S&W mod 19 that I got for $275 otd (roughly what I paid for my 22lr revolver).

[Amegatek]

Easy... My first purchase and still my primary house gun: Ruger KP-89 9MM. Paid $349 for it in "used but unfired" condition. Also my SA Mil-Spec was a bargain at $399 NIB. Both are reliable, well built, and shoot well. :)

[only1asterisk]

Cheap? That would be my $450 NIB Stainless USPf 9mm! Paid $200 several years ago for a police trade in 5906.

Sorry, the best I can do.


David

[denfoote]

Pistolet Makarova, comrade!! :D

[SnWnMe]

German Makarov $150 a long long time ago. The gun doesn't jam (are you 1911 makers listening???)

[caz223]

Cheap is relative.
My two 'cheapest' guns that I wind up shooting from time to time.
.41 mag ruger blackhawk 4 5/8". Long range accuracy steel plate killer.
CZ75b 9mm short range run 'n gun steel plate killer.
You could buy either gun new today for less than $400.
My star PD shoots better than the $270 I paid for it, as well.

[Okiecruffler]

At $72.95, cheap is the only word that could describe it. Splurged and spent $19.95 for the 5 inch barrel and a spare mag. Could chase soda cans out to 35 yrds easy with either barrel. Couldn't find ammo that it didn't like. Never jammed with anything except Stingers (never have had any luck with those from any gun). Traded it for a Charter Arms Explorer pistol that I just had to have. Even threw in $25 on the deal. Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside and if there's any ammo out there that it does like I haven't found it yet. It sits in the safe as a reminder to not do stupid things. Everytime I consider a trade now, I go get it out and look at it for awhile.

[Jim March]

Late 70's production Charter Arms Undercover 38snubbie. Passed a detailed checkout, turned out to be unusually tight in all respects, $186 later it turned out to be capable of minute-of-torso at 50 yards :cool:.

Now, I don't recommend Charter stuff for everybody, despite my good experience. Late in the Charter Arms era, quality went south. During the Charco years, quality flat-out sucked. The modern incarnation seems to be crude but functional and nobody's reporting the sort of gross defects of the Charco sort (barrel blown downrange on the first shot, crap like that!).

Mine is the variant with the open ejector rod, case-hardened hammer, steel primary frame in a "browned" tone, black-anodized aluminum barrel shroud around a steel-cored barrel, and black-anodized aluminum grip frame and triggerguard. Looks funky, but all bluing/anodizing is of good quality. Ignition is transfer bar. The crane can be swung out either by using the S&W/Taurus type cylinder release button, OR by pulling the ejector rod forward and unlocking it that way...so the rear release switch could either fall off or be removed, and it would still work just fine.

Being mixed steel/aluminum, it's about halfway in weight between an aluminum and steel snub. There are no sideplates; the action "forks up" into the back of the primary frame with the grip frame, in a fashion typical of Rugers. It should come as no suprise that the guy that designed it used to work for Ruger.

I guarantee you I'll never sell that gun.

[ojh]

My favorite "cheap" gun is my first one, a Russian-made (Baikal) Margolin MCM .22 target pistol. Very accurate, ultra-reliable, all steel. Some folks think it's ugly -- I consider it it just plain functional.
http://www.baikalinc.ru/ico/prod/hguns/mcm/mcm.gif
It was 277 euros as new, which is not bad concerning that a Ruger MKII costs here over 500 euros. Unfortunately, rumors tell that Izhevsk does not make them any more, although the model is still mentioned on their website http://www.baikalinc.ru/eng/prod/hguns/mcm/ .

[DMK]

CZ-40. It's a very high quality .40 S&W gun for well under $300 brand new.


http://home.mchsi.com/~davidkoch/myarms/CZ-40B.JPG

[David4516]

Another vote for the Makarov...

[kentucky bucky]

A Grendel P10.(.380) $100.00, holds 10 rds.,fires every time, no jams so far, safe to carry (DAO), ugly enough not to induce love, plastic frame, did I mention ugly? I throw it in a tacklebox and don't worry a bit. Hard to do with a $500.00 Glock or S&W.:D



PS, it's ugly

[Hkmp5sd]

A Grendel P10.(.380) $100.00, holds 10 rds.,fires every time,

A Grendel P10 that fires everytime...Isn't that an oxymoron? :) The one I have fires once every other time, sometimes.

[Okiecruffler]

I've had 2 Grendels, a P10 and a P12, and both worked very well. IIRC I paid $90 for the P12 and $65 for the P10, but that may be visa versa.

[aircarver]

My two $100 Bulgie Maks..... :)

[coldshot03/04]

Makarov.
Hi Point.
Heritage Rough Rider.

[jon1481]

Beretta 950bs----$150-----------Taurus mobel 82 ----$190

[Mark IV Series 80]

My old police trade-in Model 10 S&W.

It's perfectly reliable, smooth, and accurate.

All for less than $150, tax included!

[Dr.Rob]

FEG hi power was by far the BEST deal I ever scored. Mine is the older, "true clone" version. It's also my IDPA pistol.

Cheapest buy: FEG Pa-63/Ap-9 .380, took me a while to get used to, but a very functional piece. It has never jammed on me. I paid just over $100 for it.

[Jason Demond]

S&W Sigma X 2.

[kentucky bucky]

My grendel is a working machine with any brand of ammo as long as it's RNFMJ. My brother- in-law is a cop and trusts his as a backup. he has traded around through the years and has had several and THEY ALL WORKED!!! I've never tried hollow points, at that speed, what's the use?
You just got a lemon.

[igor]

Taurus 99.

[Okiecruffler]

I carried Gold Dots in both my Grendels and they worked flawlessly.

[Dot_mdb]

A pristine condition 2" S&W model 10-9 that I bought a few weeks ago for $195. I took it to the range and then immediately placed it on my list of guns to never be sold.

Bill

[Jeff OTMG]

East German Makarov, Astra Firecat, Ruger MkII, S&W mod 10 4" taper, Star Firestar .40.

[clubsoda22]

Not exactly $150 cheap, but on the cheaper side at $330 was my first gun, a Taurus pt92. That gun has consistantly ate any ammo i've thrown at it through even the cheapest tripple K magazines which I had to hammer to make fit in the mag well. It's just as accurate as every similar beretta i've put it up against.

[Berg01]

NIB CZ 75B .40 S&W dualtone w/ 2 - 10 rounders - $349.00
S&W 27-2 Revolver 6" bbl. @ 95% - $285.00

The most I've ever spent for any gun is $450.00 for a LNIB Sig P228, that I now consider to be priceless!

[sgtmaj13]

Well used S&W M10 4" taper and Bulgie Milsup Makarov. Both see more rounds than all my other pistols combined.

[CWL]

I also hate that word 'cheap' since it doesn't mean anything unless quantified.

I paid $700 for my HK P7PSP- I consider this cheap as well as reliable.

My SigSauer P229 cost $350, isn't that cheap?

My used Browning Buckmark cost $139 and I haven't had any failures so far.

[cookhj]

chinese model 213 9mm tokarev.
paid $100 for it at a gun show.
it's reliable and supprisingly accurate; almost as accurate as my sig P228.

[Drifting Fate]

East German Makarov.

It was more accurate than my P7. :uhoh:

[mainmech48]

New Bulgarian Makarov for $125 with holster, two mags and cleaning kit.

Next would be the VG+ condition S&W M13 4" police trade for $150.

Neither is "trick" or fancy, but they both are as reliable as gravity and shoot better than they ought to.

[six 4 sure]

S&W Mod 10 2 1/2" snub $250. Is LNIB got it about a year ago and love it.

six

[Frenchy]

My old Spanish HE...$50.00! :)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/206249/SpanishRevolver.JPG

[joenuclear]

Kel-Tec P-32
Now that Kel-Tec is releasing the .380 the used P-32's are even cheaper.