Your favorite "saturday night special?" No gun hate please.

[MasterPiece Arms.com]

What's your favorite "saturday night special," i.e. affordable gun? This thread is home to all those who fear flaming for admitting that they have a Jimenez (used to be Bryco), a Cobra (used to be Lorcin and Davis), a Hi Point, or a Heritage that works in spite of the hate and bigotry of quite a few gun owners.


My current favorite is the Jimenez because I've owned one (stamped Bryco) for many years and it has worked fine. It aint light or comfortable after 50 rounds, but I have a gigantic axe to grind. I will never forgive what that slimy lawyer did in suing Bryco claiming the gun was "defective" because you have to disengage the safety to unload the gun (just like a 1911!). My bitterness reached a zenith when that sub-moronic California jury AGREED with him and awarded a multi million dollar judgement. If this wasn't bad enough, the case centered around exploiting a quadraplegic kid who was accidentally shot by a dumbass babysitter who pointed the Bryco at the kid's jaw while unloading the pistol with his finger touching the trigger! The judge, the jury, the lawyer, the newspapers, and the family, all said it was the GUN's and Bruce Jenning's fault! Despite all of the evil and the lies, this affordable gun is BACK . Please visit "Brandon's Arms.org" to experience the full nauseating pap.

If you ever wanted to stick it to evil and stupid California juries, judges, and lawyers, I suggest getting one of these:

These are affordable and just plain fun. The .22mag cylinder is a keeper!

The Cobra "FS 380" or "FS 32" I knew a guy who bought one of these used from a pawn shop and didn't know how to take it apart to clean it, but we still took it with us on every shooting trip. As beat to death as it was and never fully cleaned or oiled, it still fed, fired, and extracted 99% of the hundreds of rounds we put through it.

The Cobra "CA 380" or "CA 32" A lifesaver for someone low on greenbacks. Great for if you HAVE to carry and do not have a state carry permit giving you government permission to exercise the 2nd amendment, and you don't want to risk losing a $300+ gun to the cops.

 

[HSMITH]

The lowest quality I will go is a Charter Arms. I have some, still looking for a nice Bulldog.

 

[critter]

Star BM 9mm. All steel semiauto (kinda like a shrunken 1911) for under $150 in the right places.

 

[moredes]

I'll stick to an old Interarms Walther PPK/s that I have.

 

[1 old 0311]

Cheap gun

Had a Squires Bingham 8 shot .22 wheel gun years ago.Put a few thousand rounds through it and the SOB was like a Times watch......just kept ticking.


Kevin

 

[boofus]

The cheapest handgun I will buy is a Glock.

I want to keep my eyesight and all my fingers and be able to hit what I'm aiming for.

I tried the cheapo route with the Rock Island Armory 1911 and the thing would fail to go into battery about 35% of the time. Life is too short to have to fidget with stupid guns that don't work properly. I'd rather just buy what works right out of the box and spend more time shooting.

 

[bakert]

Years ago when I didn't have much money I bought a little RG 23 .22 cal revolver. I, my wife and boys put a lot of rounds through it and it still fires but the trigger return spring finally broke. Couple of years ago, my sons now grown gave me a Tec 22 as a joke but the thing kills cans at 30 feet and surprisingly doesn't jam. With a Butler Creek 20 rd magazine it's my favorite gun to show when we have a gun hating visitor in our home!!

 

[M2 Carbine]

This is about as cheap as I'll go.
FIE (all steel) 38 Special single shot.

I paid about $60 for it.
I left it on my Wife's tractor for years. Good snake gun with shot.

 

[Sean Smith]

Bottom line is, look for good deals in used guns from brands you know don't suck, rather than a new gun from a shady outfit. Shop around, and you can find some serious deals.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

I have a little FIE .25 auto that I think I paid $40 for, NIB. Looks like hell, shoots surprisingly well.

 

[hightech]

Pathfinder

I have a Charter Arms [original company] Pathfinder in .22 magnum. It has worked great for 30 years now training students and as a packpacking revolver.

 

[mountaindrew]

My cheapest two guns are a EAA windicator that I bought for $130 that is a decent gun. The >357 model is all steel, unlike the .38 model that has an alloy frame. It is heavy and a little ugly, but it works great and is perfect for conditions where an expensive gun is undesireable.

My other cheap gun is a FEG PA-63 in 9mm mak that has worked well and is quite accurate, albiet with a very heavy double action trigger.

 

[Kalashnikov]

Well I dont know if this is a saturday night special or not but an old makarov or nagant revolver would certainly be my favorite. when I turn 21 I'm getting both.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Cheapest gun I paid for was $100 FEG Pa-63/AP-9 in .380. Eastern Bloc surplus is a good way to go on the cheap... usually well made and inexpensive.

 

[R.H. Lee]

Small, concealable, inexpensive? 642.

 

[TMM]

i'm curious, what do you guys say about the Llama and Hi-Point 1911's ? not really considering one, just wondering.

~TMM

 

[jrfoxx]

I have a Charter Arms 'undercover' 38 spl snubbie i inherited from my father-in-law. he bought it new sometime in the early 70's and it was apparently his 'under the seat gun' (as he was a trucker). it still functions 100% reliably and is very accurate and comfortable to shoot.

 

[Ala Dan]

An Arminus snubby in .38 Special, as it makes for an excellent "throw down"
gun.

 

[Zundfolge]

the "El Cheapos" in my collection are a Bulgarian Makarov (all of $160 when I bought it ... of course I have more then that in mods ) and a RAP 401.

Both are great little shooters that are in reality inexpensive not cheap.

 

[jojosdad]

One more vote for the FEG PA-63 in 9mm Mak. I've put 500 rounds through mine without a problem.

 

[dpesec]

Hi-point

Well mine would have to be the Hi-point series.In-expensive pistols and for the most part shoot pretty good.

 

[dzimmerm]

My collection

All of my weapons are inexpensive.

First gun bought was a hi-point 9mm composite.
The second gun I bought was a hi-point 9mm composite
The third gun was a Yugo SKS.
The fourth gun was a CZ52
The fifth gun is a Bulgarian Makarov.

The hi-points were bought for home defense and target practice. That is why I had two, so the wife could keep one near by even when I was out putting holes in paper.

The SKS was bought just because it looked cool and was inexpensive to buy and to shoot.

The CZ52 was bought due to wanting a higher quality gun, though the ammo is expensive enough to limit how much I shoot it.

The Makarov was bought as a posible conceal carry piece after I get my permit. I was amazed at how accurate the Makarov is compared to the hi-points. I was told it is the trigger pull on the hi-points that tend to make them a little harder to aim well with.

The CZ52 is also very accurate though it does not fit my hand quite the way I would want it to.

I have gotten fairly good with the hi-points due to the 1500 plus rounds I have put though it. At 15 to 25 feet they are accurate enough to hit what I aim for. At 50 feet they are not so good.

The Makarov was still hitting close to the center at 50 feet. The CZ52 did not seem to be as accurate as the Makarov at 50 feet, perhaps because it has a bit more kick to it with it's energetic round.

I still thank hi-point for being there when I wanted a inexpensive weapon for the wife to use in case of home invasion.

As far as hi-point 1911. I think all hi-points use a blowback design, even the .40 and the .45 calibers. The large mass of the slide makes this design work for hi-point. You can go to this web site, http://www.mkssupply.com/ , to get manuals that have an exploded view of the pistol so you can get an idea what the design is like.

The weakness I found in my hi-point 9mm composite was the slide broke where it drops down in front to hold the slide return spring. It also broke a firing pin. The company sent me a new firing pin when it broke, no charge. They also repaired the broken slide at no charge to me. They do stand behind their warranty. The firing pin broke at about 1200 rounds and the slide broke at about 1300 rounds.

dzimmerm

 

[medmo]

My SW-380. Yup, it's made by S&W but fits the description. I picked it up for LNIB for $125. This specimen actually works reliably.

 

[cookekdjr]

If I'm going to buy a cheap gun, I like commie mil-surps. Rough around the edges, but ALWAYS go bang.
The Makarov, of course, is the king inexpensive handguns. The SKS is the king of truck guns.
I wish I still had my Mak.
-David

 

[CajunBass]

I guess I just answered this, but some people would consider all my guns to be SNS's. I guess the Makarov is the least expensive gun I've ever paid for, but I'm looking for cheaper.